Mark 2
(1) Jesus Heals Handicapped Man
When Jesus got back to Capernaum several days later, people started finding out that he was home. There were so many people who gathered around Him that there wasn’t any room left in the building—not even by the door. So He started sharing a message with them. At one point, four guys carried in a man who was paralyzed. They couldn’t get to Jesus because of the crowd, so they started taking apart the roof above Him. After digging a hole in the roof, they started lowering the man down on a stretcher. After seeing their faith, Jesus turned to the paralyzed man and said,
“Son, your mistakes and bad choices are forgiven.”
But some of the Bible scholars sitting there started thinking,
“Why does He say things like that? He’s diminishing God! Who can forgive our bad choices other than God?”
In Jesus’s spirit, He quickly realized what they were thinking and said,
“Why are you guys thinking those thoughts in your hearts? Is it easier to tell this guy that his mistakes are forgiven, or to get up and walk? Just so you know that Humanity’s Son has the authority on earth to forgive bad choices…”
He turned to the paralyzed man and said,
“Pick up your stretcher and go home.”
Then the man stood up, picked up his stretcher, and walked out. When everyone saw that, they were all amazed and started raving about God. They said,
“We’ve never seen anything like this!”
Then Jesus went to the shore again, and everyone flocked to Him, so He kept teaching them things.
(14) Levi Becomes an Apprentice
One day as Jesus was walking, He saw Levi (Alphaeus’s son) sitting in the tax booth. Jesus told him,
“Follow Me.”
So Levi got up and started following Him.
(15) Jesus’s New Way
Jesus went to Levi’s house where He hung out with a bunch of tax collectors and other people who had reputations for disregarding God’s instructions. Jesus’s many apprentices were also there, and everyone started eating dinner together. When the Bible scholars from the Pharisee group saw that He was eating with a rough crowd, they asked His apprentices,
“Why is He hanging out with tax collectors and other people who are known for disregarding God’s instructions?”
Jesus heard them and said,
“People with strong bodies aren’t the ones who need a doctor—the sick are! I didn’t come to invite the people who are morally perfect, but the ones who miss the mark.”
John’s apprentices and the Pharisees were fasting at that time, so they asked Jesus,
“Why do the Pharisees and John’s apprentices refrain from eating, but yours don’t?”
Jesus responded,
“At a wedding, the groomsmen don’t turn down food while they’re with the groom, do they? As long as the groom is there with them, they can’t! But the time will come when the groom will be taken away from them, and that’s when they’ll fast.
“No one sews a patch of un-shrunk cloth onto an old shirt that has already shrunk. If they did, the patch would pull away from the shirt—the new would pull away from the old, making a new tear that’s even worse. No one puts new wine into an old wineskin. If they did, the wine would pop the skin, spilling the wine out while also ruining the wineskin. New wine has to be stored in a new wineskin.”
(23) The Sabbath was Made for People
One day, Jesus was passing through some grain fields on the Sabbath [which was the day God told Israel to reconnect with Him instead of working]. As His apprentices were walking, they picked some of the grain. When the Pharisees saw that, they asked Him,
“Why are they doing something that God said not to on the Sabbath?”
Jesus responded,
“Haven’t you read what David did when he and his friends were hungry? He went into God’s house (while Abiathar was the High Priest), and ate the sacred bread that no one’s allowed to eat except for priests—and he shared it with his companions!
“The Sabbath was made for people—not the other way around. And Humanity’s Son is the ruler—even over the Sabbath.”
