Mark 2–3

THE SON OF MAN FORGIVES AND HEALS

2When^as he entered Capernaum^at again after some days, it was reported that he was at home. ²So many people gathered together that there was no more room, not even in the doorway, and he was speaking the word^au to them. ³They came to him bringing a paralytic,^av carried by four of them. ⁴Since they were not able to bring him to^A Jesus because of the crowd, they removed the roof above him, and after digging through it, they lowered the mat on which the paralytic was lying. ⁵Seeing their faith,^aw Jesus told the paralytic, “Son, your sins^ax are forgiven.”^ay

⁶But some of the scribes^az were sitting there, questioning^ba in their hearts: ⁷“Why does he speak like this? He’s blaspheming!^bb Who can forgive^bc sins^bd but God alone?”^be

⁸Right away^bf Jesus perceived in his spirit^bg that they were thinking like this within themselves and said to them, “Why are you thinking these things in your hearts? ⁹Which is easier:^bh to say to the paralytic,^bi ‘Your sins are forgiven,’ or to say, ‘Get up, take your mat, and walk’?^{bj 10}But so that you may know that the Son of Man^bk has authority^bl on earth to forgive sins”^bm—he told the paralytic—¹¹“I tell you: get up,^bn take your mat, and go home.”

¹²Immediately he got up, took the mat, and went out in front of everyone. As a result, they were all astounded^bo and gave glory^bp to God,^bq saying, “We have never seen anything like this!”^br

THE CALL OF LEVI

¹³Jesus^bs went out again beside the sea. The whole crowd was coming to him, and he was teaching^bt them. ¹⁴Then, passing by, he saw Levi^bu the son of Alphaeus sitting at the tax office,^bv and he said to him, “Follow me,”^bw and he got up and followed^bx him.

¹⁵While he was reclining at the table in Levi’s house, many tax collectors^by and sinners^bz were eating^B with Jesus and his disciples, for there were many who were following him. ¹⁶When the scribes^ca who were Pharisees^Ccb saw that he was eating^a with sinners^b and tax collectors,^c they asked his disciples, “Why does he eat^D with tax collectors and sinners?”

¹⁷When Jesus heard this, he told them, “It is not those who are well who need^d a doctor,^e but those who are sick.^f I didn’t come to call the righteous,^g but sinners.”^h

A QUESTION ABOUT FASTING

¹⁸Nowⁱ John’s^j disciples^k and the Pharisees^El were fasting.^m People came and asked him, “Why do John’s disciples and the Pharisees’ disciples fast, but your disciples do not fast?”

¹⁹Jesus said to them, “The wedding guests cannot fast while the groomⁿ is with them, can they? As long as they have the groom with them, they cannot fast. ²⁰But the time^C will come^o when the groom will be taken away from them,^p and then they will fast^q on that day. ²¹No one sews a patch of unshrunk cloth on an old garment. Otherwise, the new patch pulls away from the old cloth,^r and a worse tear is made. ²²And no one puts new wine^s into old wineskins. Otherwise, the wine will burst^t the skins, and the wine is lost as well as the skins. No, new wine is put into fresh wineskins.”

LORD OF THE SABBATH

²³On^u the Sabbath he was going through the grainfields, and his disciples^v began to make their way, picking some heads of grain. ²⁴The Pharisees^w said to him, “Look, why are they doing what is not lawful^x on the Sabbath?”

²⁵He said to them, “Have you never read what David^y and those who were with him did when he was in need^z and hungry^aa—²⁶how he entered the house of God in the time of Abiathar^ab the high priest^ac and ate the bread of the Presence^ad—which is not lawful for anyone to eat except the priests^ae—and also gave some to his companions?” ²⁷Then he told them, “The Sabbath was made for^A man and not man for the Sabbath.^{af 28}So then, the Son of Man^ag is Lord^ah even of the Sabbath.”^ai

3Jesus^aj entered the synagogue^ak again, and a man was there who had a shriveled^al hand. ²In order to accuse^am him, they were watching him closely^an to see whether he would heal^ao him on the Sabbath.^{ap 3}He told the man with the shriveled hand, “Stand before us.” ⁴Then he said to them, “Is it lawful^aq to do good^ar on the Sabbath or to do evil,^as to save life^at or to kill?”^au But they were silent.^{av 5}After looking around at them with anger,^aw he was grieved at the hardness^ax of their hearts and told the man, “Stretch out your hand.” So he stretched it out, and his hand was restored.^{ay 6}Immediately the Pharisees^az went out and started plotting^ba with the Herodians^bb against him, how they might kill^bc him.

MINISTERING TO THE MULTITUDE

⁷Jesus^bd departed with his disciples to the sea, and a large crowd followed from Galilee,^be and a large crowd followed from Judea,^{bf 8}Jerusalem,^bg Idumea, beyond the Jordan,^bh and around Tyre^bi and Sidon.^bj The large crowd came to him because they heard about everything he was doing. ⁹Then he told his disciples to have a small boat^bk ready for him, so that the crowd wouldn’t crush him. ¹⁰Since he had healed^bl many, all who had diseases were pressing toward him to touch^bm him. ¹¹Whenever the unclean^bn spirits^bo saw him, they fell down^bp before him and cried out, “You are the Son of God!”^{bq 12}And he would strongly warn^br them not to make him known.^bs

THE TWELVE APOSTLES

¹³Jesus^bt went up the mountain^bu and summoned those he wanted, and they came to him. ¹⁴He appointed twelve, whom he also named apostles,^Bbv to be with him, to send them out to preach,^{bw 15}and to have authority to^C drive out demons. ¹⁶He appointed the Twelve:^Dbx To Simon,^by he gave the name Peter;^{bz 17}and to James^ca the son of Zebedee,^cb and to his brother John,^cc he gave the name “Boanerges” (that is, “Sons of Thunder”^cd); ¹⁸Andrew;^ce Philip^cf and Bartholomew; Matthew^cg and Thomas;^ch James the son of Alphaeus, and Thaddaeus; Simon the Zealot, ¹⁹and Judas Iscariot,^ci who also betrayed him.

A HOUSE DIVIDED

²⁰Jesus entered a house, and the crowd gathered again so that they were not even able to eat.^{A 21}When his family^a heard this, they set out to restrain him, because they said, “He’s out of his mind.”^b

²²The scribes^c who had come down from Jerusalem said, “He is possessed by Beelzebul,”^d and, “He drives out^e demons^f by the ruler^g of the demons.”^h

²³So he summonedⁱ them and spoke to them in parables:^j “How can Satan^k drive out Satan?^{l 24}If a kingdom^m is divided against itself, that kingdom cannot stand. ²⁵If a house is divided against itself, that house cannot stand. ²⁶And if Satan opposes himself and is divided, he cannot stand but is finished. ²⁷But no one can enter a strong man’s house and plunder his possessions unless he first ties upⁿ the strong man. Then he can plunder his house.

²⁸“Truly I tell you, people will be forgiven for all sins and whatever blasphemies^o they utter. ²⁹But whoever blasphemes^p against the Holy Spirit never has forgiveness,^q but is guilty^r of an eternal sin”^Bs—³⁰because they were saying, “He has an unclean spirit.”^t

TRUE RELATIONSHIPS

³¹His^u mother^v and his brothers^w came, and standing outside, they sent word to him and called him. ³²A crowd was sitting around him and told him, “Look, your mother, your brothers,^x and your sisters^C are outside asking for you.”

³³He replied to them, “Who are my mother and my brothers?” ³⁴Looking at those sitting in a circle around him, he said, “Here are my mother and my brothers!^{y 35}Whoever does the will of God^z is my brother and sister and mother.”