¹⁸Some men came carrying a man who could not walk. He was lying on a mat. They tried to take him into the house to place him in front of Jesus. ¹⁹They could not find a way to do this because of the crowd. So they went up on the roof. Then they lowered the man on his mat through the opening in the roof tiles. They lowered him into the middle of the crowd, right in front of Jesus.

²⁰When Jesus saw that they had faith, he said, “Friend, your sins are forgiven.”

²¹The Pharisees and the teachers of the law began to think, “Who is this fellow who says such an evil thing? Who can forgive sins but God alone?”

²²Jesus knew what they were thinking. So he asked, “Why are you thinking these things in your hearts? ²³Is it easier to say, ‘Your sins are forgiven’? Or to say, ‘Get up and walk’? ²⁴I want you to know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins.” So he spoke to the man who could not walk. “I tell you,” he said, “get up. Take your mat and go home.”

²⁵Right away, the man stood up in front of them. He took his mat and went home praising God. ²⁶Everyone was amazed and gave praise to God. They were filled with wonder. They said, “We have seen unusual things today.”

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