2A few days later, Jesus entered Capernaum again. The people heard that he had come home. ²So many people gathered that there was no room left. There was not even room outside the door. And Jesus preached the word to them.

³Four of those who came were carrying a man who could not walk. ⁴But they could not get him close to Jesus because of the crowd. So they made a hole in the roof above Jesus. Then they lowered the man through it on a mat.

⁵Jesus saw their faith. So he said to the man, “Son, your sins are forgiven.”

⁶Some teachers of the law were sitting there. They were thinking, ⁷“Why is this fellow talking like that? He’s saying a very evil thing! Only God can forgive sins!”

⁸Right away Jesus knew what they were thinking. So he said to them, “Why are you thinking these things? ⁹Is it easier to say to this man, ‘Your sins are forgiven’? Or to say, ‘Get up, take your mat and walk’? ¹⁰I want you to know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins.”

Then Jesus spoke to the man who could not walk. ¹¹“I tell you,” he said, “get up. Take your mat and go home.”

¹²The man got up and took his mat. Then he walked away while everyone watched. All the people were amazed. They praised God and said, “We have never seen anything like this!”

Jesus Chooses Levi

¹³Once again Jesus went out beside the Sea of Galilee. A large crowd came to him. He began to teach them. ¹⁴As he walked along he saw Levi, son of Alphaeus. Levi was sitting at the tax collector’s booth. “Follow me,” Jesus told him. Levi got up and followed him.

¹⁵Later Jesus was having dinner at Levi’s house. Many tax collectors and “sinners” were eating with him and his disciples. They were part of the large crowd following Jesus.

¹⁶Some teachers of the law who were Pharisees were there. They saw Jesus eating with “sinners” and tax collectors. So they asked his disciples, “Why does he eat with tax collectors and ‘sinners’?”

¹⁷Jesus heard that. So he said to them, “Those who are healthy don’t need a doctor. Sick people do. I have not come to get those who think they are right with God to follow me. I have come to get sinners to follow me.”

Jesus Is Asked About Fasting

¹⁸John’s disciples and the Pharisees were going without eating. Some people came to Jesus. They said to him, “John’s disciples are fasting. The disciples of the Pharisees are also fasting. But your disciples are not. Why aren’t they?”

¹⁹Jesus answered, “How can the guests of the groom go without eating while he is with them? They will not fast as long as he is with them. ²⁰But the time will come when the groom will be taken away from them. On that day they will go without eating.

²¹“People don’t sew a patch of new cloth on old clothes. If they do, the new piece will pull away from the old. That will make the tear worse. ²²People don’t pour new wine into old wineskins. If they do, the wine will burst the skins. Then the wine and the wineskins will both be destroyed. No, everyone pours new wine into new wineskins.”

Jesus Is Lord of the Sabbath Day

²³One Sabbath day Jesus was walking with his disciples through the grainfields. The disciples began to break off some heads of grain. ²⁴The Pharisees said to Jesus, “Look! It is against the Law to do this on the Sabbath. Why are your disciples doing it?”

²⁵He answered, “Haven’t you ever read about what David did? He and his men were hungry. They needed food. ²⁶It was when Abiathar was high priest. David entered the house of God and ate the holy bread. Only priests were allowed to eat it. David also gave some to his men.”

²⁷Then Jesus said to them, “The Sabbath day was made for man. Man was not made for the Sabbath day. ²⁸So the Son of Man is Lord even of the Sabbath day.”

3Another time Jesus went into the synagogue. A man with a weak and twisted hand was there. ²Some Pharisees were trying to find fault with Jesus. They watched him closely. They wanted to see if he would heal the man on the Sabbath day.

³Jesus spoke to the man with the weak and twisted hand. “Stand up in front of everyone,” he said.

⁴Then Jesus asked them, “What does the Law say we should do on the Sabbath day? Should we do good? Or should we do evil? Should we save life? Or should we kill?” But no one answered.

⁵Jesus looked around at them in anger. He was very upset because their hearts were stubborn. Then he said to the man, “Stretch out your hand.” He stretched it out, and his hand was as good as new.

⁶Then the Pharisees went out and began to make plans with the Herodians. They wanted to kill Jesus.

Crowds Follow Jesus

⁷Jesus went off to the Sea of Galilee with his disciples. A large crowd from Galilee followed. ⁸People heard about all that Jesus was doing. And many came to him. They came from Judea, Jerusalem, and Idumea. They came from the lands east of the Jordan River. And they came from the area around Tyre and Sidon.

⁹Because of the crowd, Jesus told his disciples to get a small boat ready for him. This would keep the people from crowding him. ¹⁰Jesus had healed many people. So those who were sick were pushing forward to touch him.

¹¹When people with evil spirits saw him, they fell down in front of him. The spirits shouted, “You are the Son of God!” ¹²But Jesus ordered them not to tell who he was.

Jesus Appoints the Twelve Apostles

¹³Jesus went up on a mountainside. He called for certain people to come to him, and they came. ¹⁴He appointed 12 of them and called them apostles. From that time on they would be with him. He would also send them out to preach. ¹⁵They would have authority to drive out demons.

¹⁶So Jesus appointed the Twelve. Simon was one of them. Jesus gave him the name Peter. ¹⁷There were James, son of Zebedee, and his brother John. Jesus gave them the name Boanerges. Boanerges means Sons of Thunder. ¹⁸There were also Andrew, Philip, Bartholomew, Matthew, Thomas, and James, son of Alphaeus. And there were Thaddaeus and Simon the Zealot. ¹⁹Judas Iscariot was one of them too. He was the one who was later going to hand Jesus over to his enemies.

Jesus and Beelzebub

²⁰Jesus entered a house. Again a crowd gathered. It was so large that Jesus and his disciples were not even able to eat. ²¹His family heard about this. So they went to take charge of him. They said, “He is out of his mind.”

²²Some teachers of the law were there. They had come down from Jerusalem. They said, “He is controlled by Beelzebub! He is driving out demons by the power of the prince of demons.”

²³So Jesus called them over and spoke to them by using stories. He said, “How can Satan drive out Satan? ²⁴If a kingdom fights against itself, it can’t stand. ²⁵If a family is divided, it can’t stand. ²⁶And if Satan fights against himself, and his helpers are divided, he can’t stand. That is the end of him. ²⁷In fact, none of you can enter a strong man’s house and just take what the man owns. You must first tie him up. Then you can rob his house.

²⁸“What I’m about to tell you is true. Everyone’s sins and evil words against God will be forgiven. ²⁹But anyone who speaks evil things against the Holy Spirit will never be forgiven. His guilt will last forever.”

³⁰Jesus said this because the teachers of the law were saying, “He has an evil spirit.”

Jesus’ Mother and Brothers

³¹Jesus’ mother and brothers came and stood outside. They sent someone in to get him. ³²A crowd was sitting around Jesus. They told him, “Your mother and your brothers are outside. They are looking for you.”

³³“Who is my mother? Who are my brothers?” he asked.

³⁴Then Jesus looked at the people sitting in a circle around him. He said, “Here is my mother! Here are my brothers! ³⁵Anyone who does what God wants is my brother or sister or mother.”

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