And again he entered into Capernaum after some days; and it was noised that he was in the house.

And straightway many were gathered together, insomuch that there was no room to receive them, no, not so much as about the door: and he preached the word unto them.

And they come unto him, bringing one sick of the palsy, which was borne of four.

And when they could not come nigh unto him for the press, they uncovered the roof where he was: and when they had broken it up, they let down the bed wherein the sick of the palsy lay.

When Jesus saw their faith, he said unto the sick of the palsy, Son, thy sins be forgiven thee.

But there was certain of the scribes sitting there, and reasoning in their hearts,

Why doth this man thus speak blasphemies? who can forgive sins but God only?

And immediately when Jesus perceived in his spirit that they so reasoned within themselves, he said unto them, Why reason ye these things in your hearts?

Whether is it easier to say to the sick of the palsy, Thy sins be forgiven thee; or to say, Arise, and take up thy bed, and walk?

10 But that ye may know that the Son of man hath power on earth to forgive sins, (he saith to the sick of the palsy,)

11 I say unto thee, Arise, and take up thy bed, and go thy way into thine house.

12 And immediately he arose, took up the bed, and went forth before them all; insomuch that they were all amazed, and glorified God, saying, We never saw it on this fashion.

13 And he went forth again by the sea side; and all the multitude resorted unto him, and he taught them.

14 And as he passed by, he saw Levi the son of Alphaeus sitting at the receipt of custom, and said unto him, Follow me. And he arose and followed him.

15 And it came to pass, that, as Jesus sat at meat in his house, many publicans and sinners sat also together with Jesus and his disciples: for there were many, and they followed him.

16 And when the scribes and Pharisees saw him eat with publicans and sinners, they said unto his disciples, How is it that he eateth and drinketh with publicans and sinners?

17 When Jesus heard it, he saith unto them, They that are whole have no need of the physician, but they that are sick: I came not to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance.

18 And the disciples of John and of the Pharisees used to fast: and they come and say unto him, Why do the disciples of John and of the Pharisees fast, but thy disciples fast not?

19 And Jesus said unto them, Can the children of the bridechamber fast, while the bridegroom is with them? as long as they have the bridegroom with them, they cannot fast.

20 But the days will come, when the bridegroom shall be taken away from them, and then shall they fast in those days.

21 No man also seweth a piece of new cloth on an old garment: else the new piece that filled it up taketh away from the old, and the rent is made worse.

22 And no man putteth new wine into old bottles: else the new wine doth burst the bottles, and the wine is spilled, and the bottles will be marred: but new wine must be put into new bottles.

23 And it came to pass, that he went through the corn fields on the sabbath day; and his disciples began, as they went, to pluck the ears of corn.

24 And the Pharisees said unto him, Behold, why do they on the sabbath day that which is not lawful?

25 And he said unto them, Have ye never read what David did, when he had need, and was an hungred, he, and they that were with him?

26 How he went into the house of God in the days of Abiathar the high priest, and did eat the shewbread, which is not lawful to eat but for the priests, and gave also to them which were with him?

27 And he said unto them, The sabbath was made for man, and not man for the sabbath:

28 Therefore the Son of man is Lord also of the sabbath.

And Jesus having returned to Capernaum, after some days it was rumored about that He was in the house [probably Peter’s].

And so many people gathered together there that there was no longer room [for them], not even around the door; and He was discussing the Word.

Then they came, bringing a paralytic to Him, who had been picked up and was being carried by four men.

And when they could not get him to a place in front of Jesus because of the throng, they dug through the roof above Him; and when they had [a]scooped out an opening, they let down the [[b]thickly padded] quilt or mat upon which the paralyzed man lay.

And when Jesus saw their faith [their confidence in God through Him], He said to the paralyzed man, Son, your sins are forgiven [you] and put away [that is, the [c]penalty is remitted, the sense of guilt removed, and you are made upright and in right standing with God].

Now some of the scribes were sitting there, holding a dialogue with themselves as they questioned in their hearts,

Why does this [d]Man talk like this? He is blaspheming! Who can forgive sins [[e]remove guilt, remit the penalty, and bestow righteousness instead] except God alone?

And at once Jesus, becoming fully aware in His spirit that they thus debated within themselves, said to them, Why do you argue (debate, reason) about all this in your hearts?

Which is easier: to say to the paralyzed man, Your sins are forgiven and [f]put away, or to say, Rise, take up your sleeping pad or mat, and start walking about [and [g]keep on walking]?

10 But that you may know positively and beyond a doubt that the Son of Man has right and authority and power on earth to forgive sins—He said to the paralyzed man,

11 I say to you, arise, pick up and carry your sleeping pad or mat, and be going on home.

12 And he arose at once and picked up the sleeping pad or mat and went out before them all, so that they were all amazed and [h] recognized and praised and thanked God, saying, We have never seen anything like this before!

13 [Jesus] went out again along the seashore; and all the multitude kept gathering about Him, and He kept teaching them.

14 And as He was passing by, He saw Levi (Matthew) son of Alphaeus sitting at the tax office, and He said to him, Follow Me! [Be [i]joined to Me as a disciple, side with My party!] And he arose and joined Him as His disciple and sided with His party and accompanied Him.

15 And as Jesus, together with His disciples, sat at table in his [Levi’s] house, many tax collectors and persons [[j]definitely stained] with sin were dining with Him, for there were many who walked the same road (followed) with Him.

16 And the scribes [belonging to the party] of the Pharisees, when they saw that He was eating with [those [k]definitely known to be especially wicked] sinners and tax collectors, said to His disciples, Why does He eat and drink with tax collectors and [notorious] sinners?

17 And when Jesus heard it, He said to them, Those who are strong and well have no need of a physician, but those who are weak and sick; I came not to call the righteous ones to repentance, but sinners (the [l]erring ones and [m]all those not free from sin).

18 Now John’s disciples and the Pharisees were observing a fast; and [some people] came and asked Jesus, Why are John’s disciples and the disciples of the Pharisees fasting, but Your disciples are not doing so?

19 Jesus answered them, Can the wedding guests fast (abstain from food and drink) while the bridegroom is with them? As long as they have the bridegroom with them, they cannot fast.

20 But the days will come when the bridegroom will be taken away from them, and they will fast in that day.

21 No one sews a patch of unshrunken (new) goods on an old garment; if he does, the patch tears away from it, the new from the old, and the rent (tear) becomes bigger and worse [than it was before].

22 And no one puts new wine into old wineskins; if he does, the wine will burst the skins, and the wine is lost and the bottles destroyed; but new wine is to be put in new (fresh) wineskins.

23 One Sabbath He was going along beside the fields of standing grain, and as they made their way, His disciples began to [n]pick off the grains.(A)

24 And the Pharisees said to Him, Look! Why are they doing what is not permitted or lawful on the Sabbath?

25 And He said to them, Have you never [even] read what David did when he was in need and was hungry, he and those who were accompanying him?—

26 How he went into the house of God when Abiathar was the high priest, and ate the sacred loaves set forth [before God], which it is not permitted or lawful for any but the priests to eat, and [how he] also gave [them] to those who were with him?(B)

27 And Jesus said to them, The Sabbath was made on account and for the sake of man, not man for the Sabbath;(C)

28 So the Son of Man is Lord even of the Sabbath.

Footnotes

  1. Mark 2:4 Marvin Vincent, Word Studies.
  2. Mark 2:4 Marvin Vincent, Word Studies.
  3. Mark 2:5 Kenneth Wuest, Word Studies.
  4. Mark 2:7 Capitalized because of what He is, the spotless Son of God, not what the speakers may have thought He was.
  5. Mark 2:7 Kenneth Wuest, Word Studies.
  6. Mark 2:9 Kenneth Wuest, Word Studies.
  7. Mark 2:9 Kenneth Wuest, Word Studies.
  8. Mark 2:12 Hermann Cremer, Biblico-Theological Lexicon.
  9. Mark 2:14 Joseph Thayer, A Greek-English Lexicon.
  10. Mark 2:15 Joseph Thayer, A Greek-English Lexicon.
  11. Mark 2:16 Joseph Thayer, A Greek-English Lexicon.
  12. Mark 2:17 Robert Young, Analytical Concordance to the Bible.
  13. Mark 2:17 Joseph Thayer, A Greek-English Lexicon.
  14. Mark 2:23 Kenneth Wuest, Word Studies.

Several days later he returned to Capernaum, and the news of his arrival spread quickly through the city. Soon the house where he was staying was so packed with visitors that there wasn’t room for a single person more, not even outside the door. And he preached the Word to them. Four men arrived carrying a paralyzed man on a stretcher. They couldn’t get to Jesus through the crowd, so they dug through the clay roof above his head and lowered the sick man on his stretcher, right down in front of Jesus.[a]

When Jesus saw how strongly they believed that he would help, Jesus said to the sick man, “Son, your sins are forgiven!”

But some of the Jewish religious leaders[b] said to themselves as they sat there, “What? This is blasphemy! Does he think he is God? For only God can forgive sins.”

Jesus could read their minds and said to them at once, “Why does this bother you? 9-11 I, the Messiah,[c] have the authority on earth to forgive sins. But talk is cheap—anybody could say that. So I’ll prove it to you by healing this man.” Then, turning to the paralyzed man, he commanded, “Pick up your stretcher and go on home, for you are healed!”

12 The man jumped up, took the stretcher, and pushed his way through the stunned onlookers! Then how they praised God. “We’ve never seen anything like this before!” they all exclaimed.

13 Then Jesus went out to the seashore again and preached to the crowds that gathered around him. 14 As he was walking up the beach he saw Levi, the son of Alphaeus, sitting at his tax collection booth. “Come with me,” Jesus told him. “Come be my disciple.”

And Levi jumped to his feet and went along.

15 That night Levi invited his fellow tax collectors and many other notorious sinners to be his dinner guests so that they could meet Jesus and his disciples. (There were many men of this type among the crowds that followed him.) 16 But when some of the Jewish religious leaders[d] saw him eating with these men of ill repute, they said to his disciples, “How can he stand it, to eat with such scum?”

17 When Jesus heard what they were saying, he told them, “Sick people need the doctor, not healthy ones! I haven’t come to tell good people to repent, but the bad ones.”

18 John’s disciples and the Jewish leaders sometimes fasted, that is, went without food as part of their religion. One day some people came to Jesus and asked why his disciples didn’t do this too.

19 Jesus replied, “Do friends of the bridegroom refuse to eat at the wedding feast? Should they be sad while he is with them? 20 But some day he will be taken away from them, and then they will mourn. 21 Besides, going without food is part of the old way of doing things.[e] It is like patching an old garment with unshrunk cloth! What happens? The patch pulls away and leaves the hole worse than before. 22 You know better than to put new wine into old wineskins. They would burst. The wine would be spilled out and the wineskins ruined. New wine needs fresh wineskins.”

23 Another time, on a Sabbath day as Jesus and his disciples were walking through the fields, the disciples were breaking off heads of wheat and eating the grain.[f]

24 Some of the Jewish religious leaders said to Jesus, “They shouldn’t be doing that! It’s against our laws to work by harvesting grain on the Sabbath.”

25-26 But Jesus replied, “Didn’t you ever hear about the time King David and his companions were hungry, and he went into the house of God—Abiathar was high priest then—and they ate the special bread[g] only priests were allowed to eat? That was against the law too. 27 But the Sabbath was made to benefit man, and not man to benefit the Sabbath. 28 And I, the Messiah,[h] have authority even to decide what men can do on Sabbath days!”

Footnotes

  1. Mark 2:4 right down in front of Jesus, implied.
  2. Mark 2:6 religious leaders, literally, “scribes.”
  3. Mark 2:9 the Messiah, literally, “the Son of Man.”
  4. Mark 2:16 the Jewish religious leaders, literally, “the scribes of the Pharisees.”
  5. Mark 2:21 way of doing things, implied.
  6. Mark 2:23 eating the grain, implied.
  7. Mark 2:25 special bread, literally “shewbread.”
  8. Mark 2:28 the Messiah, literally, “the Son of Man.”