The Plot to Kill Jesus

26 When Jesus had finished all these sayings, he said to his disciples, ^2 (A)“You know that after two days ^(B)the Passover is coming, and ^(C)the Son of Man ^(D)will be delivered up to be crucified.”

^3 (E)Then the chief priests and the elders of the people gathered in ^(F)the palace of the high priest, whose name was ^(G)Caiaphas, ^4 (H)and plotted together in order to arrest Jesus by stealth and kill him. ⁵ But they said, “Not during the feast, ^(I)lest there be an uproar among the people.”

Jesus Anointed at Bethany

^6 (J)Now when Jesus was at ^(K)Bethany in the house of Simon the leper,^{[a] 7} a woman came up to him with an alabaster flask of very expensive ointment, and she poured it on his head as he reclined at table. ⁸ And when the disciples saw it, they were indignant, saying, “Why this waste? ⁹ For this could have been sold for a large sum and ^(L)given to the poor.” ¹⁰ But ^(M)Jesus, aware of this, said to them, “Why do you trouble the woman? For she has done a beautiful thing to me. ¹¹ For ^(N)you always have the poor with you, but ^(O)you will not always have me. ¹² In pouring this ointment on my body, she has done it ^(P)to prepare me for burial. ¹³ Truly, I say to you, wherever ^(Q)this gospel is proclaimed in the whole world, what she has done will also be told ^(R)in memory of her.”

Judas to Betray Jesus

^14 (S)Then one of the twelve, whose name was ^(T)Judas Iscariot, went to the chief priests ¹⁵ and said, “What will you give me if I deliver him over to you?” And they ^(U)paid him ^(V)thirty pieces of silver. ¹⁶ And from that moment he sought an opportunity ^(W)to betray him.

The Passover with the Disciples

^17 (X)Now on ^(Y)the first day of Unleavened Bread the disciples came to Jesus, saying, “Where will you have us prepare for you to eat the Passover?” ¹⁸ He said, “Go into the city to a certain man and say to him, ^(Z)‘The Teacher says, ^(AA)My time is at hand. I will keep the Passover at your house with my disciples.’” ¹⁹ And the disciples did as Jesus had directed them, and they prepared the Passover.

^20 (AB)When it was evening, he reclined at table with the twelve.^{[b] 21} And as they were eating, ^(AC)he said, “Truly, I say to you, one of you will betray me.” ²² And they were very sorrowful and began to say to him one after another, “Is it I, Lord?” ²³ He answered, ^(AD)“He who has dipped his hand in the dish with me will betray me. ²⁴ The Son of Man goes ^(AE)as it is written of him, but ^(AF)woe to that man by whom the Son of Man is betrayed! ^(AG)It would have been better for that man if he had not been born.” ²⁵ Judas, who would betray him, answered, “Is it I, ^(AH)Rabbi?” He said to him, ^(AI)“You have said so.”

Institution of the Lord's Supper

^26 (AJ)Now as they were eating, Jesus took bread, and ^(AK)after blessing it broke it and gave it to the disciples, and said, “Take, eat; ^(AL)this is my body.” ²⁷ And he took a cup, and when he ^(AM)had given thanks he gave it to them, saying, “Drink of it, all of you, ²⁸ for ^(AN)this is my ^(AO)blood of the^[c] covenant, which is poured out for ^(AP)many ^(AQ)for the forgiveness of sins. ²⁹ I tell you I will not drink again of this fruit of the vine until that day when I drink it new with you ^(AR)in my Father's kingdom.”

Jesus Foretells Peter's Denial

^30 (AS)And when they had sung a hymn, ^(AT)they went out to ^(AU)the Mount of Olives. ³¹ Then Jesus said to them, “You will all fall away because of me this night. For it is written, ‘I will ^(AV)strike the shepherd, and the sheep of the flock will be scattered.’ ³² But after I am raised up, ^(AW)I will go before you to Galilee.” ^33 (AX)Peter answered him, “Though they all fall away because of you, I will never fall away.” ^34 (AY)Jesus said to him, “Truly, I tell you, this very night, ^(AZ)before the rooster crows, you will deny me three times.” ^35 (BA)Peter said to him, “Even if I must die with you, I will not deny you!” And all the disciples said the same.

Jesus Prays in Gethsemane

^36 (BB)Then Jesus went with them ^(BC)to a place called Gethsemane, and he said to his disciples, “Sit here, while I go over there and pray.” ³⁷ And taking with him ^(BD)Peter and ^(BE)the two sons of Zebedee, he began to be sorrowful and troubled. ³⁸ Then he said to them, ^(BF)“My soul is very sorrowful, even to death; remain here, and ^(BG)watch^[d] with me.” ³⁹ And going a little farther he fell on his face ^(BH)and prayed, saying, “My Father, if it be possible, let ^(BI)this cup pass from me; ^(BJ)nevertheless, not as I will, but as you will.” ⁴⁰ And he came to the disciples and found them sleeping. And he said to Peter, “So, could you not watch with me one hour? ^41 (BK)Watch and ^(BL)pray that you ^(BM)may not enter into temptation. The spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak.” ⁴² Again, for the second time, he went away and prayed, “My Father, if this cannot pass unless I drink it, ^(BN)your will be done.” ⁴³ And again he came and found them sleeping, for ^(BO)their eyes were heavy. ⁴⁴ So, leaving them again, he went away and prayed for ^(BP)the third time, saying the same words again. ⁴⁵ Then he came to the disciples and said to them, “Sleep and take your rest later on.^[e] See, ^(BQ)the hour is at hand, and ^(BR)the Son of Man is betrayed into the hands of sinners. ⁴⁶ Rise, let us be going; see, my betrayer is at hand.”

Betrayal and Arrest of Jesus

^47 (BS)While he was still speaking, ^(BT)Judas came, one of the twelve, and with him a great crowd with swords and clubs, from the chief priests and the elders of the people. ⁴⁸ Now the betrayer had given them a sign, saying, “The one I will kiss is the man; seize him.” ⁴⁹ And he came up to Jesus at once and said, “Greetings, ^(BU)Rabbi!” And he kissed him. ⁵⁰ Jesus said to him, ^(BV)“Friend, ^(BW)do what you came to do.”^[f] Then they came up and laid hands on Jesus and seized him. ⁵¹ And behold, one of those who were with Jesus stretched out his hand and drew his ^(BX)sword and struck the servant^[g] of the high priest and cut off his ear. ⁵² Then Jesus said to him, “Put your sword back into its place. For ^(BY)all who take the sword will perish by the sword. ^53 (BZ)Do you think that I cannot appeal to my Father, and he will at once send me ^(CA)more than twelve ^(CB)legions of angels? ^54 (CC)But how then should the Scriptures be fulfilled, that it must be so?” ⁵⁵ At that hour Jesus said to the crowds, “Have you come out as against a robber, with swords and clubs to capture me? Day after day ^(CD)I sat in the temple ^(CE)teaching, and you did not seize me. ⁵⁶ But ^(CF)all this has taken place that the Scriptures of the prophets might be fulfilled.” ^(CG)Then all the disciples left him and fled.

Jesus Before Caiaphas and the Council

^57 (CH)Then ^(CI)those who had seized Jesus led him to ^(CJ)Caiaphas the high priest, where the scribes and the elders had gathered. ⁵⁸ And ^(CK)Peter was following him at a distance, as far as ^(CL)the courtyard of the high priest, and going inside he sat with ^(CM)the guards to see the end. ⁵⁹ Now the chief priests and the whole council^{[h] (CN)}were seeking false testimony against Jesus that they might put him to death, ⁶⁰ but they found none, ^(CO)though many false witnesses came forward. At last ^(CP)two came forward ⁶¹ and said, “This man said, ^(CQ)‘I am able to ^(CR)destroy the temple of God, and to rebuild it in three days.’” ⁶² And the high priest stood up and said, “Have you no answer to make? What is it that these men testify against you?”^{[i] 63 (CS)}But Jesus remained silent. ^(CT)And the high priest said to him, ^(CU)“I adjure you by ^(CV)the living God, ^(CW)tell us if you are ^(CX)the Christ, ^(CY)the Son of God.” ⁶⁴ Jesus said to him, ^(CZ)“You have said so. But I tell you, from now on ^(DA)you will see the Son of Man ^(DB)seated at the right hand of Power and ^(DC)coming on the clouds of heaven.” ⁶⁵ Then the high priest ^(DD)tore his robes and said, ^(DE)“He has uttered blasphemy. What further witnesses do we need? You have now heard his blasphemy. ⁶⁶ What is your judgment?” They answered, ^(DF)“He deserves death.” ⁶⁷ Then ^(DG)they spit in his face ^(DH)and ^(DI)struck him. And some slapped him, ⁶⁸ saying, “Prophesy to us, you ^(DJ)Christ! Who is it that struck you?”

Peter Denies Jesus

^69 (DK)Now Peter was sitting outside ^(DL)in the courtyard. And a servant girl came up to him and said, “You also were with Jesus the Galilean.” ⁷⁰ But he denied it before them all, saying, “I do not know what you mean.” ⁷¹ And when he went out to the entrance, another servant girl saw him, and she said to the bystanders, “This man was with Jesus ^(DM)of Nazareth.” ⁷² And again he denied it with an oath: “I do not know the man.” ⁷³ After a little while the bystanders came up and said to Peter, “Certainly you too are one of them, for ^(DN)your accent betrays you.” ⁷⁴ Then he began to invoke a curse on himself and to swear, “I do not know the man.” And immediately the rooster crowed. ⁷⁵ And Peter remembered the saying of Jesus, ^(DO)“Before the rooster crows, you will ^(DP)deny me three times.” And he went out and wept bitterly.

Jesus Delivered to Pilate

27 ^(DQ)When morning came, all the chief priests and the elders of the people ^(DR)took counsel against Jesus to put him to death. ² And they bound him and ^(DS)led him away and ^(DT)delivered him over to ^(DU)Pilate the governor.

Judas Hangs Himself

³ Then when ^(DV)Judas, his betrayer, saw that Jesus^[j] was condemned, ^(DW)he changed his mind and brought back ^(DX)the thirty pieces of silver to the chief priests and the elders, ⁴ saying, “I have sinned by betraying innocent blood.” They said, “What is that to us? ^(DY)See to it yourself.” ⁵ And throwing down the pieces of silver into the temple, ^(DZ)he departed, and he went and hanged himself. ⁶ But the chief priests, taking the pieces of silver, said, “It is not lawful to put them into ^(EA)the treasury, since it is blood money.” ⁷ So they took counsel and bought with them the potter's field as a burial place for strangers. ⁸ Therefore ^(EB)that field has been called the Field of Blood ^(EC)to this day. ^9 (ED)Then was fulfilled what had been spoken by the prophet Jeremiah, saying, ^(EE)“And they took the thirty pieces of silver, the price of him on whom a price had been set by some of the sons of Israel, ¹⁰ and they gave them for the potter's field, as the Lord directed me.”

Jesus Before Pilate

^11 (EF)Now Jesus stood before the governor, and the governor asked him, “Are you ^(EG)the King of the Jews?” Jesus said, ^(EH)“You have said so.” ^12 (EI)But when he was accused by the chief priests and elders, he gave no answer. ¹³ Then Pilate said to him, ^(EJ)“Do you not hear how many things they testify against you?” ¹⁴ But he gave him no answer, not even to a single charge, so that the governor was greatly amazed.

The Crowd Chooses Barabbas

^15 (EK)Now at the feast the governor was accustomed to release for the crowd any one prisoner whom they wanted. ¹⁶ And they had then a notorious prisoner called Barabbas. ¹⁷ So when they had gathered, Pilate said to them, “Whom do you want me to release for you: Barabbas, or ^(EL)Jesus who is called Christ?” ¹⁸ For he knew that it was out ^(EM)of envy that they had delivered him up. ¹⁹ Besides, while he was sitting on ^(EN)the judgment seat, his wife sent word to him, “Have nothing to do with ^(EO)that righteous man, for I have suffered much because of him today ^(EP)in a dream.” ²⁰ Now the chief priests and the elders persuaded the crowd to ^(EQ)ask for Barabbas and destroy Jesus. ²¹ The governor again said to them, “Which of the two do you want me to release for you?” And they said, “Barabbas.” ²² Pilate said to them, “Then what shall I do with Jesus who is called Christ?” ^(ER)They all said, “Let him be crucified!” ²³ And he said, “Why? ^(ES)What evil has he done?” But they shouted all the more, “Let him be crucified!”

Pilate Delivers Jesus to Be Crucified

²⁴ So when Pilate saw that he was gaining nothing, but rather that ^(ET)a riot was beginning, he took water and ^(EU)washed his hands before the crowd, saying, “I am innocent of ^(EV)this man's blood;^{[k] (EW)}see to it yourselves.” ²⁵ And all the people answered, ^(EX)“His blood be on us and ^(EY)on our children!” ²⁶ Then he released for them Barabbas, and having ^(EZ)scourged^[l] Jesus, delivered him to be crucified.

Jesus Is Mocked

^27 (FA)Then the soldiers of the governor took Jesus into the ^(FB)governor's headquarters,^[m] and they gathered the whole ^(FC)battalion^[n] before him. ²⁸ And they stripped him and put ^(FD)a scarlet robe on him, ²⁹ and twisting together a crown of thorns, they put it on his head and put a reed in his right hand. And kneeling before him, they ^(FE)mocked him, saying, “Hail, ^(FF)King of the Jews!” ³⁰ And ^(FG)they spit on him and took the reed and struck him on the head. ³¹ And when they had mocked him, they stripped him of the robe and put his own clothes on him and ^(FH)led him away to crucify him.

The Crucifixion

^32 (FI)(FJ)As they went out, they found a man of Cyrene, Simon by name. They compelled this man to ^(FK)carry his cross. ^33 (FL)And when they came to a place called Golgotha (which means Place of a Skull), ^34 (FM)they offered him wine to drink, mixed with ^(FN)gall, but when he tasted it, he would not drink it. ³⁵ And when they had crucified him, ^(FO)they divided his garments among them by casting lots. ³⁶ Then they sat down and ^(FP)kept watch over him there. ³⁷ And over his head they put the charge against him, which read, “This is Jesus, ^(FQ)the King of the Jews.” ³⁸ Then two ^(FR)robbers were crucified with him, ^(FS)one on the right and one on the left. ³⁹ And ^(FT)those who passed by ^(FU)derided him, ^(FV)wagging their heads ⁴⁰ and saying, ^(FW)“You who would destroy the temple and rebuild it in three days, save yourself! ^(FX)If you are ^(FY)the Son of God, come down from the cross.” ⁴¹ So also the chief priests, with the scribes and elders, mocked him, saying, ^42 (FZ)“He saved others; ^(GA)he cannot save himself. ^(GB)He is the King of Israel; let him come down now from the cross, and we will believe in him. ^43 (GC)He trusts in God; let God deliver him now, if he desires him. For he said, ‘I am the Son of God.’” ^44 (GD)And the robbers who were crucified with him also reviled him in the same way.

The Death of Jesus

⁴⁵ Now from the sixth hour^[o] there was darkness over all the land^[p] until the ninth hour.^{[q] 46} And about the ninth hour Jesus ^(GE)cried out with a loud voice, saying, ^(GF)“Eli, Eli, lema sabachthani?” that is, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” ⁴⁷ And some of the bystanders, hearing it, said, “This man is calling Elijah.” ⁴⁸ And one of them at once ran and took a sponge, filled it with ^(GG)sour wine, and put it on a reed and ^(GH)gave it to him to drink. ⁴⁹ But the others said, “Wait, let us see whether Elijah will come to save him.” ⁵⁰ And Jesus ^(GI)cried out again with a loud voice and ^(GJ)yielded up his spirit.

⁵¹ And behold, ^(GK)the curtain of the temple was torn in two, from top to bottom. And ^(GL)the earth shook, and the rocks were split. ⁵² The tombs also were opened. And many bodies of ^(GM)the saints ^(GN)who had fallen asleep were raised, ⁵³ and coming out of the tombs after his resurrection they went into ^(GO)the holy city and appeared to many. ^54 (GP)When the centurion and those who were with him, ^(GQ)keeping watch over Jesus, saw the earthquake and what took place, they were filled with awe and said, ^(GR)“Truly this was the Son^[r] of God!”

⁵⁵ There were also ^(GS)many women there, looking on ^(GT)from a distance, who had followed Jesus from Galilee, ^(GU)ministering to him, ⁵⁶ among whom were ^(GV)Mary Magdalene and Mary the mother of James and Joseph and ^(GW)the mother of the sons of Zebedee.

Jesus Is Buried

^57 (GX)When it was evening, there came a rich man from Arimathea, named Joseph, who also was a disciple of Jesus. ⁵⁸ He went to Pilate and asked for the body of Jesus. Then Pilate ordered it to be given to him. ⁵⁹ And Joseph took the body and wrapped it in a clean linen shroud ⁶⁰ and ^(GY)laid it in his own new tomb, ^(GZ)which he had cut in the rock. And he rolled ^(HA)a great stone to the entrance of the tomb and went away. ⁶¹ Mary Magdalene and ^(HB)the other Mary were there, sitting opposite the tomb.

The Guard at the Tomb

⁶² The next day, that is, after the day of ^(HC)Preparation, the chief priests and the Pharisees gathered before Pilate ⁶³ and said, “Sir, we remember how ^(HD)that impostor said, while he was still alive, ^(HE)‘After three days I will rise.’ ⁶⁴ Therefore order the tomb to be made secure until the third day, ^(HF)lest his disciples go and steal him away and tell the people, ‘He has risen from the dead,’ and the last fraud will be worse than the first.” ⁶⁵ Pilate said to them, “You have ^(HG)a guard^[s] of soldiers. Go, make it as secure as you can.” ⁶⁶ So they went and made the tomb secure by ^(HH)sealing the stone and setting a guard.

The Resurrection

28 ^(HI)Now after the Sabbath, toward the dawn of the first day of the week, Mary Magdalene and ^(HJ)the other Mary went to see the tomb. ² And behold, there was a great earthquake, for ^(HK)an angel of the Lord descended from heaven and came and rolled back the stone and sat on it. ^3 (HL)His appearance was like lightning, and ^(HM)his clothing white as snow. ⁴ And for fear of him the guards trembled and ^(HN)became like dead men. ⁵ But the angel said to the women, “Do not be afraid, for I know that you seek Jesus who was crucified. ⁶ He is not here, for he has risen, ^(HO)as he said. Come, see the place where he^[t] lay. ⁷ Then go quickly and tell his disciples that he has risen from the dead, and behold, ^(HP)he is going before you to Galilee; there you will see him. See, I have told you.” ⁸ So they departed quickly from the tomb ^(HQ)with fear and great joy, and ran to tell his disciples. ⁹ And behold, Jesus ^(HR)met them and said, “Greetings!” And they came up and ^(HS)took hold of his feet and ^(HT)worshiped him. ¹⁰ Then Jesus said to them, “Do not be afraid; ^(HU)go and tell ^(HV)my brothers to go to Galilee, and there they will see me.”

The Report of the Guard

¹¹ While they were going, behold, some of ^(HW)the guard went into the city and told the chief priests all that had taken place. ¹² And when they had assembled with the elders and taken counsel, they gave a sufficient sum of money to the soldiers ¹³ and said, “Tell people, ^(HX)‘His disciples came by night and stole him away while we were asleep.’ ¹⁴ And if this comes to ^(HY)the governor's ears, we will ^(HZ)satisfy him and keep you out of trouble.” ¹⁵ So they took the money and did as they were directed. And this story has been spread among the Jews ^(IA)to this day.

The Great Commission

¹⁶ Now the eleven disciples ^(IB)went to Galilee, to the mountain to which Jesus had directed them. ¹⁷ And when they saw him they ^(IC)worshiped him, but some doubted. ¹⁸ And Jesus came and said to them, ^(ID)“All authority ^(IE)in heaven and on earth has been given to me. ^19 (IF)Go therefore and ^(IG)make disciples of ^(IH)all nations, ^(II)baptizing them ^(IJ)in^{[u] (IK)}the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, ²⁰ teaching them ^(IL)to observe all that ^(IM)I have commanded you. And behold, ^(IN)I am with you always, to ^(IO)the end of the age.”

John the Baptist Prepares the Way

1 The beginning of the gospel of Jesus Christ, ^(A)the Son of God.^[a]

^2 (B)As it is written in Isaiah the prophet,^[b]

^4 (F)John appeared, baptizing in ^(G)the wilderness and proclaiming ^(H)a baptism of ^(I)repentance ^(J)for the forgiveness of sins. ⁵ And all the country of Judea and all Jerusalem were going out to him and were being baptized by him in the river Jordan, ^(K)confessing their sins. ⁶ Now John was ^(L)clothed with camel's hair and ^(M)wore a leather belt around his waist and ate ^(N)locusts and ^(O)wild honey. ⁷ And he preached, saying, ^(P)“After me comes he who is mightier than I, the strap of whose sandals I am not worthy to stoop down and untie. ^8 (Q)I have baptized you with water, but ^(R)he will baptize you with the Holy Spirit.”

The Baptism of Jesus

^9 (S)In those days Jesus ^(T)came from Nazareth of Galilee and was baptized by John in the Jordan. ¹⁰ And when he came up out of the water, immediately he ^(U)saw ^(V)the heavens being torn open ^(W)and the Spirit descending on him like a dove. ¹¹ And ^(X)a voice came from heaven, ^(Y)“You are my beloved Son;^[d] with you I am well pleased.”

The Temptation of Jesus

^12 (Z)The Spirit immediately drove him out into the wilderness. ^13 (AA)And he was in the wilderness forty days, being ^(AB)tempted by ^(AC)Satan. And he was with the wild animals, and ^(AD)the angels were ministering to him.

Jesus Begins His Ministry

^14 (AE)Now after John was arrested, Jesus ^(AF)came into Galilee, proclaiming the gospel of God, ¹⁵ and saying, ^(AG)“The time is fulfilled, and ^(AH)the kingdom of God is at hand;^{[e] (AI)}repent and believe in the gospel.”

Jesus Calls the First Disciples

^16 (AJ)Passing alongside the Sea of Galilee, he saw Simon and Andrew the brother of Simon casting a net into the sea, for they were fishermen. ¹⁷ And Jesus said to them, “Follow me, and I will make you become ^(AK)fishers of men.”^{[f] 18} And immediately they left their nets and followed him. ¹⁹ And going on a little farther, he saw James the son of Zebedee and John his brother, who were in their boat mending the nets. ²⁰ And immediately he called them, and they left their father Zebedee in the boat with the hired servants and followed him.

Jesus Heals a Man with an Unclean Spirit

^21 (AL)And they went into Capernaum, and immediately ^(AM)on the Sabbath ^(AN)he entered the synagogue and was teaching. ²² And ^(AO)they were astonished at his teaching, ^(AP)for he taught them as one who had authority, and not as the scribes. ²³ And immediately there was in their synagogue a man with an unclean spirit. And he cried out, ^24 (AQ)“What have you to do with us, Jesus of Nazareth? Have you come to destroy us? ^(AR)I know who you are—^(AS)the Holy One of God.” ²⁵ But Jesus ^(AT)rebuked him, saying, “Be silent, and come out of him!” ²⁶ And the unclean spirit, ^(AU)convulsing him and ^(AV)crying out with a loud voice, came out of him. ²⁷ And they were all ^(AW)amazed, so that they questioned among themselves, saying, “What is this? ^(AX)A new teaching with authority! He commands even the unclean spirits, and they obey him.” ²⁸ And at once his fame spread everywhere throughout all the surrounding region of Galilee.

Jesus Heals Many

^29 (AY)And immediately he^{[g] (AZ)}left the synagogue and entered the house of Simon and Andrew, with James and John. ³⁰ Now ^(BA)Simon's mother-in-law lay ill with a fever, and immediately they told him about her. ³¹ And he came and ^(BB)took her by the hand and lifted her up, and the fever left her, and she began to serve them.

³² That evening at sundown they brought to him all who were sick or ^(BC)oppressed by demons. ³³ And the whole city was gathered together at the door. ^34 (BD)And he healed many who were sick with various diseases, and cast out many demons. And ^(BE)he would not permit the demons to speak, because they knew him.

Jesus Preaches in Galilee

^35 (BF)And rising very early in the morning, while it was still dark, he departed and went out to a desolate place, and ^(BG)there he prayed. ³⁶ And Simon and those who were with him searched for him, ³⁷ and they found him and said to him, ^(BH)“Everyone is looking for you.” ³⁸ And he said to them, “Let us go on to the next towns, that I may preach there also, for ^(BI)that is why I came out.” ^39 (BJ)And ^(BK)he went throughout all Galilee, preaching in their synagogues and casting out demons.

Jesus Cleanses a Leper

^40 (BL)And a leper^[h] came to him, imploring him, and ^(BM)kneeling said to him, ^(BN)“If you will, you can make me clean.” ⁴¹ Moved with pity, he stretched out his hand and touched him and said to him, “I will; be clean.” ⁴² And immediately the leprosy left him, and he was made clean. ⁴³ And ^(BO)Jesus^[i] sternly charged him and sent him away at once, ⁴⁴ and said to him, ^(BP)“See that you say nothing to anyone, but go, ^(BQ)show yourself to the priest and ^(BR)offer for your cleansing what Moses commanded, ^(BS)for a proof to them.” ^45 (BT)But he went out and began to talk freely about it, and to spread the news, so that Jesus could no longer openly enter ^(BU)a town, but was out in ^(BV)desolate places, and ^(BW)people were coming to him from every quarter.

Jesus Heals a Paralytic

2 And when he returned to ^(BX)Capernaum after some days, it was reported that he was at home. ² And many were gathered together, so that there was no more room, not even at the door. And he was preaching the word to them. ^3 (BY)And they came, bringing to him a paralytic carried by four men. ⁴ And when they could not get near him because of the crowd, ^(BZ)they removed the roof above him, and when they had made an opening, they let down the bed on which the paralytic lay. ⁵ And when Jesus ^(CA)saw their faith, he said to the paralytic, “Son, ^(CB)your sins are forgiven.” ⁶ Now some of the scribes were sitting there, questioning in their hearts, ⁷ “Why does this man speak like that? ^(CC)He is blaspheming! ^(CD)Who can forgive sins but God alone?” ⁸ And immediately Jesus, ^(CE)perceiving in his spirit that they thus questioned within themselves, said to them, “Why do you question these things in your hearts? ⁹ Which is easier, to say to the paralytic, ‘Your sins are forgiven,’ or to say, ‘Rise, take up your bed and walk’? ¹⁰ But that you may know that ^(CF)the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins”—he said to the paralytic— ¹¹ “I say to you, rise, pick up your bed, and go home.” ¹² And he rose and immediately picked up his bed and went out before them all, so that they were all amazed and ^(CG)glorified God, saying, “We never saw anything like this!”

Jesus Calls Levi

¹³ He went out again beside the sea, and ^(CH)all the crowd was coming to him, and he was teaching them. ^14 (CI)And as he passed by, he saw ^(CJ)Levi the son of Alphaeus sitting at the tax booth, and he said to him, “Follow me.” And he rose and followed him.

¹⁵ And as he reclined at table in his house, many ^(CK)tax collectors and sinners were reclining with Jesus and his disciples, for there were many who followed him. ¹⁶ And ^(CL)the scribes of^[j] the Pharisees, when they saw that he was eating with sinners and tax collectors, said to his disciples, ^(CM)“Why does he eat^[k] with tax collectors and sinners?” ¹⁷ And when Jesus heard it, he said to them, “Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick. ^(CN)I came not to call the righteous, ^(CO)but sinners.”

A Question About Fasting

¹⁸ Now ^(CP)John's disciples and the Pharisees were fasting. And people came and said to him, ^(CQ)“Why do John's disciples and ^(CR)the disciples of the Pharisees fast, but your disciples do not fast?” ¹⁹ And Jesus said to them, ^(CS)“Can the wedding guests fast while the bridegroom is with them? As long as they have the bridegroom with them, they cannot fast. ^20 (CT)The days will come when the bridegroom is taken away from them, and ^(CU)then they will fast in that day. ²¹ No one sews a piece of unshrunk cloth on an old garment. If he does, the patch tears away from it, the new from the old, and a worse tear is made. ²² And no one puts new wine into old ^(CV)wineskins. If he does, the wine will burst the skins—and the wine is destroyed, and so are the skins. But new wine is for fresh wineskins.”^[l]

Jesus Is Lord of the Sabbath

^23 (CW)One Sabbath he was going through the grainfields, and as they made their way, his disciples ^(CX)began to pluck heads of grain. ²⁴ And the Pharisees were saying to him, “Look, ^(CY)why are they doing ^(CZ)what is not lawful on the Sabbath?” ²⁵ And he said to them, ^(DA)“Have you never read ^(DB)what David did, when he was in need and was hungry, he and those who were with him: ²⁶ how he entered the house of God, in the time of^{[m] (DC)}Abiathar the high priest, and ate ^(DD)the bread of the Presence, which it is not lawful for any but the priests to eat, and also gave it to those who were with him?” ²⁷ And he said to them, ^(DE)“The Sabbath was made for man, ^(DF)not man for the Sabbath. ²⁸ So ^(DG)the Son of Man is lord even of the Sabbath.”