And it *happened that He was reclining at the table in his house, and many tax collectors and sinners were dining with Jesus and His disciples; for there were many of them, and they were following Him.

When the scribes of the Pharisees saw that He was eating with the sinners and tax collectors, they said to His disciples, “Why is He eating with tax collectors and sinners?”

And hearing this, Jesus *said to them, “It is not those who are healthy who need a physician, but those who are sick; I did not come to call the righteous, but sinners.”

John’s disciples and the Pharisees were fasting; and they *came and *said to Him, “Why do John’s disciples and the disciples of the Pharisees fast, but Your disciples do not fast?”

And Jesus said to them, “While the groom is with them, the attendants of the groom cannot fast, can they? As long as they have the groom with them, they cannot fast.

“No one sews a patch of unshrunk cloth on an old garment; otherwise, the patch pulls away from it, the new from the old, and a worse tear results.

And no one puts new wine into old wineskins; otherwise the wine will burst the skins, and the wine is lost and the skins as well; but one puts new wine into fresh wineskins.”

Question of the Sabbath

And it happened that He was passing through the grainfields on the Sabbath, and His disciples began to make their way along while picking the heads of grain.

The Pharisees were saying to Him, “Look, why are they doing what is not lawful on the Sabbath?”

And He *said to them, “Have you never read what David did when he was in need and he and his companions became hungry;

Jesus said to them, “The Sabbath was made for man, and not man for the Sabbath.

So the Son of Man is Lord, even of the Sabbath.”

Jesus Heals on the Sabbath

He entered a synagogue again; and a man was there whose hand was withered.

And they were watching Him closely to see if He would heal him on the Sabbath, so that they might accuse Him.

He *said to the man with the withered hand, “Get up and come forward!”

And He *said to them, “Is it lawful to do good on the Sabbath or to do harm, to save a life or to kill?” But they kept silent.

After looking around at them with anger, grieved at their hardness of heart, He *said to the man, “Stretch out your hand.” And he stretched it out, and his hand was restored.

Jesus withdrew to the sea with His disciples; and a large multitude from Galilee followed, and also from Judea,

and from Jerusalem, and from Idumea, and beyond the Jordan, and the vicinity of Tyre and Sidon, a great number of people heard about everything that He was doing and came to Him.

And He told His disciples to see that a boat would be ready for Him because of the masses, so that they would not crowd Him;

And whenever the unclean spirits saw Him, they would fall down before Him and shout, “You are the Son of God!”

And He strongly warned them not to reveal who He was.

The Twelve Are Chosen

And He *went up on the mountain and *summoned those whom He Himself wanted, and they came to Him.

And He appointed twelve, so that they would be with Him and that He could send them out to preach,

And He appointed the twelve: Simon (to whom He gave the name Peter),