Mar 2 | HCSB | STEP | When He entered Capernaum again after some days , it was reported that He was at home .

‏ Mark 2

The Son of Man Forgives and Heals

1 When ^a He entered Capernaum ^b again after some days, it was reported that He was at home. 2 So many people gathered together that there was no more room, not even in the doorway, and He was speaking the message ^c to them. 3 Then they came to Him bringing a paralytic, ^d carried by four men. 4 Since they were not able to bring him to ^{▼▼Other mss read able to get near} Jesus because of the crowd, they removed the roof above where He was. And when they had broken through, they lowered the mat on which the paralytic was lying.

5 Seeing their faith, ^f Jesus told the paralytic, “Son, your sins ^g are forgiven.” ^h

6 But some of the ^{▼▼scribe(s): A professional group in Judaism that copied the law of Moses and interpreted it, especially in legal cases}scribes ^j were sitting there, thinking ^k to themselves: ^{▼▼Or thinking in their hearts} 7 “Why does He speak like this? He’s blaspheming! ^m Who can forgive ⁿ sins ^o but God alone?” ^p

8 Right away ^q Jesus understood in His spirit ^r that they were thinking like this within themselves and said to them, “Why are you thinking these things in your hearts? ^{▼▼Or minds} 9 Which is easier: ^t to say to the paralytic, ^u ‘Your sins are forgiven,’ or to say, ‘Get up, pick up your mat, and walk’? ^v 10 But so you may know that the ^{▼▼Son of Man: The most frequent title Jesus used for Himself; Dn 7:13}Son of Man ^x has authority ^y on earth to forgive sins,” ^z He told the paralytic, 11 “I tell you: get up, ^aa pick up your mat, and go home.”

12 Immediately he got up, picked up the mat, and went out in front of everyone. As a result, they were all astounded ^ab and gave glory ^ac to God, ^ad saying, “We have never seen anything like this!” ^ae

The Call of Matthew

13 Then ^af Jesus went out again beside the sea. The whole crowd was coming to Him, and He taught ^ag them. 14 Then, moving on, He saw Levi ^ah the son of Alphaeus sitting at the tax office, ^ai and He said to him, “Follow Me!” ^aj So he got up and followed ^ak Him.

Dining with Sinners

15 While He was reclining at the table in Levi’s house, many tax collectors ^al and sinners ^am were also guests ^{▼▼Lit reclining (at the table); at important meals the custom was to recline on a mat at a low table and lean on the left elbow.
,} ^ao with Jesus and His disciples, because there were many who were following Him. 16 When the scribes ^ap of the ^{▼▼Pharisee(s): In Judaism a religious sect that followed the whole written and oral law}Pharisees ^{▼▼Other mss read scribes and Pharisees
,} ^as saw that He was eating ^at with sinners ^au and tax collectors, ^av they asked His disciples, “Why does He eat ^{▼▼Other mss add and drink} with tax collectors and sinners?”

17 When Jesus heard this, He told them, “Those who are well don’t need ^ax a doctor, ^ay but the sick ^az do need one. I didn’t come to call the righteous, ^ba but sinners.” ^bb

A Question about Fasting

18 Now ^bc John’s ^bd disciples ^be and the Pharisees ^{▼▼Other mss read the disciples of John and of the Pharisees
,} ^bg were fasting. ^bh People came and asked Him, “Why do John’s disciples and the Pharisees’ disciples fast, but Your disciples do not fast?”

19 Jesus said to them, “The wedding guests ^{▼▼Lit The sons of the bridal chamber} cannot fast while the groom ^bj is with them, can they? As long as they have the groom with them, they cannot fast. 20 But the time ^{▼▼Lit the days} will come ^bl when the groom is taken away from them, ^bm and then they will fast ^bn in that day. 21 No one sews a patch of unshrunk cloth on an old garment. Otherwise, the new patch pulls away from the old cloth, ^bo and a worse tear is made. 22 And no one puts new wine ^bp into old wineskins. Otherwise, the wine will burst ^bq the skins, and the wine is lost as well as the skins. ^{▼▼Other mss read the wine spills out and the skins will be ruined} But new wine is for fresh wineskins.”

Lord of the Sabbath

23 On ^bs the Sabbath He was going through the grainfields, and His disciples ^bt began to make their way picking some heads of grain. 24 The Pharisees ^bu said to Him, “Look, why are they doing what is not lawful ^bv on the Sabbath?”

25 He said to them, “Have you never read what David ^bw and those who were with him did when he was in need ^bx and hungry ^by – 26 how he entered the house of God in the time of Abiathar ^bz the high priest ^ca and ate the ^{▼▼sacred bread: Literally bread of presentation; 12 loaves, representing the 12 tribes of Israel, put on the table in the holy place in the tabernacle, and later in the temple. The priests ate the previous week's loaves; Ex 25:30; 29:32; Lv 24:5-9.}sacred bread ^cc – which is not lawful for anyone to eat except the priests ^cd – and also gave some to his companions?” 27 Then He told them, “The Sabbath was made for ^{▼▼Or because of} man and not man for ^{▼▼Or because of} the Sabbath. ^cg 28 Therefore, the Son of Man ^ch is Lord ^ci even of the Sabbath.” ^cj