Jesus Heals a Crippled Man (Mk. 2:1-12; Lk. 5:17-26)

9 ¹Jesus got into a boat and went back across the lake to his own town. ²Some people brought to Jesus a man that was paralyzed (crippled). The man was lying on his bed. Jesus saw that these people had much faith. So Jesus said to the paralyzed man, "Be happy, young man. Your sins are forgiven." ³Some of the teachers of the law heard this. They said to themselves, "This man (Jesus) speaks like he is God--that is blasphemy.*" ⁴Jesus knew they were thinking this. So Jesus said, "Why are you thinking such evil thoughts? ^5-6The Son of Man* has power on earth to forgive sins. But how can I prove this to you? Maybe you are thinking it was easy for me to say, 'Your sins are forgiven.' [No one could see if it really happened.] But what if I say to the man, 'Stand up. Take your bed and walk'? Then you will be able to see that I really have this power." So Jesus said to the paralyzed man, "Stand up. Take your bed and go home." ⁷And the man stood up and went home. ⁸The people saw this and they were amazed. The people praised God for giving power like this to men.

Matthew (Levi) Follows Jesus (Mk. 2:13-17; Lk. 5:27-32)

⁹When Jesus was leaving, he saw a man named Matthew. Matthew was sitting in the tax office. Jesus said to him, "Follow me." Then Matthew stood up and followed Jesus. ¹⁰Jesus ate dinner at Matthew's house. Many tax collectors* and other bad people came and ate with Jesus and his followers. ¹¹The Pharisees* saw that Jesus was eating with these people. The Pharisees asked Jesus' followers, "Why does your teacher eat with tax collectors and other bad people?" ¹²Jesus heard the Pharisees* say this. So Jesus said to the Pharisees, "Healthy people don't need a doctor. It is the sick people that need a doctor. ¹³I will tell you something. Go and learn what it means: 'I don't want animal sacrifices. I want kindness [among people].'* I did not come to invite good people. I came to invite sinners."

Jesus Is Not Like Other Religious Jews (Mk. 2:18-22; Lk. 5:33-39)

¹⁴Then the followers of John* came to Jesus. They said to Jesus, "We and the Pharisees* fast* often. But your followers don't fast. Why?" ¹⁵Jesus answered, "[When there is a wedding], the friends of the bridegroom* are not sad while he is with them. But the time will come when the bridegroom will leave them. The friends are sad when the bridegroom leaves. Then they will fast.* ¹⁶"When a person sews a patch over a hole on an old coat, he never uses a piece of cloth that is not yet shrunk. If he does, the patch will [shrink and] pull away from the coat. Then the hole will be worse. ¹⁷Also, people never pour new wine into old wine bags.* Why? Because the old bags will break. The wine will spill, and the wine bags will be ruined. But people always pour new wine into new wine bags. Then the wine and the wine bags will continue to be good."

blasphemy Saying things against God. Son of Man A name Jesus used for himself. In Dan. 7:13-14, this is the name for the Messiah, the one God chose to save his people. tax collector(s) Jews hired by the Romans to collect taxes. They often cheated, and the other Jews hated them. Pharisees The Pharisees were a Jewish religious group that claimed to follow carefully all Jewish laws and customs. 'I don't want ... people' Quote from Hos. 6:6. John John the Baptizer. He preached to people about Christ's coming (Mt. 3; Lk. 3). fast To live without food for a time of prayer or mourning. bridegroom A man that is getting married. wine bags Bags made from the skin of an animal and used for holding wine.