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Jesus Heals a Paralytic
1 And He entered again into Capernaum after some days, and it was heard that He was in a certain house. 2 And immediately many were gathered together, so that there was no longer any room, not even near the door. And He was speaking the word to them. 3 And they came to Him, bringing a paralytic being carried by four men. 4 And not being able to get near Him because of the crowd, they removed the tiles from the roof where He was, and having dug through they let down the bed on which the paralytic was lying.
5 And Jesus, seeing their faith, He said to the paralytic, “Child, your sins have been forgiven you.”
6 And some of the scribes were sitting there and reasoning in their hearts, 7 “Why does this Man speak blasphemies like this? Who is able to forgive sins except God alone?” 8 And immediately, when Jesus recognized in His spirit that they were reasoning thus among themselves, He said to them, “Why are you reasoning these things in your hearts? 9 Which is easier, to say to the paralytic, ‘Your sins have been forgiven,’ or to say, ‘Arise, take up your bed and walk’? 10 But in order that you may know that the Son of Man has authority on the earth to forgive sins”—He said to the paralytic, 11 “I say to you, arise, and take up your bed, and go to your house.” 12 And immediately he arose, and taking his bed, he went out before them all, so that all were amazed and glorified God, saying, “We never saw anything like this!”
Jesus Calls Levi (Matthew)
13 Then He went out again alongside the sea; and all the crowd was coming to Him, and He was teaching them. 14 And passing by, He saw Levi the son of Alphaeus sitting at the tax office, and He said to him, “Follow Me.” And arising, he followed Him.
15 Now it came about, as He was dining in Levi's house, that many tax collectors and sinners were dining together with Jesus and His disciples; for there were many, and they followed Him. 16 And the scribes and Pharisees, seeing Him eating with the tax collectors and sinners, said to His disciples, “Why does He eat and drink with tax collectors and sinners?”
17 When Jesus heard it, He said to them, “Those who are healthy have no need of a physician, but those who are sick. I did not come to call the righteous, but sinners, to repentance.”
The Question about Fasting
18 And the disciples of John and of the Pharisees were fasting. Then they came and said to Him, “Why do the disciples of John and of the Pharisees fast, but Your disciples do not fast?”
19 And Jesus said to them, “Can the friends of the bridegroom fast while the bridegroom is with them? As long as they have the bridegroom with them they are not able to fast. 20 But the days shall come when the bridegroom shall be taken away from them, and then they shall fast in those days. 21 No one sews a patch of a piece of new cloth on an old garment; or else the new piece pulls away from the old, and the tear becomes worse. 22 And no one puts new wine into old wineskins; otherwise the new wine bursts the wineskins, the wine spills out, and the wineskins will be ruined. But new wine must be put into new wineskins.”
Jesus is Lord of the Sabbath
23 Now it came about as He was going through the grain fields on the Sabbath, that His disciples began to make their way picking the heads of grain. 24 And the Pharisees said to Him, “Look, why do they do what is not lawful on the Sabbath?”
25 But He said to them, “Have you never read what David did when he was in need, and became hungry, he and those with him? 26 How he entered into the house of God at the time Abiathar was high priest, and ate the showbread, which is not lawful to eat, except for the priests, and also gave to those who were with him?”
27 And He said to them, “The Sabbath was made for man, and not man for the Sabbath. 28 So then the Son of Man is Lord, even of the Sabbath.”