Jesus Heals a Paralytic
A few days later, Jesus returned to Capernaum. When people heard he was back home, they came in such huge crowds that there was no space left anywhere—not even outside the door—while Jesus taught them God's message. Some men arrived carrying a paralyzed man on a stretcher, but they couldn't get through the crowd to reach Jesus. So they climbed up on the roof above where Jesus was teaching, tore a hole through it, and lowered their paralyzed friend down on his mat right in front of Jesus. When Jesus saw how much faith these men had, he looked at the paralyzed man and said, "Son, your sins are forgiven." Some religious teachers were sitting there, and they began thinking to themselves, "Why does he talk like this? This is blasphemy! Only God can forgive sins—no one else!" Jesus immediately knew in his spirit what they were thinking. He asked them, "Why are you having these thoughts? Which is easier—to tell a paralyzed man 'Your sins are forgiven,' or to tell him 'Stand up, pick up your mat, and walk'? But I want you to know that the Son of Man has the power on earth to forgive sins." Then Jesus turned to the paralyzed man and said, "I'm telling you—get up, pick up your mat, and go home." The man immediately stood up, picked up his mat, and walked out in front of everyone. All the people were completely amazed and praised God, saying, "We have never seen anything like this before!"
The Calling of Levi
Jesus went out to the shore of the lake again. Crowds of people came to him there, and he taught them. As he walked along, he noticed Levi, the son of Alphaeus, sitting at his tax collection booth. Jesus said to him, "Come, follow me." Levi stood up immediately and went with him. Later, Jesus was having dinner at Levi's house. Many tax collectors and other people who lived sinful lives were eating with Jesus and his disciples. There were actually quite a few people like this who had begun following Jesus. Some religious teachers who belonged to the Pharisee group saw Jesus eating with these kinds of people. They went to his disciples and asked, "Why does your teacher eat with tax collectors and sinners?" Jesus heard what they were saying and answered them directly. "People who are well don't need a doctor," he said. "Only sick people do. I didn't come to call people who think they're already good enough. I came to call sinners."
A Question About Fasting
At that time, John the Baptist's followers and the religious teachers called Pharisees were regularly going without food as a spiritual practice. Some people came to Jesus with a question that was bothering them: "Why don't your followers fast and go without food like John's followers and the Pharisees do?" Jesus answered them with a picture they would understand: "Think about a wedding celebration. Can you imagine the wedding guests refusing to eat while the groom is right there celebrating with them? Of course not! As long as the groom is present, the guests feast and celebrate. They can't fast during a wedding party." Then Jesus's voice grew more serious: "But there will come a time when the groom will be taken away from them. When that day comes, then they will fast." Jesus wanted them to understand something deeper, so he gave them two more examples. "Nobody takes a piece of new, unwashed cloth and sews it onto an old piece of clothing. If you do that, the new cloth will shrink when it gets wet, and it will tear away from the old fabric, making an even bigger hole than before." He continued with another picture: "And nobody pours fresh, new wine into old leather wine containers. If you try that, the new wine will expand as it ferments, and it will burst the old, worn-out skins. Then you lose both the wine and the containers—everything is ruined. No, when you have new wine, you put it into new wineskins that can stretch and grow with it."
Lord of the Sabbath
One Sabbath day, Jesus was walking through some grain fields with his disciples. As they walked along the path, his disciples began picking heads of grain to eat. The Pharisees saw this and said to Jesus, "Look at what your disciples are doing! Why are they breaking the law by harvesting grain on the Sabbath?" Jesus answered them, "Haven't you ever read about what David did when he and his men were hungry and desperate for food? When Abiathar was the high priest, David went into God's house and ate the sacred bread that only priests were allowed to eat. He even shared it with the men who were with him." Then Jesus told them, "The Sabbath day was created to help people, not to burden them. People weren't made to serve the Sabbath. So the Son of Man has authority over the Sabbath too."