Mark 2
1210
cause of the c rowd. So they made a hole
by digging through the roof above Jesus.
Then they lowered the man through it on
a mat. 5 Jesus saw their faith. So he said
to the man, “Son, your sins are forgiven.”
6 Some teache rs of the law were sit
ting t here. They were thinking, 7 “Why
is this fellow talking like that? He’s say
ing a very evil t hing! Only God can for
give sins!”
8 R ight away Jesus knew what they
were thinking. So he said to them, “Why
are you thinking t hese t hings? 9 Is it
easie r to say to this man, ‘Your sins
are forg ive n’? Or to say, ‘Get up, take
your mat and walk’? 10 But I want you
to know that the Son of Man has aut hor
it y on e arth to forg ive sins.” So J esus
s poke to the man who c ould not walk.
11 “I tell you,” he said, “get up. Take your
mat and go home.” 12 The man got up
and took his mat. Then he w
alked away
while everyone watched. All the people
were a mazed. They p raised God and
said, “We have neve r seen anything
like this!”
Jesus Chooses Levi and Eats With
Sinners
13 Once a
gain J esus went out beside
the Sea of Galilee. A large crowd came
to him. He began to t each them. 14 As he
walked along he saw Levi, the son of Al
phaeus. Levi was sitt ing at the tax collec
tor’s booth. “Follow me,” Jesus told him.
Levi got up and followed him.
15 Late r Jesus was havi ng dinner at
Lev i’s h
ouse. Many tax collect ors and
sinners were eating with him and his
disc iples. They were part of the large
c rowd follow i ng Jesus. 16 Some teach
ers of the law who were Pharisees were
t here. They saw Jesus eati ng with sin
ners and tax collect ors. So they a sked
his disciples, “Why does he eat with tax
col lectors and sinners?”
17 Jesus heard that. So he said to them,
“T hose who are healthy don’t need a doc
tor. Sick people do. I have not come to get
those who t hink they are r ight with God
to follow me. I have come to get sinners
to follow me.”
Jesus Is Asked About Fasting
18 John’s dis c iples and the Phar is ees
were going without eating. Some people
came to Jesus. They said to him, “John’s
disciples are fasting. The disciples of the
Pharisees are also fasting. But your dis
ciples are not. Why a ren’t they?”
19
Jesus ans wered, “How can the
g uests of the g
room go without eating
while he is with them? They will not fast
as long as he is with them. 20 But the
time will come when the g room will be
taken away from them. On that day they
will go without eating.
21 “No one sews a p atch of new cloth
on old clothes. Otherw ise, the new piece
will pull away from the old. That will
make the tear worse. 22 No one p ours
new wine into old wines kins. Othe r
wise, the wine will b
urst the s kins. Then
the wine and the wineskins will both be
destroyed. No, people pour new wine
into new wineskins.”
Reach Out to Others
MARK 1:40–42
Read Mark 1:40–42. It tells about a man who had a
terrible skin disease. A person with this skin disease couldn’t
be anywhere near other people. And no one would come
near him. But Jesus did. He reached out and touched the
man. The man was healed.
Do you know any children who might feel lonely? Kids
that no one wants to be around? You can show them that
you care about them just like Jesus does. Smile at them. Talk
to them. Maybe they will ask you why you are the only
person being nice to them. Then you can tell them that Jesus
loves them too.