859 l Mark 2:21 the door , 34 and Jesus healed many who had var i ous dis eas es . He also drove out many de mons , but he would not let the de mons speak be cause they knew who he was .
Jesus Prays in a Solitary Place
35 Very ear ly in the morn ing , while it was still dark , Jesus got up , left the house and went off to a sol i tary place , where he prayed . 36 Simon and his companions went to look for him , 37 and when they found him , they ex claimed : “ Ev ery one is look ing for you !”
38 Jesus re plied , “ Let us go some where else — to the near by vil lag es — so I can preach there also . That is why I have come .” 39 So he traveled throughout Galilee , preaching in their synagogues and driving out demons .
Jesus Heals a Man With Leprosy
40 A man with leprosy a came to him and begged him on his knees , “ If you are willing , you can make me clean .”
41 Jesus was in dig nant . b He reached out his hand and touched the man . “ I am willing ,” he said . “ Be clean !” 42 Immediately the lep ro sy left him and he was cleansed .
43 Jesus sent him away at once with a strong warn ing : 44 “ See that you don ’ t tell this to any one . But go , show your self to the priest and of fer the sac ri fic es that Mo ses com mand ed for your cleans ing , as a tes timo ny to them .” 45 In stead he went out and be gan to talk free ly , spread ing the news . As a re sult , Jesus could no lon ger en ter a town open ly but stayed out side in lone ly plac es . Yet the peo ple still came to him from everywhere . phem ing ! Who can for give sins but God alone ?”
8 Im me di ate ly Jesus knew in his spir it that this was what they were think ing in their hearts , and he said to them , “ Why are you think ing these things ? 9 Which is eas i er : to say to this par a lyzed man , ‘ Your sins are for giv en ,’ or to say , ‘ Get up , take your mat and walk ’? 10 But I want you to know that the Son of Man has au thor i ty on earth to for give sins .” So he said to the man , 11 “ I tell you , get up , take your mat and go home .” 12 He got up , took his mat and walked out in full view of them all . This amazed ev ery one and they praised God , say ing , “ We have nev er seen any thing like this !”
Jesus Calls Levi and Eats With Sinners
13 Once again Jesus went out be side the lake . A large crowd came to him , and he began to teach them . 14 As he walked along , he saw Levi son of Al phae us sit ting at the tax col lec tor ’ s booth . “ Fol low me ,” Jesus told him , and Levi got up and fol lowed him .
15 While Jesus was hav ing din ner at Levi ’ s house , many tax col lec tors and sin ners were eat ing with him and his dis ci ples , for there were many who fol lowed him . 16 When the teach ers of the law who were Phar i sees saw him eat ing with the sin ners and tax col lec tors , they asked his dis ci ples : “ Why does he eat with tax col lec tors and sinners ?”
17 On hear ing this , Jesus said to them , “ It is not the healthy who need a doc tor , but the sick . I have not come to call the righteous , but sin ners .”
Jesus Questioned About Fasting
18 Now John ’ s disciples and the Pharisees were fast ing . Some peo ple came and asked Jesus , “ How is it that John ’ s dis ci ples and the dis ci ples of the Phar i sees are fast ing , but yours are not ?”
19 Jesus an swered , “ How can the guests of the bride groom fast while he is with them ? They can not , so long as they have him with them . 20 But the time will come when the bride groom will be tak en from them , and on that day they will fast .
21 “ No one sews a patch of un shrunk cloth on an old gar ment . Other wise , the
Jesus Forgives and Heals a Paralyzed Man
A few days lat er , when Jesus again entered Ca per na um , the peo ple heard
2 that he had come home . 2 They gath ered in such large num bers that there was no room left , not even out side the door , and he preached the word to them . 3 Some men came , bring ing to him a par a lyzed man , car ried by four of them . 4 Since they could not get him to Jesus be cause of the crowd , they made an open ing in the roof above Jesus by dig ging through it and then lowered the mat the man was ly ing on . 5 When Jesus saw their faith , he said to the par a lyzed man , “ Son , your sins are for giv en .”
6 Now some teach ers of the law were sitting there , think ing to them selves , 7 “ Why does this fel low talk like that ? He ’ s blasa 40 The Greek word traditionally translated
leprosy was used for various diseases affecting the skin . b 41 Many manuscripts Jesus was filled with compassion