Mark 2-4

1A few days later Jesus went back to Capernaum. And when the people heard that He was home,

2they gathered in such large numbers that there was no more room, not even outside the door, as Jesus spoke the word to them.

3Then a paralytic was brought to Him, carried by four men.

4Since they were unable to get to Jesus through the crowd, they uncovered the roof above Him, made an opening, and lowered the paralytic on his mat.

5When Jesus saw their faith, He said to the paralytic, “Son, your sins are forgiven.”

6But some of the scribes were sitting there and thinking in their hearts,

7“Why does this man speak like this? He is blaspheming! Who can forgive sins but God alone?”

8At once Jesus knew in His spirit that they were thinking this way within themselves. “Why are you thinking these things in your hearts?” He asked.

9“Which is easier: to say to a paralytic, ‘Your sins are forgiven,’ or to say, ‘Get up, pick up your mat, and walk’?

10But so that you may know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins...” He said to the paralytic,

11“I tell you, get up, pick up your mat, and go home.”

12And immediately the man got up, picked up his mat, and walked out in front of them all. As a result, they were all astounded and glorified God, saying, “We have never seen anything like this!”

13Once again Jesus went out beside the sea. All the people came to Him, and He taught them there.

14As He was walking along, He saw Levi son of Alphaeus sitting at the tax booth. “Follow Me,” He told him, and Levi got up and followed Him.

15While Jesus was dining at Levi’s house, many tax collectors and sinners were eating with Him and His disciples—for there were many who followed Him.

16When the scribes who were Pharisees saw Jesus eating with these people, they asked His disciples, “Why does He eat with tax collectors and sinners?”

17On hearing this, Jesus told them, “It is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick. I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners.”

18Now John’s disciples and the Pharisees were often fasting. So people came to Jesus and asked, “Why don’t Your disciples fast like John’s disciples and those of the Pharisees?”

19Jesus replied, “How can the guests of the bridegroom fast while He is with them? As long as He is with them, they cannot fast.

20But the time will come when the bridegroom will be taken from them; then they will fast.

21No one sews a patch of unshrunk cloth on an old garment. If he does, the new piece will pull away from the old, and a worse tear will result.

22And no one pours new wine into old wineskins. If he does, the wine will burst the skins, and both the wine and the wineskins will be ruined. Instead, new wine is poured into new wineskins.”

23One Sabbath Jesus was passing through the grainfields, and His disciples began to pick the heads of grain as they walked along.

24So the Pharisees said to Him, “Look, why are they doing what is unlawful on the Sabbath?”

25Jesus replied, “Have you never read what David did when he and his companions were hungry and in need?

26During the high priesthood of Abiathar, he entered the house of God and ate the consecrated bread, which was lawful only for the priests. And he gave some to his companions as well.”

27Then Jesus declared, “The Sabbath was made for man, not man for the Sabbath.

28Therefore, the Son of Man is Lord even of the Sabbath.”

1Once again Jesus entered the synagogue, and a man with a withered hand was there.

2In order to accuse Jesus, they were watching to see if He would heal on the Sabbath.

3Then Jesus said to the man with the withered hand, “Stand up among us.”

4And He asked them, “Which is lawful on the Sabbath: to do good or to do evil, to save life or to destroy it?” But they were silent.

5Jesus looked around at them with anger and sorrow at their hardness of heart. Then He said to the man, “Stretch out your hand.” So he stretched it out, and it was restored.

6At this, the Pharisees went out and began plotting with the Herodians how they might kill Jesus.

7So Jesus withdrew with His disciples to the sea, accompanied by a large crowd from Galilee, Judea,

8Jerusalem, Idumea, the region beyond the Jordan, and the vicinity of Tyre and Sidon. The large crowd came to Him when they heard what great things He was doing.

9Jesus asked His disciples to have a boat ready for Him so that the crowd would not crush Him.

10For He had healed so many that all who had diseases were pressing forward to touch Him.

11And when the unclean spirits saw Him, they fell down before Him and cried out, “You are the Son of God!”

12But He warned them sternly not to make Him known.

13Then Jesus went up on the mountain and called for those He wanted, and they came to Him.

14He appointed twelve of them, whom He designated as apostles, to accompany Him, to be sent out to preach,

15and to have authority to drive out demons.

16These are the twelve He appointed: Simon (whom He named Peter),

17James son of Zebedee and his brother John (whom He named Boanerges, meaning “Sons of Thunder”),

18Andrew, Philip, Bartholomew, Matthew, Thomas, James son of Alphaeus, Thaddaeus, Simon the Zealot,

19and Judas Iscariot, who betrayed Jesus.

20Then Jesus went home, and once again a crowd gathered, so that He and His disciples could not even eat.

21When His family heard about this, they went out to take custody of Him, saying, “He is out of His mind.”

22And the scribes who had come down from Jerusalem were saying, “He is possessed by Beelzebul,” and, “By the prince of the demons He drives out demons.”

23So Jesus called them together and began to speak to them in parables: “How can Satan drive out Satan?

24If a kingdom is divided against itself, it cannot stand.

25If a house is divided against itself, it cannot stand.

26And if Satan is divided and rises against himself, he cannot stand; his end has come.

27Indeed, no one can enter a strong man’s house to steal his possessions unless he first ties up the strong man. Then he can plunder his house.

28Truly I tell you, the sons of men will be forgiven all sins and blasphemies, as many as they utter.

29But whoever blasphemes against the Holy Spirit will never be forgiven; he is guilty of eternal sin.”

30Jesus made this statement because they were saying, “He has an unclean spirit.”

31Then Jesus’ mother and brothers came and stood outside. They sent someone in to summon Him,

32and a crowd was sitting around Him. “Look,” He was told, “Your mother and brothers are outside, asking for You.”

33But Jesus replied, “Who are My mother and My brothers?”

34Looking at those seated in a circle around Him, He said, “Here are My mother and My brothers!

35For whoever does the will of God is My brother and sister and mother.”

1Once again Jesus began to teach beside the sea, and such a large crowd gathered around Him that He got into a boat and sat in it, while all the people crowded along the shore.

2And He taught them many things in parables, and in His teaching He said,

3“Listen! A farmer went out to sow his seed.

4And as he was sowing, some seed fell along the path, and the birds came and devoured it.

5Some fell on rocky ground, where it did not have much soil. It sprang up quickly because the soil was shallow.

6But when the sun rose, the seedlings were scorched, and they withered because they had no root.

7Other seed fell among thorns, which grew up and choked the seedlings, and they yielded no crop.

8Still other seed fell on good soil, where it sprouted, grew up, and produced a crop—one bearing thirtyfold, another sixtyfold, and another a hundredfold.”

9Then Jesus said, “He who has ears to hear, let him hear.”

10As soon as Jesus was alone with the Twelve and those around Him, they asked Him about the parable.

11He replied, “The mystery of the kingdom of God has been given to you, but to those on the outside everything is expressed in parables,

12so that, ‘they may be ever seeing but never perceiving, and ever hearing but never understanding; otherwise they might turn and be forgiven.’”

13Then Jesus said to them, “Do you not understand this parable? Then how will you understand any of the parables?

14The farmer sows the word.

15Some are like the seeds along the path, where the word is sown. As soon as they hear it, Satan comes and takes away the word that was sown in them.

16Some are like the seeds sown on rocky ground. They hear the word and at once receive it with joy.

17But they themselves have no root, and they remain for only a season. When trouble or persecution comes because of the word, they quickly fall away.

18Others are like the seeds sown among the thorns. They hear the word,

19but the worries of this life, the deceitfulness of wealth, and the desire for other things come in and choke the word, and it becomes unfruitful.

20Still others are like the seeds sown on good soil. They hear the word, receive it, and produce a crop—thirtyfold, sixtyfold, or a hundredfold.”

21Jesus also said to them, “Does anyone bring in a lamp to put it under a basket or under a bed? Doesn’t he set it on a stand?

22For there is nothing hidden that will not be disclosed, and nothing concealed that will not be brought to light.

23If anyone has ears to hear, let him hear.”

24He went on to say, “Pay attention to what you hear. With the measure you use, it will be measured to you, and even more will be added to you.

25For whoever has will be given more. But whoever does not have, even what he has will be taken away from him.”

26Jesus also said, “The kingdom of God is like a man who scatters seed on the ground.

27Night and day he sleeps and wakes, and the seed sprouts and grows, though he knows not how.

28All by itself the earth produces a crop—first the stalk, then the head, then grain that ripens within.

29And as soon as the grain is ripe, he swings the sickle, because the harvest has come.”

30Then He asked, “To what can we compare the kingdom of God? With what parable shall we present it?

31It is like a mustard seed, which is the smallest of all seeds sown upon the earth.

32But after it is planted, it grows to be the largest of all garden plants and puts forth great branches, so that the birds of the air nest in its shade.”

33With many such parables Jesus spoke the word to them, to the extent that they could understand.

34He did not tell them anything without using a parable. But privately He explained everything to His own disciples.

35When that evening came, He said to His disciples, “Let us cross to the other side.”

36After they had dismissed the crowd, they took Jesus with them, since He was already in the boat. And there were other boats with Him.

37Soon a violent windstorm came up, and the waves were breaking over the boat, so that it was being swamped.

38But Jesus was in the stern, sleeping on the cushion. So they woke Him and said, “Teacher, don’t You care that we are perishing?”

39Then Jesus got up and rebuked the wind and the sea. “Silence!” He commanded. “Be still!” And the wind died down, and it was perfectly calm.

40“Why are you so afraid?” He asked. “Do you still have no faith?”

41Overwhelmed with fear, they asked one another, “Who is this, that even the wind and the sea obey Him?”