¹³ Leaving Nazareth, he went and lived in Capernaum,^(A) which was by the lake in the area of Zebulun and Naphtali—

Jesus Drives Out an Impure Spirit^(A)

²¹ They went to Capernaum, and when the Sabbath came, Jesus went into the synagogue and began to teach.^{(B) 22} The people were amazed at his teaching, because he taught them as one who had authority, not as the teachers of the law.^{(C) 23} Just then a man in their synagogue who was possessed by an impure spirit cried out, ²⁴ “What do you want with us,^(D) Jesus of Nazareth?^(E) Have you come to destroy us? I know who you are—the Holy One of God!”^(F)

²⁵ “Be quiet!” said Jesus sternly. “Come out of him!”^{(G) 26} The impure spirit shook the man violently and came out of him with a shriek.^(H)

²⁷ The people were all so amazed^(I) that they asked each other, “What is this? A new teaching—and with authority! He even gives orders to impure spirits and they obey him.” ²⁸ News about him spread quickly over the whole region^(J) of Galilee.

Jesus Heals Many^(K)(L)

²⁹ As soon as they left the synagogue,^(M) they went with James and John to the home of Simon and Andrew. ³⁰ Simon’s mother-in-law was in bed with a fever, and they immediately told Jesus about her. ³¹ So he went to her, took her hand and helped her up.^(N) The fever left her and she began to wait on them.

³² That evening after sunset the people brought to Jesus all the sick and demon-possessed.^{(O) 33} The whole town gathered at the door, ³⁴ and Jesus healed many who had various diseases.^(P) He also drove out many demons, but he would not let the demons speak because they knew who he was.^(Q)

Jesus Prays in a Solitary Place^(R)

³⁵ Very early in the morning, while it was still dark, Jesus got up, left the house and went off to a solitary place, where he prayed.^{(S) 36} Simon and his companions went to look for him, ³⁷ and when they found him, they exclaimed: “Everyone is looking for you!”

³⁸ Jesus replied, “Let us go somewhere else—to the nearby villages—so I can preach there also. That is why I have come.”^{(T) 39} So he traveled throughout Galilee, preaching in their synagogues^(U) and driving out demons.^(V)

Jesus Heals a Man With Leprosy^(W)

⁴⁰ A man with leprosy^[a] came to him and begged him on his knees,^(X) “If you are willing, you can make me clean.”

⁴¹ Jesus was indignant.^[b] He reached out his hand and touched the man. “I am willing,” he said. “Be clean!” ⁴² Immediately the leprosy left him and he was cleansed.

⁴³ Jesus sent him away at once with a strong warning: ⁴⁴ “See that you don’t tell this to anyone.^(Y) But go, show yourself to the priest^(Z) and offer the sacrifices that Moses commanded for your cleansing,^(AA) as a testimony to them.” ⁴⁵ Instead he went out and began to talk freely, spreading the news. As a result, Jesus could no longer enter a town openly but stayed outside in lonely places.^(AB) Yet the people still came to him from everywhere.^(AC)

Jesus Forgives and Heals a Paralyzed Man^(AD)

2 A few days later, when Jesus again entered Capernaum, the people heard that he had come home. ² They gathered in such large numbers^(AE) that there was no room left, not even outside the door, and he preached the word to them. ³ Some men came, bringing to him a paralyzed man,^(AF) carried by four of them. ⁴ Since they could not get him to Jesus because of the crowd, they made an opening in the roof above Jesus by digging through it and then lowered the mat the man was lying on. ⁵ When Jesus saw their faith, he said to the paralyzed man, “Son, your sins are forgiven.”^(AG)

⁶ Now some teachers of the law were sitting there, thinking to themselves, ⁷ “Why does this fellow talk like that? He’s blaspheming! Who can forgive sins but God alone?”^(AH)

⁸ Immediately Jesus knew in his spirit that this was what they were thinking in their hearts, and he said to them, “Why are you thinking these things? ⁹ Which is easier: to say to this paralyzed man, ‘Your sins are forgiven,’ or to say, ‘Get up, take your mat and walk’? ¹⁰ But I want you to know that the Son of Man^(AI) has authority on earth to forgive 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 everyone and they praised God,^(AJ) saying, “We have never seen anything like this!”^(AK)

Jesus Calls Levi and Eats With Sinners^(AL)

¹³ Once again Jesus went out beside the lake. A large crowd came to him,^(AM) and he began to teach them. ¹⁴ As he walked along, he saw Levi son of Alphaeus sitting at the tax collector’s booth. “Follow me,”^(AN) Jesus told him, and Levi got up and followed him.

¹⁵ While Jesus was having dinner at Levi’s house, many tax collectors and sinners were eating with him and his disciples, for there were many who followed him. ¹⁶ When the teachers of the law who were Pharisees^(AO) saw him eating with the sinners and tax collectors, they asked his disciples: “Why does he eat with tax collectors and sinners?”^(AP)

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

Jesus Questioned About Fasting^(AR)

¹⁸ Now John’s disciples and the Pharisees were fasting.^(AS) Some people came and asked Jesus, “How is it that John’s disciples and the disciples of the Pharisees are fasting, but yours are not?”

¹⁹ Jesus answered, “How can the guests of the bridegroom fast while he is with them? They cannot, so long as they have him with them. ²⁰ But the time will come when the bridegroom will be taken from them,^(AT) and on that day they will fast.

²¹ “No one sews a patch of unshrunk cloth on an old garment. Otherwise, the new piece will pull away from the old, making the tear worse. ²² And no one pours new wine into old wineskins. Otherwise, the wine will burst the skins, and both the wine and the wineskins will be ruined. No, they pour new wine into new wineskins.”

Jesus Is Lord of the Sabbath^(AU)(AV)

²³ One Sabbath Jesus was going through the grainfields, and as his disciples walked along, they began to pick some heads of grain.^{(AW) 24} The Pharisees said to him, “Look, why are they doing what is unlawful on the Sabbath?”^(AX)

²⁵ He answered, “Have you never read what David did when he and his companions were hungry and in need? ²⁶ In the days of Abiathar the high priest,^(AY) he entered the house of God and ate the consecrated bread, which is lawful only for priests to eat.^(AZ) And he also gave some to his companions.”^(BA)

²⁷ Then he said to them, “The Sabbath was made for man,^(BB) not man for the Sabbath.^{(BC) 28} So the Son of Man^(BD) is Lord even of the Sabbath.”

³⁵ “Be quiet!” Jesus said sternly.^(A) “Come out of him!” Then the demon threw the man down before them all and came out without injuring him.

³⁶ All the people were amazed^(B) and said to each other, “What words these are! With authority^(C) and power he gives orders to impure spirits and they come out!” ³⁷ And the news about him spread throughout the surrounding area.^(D)

Jesus Heals Many^(E)(F)

³⁸ Jesus left the synagogue and went to the home of Simon. Now Simon’s mother-in-law was suffering from a high fever, and they asked Jesus to help her. ³⁹ So he bent over her and rebuked^(G) the fever, and it left her. She got up at once and began to wait on them.

⁴⁰ At sunset, the people brought to Jesus all who had various kinds of sickness, and laying his hands on each one,^(H) he healed them.^{(I) 41} Moreover, demons came out of many people, shouting, “You are the Son of God!”^(J) But he rebuked^(K) them and would not allow them to speak,^(L) because they knew he was the Messiah.

⁴² At daybreak, Jesus went out to a solitary place. The people were looking for him and when they came to where he was, they tried to keep him from leaving them. ⁴³ But he said, “I must proclaim the good news of the kingdom of God^(M) to the other towns also, because that is why I was sent.” ⁴⁴ And he kept on preaching in the synagogues of Judea.^(N)

⁴⁶ Once more he visited Cana in Galilee, where he had turned the water into wine.^(A) And there was a certain royal official whose son lay sick at Capernaum. ⁴⁷ When this man heard that Jesus had arrived in Galilee from Judea,^(B) he went to him and begged him to come and heal his son, who was close to death.

⁴⁸ “Unless you people see signs and wonders,”^(C) Jesus told him, “you will never believe.”

⁴⁹ The royal official said, “Sir, come down before my child dies.”

⁵⁰ “Go,” Jesus replied, “your son will live.”

The man took Jesus at his word and departed. ⁵¹ While he was still on the way, his servants met him with the news that his boy was living. ⁵² When he inquired as to the time when his son got better, they said to him, “Yesterday, at one in the afternoon, the fever left him.”

⁵³ Then the father realized that this was the exact time at which Jesus had said to him, “Your son will live.” So he and his whole household^(D) believed.

⁵⁴ This was the second sign^(E) Jesus performed after coming from Judea to Galilee.