Reading
MARK 1:40–2:17
A man with leprosy came and knelt in front of Jesus, begging to be healed. “If you are
willing, you can heal me and make me clean,” he said. Moved with compassion, Jesus
reached out and touched him. “I am willing,” he said. “Be healed!” Instantly the leprosy
disappeared, and the man was healed. Then Jesus sent him on his way with a stern
warning: “Don’t tell anyone about this. Instead, go to the priest and let him examine you.
Take along the offering required in the law of Moses for those who have been healed of
leprosy. This will be a public testimony that you have been cleansed.”But the man went
and spread the word, proclaiming to everyone what had happened. As a result, large
crowds soon surrounded Jesus, and he couldn’t publicly enter a town anywhere. He
had to stay out in the secluded places, but people from everywhere kept coming to him.
When Jesus returned to Capernaum several days later, the news spread quickly that he
was back home. Soon the house where he was staying was so packed with visitors that
there was no more room, even outside the door. While he was preaching God’s word to
them, four men arrived carrying a paralyzed man on a mat. They couldn’t bring him to
Jesus because of the crowd, so they dug a hole through the roof above his head. Then
they lowered the man on his mat, right down in front of Jesus. Seeing their faith, Jesus
said to the paralyzed man, “My child, your sins are forgiven.”
But some of the teachers of religious law who were sitting there thought to themselves,
“What is he saying? This is blasphemy! Only God can forgive sins!”
Jesus knew immediately what they were thinking, so he asked them, “Why do you
question this in your hearts? Is it easier to say to the paralyzed man ‘Your sins are forgiven,’
or ‘Stand up, pick up your mat, and walk’? So I will prove to you that the Son of Man has
the authority on earth to forgive sins.” Then Jesus turned to the paralyzed man and said,
“Stand up, pick up your mat, and go home!” And the man jumped up, grabbed his mat,
and walked out through the stunned onlookers. They were all amazed and praised God,
exclaiming, “We’ve never seen anything like this before!”
Then Jesus went out to the lakeshore again and taught the crowds that were coming
to him. As he walked along, he saw Levi, son of Alphaeus, sitting at his tax collector’s
booth. “Follow me and be my disciple,” Jesus said to him. So Levi got up and followed
him. Later, Levi invited Jesus and his disciples to his home as dinner guests, along with
many tax collectors and other disreputable sinners. (There were many people of this kind
among Jesus’ followers.) But when the teachers of religious law who were Pharisees saw
him eating with tax collectors and other sinners, they asked his disciples, “Why does he
eat with such scum?”
When Jesus heard this, he told them, “Healthy people don’t need a doctor—sick people
do. I have come to call not those who think they are righteous, but those who know they
are sinners.”
Reflection
- Brokenness and hurt in the world moved Jesus with compassion and empathy for others. How do you respond to brokenness?
- Jesus says “Your sins are forgiven” to a man who appeared to just need physical healing. What does this teach us about how the physical and spiritual body are connected?