By the sea

1Now it happened, as He had come along the Lake of Genesaret, that the multitude crowded Him to hear the Word of God;

2He saw two boats standing by the lake (the fishermen were out of them, washing their nets).

3So He got into one of the boats, which was Simon's, and asked him to put out a little from the land. ¹⁴¹Sitting down He began to teach the crowds from the boat.

A miraculous catch

4When He had finished speaking, He said to Simon, “Put out into the deep and let down your nets for a catch.”

5And in answer Simon said to Him, “Master, we have worked hard the whole night and caught nothing, but based on your word I will let down the net.” ¹⁴²

6When they had done this, they caught such a large number of fish that their net began to tear.

7So they signaled to their partners who were in the other boat to come help them; they came and filled both the boats, so that they began to sink.

8Upon experiencing this Simon Peter fell at Jesus' knees, ¹⁴³saying, “Depart from me, Lord, for I am a sinful man!” ¹⁴⁴

9Because astonishment gripped him and all who were with him at the haul of fish which they had caught;

10yes, this included James and John, sons of Zebedee, who were partners with Simon. Then Jesus said to Simon, “Don't be afraid; from now on you will be catching people.”

11Pulling the boats up on the shore, they left it all ¹⁴⁵and followed Him.

A leper—the proof

12Now it happened, while He was in one of the towns—a man full of leprosy! Upon seeing Jesus he fell on his face and begged Him, saying, “Lord, if you want to, you can cleanse me!”

13So He extended His hand and touched him, saying, “I want to; be cleansed!” ¹⁴⁶Immediately the leprosy left him.

14Then He ordered him to tell no one, “But go and show yourself to the priest and make an offering for your cleansing just as Moses prescribed, as a testimony to them.” ¹⁴⁷

15However the news about Him spread all the more, and large crowds kept gathering to hear and to be healed by Him of their sicknesses.

16So He Himself would withdraw into deserted places and pray. ¹⁴⁸

An examining council—the evaluation

17Now it happened on a certain day that He was teaching, and there were Pharisees and teachers of the law, who had come from every village of Galilee, and from Judea and Jerusalem, sitting there—and the power of the Lord was there to heal them. ¹⁴⁹

“Your sins are forgiven”

18And then, some men came carrying a paralyzed man on a cot, and tried to take him in and place him before Him.

19When they could not find how to do it, because of the crowd, they went up on the roof and lowered him with the cot through the tiling into the center, in front of Jesus.

20Seeing their faith He said to him, “Man, your sins are forgiven you!” ¹⁵⁰

A ‘discussion’ ensues

21So the scribes and the Pharisees began to reason, saying: “Who is this who speaks blasphemies? Who can forgive sins but God alone?” ¹⁵¹

22But Jesus perceived their reasonings and reacted by saying to them: “Why are you reasoning in your hearts?

23Which is easier to say, ‘Your sins are forgiven you’, or to say, ‘Get up and walk!’? ¹⁵²

24But that you may know that the Son of the Man ¹⁵³has authority on earth to forgive sins”—He said to the paralyzed man: “I say to you, get up! Take your cot and go to your house.”

God is glorified

25Immediately he stood up in front of them, took up what he had been lying on, and set out to his own house glorifying God.

26Amazement gripped them all and they kept glorifying God; they were also filled with fear, saying, “We have seen strange things today!” ¹⁵⁴

Enter Levi (Matthew)

27After these things He went out and saw a tax collector named Levi sitting at the tax office; and He said to him, “Follow me!”

28So leaving everything he got up and followed Him. ¹⁵⁵

29Then Levi made a great banquet for Him at his house; and there was a large crowd of tax collectors and others who were reclining with them.

30Well the scribes and Pharisees complained about them to His disciples, saying, “How can you eat and drink with the tax collectors and sinners?!”

31So Jesus reacted and said to them: “Those who are healthy have no need of a physician, just those who are sick.

32I have not come to call righteous people to repentance, just sinners.”

33Then they said to Him, “Why do the disciples of John fast often and make prayers, and likewise those of the Pharisees, but yours keep eating and drinking?”

34So He said to them: “Can you make the friends of the bridegroom fast while the bridegroom is with them?

35But days are coming when the bridegroom will be taken away from them; then, in those days, they will fast.”

36Then He also told them a parable: “No one puts a patch from a new garment on an old one; otherwise, both the new makes a tear and that from the new does not match the old.

37And no one puts new wine into old wineskins; otherwise the new wine will burst those skins and will itself be spilled and the skins wasted.

38Rather, new wine must be put into new wineskins, and both are preserved. ¹⁵⁶

39Further, no one having drunk old wine immediately desires new, for he says, ‘The old is better.’ ”