3. Some people arrived, and four of them were bringing to him a man who was paralyzed.
4. They couldn’t carry him through the crowd, so they tore off part of the roof above where Jesus was. When they had made an opening, they lowered the mat on which the paralyzed man was lying.
5. When Jesus saw their faith, he said to the paralytic, "Child, your sins are forgiven!"
6. Some legal experts were sitting there, muttering among themselves,
7. "Why does he speak this way? He’s insulting God. Only the one God can forgive sins."
8. Jesus immediately recognized what they were discussing, and he said to them, "Why do you fill your minds with these questions?
9. Which is easier—to say to a paralyzed person, ‘Your sins are forgiven,’ or to say, ‘Get up, take up your bed, and walk’?
10. But so you will know that the Human One has authority on the earth to forgive sins"—he said to the man who was paralyzed,
11. "Get up, take your mat, and go home."
12. Jesus raised him up, and right away he picked up his mat and walked out in front of everybody. They were all amazed and praised God, saying, "We’ve never seen anything like this!"
13. Jesus went out beside the lake again. The whole crowd came to him, and he began to teach them.
14. As he continued along, he saw Levi, Alphaeus’ son, sitting at a kiosk for collecting taxes. Jesus said to him, "Follow me." Levi got up and followed him.
15. Jesus sat down to eat at Levi’s house. Many tax collectors and sinners were eating with Jesus and his disciples. Indeed, many of them had become his followers.
16. When some of the legal experts from among the Pharisees saw that he was eating with sinners and tax collectors, they asked his disciples, "Why is he eating with sinners and tax collectors?"
17. When Jesus heard it, he said to them, "Healthy people don’t need a doctor, but sick people do. I didn’t come to call righteous people, but sinners."