1Jesus og disciplene gik derpå op i båden og sejlede hjem til Kapernaum. (Mark 2,1; Luk 5,17)2Efter at de var nået i land, kom nogle mænd bærende med en lam mand på en båre. Da Jesus så deres tro, sagde han til den lamme: „Fat mod, min ven! Dine synder er dig tilgivet.”3„Hvad bilder han sig ind?” tænkte nogle af de skriftlærde. „Det er da en hån imod Gud.”4Men Jesus kendte deres tanker og sagde: „Hvorfor tænker I ondt?5Hvad er lettest at sige: ‚dine synder er tilgivet’ eller: ‚rejs dig op og gå på dine ben’?6Jeg vil nu vise jer, at Menneskesønnen[1] har magt på jorden til at tilgive synder. Med disse ord vendte han sig til den lamme mand og sagde: ‚Rejs dig op, tag din båre og gå hjem!’ ”7Manden rejste sig da og gik sin vej.8Da folk så det, blev de fyldt af ærefrygt og lovpriste Gud, som havde givet et menneske en sådan magt.
Jesus elsker dem, det religiøse samfund forkaster
9Da Jesus gik videre, fik han øje på en mand, der sad og opkrævede told til den romerske besættelsesmagt. Han hed Mattæus. „Kom med mig!” sagde Jesus til ham. Mattæus rejste sig straks op og fulgte med ham som en af hans disciple. (Mark 2,13; Luk 5,27)10Senere blev Jesus og disciplene inviteret til at spise i Mattæus’ hjem. Også en del skatteopkrævere og andre „syndere” var inviteret med.11Farisæerne var forargede og sagde til disciplene: „Hvordan kan jeres læremester få sig selv til at spise sammen med den slags syndige mennesker?”12Jesus hørte det og svarede: „Raske mennesker har ikke brug for lægehjælp, men det har de syge.13Tænk over, hvad det skriftord betyder: ‚Jeg ønsker barmhjertighed frem for slagtofre.’[2] Det er syndere, jeg er kommet for at invitere til at vende om fra deres synd. Det mener de ‚frelste’ jo ikke, at de har brug for!” (Hos 6,6)
Jesus kommer med en ny lære
14En dag kom Johannes Døbers disciple til Jesus og spurgte: „Hvorfor faster dine disciple ikke, når både vi og farisæerne gør det?” (Mark 2,18; Luk 5,33)15Jesus svarede: „Brudgommens venner kan da ikke sørge og faste, så længe de er sammen med ham. Men der kommer et tidspunkt, hvor brudgommen bliver taget fra dem. Så kan de faste.16Man lapper ikke gammelt tøj med et stykke nyt, uvasket stof. Enhver ved, at hvis man gjorde det, ville lappen krympe og rive det gamle tøj i stykker.17Der er heller ingen, der hælder ny vin på gamle lædersække, for når vinen gærer, vil sækkene sprænges, og vinen går til spilde. Nej, ny vin skal hældes på nye lædersække. På den måde bevares begge dele.”
Ved tro bliver en kvinde helbredt og en pige oprejst fra de døde
18Mens Jesus talte, kom en af byens ledende mænd hen til ham, faldt på knæ foran ham og sagde: „Min datter er lige død. Men hvis du kommer og lægger hænderne på hende, vil hun blive levende igen.” (Mark 5,21; Luk 8,40)19Jesus og disciplene rejste sig og gik med ham.20Undervejs skete det imidlertid, at der kom en kvinde bagfra og rørte ved kvasten på Jesu bedesjal. Hun havde lidt af vedvarende blødninger i 12 år,21og hun tænkte: „Hvis bare jeg får rørt ved hans sjal, bliver jeg helbredt.”22Jesus vendte sig om og sagde til hende: „Vær ved godt mod, min ven! Din tro har reddet[3] dig.” Fra det øjeblik var kvinden rask.23Da Jesus kom til lederens hjem og så det jamrende grædekor og hørte begravelsesmusikken,24sagde han: „Forsvind herfra! Pigen er ikke død. Hun sover bare.” De lo ad ham alle sammen.25Da flokken omsider var kommet udenfor, gik Jesus ind og tog pigen ved hånden, og hun rejste sig op, som om intet var hændt.26Nyheden om det mirakel gik som en løbeild over hele egnen.
To blinde mænds tro
27Da Jesus gik derfra, fulgte to blinde mænd efter ham. De råbte: „Du Davids Søn,[4] hav barmhjertighed med os!”28De fulgte med helt ind i huset, hvor Jesus boede. „Tror I, at jeg kan gøre det mirakel for jer?” spurgte Jesus. „Ja, Herre!” svarede de.29Så rørte han ved deres øjne og sagde: „Som I tror, skal det ske.”30Derefter kunne de begge se. Jesus forbød dem at sige det til nogen,31men de gik alligevel ud og fortalte om ham i hele den egn.
Jesus helbreder en dæmonbesat mand, som ikke kunne tale
32Da de var gået, kom der nogen med en mand, som ikke kunne tale, fordi han havde en dæmon i sig.33Jesus uddrev dæmonen, og straks kunne manden tale. Folk var slået af forundring. „Noget sådant har man aldrig før set i Israel!” sagde de.34Men farisæerne sagde: „Det er ikke ved Guds hjælp, men ved de onde ånders fyrste, at han driver dæmoner ud.”
Høsten er stor
35Jesus gik nu omkring til alle byer og landsbyer i hele den egn. Hvor han end kom frem, underviste han i synagogerne og forkyndte de gode nyheder om Guds rige. Overalt helbredte han mennesker for alle slags sygdomme og lidelser.36Når han så på skarerne, blev han fyldt af medlidenhed, for de var mishandlede og nedbrudte. De var som får uden hyrde.37Og han sagde til sine disciple: „Høsten er stor, men arbejderne er få.38Bed derfor ham, der har ansvaret for høsten, om at sende flere arbejdere ud for at få høsten ind.”
1And getting into a boat he crossed over and came to his own city. (Matt 4,13; Mark 2,1)2And behold, some people brought to him a paralytic, lying on a bed. And when Jesus saw their faith, he said to the paralytic, “Take heart, my son; your sins are forgiven.” (Matt 8,10; Matt 8,13; Matt 9,22; Matt 9,29; Matt 15,28; Mark 2,3; Mark 10,52; Luk 5,18; Luk 7,9; Luk 7,48; Luk 7,50; Luk 17,19; Luk 18,42; Joh 5,14; Ap G 3,16; Ap G 14,9; Jak 5,15)3And behold, some of the scribes said to themselves, “This man is blaspheming.” (Matt 26,65; Joh 10,36)4But Jesus, knowing[1] their thoughts, said, “Why do you think evil in your hearts? (Matt 12,25; Joh 2,24)5For which is easier, to say, ‘Your sins are forgiven,’ or to say, ‘Rise and walk’?6But that you may know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins”—he then said to the paralytic—“Rise, pick up your bed and go home.”7And he rose and went home.8When the crowds saw it, they were afraid, and they glorified God, who had given such authority to men. (Matt 28,18; Luk 7,16)
Jesus Calls Matthew
9As Jesus passed on from there, he saw a man called Matthew sitting at the tax booth, and he said to him, “Follow me.” And he rose and followed him. (Matt 10,3; Mark 2,14; Mark 3,18; Luk 5,27; Luk 6,15; Ap G 1,13)10And as Jesus[2] reclined at table in the house, behold, many tax collectors and sinners came and were reclining with Jesus and his disciples. (Matt 5,46; Matt 11,19)11And when the Pharisees saw this, they said to his disciples, “Why does your teacher eat with tax collectors and sinners?” (Matt 9,10; Luk 15,2)12But when he heard it, he said, “Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick.13Go and learn what this means: ‘I desire mercy, and not sacrifice.’ For I came not to call the righteous, but sinners.” (Hos 6,6; Matt 12,7; Matt 23,23; Mark 12,33; Luk 15,7; Joh 9,39; 1.Tim 1,15)
A Question About Fasting
14Then the disciples of John came to him, saying, “Why do we and the Pharisees fast,[3] but your disciples do not fast?” (Matt 11,2; Matt 14,12; Matt 15,2; Luk 11,1; Luk 18,12; Joh 1,35; Joh 3,25; Joh 4,1; Ap G 18,25; Ap G 19,3)15And Jesus said to them, “Can the wedding guests mourn as long as the bridegroom is with them? The days will come when the bridegroom is taken away from them, and then they will fast. (Luk 17,22; Joh 3,29; Joh 16,20)16No one puts a piece of unshrunk cloth on an old garment, for the patch tears away from the garment, and a worse tear is made.17Neither is new wine put into old wineskins. If it is, the skins burst and the wine is spilled and the skins are destroyed. But new wine is put into fresh wineskins, and so both are preserved.” (Josva 9,4)
A Girl Restored to Life and a Woman Healed
18While he was saying these things to them, behold, a ruler came in and knelt before him, saying, “My daughter has just died, but come and lay your hand on her, and she will live.” (Matt 8,2; Mark 5,22; Luk 8,41)19And Jesus rose and followed him, with his disciples.20And behold, a woman who had suffered from a discharge of blood for twelve years came up behind him and touched the fringe of his garment, (3.Mos 15,25; 4.Mos 15,38; 5.Mos 22,12; Matt 14,36; Matt 23,5)21for she said to herself, “If I only touch his garment, I will be made well.”22Jesus turned, and seeing her he said, “Take heart, daughter; your faith has made you well.” And instantly[4] the woman was made well. (Matt 8,13; Matt 9,2; Matt 15,28; Matt 17,18; Luk 7,50)23And when Jesus came to the ruler’s house and saw the flute players and the crowd making a commotion, (Åb 18,22)24he said, “Go away, for the girl is not dead but sleeping.” And they laughed at him. (Joh 11,4; Joh 11,11; Ap G 20,10)25But when the crowd had been put outside, he went in and took her by the hand, and the girl arose. (Mark 9,27; Ap G 3,7; Ap G 9,40; Ap G 9,41)26And the report of this went through all that district.
Jesus Heals Two Blind Men
27And as Jesus passed on from there, two blind men followed him, crying aloud, “Have mercy on us, Son of David.” (Matt 1,1; Matt 12,23; Matt 15,22; Matt 20,30; Matt 22,42)28When he entered the house, the blind men came to him, and Jesus said to them, “Do you believe that I am able to do this?” They said to him, “Yes, Lord.”29Then he touched their eyes, saying, “According to your faith be it done to you.” (Matt 9,2; Mark 8,25; Joh 9,6)30And their eyes were opened. And Jesus sternly warned them, “See that no one knows about it.” (Matt 8,4)31But they went away and spread his fame through all that district. (Mark 1,45; Mark 7,36)
Jesus Heals a Man Unable to Speak
32As they were going away, behold, a demon-oppressed man who was mute was brought to him. (Matt 4,24; Matt 12,22; Luk 11,14)33And when the demon had been cast out, the mute man spoke. And the crowds marveled, saying, “Never was anything like this seen in Israel.” (Mark 1,27)34But the Pharisees said, “He casts out demons by the prince of demons.”
The Harvest Is Plentiful, the Laborers Few
35And Jesus went throughout all the cities and villages, teaching in their synagogues and proclaiming the gospel of the kingdom and healing every disease and every affliction. (Matt 4,23)36When he saw the crowds, he had compassion for them, because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd. (4.Mos 27,17; 1.Kong 22,17; Ez 34,5; Matt 14,14; Mark 6,34)37Then he said to his disciples, “The harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few; (Luk 10,2; Joh 4,35)38therefore pray earnestly to the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into his harvest.” (Matt 20,2; Mark 1,12; 2.Thess 3,1)