3. Some people came bringing to Him a paralyzed man, carried by four men.
4. When they couldn’t get near Yeshua because of the crowd, they removed the roof where He was. After digging through, they lowered the mat on which the paralyzed man was lying.
5. Yeshua, seeing their faith, said to the paralyzed man, “Son, your sins are forgiven.”
6. But some of the Torah scholars were sitting there, questioning in their hearts,
7. “Why does this fellow speak like this? He blasphemes! Who can pardon sins but God alone?”
8. Immediately Yeshua, knowing in His spirit that they were raising questions this way within themselves, said to them, “Why are you questioning these things in your hearts?
9. Which is easier, to say to the paralyzed man, ‘Your sins are forgiven,’ or to say, ‘Get up, and take your mat and walk’?
10. But so you may know that the Son of Man has authority to pardon sins on earth….” He tells the paralyzed man,
11. “I tell you, get up, take your mat and go home!”
12. At once the man got up, took his mat, and walked before them all. They were all astonished and glorified God, saying, “We’ve never seen anything like this!”
13. Again, Yeshua went out by the sea. The whole crowd kept coming to Him, and He continued to teach them.
14. As He was passing by, He saw Levi the son of Alphaeus sitting at the tax collector’s booth. He said to him, “Follow Me.” And he got up and followed Him.
15. Now it happens that Yeshua was reclining at the table in Levi’s house, and many tax collectors and sinners were reclining with Yeshua and His disciples. For there were many, and they were following Him.
16. When the Torah scholars of the Pharisees saw Him eating with sinners and tax collectors, they began to say to His disciples, “With tax collectors and sinners He eats?”