Mark 2:13-28

13 And He went out again by the seashore; and ¹all the people were coming to Him, and He was teaching them.

Levi (Matthew) Called

14 ²As He passed by, He saw ³Levi the son of Alphaeus sitting in the tax booth, and He said to him, "⁴Follow Me!" And he got up and followed Him.

15 And it happened that He was reclining at the table in his house, and many tax collectors and sinners were dining with Jesus and His disciples; for there were many of them, and they were following Him.

16 When ⁵the scribes of the Pharisees saw that He was eating with the sinners and tax collectors, they said to His disciples, "⁶Why is He eating and drinking with tax collectors and sinners?"

17 And hearing this, Jesus said to them, "⁷It is not those who are healthy who need a physician, but those who are sick; I did not come to call the righteous, but sinners."

18 ⁸John's disciples and the Pharisees were fasting; and they came and said to Him, "Why * do John's disciples and the disciples of the Pharisees fast, but Your disciples do not fast?"

19 And Jesus said to them, "While * the bridegroom is with them, the attendants of the bridegroom cannot fast, can they? So long as they have the bridegroom with them, they cannot * fast.

20 "But the ⁹days will come when the bridegroom is taken away from them, and then they will fast in that day.

21 "No one sews a patch of unshrunk cloth on an old garment; otherwise the patch pulls away from it, the new from the old, and a worse tear results.

22 "No one puts new wine into old wineskins; otherwise the wine will burst the skins, and the wine is lost and the skins as well; but one puts new wine into fresh wineskins."

Question of the Sabbath

23 ¹⁰And it happened that He was passing through the grainfields on the Sabbath, and His disciples began to make their way along while ¹¹picking the heads of grain.

24 The Pharisees were saying to Him, "Look, ¹²why are they doing what is not lawful on the Sabbath?"

25 And He said to them, "Have you never read what David did when he was in need and he and his companions * became hungry;

26 how he entered the house of God in the time of ¹³Abiathar the high priest, and ate the consecrated bread, which ¹⁴is not lawful for anyone to eat except the priests, and he also gave it to those who were with him?"

27 Jesus said to them, "¹⁵The Sabbath was made for man, and ¹⁶not man for the Sabbath.

28 "So the Son of Man is Lord even of the Sabbath."

Cross References

• 1. Mark 1:45
• 2. Mark 2:14-17: {Matthew 9:9-13; Luke 5:27-32}
• 3. Matthew 9:9
• 4. Matthew 8:22
• 5. Luke 5:30; Acts 23:9
• 6. Matthew 9:11
• 7. Matthew 9:12, 13; Luke 5:31, 32
• 8. Mark 2:18-22: {Matthew 9:14-17; Luke 5:33-38}
• 9. Matthew 9:15; Luke 17:22
• 10. Mark 2:23-28: {Matthew 12:1-8; Luke 6:1-5}
• 11. Deuteronomy 23:25
• 12. Matthew 12:2
• 13. 1 Samuel 21:1; 2 Samuel 8:17; 1 Chronicles 24:6
• 14. Leviticus 24:9
• 15. Exodus 23:12; Deuteronomy 5:14
• 16. Colossians 2:16

Footnotes

• [a]. Lit "crowd"
• [b]. also called "Matthew"
• [c]. Lit "happens"
• [d]. I.e. irreligious Jews
• [e]. Lit "were reclining with"
• [f]. I.e. irreligious Jews
• [g]. Lit "sons of the bridal-chamber"
• [h]. Lit "that which is put on"
• [i]. Lit "that which fills up"
• [j]. Or "showbread;" lit "loaves of presentation"
• [k]. Or "came into being"
• [l]. Lit "because for the sake of"
• [m]. Lit "because for the sake of"