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Some men came carrying a paralyzed man lying on a bed. They wanted to bring him inside and lay him in front of Yeshua,
19
but they couldn't find a way to get him in because of the crowd. So they went up onto the roof and lowered him on his mattress through the tiles into the middle of the gathering, right in front of Yeshua.
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When Yeshua saw their trust, he said, "Friend, your sins are forgiven you."
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The Torah-teachers and the P'rushim began thinking, "Who is this fellow that speaks such blasphemies? Who can forgive sin except God?"
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But Yeshua, knowing what they were think ing, answered, "Why are you turning over such thoughts in your hearts?
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Which is easier to say? `Your sins are forgiven you'? or `Get up and walk'?
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But look! I will prove to you that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins." He then said to the paralytic, "I say to you: get up, pick up your mattress and go home!"
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Immediately, in front of everyone, he stood up, picked up what he had been lying on, and went home praising God.
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Amazement seized them all, and they made a b'rakhah to God; they were awestruck, saying, "We have seen extraordinary things today."
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Later Yeshua went out and saw a tax-collector named Levi sitting in his tax-collection booth; and he said to him, "Follow me!"
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He got up, left everything and followed him.