Jesus Calls the First Disciples
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On one occasion, while the crowd was pressing in on him to hear the word of God, he was standing by 1the lake of Gennesaret,
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2and he saw two boats by the lake, but the fishermen had gone out of them and were 3washing their nets.
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Getting into one of the boats, which was Simon's, he asked him to put out a little from the land. And 4he sat down and taught the people from the boat.
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And when he had finished speaking, he said to Simon, 5"Put out into the deep and let down your nets for a catch."
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And Simon answered, "Master, 6we toiled all night and took nothing! But at your word I will let down the nets."
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And when they had done this, 7they enclosed a large number of fish, and 8their nets were breaking.
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They signaled to their partners in the other boat to come and help them. 9And they came and filled both the boats, so that they began to sink.
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But when Simon Peter saw it, he fell down at Jesus' knees, saying, 10"Depart from me, for 11I am a sinful man, O Lord."
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For he and all who were with him were astonished at the catch of fish that they had taken,
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and so also were James and John, sons of Zebedee, who were partners with Simon. And Jesus said to Simon, "Do not be afraid; from now on you will be catching men."
Jesus Cleanses a Leper
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While he was in one of the cities, 13there came a man full of leprosy.a And when he saw Jesus, he 14fell on his face and begged him, "Lord, 15if you will, you can make me clean."
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And Jesusb stretched out his hand and touched him, saying, "I will; be clean." And immediately the leprosy left him.
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And he charged him 16to tell no one, but "go and show 17yourself to the priest, and 18make an offering for your cleansing, as Moses commanded, 19for a proof to them."
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20But now even more the report about him went abroad, and great crowds gathered to hear him and to be healed of their infirmities.
Jesus Heals a Paralytic
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On one of those days, as he was teaching, Pharisees and 23teachers of the law were sitting there, who had come from every village of Galilee and Judea and from Jerusalem. And 24the power of the Lord was with him to heal.c
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25And behold, some men were bringing 26on a bed a man who was paralyzed, and they were seeking to bring him in and lay him before Jesus,
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but finding no way to bring him in, because of the crowd, they went up on 27the roof and let him down with his bed 28through the tiles into the midst before Jesus.
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And the scribes and the Pharisees began to question, saying, "Who is this who speaks 31blasphemies? 32Who can forgive sins but God alone?"
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Which is easier, to say, 'Your sins are forgiven you,' or to say, 'Rise and walk'?
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But that you may know that 34the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins"--he said to the man who was paralyzed--"I say to you, rise, pick up your bed and go home."
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And immediately he rose up before them and picked up what he had been lying on and went home, 35glorifying God.
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And amazement seized them all, and they 36glorified God and were filled 37with awe, saying, "We have seen extraordinary things today."
Jesus Calls Levi
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38After this he went out and saw 39a tax collector named 40Levi, sitting at the tax booth. And he said to him, "Follow me."
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And Levi made him a great feast in his house, and there was a large company 42of tax collectors and others reclining at table with them.
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And the Pharisees and 43their scribes grumbled at his disciples, saying, 44"Why do you eat and drink with tax collectors and sinners?"
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And Jesus answered them, "Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick.
A Question About Fasting
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And they said to him, 48"The disciples of John 49fast often and 50offer prayers, 51and so do the disciples of the Pharisees, but yours eat and drink."
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53The days will come when the bridegroom is taken away from them, and 54then they will fast in those days."
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He also told them a parable: "No one tears a piece from a new garment and puts it on an old garment. If he does, he will tear the new, and the piece from the new will not match the old.
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And no one puts new wine into old 55wineskins. If he does, the new wine will burst the skins and it will be spilled, and the skins will be destroyed.
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But new wine must be put into fresh wineskins.
The English Standard Version is published with the permission of Good News Publishers.
(English Standard Version - The Holy Bible Online)