9 Is it easier to say to this paralysed man, ‘Your sins are forgiven’, or to say, ‘Get up, pick up your mat, and walk’?
10 I will prove to you, then, that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins.” So he said to the paralysed man,
11 “I tell you, get up, pick up your mat, and go home!”
12 While they all watched, the man got up, picked up his mat, and hurried away. They were all completely amazed and praised God, saying, “We have never seen anything like this!”
13 Jesus went back again to the shore of Lake Galilee. A crowd came to him, and he started teaching them.
14 As he walked along, he saw a tax collector, Levi son of Alphaeus, sitting in his office. Jesus said to him, “Follow me.” Levi got up and followed him.
15 Later on Jesus was having a meal in Levi's house. A large number of tax collectors and other outcasts were following Jesus, and many of them joined him and his disciples at the table.