Matthew 9

¹[Jesus] got into a boat, crossed over, and came to [His] own town.

²Just then [some men] brought to Him a paralytic lying on a mat. When Jesus saw their faith, He said to the paralytic, “Take courage, son; your sins are forgiven.

³On seeing this, some of the scribes said to themselves, “This [man] is blaspheming!”

⁴But Jesus knew what they were thinking [and] said, “Why do you harbor evil in your hearts?

⁵Which is easier: to say,‘ Your sins are forgiven,’ or to say,‘ Get up and walk ’?

⁶But so that you may know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins... Then He said to the paralytic, “Get up, pick up your mat, and go home.

⁷And [the man] got up and went home.

⁸When the crowds saw this, they were filled with awe and glorified God, who had given such authority to men.

⁹As Jesus went on from there, He saw a man named Matthew sitting at the tax booth. “Follow Me, He told him, and [Matthew] got up [and] followed Him.

¹⁰Later, as [Jesus] was dining at [Matthew’s] house, many tax collectors and sinners came [and] ate with [Him] and His disciples.

¹¹When the Pharisees saw this, they asked His disciples, “Why {does} your Teacher eat with tax collectors and sinners?”

¹²[On] hearing this, [Jesus] said, “[It is] not the healthy [who] need a doctor, but the sick.

¹³But go [and] learn what this means:‘ I desire mercy, not sacrifice.’ For I have not come to call [the] righteous, but sinners.

¹⁴Then John’s disciples came to [Jesus] [and] asked, “Why is it that we and the Pharisees fast so often, but Your disciples {do} not fast?”

¹⁵Jesus replied, “How can the guests of the bridegroom mourn while [He] is with them? But [the] time will come when the bridegroom will be taken from them; then they will fast.

¹⁶No one sews a patch of unshrunk cloth on an old garment. For the patch will pull away from the garment, and a worse tear will result.

¹⁷Neither do [men] pour new wine into old wineskins. If they do, the skins will burst, the wine will spill, and the wineskins will be ruined. Instead, they pour new wine into new wineskins, and both are preserved.”

¹⁸While [Jesus] was saying these things, a synagogue leader came [and] knelt before Him. “My daughter has just died,” he said. “But come [and] place Your hand on her, and she will live.”

¹⁹So Jesus got up [and] went with him, along with His disciples.

²⁰Suddenly a woman who had suffered from bleeding [for] twelve years came up behind [Him] [and] touched the fringe of His cloak.

²¹She said to herself, “If only I touch His cloak, I will be healed.”

²²Jesus turned and saw her. “Take courage, daughter, He said, “your faith has healed you. And the woman was healed from that very hour.

²³When Jesus entered the house of the synagogue leader, He saw the flute players and the noisy crowd.

²⁴“Go away, He told them. “The girl is not dead, but asleep. And they laughed at Him.

²⁵After the crowd had been put outside, [Jesus] went in [and] took [the girl] by the hand, and [she] got up.

²⁶And the news about this spread throughout that region.

²⁷As Jesus went on from there, two blind [men] followed Him, crying out, “Have mercy on us, Son of David!”

²⁸After [Jesus] had entered the house, the blind [men] came to Him. “Do you believe that I am able to do this? [He] asked. “Yes, Lord,” they answered.

²⁹Then He touched their eyes [and] said, “According to your faith will it be done to you.

³⁰And their eyes were opened. Jesus warned them sternly, “See that no one finds out about this!

³¹But they went out and spread the news about Him throughout the land.

³²As they were leaving, a demon-possessed man who was mute was brought to [Jesus].

³³And when the demon had been driven out, the [man] began to speak. The crowds were amazed [and] said, “Nothing like this has ever been seen in Israel!”

³⁴But the Pharisees said, “[It is] by the prince of demons [that] He drives out demons.”

³⁵Jesus went through all the towns and villages, teaching in their synagogues, preaching the gospel of the kingdom, and healing every disease and sickness.

³⁶When He saw the crowds, He was moved with compassion for them, because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd.

³⁷Then He said to His disciples, “The harvest [is] plentiful, but the workers [are] few.

³⁸Ask the Lord of the harvest, therefore, to send out workers into His harvest.