Matthew 9–10

Jesus Heals a Paralytic

9And getting into a boat he crossed over and came to ^vhis own city. ^2wAnd behold, some people brought to him a paralytic, lying on a bed. And when Jesus ^xsaw their faith, he said to the paralytic, ^y“Take heart, my son; ^zyour sins are forgiven.” ³And behold, some of the scribes said to themselves, ^a“This man is blaspheming.” ⁴But Jesus, ^bknowing¹ their thoughts, said, “Why do you think evil in your hearts? ⁵For which is easier, to say, ‘Your sins are forgiven,’ or to say, ‘Rise and walk’? ⁶But that you may know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins”—he then said to the paralytic—“Rise, pick up your bed and go home.” ⁷And he rose and went home. ⁸When the crowds saw it, ^cthey were afraid, and ^cthey glorified God, who had ^dgiven such authority to men.

Jesus Calls Matthew

^9eAs Jesus passed on from there, he saw a man called ^fMatthew sitting at the tax booth, and he said to him, “Follow me.” And he rose and followed him.

¹⁰And as Jesus² reclined at table in the house, behold, many ^gtax collectors and sinners came and were reclining with Jesus and his disciples. ¹¹And when the Pharisees saw this, they said to his disciples, ^h“Why does your teacher eat with ^gtax collectors and sinners?” ¹²But when he heard it, he said, “Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick. ¹³Go and learn ⁱwhat this means: ^j‘I desire mercy, and not sacrifice.’ For ^kI came not to call the righteous, ^lbut sinners.”

A Question About Fasting

¹⁴Then ^mthe disciples of John came to him, saying, ⁿ“Why do we and ^othe Pharisees fast,³ but your disciples do not fast?” ¹⁵And Jesus said to them, ^p“Can the wedding guests mourn as long as the bridegroom is with them? ^qThe days will come when the bridegroom is taken away from them, and ^rthen they will fast. ¹⁶No one puts a piece of unshrunk cloth on an old garment, for the patch tears away from the garment, and a worse tear is made. ¹⁷Neither is new wine put into old ^swineskins. If it is, the skins burst and the wine is spilled and the skins are destroyed. But new wine is put into fresh wineskins, and so both are preserved.”

A Girl Restored to Life and a Woman Healed

^18tWhile he was saying these things to them, behold, a ruler came in and ^uknelt before him, saying, “My daughter has just died, but come and lay your hand on her, and she will live.” ¹⁹And Jesus rose and followed him, with his disciples. ²⁰And behold, a woman ^vwho had suffered from a discharge of blood for twelve years came up behind him and touched ^wthe fringe of his garment, ²¹for she said to herself, “If I only touch his garment, I will be made well.” ²²Jesus turned, and seeing her he said, ^x“Take heart, daughter; your faith has made you well.” ^yAnd instantly⁴ the woman was made well. ²³And when Jesus came to the ruler’s house and saw ^zthe flute players and the crowd making a commotion, ²⁴he said, “Go away, for ^athe girl is not dead but ^bsleeping.” And they laughed at him. ²⁵But ^cwhen the crowd had been put outside, he went in and ^dtook her by the hand, and the girl arose. ²⁶And the report of this went through all that district.

Jesus Heals Two Blind Men

^27eAnd as Jesus passed on from there, two blind men followed him, crying aloud, “Have mercy on us, ^fSon of David.” ²⁸When he entered the house, the blind men came to him, and Jesus said to them, “Do you believe that I am able to do this?” They said to him, “Yes, Lord.” ^29gThen he touched their eyes, saying, ^h“According to your faith let it be done to you.” ³⁰And their eyes were opened. And Jesus sternly warned them, ⁱ“See that no one knows about it.” ^31jBut they went away and spread his fame through all that district.

Jesus Heals a Man Unable to Speak

³²As they were going away, behold, a ^kdemon-oppressed man who was mute ^lwas brought to him. ³³And when the demon had been cast out, the mute man spoke. And the crowds ^mmarveled, saying, “Never was anything like this seen in Israel.” ³⁴But the Pharisees said, “He casts out demons by the prince of demons.”

The Harvest Is Plentiful, the Laborers Few

³⁵ⁿAnd Jesus went throughout all the cities and villages, teaching in their synagogues and proclaiming the gospel of the kingdom and healing every disease and every affliction. ^36oWhen he saw the crowds, ^phe had compassion for them, because they were harassed and helpless, ^qlike sheep without a shepherd. ^37rThen he said to his disciples, “The harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few; ³⁸therefore ^spray earnestly to the Lord of the harvest to ^tsend out laborers into his harvest.”

The Twelve Apostles

10^uAnd he called to him his twelve disciples and gave them authority over unclean spirits, to cast them out, and to heal every disease and every affliction. ^2vThe names of the twelve apostles are these: first, Simon, ^wwho is called Peter, and ^xAndrew his brother; ^xJames the son of Zebedee, and John his brother; ³Philip and Bartholomew; Thomas and ^yMatthew the tax collector; James the son of Alphaeus, and Thaddaeus;^{1 4}Simon the Zealot,² and Judas Iscariot, who betrayed him.

Jesus Sends Out the Twelve Apostles

^5uThese twelve Jesus sent out, instructing them, “Go nowhere among the Gentiles and enter no town of ^zthe Samaritans, ^6abut go rather to ^bthe lost sheep of ^cthe house of Israel. ⁷And proclaim as you go, saying, ^d‘The kingdom of heaven is at hand.’^{3 8e}Heal the sick, raise the dead, cleanse lepers,⁴ cast out demons. ^fYou received without paying; give without pay. ^9gAcquire no gold or silver or copper for your belts, ¹⁰no bag for your journey, or two tunics⁵ or sandals or a staff, for ^hthe laborer deserves his food. ¹¹And whatever town or village you enter, find out who is worthy in it and stay there until you depart. ¹²As you enter the house, ⁱgreet it. ¹³And if the house is ^jworthy, let ⁱyour peace come upon it, but if it is not worthy, let ⁱyour peace return to you. ¹⁴And if anyone will not receive you or listen to your words, ^lshake off the dust from your feet when you leave that house or town. ¹⁵Truly, I say to you, ^mit will be more bearable on the day of judgment for ⁿthe land of Sodom and Gomorrah than for that town.

Persecution Will Come

^16o“Behold, I am sending you out as sheep in the midst of wolves, so be ^pwise as serpents and ^qinnocent as doves. ¹⁷Beware of men, for ^rthey will deliver you over to courts and flog you ^sin their synagogues, ^18rand you will be dragged before governors and kings for my sake, ^tto bear witness before them and the Gentiles. ^19rWhen ^uthey deliver you over, ^vdo not be anxious how you are to speak or what you are to say, for ^wwhat you are to say will be given to you in that hour. ^20xFor it is not you who speak, but ^ythe Spirit of your Father speaking through you. ^21zBrother will deliver brother over to death, and the father his child, and children will rise against parents and have them put to death, ^22aand you will be hated by all for my name’s sake. ^bBut the one who endures to the end will be saved. ²³When they ^cpersecute you in one town, ^dflee to the next, for truly, I say to you, you will not have gone through all the towns of Israel ^ebefore the Son of Man comes.

^24f“A disciple is not above his teacher, nor a servant⁶ above his master. ²⁵It is enough for the disciple to be like his teacher, and the servant like his master. ^gIf they have called the master of the house Beelzebul, how much more will they malign⁷ those of his household.

Have No Fear

²⁶“So have no fear of them, ⁱfor nothing is covered that will not be revealed, or hidden that will not be known. ²⁷What I tell you in the dark, say in the light, and what you hear whispered, proclaim on ^jthe housetops. ²⁸And ^kdo not fear those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. Rather fear him ^lwho can destroy both soul and body in hell.^{8 29}Are not two sparrows sold for a penny?⁹ And not one of them will fall to the ground apart from your Father. ³⁰But ^meven the hairs of your head are all numbered. ³¹Fear not, therefore; ⁿyou are of more value than many sparrows. ^32oSo everyone who acknowledges me before men, I also will acknowledge before my Father who is in heaven, ³³but ^pwhoever denies me before men, ^qI also will deny before my Father who is in heaven.

Not Peace, but a Sword

^34r“Do not think that I have come to bring peace to the earth. ^sI have not come to bring peace, but a sword. ^35rFor I have come ^tto set a man against his father, and a daughter against her mother, and a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law. ^36uAnd a person’s enemies will be those of his own household. ^37vWhoever loves father or mother more than me is not worthy of me, and whoever loves son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me. ³⁸And ^wwhoever does not take his cross and ^xfollow me is not worthy of me. ^39yWhoever finds his life will lose it, and whoever loses his life for my sake will find it.

Rewards

^40z“Whoever receives you receives me, and ^awhoever receives me receives him who sent me. ^41bThe one who receives a prophet because he is a prophet will receive a prophet’s reward, and the one who receives a righteous person because he is a righteous person will receive a righteous person’s reward. ⁴²And ^cwhoever gives one of ^dthese little ones even a cup of cold water because he is a disciple, truly, I say to you, he will by no means lose his reward.”