Matthew 9:1–12

Jesus Forgives Sins—Mark 2:1–12; Luke 5:17–26

¹Jesus got into a boat, crossed the sea, and came to his own city. ²Some people brought him a paralyzed man on a stretcher. 

When Jesus saw their faith, he said to the man, “Cheer up, friend! Your sins are forgiven.” 

³Then some of the experts in Moses’ Teachings thought, “He’s dishonoring God.” 

⁴Jesus knew what they were thinking. He asked them, “Why are you thinking evil things? ⁵Is it easier to say, ‘Your sins are forgiven,’ or to say, ‘Get up and walk’? ⁶I want you to know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins.” Then he said to the paralyzed man, “Get up, pick up your stretcher, and go home.” 

⁷So the man got up and went home. ⁸When the crowd saw this, they were filled with awe and praised God for giving such authority to humans. 

Jesus Chooses Matthew to Be a Disciple—Mark 2:13–17; Luke 5:27–32

⁹When Jesus was leaving that place, he saw a man sitting in a tax office. The man’s name was Matthew. Jesus said to him, “Follow me!” So Matthew got up and followed him. 

¹⁰Later Jesus was having dinner at Matthew’s house. Many tax collectors and sinners came to eat with Jesus and his disciples. ¹¹The Pharisees saw this and asked his disciples, “Why does your teacher eat with tax collectors and sinners?” 

¹²When Jesus heard that, he said, “Healthy people don’t need a doctor; those who are sick do.