Matthew 9–10

The Son of Man Forgives and Heals

9So He got into a boat, crossed over, and came to His own town. ^x2Just then ^ysome men ^zbrought to Him a paralytic lying on a mat. Seeing their faith, Jesus told the paralytic, “Have courage, son, your sins are forgiven.” ^a

³At this, some of the scribes said among themselves, “He’s blaspheming!” ^b

⁴But perceiving their thoughts, ^cJesus said, “Why are you thinking evil things in your hearts? ^d5For which is easier: to say, ‘Your sins are forgiven,’ or to say, ‘Get up and walk’? ⁶But so you may know that the ^•Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins”—then He told the paralytic, “Get up, pick up your mat, and go home.” ⁷And he got up and went home. ⁸When the crowds saw this, they were awestruck ^efand gave glory ^gto God who had given such authority to men.

The Call of Matthew

⁹As Jesus went on from there, ^hHe saw a man named Matthew sitting at the tax office, and He said to him, “Follow Me!” So he got up and followed Him. ⁱ

¹⁰While He was reclining at the table in the house, many tax collectors and sinners came as guests to eat ^jwith Jesus and His disciples. ^k11When the Pharisees saw this, they asked His disciples, “Why does your Teacher eat with tax collectors and sinners?” ^l

¹²But when He heard this, He said, “Those who are well don’t need a doctor, but the sick do. ^m13Go and learn what this means: I desire mercy and not sacrifice. ^noFor I didn’t come to call the righteous, but sinners.” ^p

A Question about Fasting

¹⁴Then John’s disciples came to Him, saying, “Why do we and the Pharisees fast often, but Your disciples do not fast?” ^q

¹⁵Jesus said to them, “Can the wedding guests ^rbe sad while the groom is with them? The time ^swill come when the groom will be taken away from them, and then they will fast. ¹⁶No one patches an old garment with unshrunk cloth, because the patch pulls away from the garment and makes the tear worse. ¹⁷And no one puts ^tnew wine into old wineskins. Otherwise, the skins burst, the wine spills out, and the skins are ruined. But they put new wine into fresh wineskins, and both are preserved.”

A Girl Restored and a Woman Healed

¹⁸As He was telling them these things, ^usuddenly one of the leaders ^vcame and knelt down before Him, saying, “My daughter is near death, ^wbut come and lay Your hand on her, and she will live.” ^x19So Jesus and His disciples got up and followed ^yhim.

²⁰Just then, a woman who had suffered from bleeding for 12 years approached from behind and touched the tassel on His robe, ^z21for she said to herself, “If I can just touch His robe, I’ll be made well!” ^ab

²²But Jesus turned and saw her. “Have courage, daughter,” He said. “Your faith has made you well.” ^cdAnd the woman was made well from that moment. ^e

²³When Jesus came to the leader’s house, He saw the flute players and a crowd lamenting loudly. ^f24“Leave,” He said, “because the girl isn’t dead, but sleeping.” ^gAnd they started laughing at Him. ²⁵But when the crowd had been put outside, He went in and took her by the hand, and the girl got up. ^h26And this news spread throughout that whole area. ⁱ

Healing the Blind

²⁷As Jesus went on from there, two blind men followed Him, shouting, “Have mercy on us, Son of David!” ^j

²⁸When He entered the house, the blind men approached Him, and Jesus said to them, “Do you believe ^kthat I can do this?”

“Yes, Lord,” they answered Him.

²⁹Then He touched their eyes, saying, “Let it be done for you according to your faith!” ³⁰And their eyes were opened. Then Jesus warned them sternly, “Be sure that no one finds out!” ^lm31But they went out and spread the news about Him throughout that whole area.

Driving Out a Demon

³²Just as they were going out, a demon-possessed man who was unable to speak was brought to Him. ⁿ³³When the demon had been driven out, the man ^ospoke. And the crowds were amazed, saying, “Nothing like this has ever been seen in Israel!”

³⁴But the Pharisees said, “He drives out demons by the ruler of the demons!” ^p

The Lord of the Harvest

³⁵Then Jesus went to all the towns and villages, teaching in their synagogues, preaching the good news of the kingdom, ^qand healing every ^rdisease and every sickness. ^s36When He saw the crowds, He felt compassion for them, because they were weary and worn out, ^tlike sheep without a shepherd. ^u37Then He said to His disciples, ^v“The harvest is abundant, but the workers are few. ³⁸Therefore, pray to the Lord of the harvest to send out workers into His harvest.”

Commissioning the Twelve

10Summoning His 12 disciples, ^wHe gave them authority over unclean spirits, to drive them out and to heal every ^xdisease and sickness. ^y2These are the names of the 12 apostles: ^z

First, Simon, who is called Peter,

and Andrew his brother;

James the son of Zebedee,

and John his brother;

³Philip and Bartholomew; ^a

Thomas and Matthew the tax collector;

James the son of Alphaeus, and Thaddaeus; ^b

⁴Simon the Zealot, ^cand Judas Iscariot, ^d

who also betrayed Him. ^e

⁵Jesus sent out these 12 after giving them instructions: “Don’t take the road leading to other nations, and don’t enter any ^•Samaritan ^ftown. ⁶Instead, go to the lost sheep ^gof the house of Israel. ^h7As you go, announce this: ‘The kingdom of heaven has come near.’ ⁱ⁸Heal the sick, raise the dead, cleanse those with skin diseases, drive out demons. ^jYou have received free of charge; give free of charge. ⁹Don’t take along gold, silver, or copper for your money-belts. ^k10Don’t take a traveling bag for the road, or an extra shirt, sandals, or a walking stick, for the worker ^lis worthy of his food.

¹¹“When you enter any town or village, find out who is worthy, and stay there until you leave. ¹²Greet a household when you enter it, ^m13and if the household is worthy, let your peace be on it. But if it is unworthy, let your peace return to you. ⁿ¹⁴If anyone will not welcome you or listen to your words, shake the dust off your feet ^owhen you leave that house or town. ^15•I assure you: It will be more tolerable on the day of judgment ^pfor the land of Sodom and Gomorrah than for that town. ^q

Persecutions Predicted

¹⁶“Look, I’m sending you out like sheep among wolves. Therefore be as shrewd as serpents and as harmless as doves. ^r17Because people will hand you over to sanhedrins ^sand flog you in their ^•synagogues, ^tbeware of them. ¹⁸You will even be brought before governors and kings because of Me, to bear witness to them and to the nations. ^u19But when they hand you over, don’t worry about how or what you should speak. ^vFor you will be given what to say at that hour, ²⁰because you are not speaking, but the Spirit ^wof your Father is speaking through you. ^x

²¹“Brother will betray brother to death, and a father his child. Children will even rise up against their parents and have them put to death. ^y22You will be hated by everyone because of My name. ^zBut the one who endures to the end will be delivered. ^ab23When they persecute you in one town, escape to another. ^cFor I assure you: You will not have covered the towns of Israel before the ^•Son of Man comes. ²⁴A disciple ^dis not above his teacher, or a ^•slave above his master. ^e25It is enough for a disciple to become like his teacher and a slave like his master. If they called the head of the house ‘^•Beelzebul,’ how much more the members of his household! ^f

Fear God

²⁶“Therefore, ^gdon’t be afraid of them, since there is nothing covered that won’t be uncovered and nothing hidden that won’t be made known. ^h27What I tell you in the dark, speak in the light. What you hear in a whisper, ⁱproclaim on the housetops. ^j28Don’t fear those who kill the body but are not able to kill the soul; ^krather, fear Him who is able to destroy both soul and body in ^•hell. ^l29Aren’t two sparrows sold for a penny? ^mYet not one of them falls to the ground without your Father’s ⁿconsent. ^o30But even the hairs of your head have all been counted. ^p31So don’t be afraid therefore; you are worth more than many sparrows. ^q

Acknowledging Christ

³²“Therefore, everyone who will acknowledge Me before men, I will also acknowledge him before My Father in heaven. ^r33But whoever denies Me before men, ^sI will also deny him before My Father in heaven. ³⁴Don’t assume that I came to bring peace on the earth. I did not come to bring peace, but a sword. ^t35For I came to turn

a man against his father,

a daughter against her mother,

a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law;

³⁶and a man’s enemies will be

the members of his household. ^uv

³⁷The person who loves father or mother more than Me is not worthy of Me; ^wthe person who loves son or daughter more than Me is not worthy of Me. ³⁸And whoever doesn’t take up his cross and follow ^xMe is not worthy of Me. ³⁹Anyone finding ^yhis life will lose it, ^zand anyone losing ^ahis life because of Me will find it. ^b

A Cup of Cold Water

⁴⁰“The one who welcomes you welcomes Me, ^cand the one who welcomes Me welcomes Him who sent Me. ^d41Anyone who ^ewelcomes a prophet ^fbecause he is a prophet ^gwill receive a prophet’s reward. And anyone who ^hwelcomes a righteous person because he’s righteous ⁱwill receive a righteous person’s reward. ⁴²And whoever gives ^jjust a cup of cold water to one of these little ones because he is a disciple ^kl—I assure you: He will never lose his reward!”