Matthew 9

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.”