Matthew 9:1–17

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.”