Matthew 8–9

A Leper Cleansed

8And when^* he came down from the mountain, large crowds followed him. ²And behold, a leper approached and^* worshiped him, saying, “Lord, if you are willing, you are able to make me clean.” ³And extending his hand he touched him, saying, “I am willing, be clean.” And immediately his leprosy was cleansed. ⁴And Jesus said to him, “See that you tell no one, but go, show yourself to the priest and offer the gift that Moses commanded, for a testimony to them.”

A Centurion’s Slave Healed

⁵Now when^* he entered Capernaum, a centurion approached him, appealing to him ⁶and saying, “Lord, my slave^a is lying paralyzed in my^b house, terribly tormented!” ⁷And he said to him, “I will come and^* heal him.” ⁸And the centurion answered and^* said, “Lord, I am not worthy that you should come in under my roof. But only say the word and my slave will be healed. ⁹For I also am a man under authority who has soldiers under me, and I say to this one, ‘Go!’ and he goes, and to another one, ‘Come!’ and he comes, and to my slave, ‘Do this!’ and he does it^c.”

¹⁰Now when^* Jesus heard this,^* he was astonished, and said to those who were following him,^* “Truly I say to you, I have found such great faith with no one in Israel. ¹¹But I say to you that many will come from east and west and be seated at the banquet^d with Abraham and Isaac and Jacob in the kingdom of heaven. ¹²But the sons of the kingdom will be thrown out into the outer darkness. In that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth!” ¹³And Jesus said to the centurion, “Go, as you have believed it will be done for you.” And the slave^e was healed at that hour.

Many at Capernaum Are Healed

¹⁴And when^* Jesus came into Peter’s house, he saw his mother-in-law lying down and suffering with a fever. ¹⁵And he touched her hand and the fever left her, and she got up and began to serve him.

¹⁶Now when it^* was evening, they brought to him many who were demon-possessed, and he expelled the spirits with a word. And he healed all those who were sick,^{f 17}in order that what was spoken through the prophet Isaiah would be fulfilled, who said,

“He himself took away our sicknesses,

and carried away our diseases.”^g

Would-be Followers

¹⁸Now when^* Jesus saw many crowds^h around him, he gave orders to depart to the other side.^{i 19}And a scribe approached and^* said to him, “Teacher, I will follow you wherever you go!” ²⁰And Jesus said to him, “Foxes have dens and birds of the sky have nests, but the Son of Man has no place to lay his head.” ²¹And another of the disciples^j said to him, “Lord, allow me first to go and bury my father.” ²²But Jesus said to him, “Follow me, and leave the dead to bury their own dead!”

Calming of a Storm

²³And as^* he got into the boat, his disciples followed him. ²⁴And behold, a great storm arose on the sea, so that the boat was being inundated by the waves, but he himself was asleep. ²⁵And they came and^* woke him, saying, “Lord, save us!^* We are perishing!” ²⁶And he said to them, “Why are you fearful, you of little faith?” Then he got up and^* rebuked the winds and the sea and there was a great calm. ²⁷And the men were astonished, saying, “What sort of man is this, that even the winds and the sea obey him?”

Demon-possessed Gadarenes Healed

²⁸And when^* he came to the other side,^k to the region of the Gadarenes,^l two demon-possessed men coming from among the tombs met him, very violent, so that no one was able to pass by along that road. ²⁹And behold, they cried out, saying, “What do you have to do with us,^m Son of God? Have you come here to torment us before the time?”^{n 30}Now a long way from them a large herd of pigs was feeding. ³¹So the demons implored him, saying, “If you are going to expel us, send us into the herd of pigs.” ³²And he said to them, “Go!” So they departed and^* went into the pigs, and behold, the whole herd rushed headlong down the steep slope into the sea and drowned in the water. ³³Now the herdsmen fled and went into the town and^* reported everything, including the things concerning the demon-possessed men. ³⁴And behold, the whole town came out to meet Jesus, and when they^* saw him, they implored him^* that he would depart from their region.

A Paralytic Healed

9And getting into a boat, he crossed over and came to his own town.^{a 2}And behold, they brought to him a paralytic lying on a stretcher, and when^* Jesus saw their faith, he said to the paralytic, “Have courage, child, your sins are forgiven.” ³And behold, some of the scribes said to themselves, “This man is blaspheming!” ⁴And knowing^b their thoughts, Jesus said, “Why do you think evil in your hearts? ⁵For which is easier to say, ‘Your sins are forgiven,’ or to say, ‘Get up and walk’? ⁶But in order that you may know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins,” then he said to the paralytic, “Get up, pick up your stretcher and go to your home.” ⁷And he got up and^* went to his home. ⁸But when^* the crowds saw this,^* they were afraid and glorified God who had given such authority to men.

Matthew Called to Follow Jesus

⁹And as^* Jesus was going away from there, he saw a man called Matthew sitting at the tax booth and said to him, “Follow me!” And he stood up and^* followed him.

¹⁰And it happened as^* he was dining^c in the house, behold, many tax collectors and sinners were coming and^* dining^d with Jesus and his disciples. ¹¹And when they^* saw it,^* the Pharisees began to say to his disciples, “Why does your teacher eat with tax collectors and sinners?” ¹²And when he^* heard it,^* he said, “Those who are healthy do not have need of a physician, but those who are sick.^{e 13}But go and^* learn what it means, “I want mercy and not sacrifice.”^f For I did not come to call the righteous, but sinners.”

On Fasting

¹⁴Then the disciples of John^g approached him, saying, “Why do we and the Pharisees fast often, but your disciples do not fast?” ¹⁵And Jesus said to them, “The bridegroom’s attendants^h are not able to mourn as long as the bridegroom is with them. But days are coming when the bridegroom is taken away from them, and then they will fast. ¹⁶But no one puts a patch of unshrunken cloth on an old garment, for its patch pulls away from the garment, and the tear becomes worse. ¹⁷Nor do they put new wine into old wineskins. Otherwiseⁱ the wineskins burst and the wine is spilled, and the wineskins are destroyed. But they put new wine into new wineskins and both are preserved.”

A Woman Healed and a Daughter Raised

¹⁸As^* he was saying these things to them, behold, one of the rulers came and^* knelt down before him, saying, “My daughter has just now died, but come, place your hand on her and she will live!” ¹⁹And Jesus and his disciples got up and^* followed him. ²⁰And behold, a woman who had been suffering with a hemorrhage twelve years approached from behind and^* touched the edge^j of his cloak, ²¹for she said to herself, “If only I touch his cloak I will be healed.” ²²But Jesus, turning around and seeing her, said, “Have courage, daughter! Your faith has healed you.” And the woman was healed from that hour.

²³And when^* Jesus came into the ruler’s house and saw the flute players and the disorderly crowd, ²⁴he said, “Go away, because the girl is not dead, but is sleeping.” And they ridiculed him. ²⁵But when the crowd had been sent out, he entered and^* took her hand, and the girl got up. ²⁶And this report went out into that whole region.

Two Blind Men Healed

²⁷And as^* Jesus was going away from there, two blind men followed him, crying out and saying, “Have mercy on us, Son of David!” ²⁸And when he^* came into the house, the blind men approached him, and Jesus said to them, “Do you believe that I am able to do this?” They said to him, “Yes, Lord.” ²⁹Then he touched their eyes, saying, “According to your faith let it be done for you.” ³⁰And their eyes were opened, and Jesus sternly warned them, saying, “See that no one finds out.” ³¹But they went out and^* spread the report about him in that whole region.

A Demon Expelled

³²Now as^* they were going away, behold, they brought to him a demon-possessed man who was unable to speak. ³³And after^* the demon had been expelled, the one who had been mute spoke, and the crowds were astonished, saying, “This has never been seen before^k in Israel!” ³⁴But the Pharisees were saying,^l “By the ruler of demons he expels the demons!”

A Plentiful Harvest But Few Workers

³⁵And Jesus was going around all the towns and the villages, teaching in their synagogues and proclaiming the good news of the kingdom and healing every^m disease and everyⁿ sickness. ³⁶And when he^* saw the crowds, he had compassion for them, because they were weary and dejected, like sheep that did not have a shepherd. ³⁷Then he said to his disciples, “The harvest is plentiful, but the workers are few. ³⁸Therefore ask the Lord of the harvest that he send out workers into his harvest.”