²A man who had a skin disease came and got down on his knees in front of Jesus. He said, “Lord, if you are willing to make me ‘clean,’ you can do it.”

³Jesus reached out his hand and touched the man. “I am willing to do it,” he said. “Be ‘clean’!”

Right away the man was healed of his skin disease.

⁴Then Jesus said to him, “Don’t tell anyone. Go and show yourself to the priest. Offer the gift Moses commanded. It will be a witness to them.”

A Roman Commander Has Faith

⁵When Jesus entered Capernaum, a Roman commander came to him. He asked Jesus for help. ⁶“Lord,” he said, “my servant lies at home and can’t move. He is suffering terribly.”

⁷Jesus said, “I will go and heal him.”

⁸The commander replied, “Lord, I am not good enough to have you come into my house. But just say the word, and my servant will be healed. ⁹I myself am a man under authority. And I have soldiers who obey my orders. I tell this one, ‘Go,’ and he goes. I tell that one, ‘Come,’ and he comes. I say to my servant, ‘Do this,’ and he does it.”

¹⁰When Jesus heard this, he was amazed. He said to those following him, “What I’m about to tell you is true. In Israel I have not found anyone whose faith is so strong.

¹¹“I say to you that many will come from the east and the west. They will take their places at the feast in the kingdom of heaven. They will sit with Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. ¹²But those who think they belong to the kingdom will be thrown outside, into the darkness. There they will sob and grind their teeth.”

¹³Then Jesus said to the Roman commander, “Go! It will be done just as you believed it would.”

And his servant was healed at that very hour.

Jesus Heals Many People

¹⁴When Jesus came into Peter’s house, he saw Peter’s mother-in-law. She was lying in bed. She had a fever.

¹⁵Jesus touched her hand, and the fever left her. She got up and began to wait on him.

¹⁶When evening came, many people controlled by demons were brought to Jesus. He drove out the spirits with a word. He healed all who were sick.

¹⁷He did it to make what the prophet Isaiah had said come true. He had said,

“He suffered the things we should have suffered.

He took on himself the sicknesses that should have been ours.”

It Costs to Follow Jesus

¹⁸Jesus saw the crowd around him. So he gave his disciples orders to go to the other side of the Sea of Galilee.

¹⁹Then a teacher of the law came to him. He said, “Teacher, I will follow you no matter where you go.”

²⁰Jesus replied, “Foxes have holes. Birds of the air have nests. But the Son of Man has no place to lay his head.”

²¹Another follower said to him, “Lord, first let me go and bury my father.”

²²But Jesus told him, “Follow me. Let the dead bury their own dead.”

Jesus Calms the Storm

²³Jesus got into a boat. His disciples followed him. ²⁴Suddenly a terrible storm came up on the lake. The waves crashed over the boat. But Jesus was sleeping.

²⁵The disciples went and woke him up. They said, “Lord! Save us! We’re going to drown!”

²⁶He replied, “Your faith is so small! Why are you so afraid?”

Then Jesus got up and ordered the winds and the waves to stop. It became completely calm.

²⁷The disciples were amazed. They asked, “What kind of man is this? Even the winds and the waves obey him!”

Jesus Heals Two Men Controlled by Demons

²⁸Jesus arrived at the other side of the lake in the area of the Gadarenes. Two men controlled by demons met him. They came from the tombs. The men were so wild that no one could pass that way.

²⁹“Son of God, what do you want with us?” they shouted. “Have you come here to punish us before the time for us to be judged?”

³⁰Not very far away, a large herd of pigs was feeding. ³¹The demons begged Jesus, “If you drive us out, send us into the herd of pigs.”

³²Jesus said to them, “Go!”

So the demons came out of the men and went into the pigs. The whole herd rushed down the steep bank. They ran into the lake and drowned in the water.

³³Those who were tending the pigs ran off. They went into the town and reported all this. They told the people what had happened to the men who had been controlled by demons.

³⁴Then the whole town went out to meet Jesus. When they saw him, they begged him to leave their area.

Jesus Heals a Man Who Could Not Walk

9Jesus stepped into a boat. He went over to the other side of the lake and came to his own town. ²Some men brought to him a man who could not walk. He was lying on a mat. Jesus saw that they had faith. So he said to the man, “Don’t lose hope, son. Your sins are forgiven.”

³Then some teachers of the law said to themselves, “This fellow is saying a very evil thing!”

⁴Jesus knew what they were thinking. So he said, “Why do you have evil thoughts in your hearts? 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 spoke to the man who could not walk. “Get up,” he said. “Take your mat and go home.” ⁷The man got up and went home.

⁸When the crowd saw this, they were filled with wonder. They praised God for giving that kind of authority to men.

Jesus Chooses Matthew

⁹As Jesus went on from there, he saw a man named Matthew. He was sitting at the tax collector’s booth.

“Follow me,” Jesus told him. Matthew got up and followed him.

¹⁰Later Jesus was having dinner at Matthew’s house. Many tax collectors and “sinners” came. They ate with Jesus and his disciples.

¹¹The Pharisees saw this. So they asked the disciples, “Why does your teacher eat with tax collectors and ‘sinners’?”

¹²Jesus heard that. So he said, “Those who are healthy don’t need a doctor. Sick people do. ¹³Go and learn what this means, ‘I want mercy and not sacrifice.’ I have not come to get those who think they are right with God to follow me. I have come to get sinners to follow me.”

Jesus Is Asked About Fasting

¹⁴One day John’s disciples came. They said to Jesus, “We and the Pharisees go without eating. Why don’t your disciples go without eating?”

¹⁵Jesus answered, “How can the guests of the groom be sad while he is with them? The time will come when the groom will be taken away from them. Then they will fast.

¹⁶“People don’t sew a patch of new cloth on old clothes. The new piece will pull away from the old. That will make the tear worse.

¹⁷“People don’t pour new wine into old wineskins. If they do, the skins will burst. The wine will run out, and the wineskins will be destroyed. No, everyone pours new wine into new wineskins. Then both are saved.”

A Dead Girl and a Suffering Woman

¹⁸While Jesus was saying this, a ruler came. He got down on his knees in front of Jesus. He said, “My daughter has just died. But come and place your hand on her. Then she will live again.”

¹⁹Jesus got up and went with him. So did his disciples.

²⁰Just then a woman came up behind Jesus. She had a sickness that made her bleed. It had lasted for 12 years. She touched the edge of his clothes. ²¹She thought, “I only need to touch his clothes. Then I will be healed.”

²²Jesus turned and saw her. “Dear woman, don’t give up hope,” he said. “Your faith has healed you.” The woman was healed at that very moment.

²³When Jesus entered the ruler’s house, he saw the flute players there. And he saw the noisy crowd. ²⁴He said, “Go away. The girl is not dead. She is sleeping.” But they laughed at him.

²⁵After the crowd had been sent outside, Jesus went in. He took the girl by the hand, and she got up. ²⁶News about what Jesus had done spread all over that area.

Jesus Heals Two Blind Men

²⁷As Jesus went on from there, two blind men followed him. They called out, “Have mercy on us, Son of David!”

²⁸When Jesus went indoors, the blind men came to him. He asked them, “Do you believe that I can do this?”

“Yes, Lord,” they replied.

²⁹Then he touched their eyes. He said, “It will happen to you just as you believed.” ³⁰They could now see again. Jesus strongly warned them, “Be sure that no one knows about this.” ³¹But they went out and spread the news. They talked about him all over that area.

³²While they were going out, another man was brought to Jesus. A demon controlled him, and he could not speak. ³³When the demon was driven out, the man spoke.

The crowd was amazed. They said, “Nothing like this has ever been seen in Israel.” ³⁴But the Pharisees said, “He drives out demons by the power of the prince of demons.”

There Are Only a Few Workers

³⁵Jesus went through all the towns and villages. He taught in their synagogues. He preached the good news of the kingdom. And he healed every illness and sickness. ³⁶When he saw the crowds, he felt deep concern for them. They were beaten down and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd.

³⁷Then Jesus said to his disciples, “The harvest is huge. But there are only a few workers. ³⁸So ask the Lord of the harvest to send workers out into his harvest field.”

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