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.

Read in Logos