Matthew 9–10

The Paralytic is Forgiven

Mark 2:1–12; Luke 5:17–26

9So He got into a boat, crossed over, ^aand came to His own city. ^2bThen behold, they brought to Him a paralytic lying on a bed. ^cWhen Jesus saw their faith, He said to the paralytic, “Son, be of good cheer; your sins are forgiven you.”

³And at once some of the scribes said within themselves, “This Man blasphemes!”

⁴But Jesus, ^dknowing their thoughts, said, “Why do you think evil in your hearts? ⁵For which is easier, to say, ‘Your sins are forgiven you,’ or to say, ‘Arise and walk’? ⁶But that you may know that the Son of Man has power on earth to forgive sins”—then He said to the paralytic, “Arise, take up your bed, and go to your house.” ⁷And he arose and departed to his house.

⁸Now when the multitudes saw it, they ^emarveled ¹and glorified God, who had given such power to men.

Matthew is Called

Mark 2:14; Luke 5:27, 28

^9fAs Jesus passed on from there, He saw a man named Matthew sitting at the tax office. And He said to him, “Follow Me.” So he arose and followed Him.

The Disciples Eat with Sinners

Mark 2:15–17; Luke 5:29–32

^10gNow it happened, as Jesus sat at the table in the house, that behold, many tax collectors and sinners came and sat down with Him and His disciples. ¹¹And when the Pharisees saw it, they said to His disciples, “Why does your Teacher eat with ^htax collectors and ⁱsinners?”

¹²When Jesus heard that, He said to them, “Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick. ¹³But go and learn what this means: ^j‘I desire mercy and not sacrifice.’ For I did not come to call the righteous, ^kbut sinners, ²to repentance.”

The Disciples Do Not Fast

Mark 2:18–22; Luke 5:33–39

¹⁴Then the disciples of John came to Him, saying, ^l“Why do we and the Pharisees fast ³often, but Your disciples do not fast?”

¹⁵And Jesus said to them, “Can ^mthe ⁴friends of the bridegroom mourn as long as the bridegroom is with them? But the days will come when the bridegroom will be taken away from them, and ⁿthen they will fast. ¹⁶No one puts a piece of unshrunk cloth on an old garment; for ⁵the patch pulls away from the garment, and the tear is made worse. ¹⁷Nor do they put new wine into old wineskins, or else the wineskins ⁶break, the wine is spilled, and the wineskins are ruined. But they put new wine into new wineskins, and both are preserved.”

Life is Restored

Mark 5:21–43; Luke 8:40–56

^18oWhile He spoke these things to them, behold, a ruler came and worshiped Him, saying, “My daughter has just died, but come and lay Your hand on her and she will live.” ¹⁹So Jesus arose and followed him, and so did His ^pdisciples.

^20qAnd suddenly, a woman who had a flow of blood for twelve years came from behind and ^rtouched the hem of His garment. ²¹For she said to herself, “If only I may touch His garment, I shall be made well.” ²²But Jesus turned around, and when He saw her He said, “Be of good cheer, daughter; ^syour faith has made you well.” And the woman was made well from that hour.

^23tWhen Jesus came into the ruler’s house, and saw ^uthe flute players and the noisy crowd wailing, ²⁴He said to them, ^v“Make room, for the girl is not dead, but sleeping.” And they ridiculed Him. ²⁵But when the crowd was put outside, He went in and ^wtook her by the hand, and the girl arose. ²⁶And the ^xreport of this went out into all that land.

Sight is Restored

²⁷When Jesus departed from there, ^ytwo blind men followed Him, crying out and saying, ^z“Son of David, have mercy on us!”

²⁸And when He had come into the house, the blind men came to 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 to you.” ³⁰And their eyes were opened. And Jesus sternly warned them, saying, ^a“See that no one knows it.” ^31bBut when they had departed, they ⁷spread the news about Him in all that ⁸country.

Speech is Restored

^32cAs they went out, behold, they brought to Him a man, mute and demon-possessed. ³³And when the demon was cast out, the mute spoke. And the multitudes marveled, saying, “It was never seen like this in Israel!”

³⁴But the Pharisees said, ^d“He casts out demons by the ruler of the demons.”

The Need for Delegation of Power

³⁵Then Jesus went about all the cities and villages, ^eteaching in their synagogues, preaching the gospel of the kingdom, and healing every sickness and every disease ⁹among the people. ^36fBut when He saw the multitudes, He was moved with compassion for them, because they were ¹weary and scattered, ^glike sheep having no shepherd. ³⁷Then He said to His disciples, ^h“The harvest truly is plentiful, but the laborers are few. ³⁸ⁱTherefore pray the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into His harvest.”

The Twelve Apostles are Sent

Mark 6:7; Luke 9:1

10And ^awhen He had called His twelve disciples to Him, He gave them power over unclean spirits, to cast them out, and to heal all kinds of sickness and all kinds of disease. ²Now the names of the twelve apostles are these: first, Simon, ^bwho is called Peter, and Andrew his brother; James the son of Zebedee, and John his brother; ³Philip and Bartholomew; Thomas and Matthew the tax collector; James the son of Alphaeus, and ¹Lebbaeus, whose surname was Thaddaeus; ^4cSimon the ²Cananite, and Judas ^dIscariot, who also betrayed Him.

The Twelve Apostles are Instructed

Mark 6:8–13; Luke 9:2–6, 12:2–10

⁵These twelve Jesus sent out and commanded them, saying: ^e“Do not go into the way of the Gentiles, and do not enter a city of ^fthe Samaritans. ^6gBut go rather to the ^hlost sheep of the house of Israel. ⁷ⁱAnd as you go, preach, saying, ^j‘The kingdom of heaven ³is at hand.’ ⁸Heal the sick, ⁴cleanse the lepers, ⁵raise the dead, cast out demons. ^kFreely you have received, freely give. ^9lProvide neither gold nor silver nor ^mcopper in your money belts, ¹⁰nor bag for your journey, nor two tunics, nor sandals, nor staffs; ⁿfor a worker is worthy of his food.

^11o“Now whatever city or town you enter, inquire who in it is worthy, and stay there till you go out. ¹²And when you go into a household, greet it. ^13pIf the household is worthy, let your peace come upon it. ^qBut if it is not worthy, let your peace return to you. ^14rAnd whoever will not receive you nor hear your words, when you depart from that house or city, ^sshake off the dust from your feet. ¹⁵Assuredly, I say to you, ^tit will be more tolerable for the land of Sodom and Gomorrah in the day of judgment than for that city!

^16u“Behold, I send you out as sheep in the midst of wolves. ^vTherefore be wise as serpents and ^wharmless ⁶as doves. ¹⁷But beware of men, for ^xthey will deliver you up to councils and ^yscourge you in their synagogues. ^18zYou will be brought before governors and kings for My sake, as a testimony to them and to the Gentiles. ^19aBut when they deliver you up, do not worry about how or what you should speak. For ^bit will be given to you in that hour what you should speak; ^20cfor it is not you who speak, but the Spirit of your Father who speaks in you.

^21d“Now brother will deliver up brother to death, and a father his child; and children will rise up against parents and cause them to be put to death. ²²And ^eyou will be hated by all for My name’s sake. ^fBut he who endures to the end will be saved. ^23gWhen they persecute you in this city, flee to another. For assuredly, I say to you, you will not have ^hgone through the cities of Israel ⁱbefore the Son of Man comes.

^24j“A disciple is not above his teacher, nor a servant above his master. ²⁵It is enough for a disciple that he be like his teacher, and a servant like his master. If ^kthey have called the master of the house ⁷Beelzebub, how much more will they call those of his household! ²⁶Therefore do not fear them. ^lFor there is nothing covered that will not be revealed, and hidden that will not be known.

²⁷“Whatever I tell you in the dark, ^mspeak in the light; and what you hear in the ear, preach on the housetops. ²⁸ⁿAnd do not fear those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. But rather ^ofear Him who is able to destroy both soul and body in ⁸hell. ²⁹Are not two ^psparrows sold for a ⁹copper coin? And not one of them falls to the ground apart from your Father’s will. ^30qBut the very hairs of your head are all numbered. ³¹Do not fear therefore; you are of more value than many sparrows.

^32r“Therefore whoever confesses Me before men, ^shim I will also confess before My Father who is in heaven. ^33tBut whoever denies Me before men, him I will also deny before My Father who is in heaven.

^34u“Do not think that I came to bring peace on earth. I did not come to bring peace but a sword. ³⁵For I have come to ^v‘set ¹a man against his father, a daughter against her mother, and a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law’; ³⁶and ^w‘a man’s enemies will be those of his own household.’ ^37xHe who loves father or mother more than Me is not worthy of Me. And he who loves son or daughter more than Me is not worthy of Me. ^38yAnd he who does not take his cross and follow after Me is not worthy of Me. ^39zHe who finds his life will lose it, and he who loses his life for My sake will find it.

^40a“He who receives you receives Me, and he who receives Me receives Him who sent Me. ^41bHe who receives a prophet in the name of a prophet shall receive a prophet’s reward. And he who receives a righteous man in the name of a righteous man shall receive a righteous man’s reward. ^42cAnd whoever gives one of these little ones only a cup of cold water in the name of a disciple, assuredly, I say to you, he shall by no means lose his reward.”