Matthew 9:1–12

Jesus Forgives and Heals a Paralyzed Man

9:2–8pp—Mk 2:3–12; Lk 5:18–26

9Jesus stepped into a boat, crossed over and came to his own town.^{k 2}Some men brought to him a paralyzed man,^l lying on a mat. When Jesus saw their faith,^m he said to the man, “Take heart,ⁿ son; your sins are forgiven.”^o

³At this, some of the teachers of the law said to themselves, “This fellow is blaspheming!”^p

⁴Knowing their thoughts,^q Jesus said, “Why do you entertain evil thoughts in your hearts? ⁵Which is easier: to say, ‘Your sins are forgiven,’ or to say, ‘Get up and walk’? ⁶But I want you to know that the Son of Man^r has authority on earth to forgive sins.” So he said to the paralyzed man, “Get up, take your mat and go home.” ⁷Then the man got up and went home. ⁸When the crowd saw this, they were filled with awe; and they praised God,^s who had given such authority to man.

The Calling of Matthew

9:9–13pp—Mk 2:14–17; Lk 5:27–32

⁹As Jesus went on from there, he saw a man named Matthew sitting at the tax collector’s booth. “Follow me,”^t he told him, and Matthew got up and followed him.

¹⁰While Jesus was having dinner at Matthew’s house, many tax collectors and sinners came and ate with him and his disciples. ¹¹When the Pharisees saw this, they asked his disciples, “Why does your teacher eat with tax collectors and sinners?”^u

¹²On hearing this, Jesus said, “It is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick.