Matthew 9

¹ Jesus got into a boat, crossed over, and came to his own town.

² Some men brought him a paralyzed man lying on a mat. When Jesus saw their faith, he said to the man, "Take heart, son; your sins are forgiven."

³ At this, some of the teachers of the law said to themselves, "This man is blaspheming!"

⁴ Knowing their thoughts, Jesus said, "Why do you harbor evil in your hearts?

⁵ Which is easier: to say, 'Your sins are forgiven,' or to say, 'Get up and walk'?

⁶ But I want you to know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins." So he said to the paralyzed man, "Get up, take your mat, and go home."

⁷ And the man got up and went home.

⁸ When the crowd saw this, they were filled with awe, and they praised God, who had given such authority to human beings.

⁹ As Jesus moved on from there, he saw a man named Matthew sitting at the tax booth. "Follow me," he told him, and Matthew got up and followed him.

¹⁰ While Jesus was reclining at the table in Matthew's house, many tax collectors and sinners came and ate with him and his disciples.

¹¹ When the Pharisees saw this, they asked his disciples, "Why does your teacher eat with tax collectors and sinners?"

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

¹³ But go and learn what this means: 'I desire mercy, not sacrifice.' For I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners."

¹⁴ Then John's disciples came and asked him, "How is it that we and the Pharisees fast often, but your disciples do not fast?"

¹⁵ Jesus answered, "How can the wedding guests mourn while the groom is with them? But the time will come when the groom will be taken from them; then they will fast.

¹⁶ No one sews a patch of unshrunk cloth onto an old garment, for the patch will pull away from the garment, making the tear worse.

¹⁷ Nor do people pour new wine into old wineskins. If they do, the skins burst; the wine spills out and the skins are ruined. No, they pour new wine into new wineskins, and both are preserved.

¹⁸ While he was saying this, a synagogue leader came and knelt before him and said, "My daughter has just died. But come and put your hand on her, and she will live."

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

²⁰ Just then a woman who had been bleeding for twelve years came up behind him and touched the edge of his cloak.

²¹ She said to herself, "If I only touch his cloak, I will be healed."

²² Jesus turned and saw her. "Take heart, daughter," he said, "your faith has healed you." And the woman was healed from that moment.

²³ When Jesus entered the synagogue leader's house and saw the flute players and the noisy crowd,

²⁴ he said, "Go away. The girl is not dead but asleep." But they laughed at him.

²⁵ After the crowd had been put outside, he went in and took the girl by the hand, and she got up.

²⁶ News of this spread through all that region.

²⁷ As Jesus went on from there, two blind men followed him, calling out, "Have mercy on us, Son of David!"

²⁸ When he had gone indoors, the blind men came to him, and he asked them, "Do you believe that I am able to do this?" "Yes, Lord," they replied.

²⁹ Then he touched their eyes and said, "According to your faith let it be done to you";

³⁰ and their sight was restored. Jesus warned them sternly, "See that no one knows about this."

³¹ But they went out and spread the news about him all over that region.

³² While they were going out, a man who was demon-possessed and could not speak was brought to Jesus.

³³ And when the demon was driven out, the man who had been unable to speak spoke. The crowds were amazed and said, "Nothing like this has ever been seen in Israel."

³⁴ But the Pharisees said, "It is by the prince of demons that he drives out demons."

³⁵ Jesus went through all the towns and villages, teaching in their synagogues, proclaiming the good news of the kingdom, and healing every disease and sickness.

³⁶ When he saw the crowds, he was moved with compassion for them, because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd.

³⁷ Then he said to his disciples, "The harvest is plentiful, but the workers are few.

³⁸ Therefore ask the Lord of the harvest to send out workers into his harvest field."