Matthew 9
9
Jesus Forgives and Heals a Man Who Could Not Walk
1Jesus 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’? 6But I want you to know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins.” So 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 a human being.
Jesus Chooses Matthew and Eats With Sinners
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 this. 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.’ (Hosea 6:6) 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 often 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. 17People 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, people pour new wine into new wineskins. Then both are saved.”
Jesus Heals a Dead Girl and a Suffering Woman
18While Jesus was saying this, a synagogue leader 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 moment.
23When Jesus entered the synagogue leader’s house, he saw the noisy crowd and people playing flutes. 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 treated badly and were 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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Holy Bible, New International Reader’s Version®, NIrV®
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Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.
Matthew 9
9
Jesus Heals a Crippled Man
(Mk. 2:1–12; Lk. 5:17–26)
1Jesus got into a boat and went back across the lake to his own town. 2Some people brought to him a man who was paralyzed and was lying on a mat. Jesus saw that these people had much faith. So he said to the paralyzed man, “Young man, you will be glad to hear this. Your sins are forgiven.”
3Some of the teachers of the law heard what Jesus said. They said to themselves, “What an insult to God for this man to say that!”
4Jesus knew what they were thinking. So he said, “Why are you thinking such evil thoughts? 5-6The Son of Man has power on earth to forgive sins. But how can I prove this to you? Maybe you are thinking it was easy for me to say, ‘Your sins are forgiven.’ There’s no proof that it really happened. But what if I say to the man, ‘Stand up and walk’? Then you will be able to see that I really have this power.” So Jesus said to the paralyzed man, “Stand up. Take your mat and go home.”
7The man stood up and went home. 8The people saw this and they were amazed. They praised God for letting someone have such power.
Matthew (Levi) Follows Jesus
(Mk. 2:13–17; Lk. 5:27–32)
9When Jesus was leaving, he saw a man named Matthew sitting at the place for collecting taxes. Jesus said to him, “Follow me.” So he got up and followed Jesus.
10Jesus ate dinner at Matthew’s house. Many tax collectors and others with bad reputations came and ate with him and his followers. 11The Pharisees saw that Jesus was eating with these people. They asked his followers, “Why does your teacher eat with tax collectors and other sinners?”
12Jesus heard them say this. So he said to them, “It is the sick people who need a doctor, not those who are healthy. 13You need to go and learn what this Scripture means: ‘I don’t want animal sacrifices; I want you to show kindness to people.’#Quote from Hos. 6:6. I did not come to invite good people. I came to invite sinners.”
Jesus Is Not Like Other Religious Leaders
(Mk. 2:18–22; Lk. 5:33–39)
14Then the followers of John came to Jesus and said, “We and the Pharisees fast often, but your followers don’t ever fast. Why?”
15Jesus answered, “At a wedding the friends of the bridegroom are not sad while he is with them. They cannot fast then. But the time will come when the bridegroom will be taken from them. Then they will fast.
16“When someone sews a patch over a hole in an old coat, they never use a piece of cloth that has not already been shrunk. If they do, the patch will shrink and pull away from the coat. Then the hole will be worse. 17Also, people never pour new wine into old wineskins. They would break, the wine would spill out, and the wineskins would be ruined. People always put new wine into new wineskins, which won’t break, and the wine stays good.”
Jesus Gives Life to a Dead Girl and Heals a Sick Woman
(Mk. 5:21–43; Lk. 8:40–56)
18While Jesus was still talking, a leader of the synagogue came to him. The leader bowed down before him and said, “My daughter has just died. But if you will come and touch her with your hand, she will live again.”
19So Jesus and his followers went with the man.
20On the way, there was a woman who had been bleeding for twelve years. She came close behind Jesus and touched the bottom of his coat. 21She was thinking, “If I can touch his coat, I will be healed.”
22Jesus turned and saw the woman. He said, “Be happy, dear woman. You are made well because you believed.” Then the woman was healed.
23Jesus continued going with the Jewish leader and went into the leader’s house. He saw people there who make music for funerals. And he saw a crowd of people crying loudly. 24Jesus said, “Go away. The girl is not dead. She is only sleeping.” But the people laughed at him. 25After the people were put out of the house, Jesus went into the girl’s room. He held the girl’s hand, and the girl stood up. 26The news about this spread all around the area.
Jesus Heals More People
27As Jesus was going away from there, two blind men followed him. They said loudly, “Show kindness to us, Son of David.”
28Jesus went inside, and the blind men went with him. He asked them, “Do you believe that I am able to make you see again?” They answered, “Yes, Lord, we believe.”
29Then Jesus touched their eyes and said, “You believe that I can make you see again, so it will happen.” 30Then the men were able to see. Jesus gave them a strong warning. He said, “Don’t tell anyone about this.” 31But they left and spread the news about Jesus all around that area.
32As these two men were leaving, some people brought another man to Jesus. This man could not talk because he had a demon inside him. 33Jesus forced the demon out, and the man was able to talk. The people were amazed and said, “We have never seen anything like this in Israel.”
34But the Pharisees said, “The ruler of demons is the one that gives him power to force demons out.”
Jesus Feels Sorry for the People
35Jesus traveled through all the towns and villages. He taught in their synagogues and told people the Good News about God’s kingdom. He healed all kinds of diseases and sicknesses. 36Jesus saw the many people and felt sorry for them because they were worried and helpless—like sheep without a shepherd to lead them. 37Jesus said to his followers, “There is such a big harvest of people to bring in. But there are only a few workers to help harvest them. 38God owns the harvest. Ask him to send more workers to help gather his harvest.”
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