Matthew 9
9
Jesus Forgives and Heals a Paralytic
1So He got into a boat, crossed over, #Matt. 4:13; 11:23; Mark 5:21and came to His own city. 2#Mark 2:3–12; Luke 5:18–26Then behold, they brought to Him a paralytic lying on a bed. #Matt. 8:10When 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, #Ps. 139:2; Matt. 12:25; Mark 12:15; Luke 5:22; 6:8; 9:47; 11:17knowing 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 #Matt. 8:27; John 7:15marveled and glorified God, who had given such power to men.
Matthew the Tax Collector
9#Mark 2:14; Luke 5:27As 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.
10#Mark 2:15; Luke 5:29Now 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 #Matt. 11:19; Mark 2:16; Luke 5:30; 15:2tax collectors and #(Gal. 2:15)sinners?”
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: #Hos. 6:6; (Mic. 6:6–8); Matt. 12:7‘I desire mercy and not sacrifice.’ For I did not come to call the righteous, #Mark 2:17; Luke 5:32; 1 Tim. 1:15but sinners, to repentance.”
Jesus Is Questioned About Fasting
14Then the disciples of John came to Him, saying, #Mark 2:18; Luke 5:33–35; 18:12“Why do we and the Pharisees fast often, but Your disciples do not fast?”
15And Jesus said to them, “Can #John 3:29the friends 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 #Acts 13:2, 3; 14:23then they will fast. 16No one puts a piece of unshrunk cloth on an old garment; for the 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 break, the wine is spilled, and the wineskins are ruined. But they put new wine into new wineskins, and both are preserved.”
A Girl Restored to Life and a Woman Healed
18#Mark 5:22–43; Luke 8:41–56While 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 #Matt. 10:2–4disciples.
20#Mark 5:25; Luke 8:43And suddenly, a woman who had a flow of blood for twelve years came from behind and #Num. 15:38; Deut. 22:12; Matt. 14:36; 23:5; Mark 6:56touched 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; #Matt. 9:29; 15:28; Mark 5:34; 10:52; Luke 7:50; 8:48; 17:19; 18:42your faith has made you well.” And the woman was made well from that hour.
23#Mark 5:38; Luke 8:51When Jesus came into the ruler’s house, and saw #2 Chr. 35:25; Jer. 9:17; 16:6; Ezek. 24:17the flute players and the noisy crowd wailing, 24He said to them, #John 11:3; Acts 20:10“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 #Matt. 8:3, 15; Mark 1:31took her by the hand, and the girl arose. 26And the #Matt. 4:24; Mark 1:28, 45; Luke 4:14, 37; 5:15; 7:17report of this went out into all that land.
Two Blind Men Healed
27When Jesus departed from there, #Matt. 20:29–34two blind men followed Him, crying out and saying, #Matt. 15:22; Mark 10:47; Luke 18:38, 39“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, #Matt. 8:4; Luke 5:14“See that no one knows it.” 31#Mark 7:36But when they had departed, they spread the news about Him in all that country.
A Mute Man Speaks
32#Matt. 12:22, 24; Luke 11:14As 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, #Matt. 12:24; Mark 3:22; Luke 11:15; John 7:20“He casts out demons by the ruler of the demons.”
The Compassion of Jesus
35Then Jesus went about all the cities and villages, #Matt. 4:23teaching in their synagogues, preaching the gospel of the kingdom, and healing every sickness and every disease among the people. 36#Mark 6:34But when He saw the multitudes, He was moved with compassion for them, because they were weary and scattered, #Num. 27:17; 1 Kin. 22:17; Ezek. 34:5; Zech. 10:2; Mark 6:34like sheep having no shepherd. 37Then He said to His disciples, #Luke 10:2; John 4:35“The harvest truly is plentiful, but the laborers are few. 38#(Matt. 28:19, 20; Eph. 4:11, 12); 2 Thess. 3:1Therefore pray the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into His harvest.”
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Matthew 9: NKJV
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The Holy Bible, New King James Version, Copyright © 1982 Thomas Nelson. All rights reserved.
Matthew 9
9
Jesus Heals a Paralyzed Man
1Jesus climbed into a boat and went back across the lake to his own town. 2Some people brought to him a paralyzed man on a mat. Seeing their faith, Jesus said to the paralyzed man, “Be encouraged, my child! Your sins are forgiven.”
3But some of the teachers of religious law said to themselves, “That’s blasphemy! Does he think he’s God?”
4Jesus knew#9:4 Some manuscripts read saw. what they were thinking, so he asked them, “Why do you have such evil thoughts in your hearts? 5Is it easier to say ‘Your sins are forgiven,’ or ‘Stand up and walk’? 6So I will prove to you that the Son of Man#9:6 “Son of Man” is a title Jesus used for himself. has the authority on earth to forgive sins.” Then Jesus turned to the paralyzed man and said, “Stand up, pick up your mat, and go home!”
7And the man jumped up and went home! 8Fear swept through the crowd as they saw this happen. And they praised God for giving humans such authority.
Jesus Calls Matthew
9As Jesus was walking along, he saw a man named Matthew sitting at his tax collector’s booth. “Follow me and be my disciple,” Jesus said to him. So Matthew got up and followed him.
10Later, Matthew invited Jesus and his disciples to his home as dinner guests, along with many tax collectors and other disreputable sinners. 11But when the Pharisees saw this, they asked his disciples, “Why does your teacher eat with such scum?#9:11 Greek with tax collectors and sinners?”
12When Jesus heard this, he said, “Healthy people don’t need a doctor—sick people do.” 13Then he added, “Now go and learn the meaning of this Scripture: ‘I want you to show mercy, not offer sacrifices.’#9:13 Hos 6:6 (Greek version). For I have come to call not those who think they are righteous, but those who know they are sinners.”
A Discussion about Fasting
14One day the disciples of John the Baptist came to Jesus and asked him, “Why don’t your disciples fast#9:14 Some manuscripts read fast often. like we do and the Pharisees do?”
15Jesus replied, “Do wedding guests mourn while celebrating with the groom? Of course not. But someday the groom will be taken away from them, and then they will fast.
16 “Besides, who would patch old clothing with new cloth? For the new patch would shrink and rip away from the old cloth, leaving an even bigger tear than before.
17 “And no one puts new wine into old wineskins. For the old skins would burst from the pressure, spilling the wine and ruining the skins. New wine is stored in new wineskins so that both are preserved.”
Jesus Heals in Response to Faith
18As Jesus was saying this, the leader of a synagogue came and knelt before him. “My daughter has just died,” he said, “but you can bring her back to life again if you just come and lay your hand on her.”
19So Jesus and his disciples got up and went with him. 20Just then a woman who had suffered for twelve years with constant bleeding came up behind him. She touched the fringe of his robe, 21for she thought, “If I can just touch his robe, I will be healed.”
22Jesus turned around, and when he saw her he said, “Daughter, be encouraged! Your faith has made you well.” And the woman was healed at that moment.
23When Jesus arrived at the official’s home, he saw the noisy crowd and heard the funeral music. 24“Get out!” he told them. “The girl isn’t dead; she’s only asleep.” But the crowd laughed at him. 25After the crowd was put outside, however, Jesus went in and took the girl by the hand, and she stood up! 26The report of this miracle swept through the entire countryside.
Jesus Heals the Blind
27After Jesus left the girl’s home, two blind men followed along behind him, shouting, “Son of David, have mercy on us!”
28They went right into the house where he was staying, and Jesus asked them, “Do you believe I can make you see?”
“Yes, Lord,” they told him, “we do.”
29Then he touched their eyes and said, “Because of your faith, it will happen.” 30Then their eyes were opened, and they could see! Jesus sternly warned them, “Don’t tell anyone about this.” 31But instead, they went out and spread his fame all over the region.
32When they left, a demon-possessed man who couldn’t speak was brought to Jesus. 33So Jesus cast out the demon, and then the man began to speak. The crowds were amazed. “Nothing like this has ever happened in Israel!” they exclaimed.
34But the Pharisees said, “He can cast out demons because he is empowered by the prince of demons.”
The Need for Workers
35Jesus traveled through all the towns and villages of that area, teaching in the synagogues and announcing the Good News about the Kingdom. And he healed every kind of disease and illness. 36When he saw the crowds, he had compassion on them because they were confused and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd. 37He said to his disciples, “The harvest is great, but the workers are few. 38So pray to the Lord who is in charge of the harvest; ask him to send more workers into his fields.”
Holy Bible, New Living Translation copyright 1996, 2004, 2007, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation.
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