Matthew 9
9
Jesus Heals a Paralyzed Man
1Jesus got into a boat and went back across the lake to his own town. 2Some people brought to Jesus a man who was paralyzed. The man was lying on his mat. Jesus saw that these people had great faith, so he said to the paralyzed man, “Be happy, young man. Your sins are forgiven.”
3Some of the teachers of the law heard this. They said to themselves, “This man speaks as if he were God—that is blasphemy!”# Saying things against God.
4Jesus knew what they were thinking. So he said, “Why are you thinking evil thoughts? 5Which is easier: to tell this paralyzed man, ‘Your sins are forgiven,’ or to tell him, ‘Stand up and walk’? 6But I will prove to you that the Son of Man has power on earth to forgive sins.” Then Jesus said to the paralyzed man, “Stand up. Take your mat and go home.” 7And the man stood up and went home. 8The people saw this and were amazed. They praised God for giving power like this to men.
Jesus Chooses Matthew
9When Jesus was leaving, he saw a man named Matthew. Matthew was sitting in the tax office. Jesus said to him, “Follow me.” And Matthew stood up and followed Jesus.
10Jesus had dinner at Matthew’s house. Many tax collectors and “sinners” came and ate with Jesus and his followers. 11The Pharisees saw this and asked Jesus’ followers, “Why does your teacher eat with tax collectors and ‘sinners’?”
12Jesus heard the Pharisees ask this. So he said, “Healthy people don’t need a doctor. Only the sick need a doctor. 13Go and learn what this means: ‘I want faithful love more than I want animal sacrifices.’# Quotation from Hosea 6:6. I did not come to invite good people. I came to invite sinners.”
Jesus Is Not Like Other Jews
14Then the followers of John# John the Baptist, who preached to people about Christ’s coming (Matthew 3; Luke 3). came to Jesus. They said to Jesus, “We and the Pharisees often give up eating.# This is called “fasting.” The people would give up eating for a special time of prayer and worship to God. It was also done to show sadness. But your followers don’t. Why?”
15Jesus answered, “The friends of the bridegroom are not sad while he is with them. But the time will come when the bridegroom will leave them. Then his friends are sad, and they will give up eating.
16“When someone sews a patch over a hole in an old coat, he never uses a piece of cloth that is not yet shrunk. If he does, the patch will shrink and pull away from the coat. Then the hole will be worse. 17Also, people never pour new wine into old leather bags for holding wine. If they do, the old bags will break. The wine will spill, and the wine bags will be ruined. But people always pour new wine into new wine bags. Then the wine and the wine bags will continue to be good.”
Jesus Gives Life to a Dead Girl and Heals a Sick Woman
18While Jesus was saying these things, a ruler of the synagogue came to him. The ruler bowed down before Jesus and said, “My daughter has just died. But come and touch her with your hand, and she will live again.”
19So Jesus stood up and went with the ruler. Jesus’ followers went too.
20Then a woman who had been bleeding for 12 years came behind Jesus and touched the edge of his coat. 21She was thinking, “If I can touch his coat, then I will be healed.”
22Jesus turned and saw the woman. He said, “Be happy, dear woman. You are made well because you believed.” And the woman was healed at once.
23Jesus continued along with the ruler and went into the ruler’s house. Jesus saw people there who play music for funerals. And he saw many people there crying. 24Jesus said, “Go away. The girl is not dead. She is only asleep.” But the people laughed at Jesus. 25After the crowd had been put outside, Jesus went into the girl’s room. He took her hand, and she stood up. 26The news about this spread all around the area.
Jesus Heals More People
27When Jesus was leaving there, two blind men followed him. They cried out, “Show kindness to us, Son of David!”
28Jesus went inside, and the blind men went with him. He asked the men, “Do you believe that I can make you see again?”
They answered, “Yes, Lord.”
29Then Jesus touched their eyes and said, “You believe that I can make you see again. So this will happen.” 30Then the men were able to see. But Jesus warned them very strongly, saying, “Don’t tell anyone about this.” 31But the blind men left and spread the news about Jesus all around that area.
32When the two men were leaving, some people brought another man to Jesus. This man could not talk because he had a demon in him. 33Jesus forced the demon to leave the man. Then the man who couldn’t talk was able to speak. The crowd was amazed and said, “We have never seen anything like this in Israel.”
34But the Pharisees said, “The leader of demons is the one that gives him power to force demons out.”
35Jesus traveled through all the towns and villages. He taught in their synagogues and told people the Good News about the kingdom. And he healed all kinds of diseases and sicknesses. 36He saw the crowds of people and felt sorry for them because they were worried and helpless. They were like sheep without a shepherd. 37Jesus said to his followers, “There are many people to harvest, but there are only a few workers to help harvest them. 38God owns the harvest. Pray to him that he will send more workers to help gather his harvest.”# As a farmer sends workers to harvest the grain, Jesus sends his followers to bring people to God.
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Matthew 9: ICB
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Copyright © 2015 by Tommy Nelson™, a Division of Thomas Nelson, Inc. All rights reserved. Used by permission.
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®
Copyright © 1995, 1996, 1998, 2014 by Biblica, Inc.®
Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.