Matthew 9
9
1 And climbing into a boat, he crossed the sea, and he arrived at his own city.
2 And behold, they brought to him a paralytic, lying on a bed. And Jesus, seeing their faith, said to the paralytic, "Be strengthened in faith, son; your sins are forgiven you."
3 And behold, some of the scribes said within themselves, "He is blaspheming."
4 And when Jesus had perceived their thoughts, he said: "Why do you think such evil in your hearts?
5 Which is easier to say, 'Your sins are forgiven you,' or to say, 'Rise up and walk?'
6 But, so that you may know that the Son of man has authority on earth to forgive sins," he then said to the paralytic, "Rise up, take up your bed, and go into your house."
7 And he arose and went into his house.
8 Then the crowd, seeing this, was frightened, and they glorified God, who gave such power to men.
9 And when Jesus passed on from there, he saw, sitting at the tax office, a man named Matthew. And he said to him, "Follow me." And rising up, he followed him.
10 And it happened that, as he was sitting down to eat in the house, behold, many tax collectors and sinners arrived, and they sat down to eat with Jesus and his disciples.
11 And the Pharisees, seeing this, said to his disciples, "Why does your Teacher eat with tax collectors and sinners?"
12 But Jesus, hearing this, said: "It is not those who are healthy who are in need of a physician, but those who have maladies.
13 So then, go out and learn what this means: 'I desire mercy and not sacrifice.' For I have not come to call the just, but sinners."
14 Then the disciples of John drew near to him, saying, "Why do we and the Pharisees fast frequently, but your disciples do not fast?"
15 And Jesus said to them: "How can the sons of the groom mourn, while the groom is still with them? But the days will arrive when the groom will be taken away from them. And then they shall fast.
16 For no one would sew a patch of new cloth onto an old garment. For it pulls its fullness away from the garment, and the tear is made worse.
17 Neither do they pour new wine into old wineskins. Otherwise, the wineskins rupture, and the wine pours out, and the wineskins are destroyed. Instead, they pour new wine into new wineskins. And so, both are preserved."
18 As he was speaking these things to them, behold, a certain ruler approached and adored him, saying: "Lord, my daughter has recently passed away. But come and impose your hand upon her, and she will live."
19 And Jesus, rising up, followed him, with his disciples.
20 And behold, a woman, who had suffered from a flow of blood for twelve years, approached from behind and touched the hem of his garment.
21 For she said within herself, "If I will touch even his garment, I shall be saved."
22 But Jesus, turning and seeing her, said: "Be strengthened in faith, daughter; your faith has made you well." And the woman was made well from that hour.
23 And when Jesus had arrived in the house of the ruler, and he had seen the musicians and the tumultuous crowd,
24 he said, "Depart. For the girl is not dead, but asleep." And they derided him.
25 And when the crowd had been sent away, he entered. And he took her by the hand. And the girl rose up.
26 And the news of this went out to that entire land.
27 And as Jesus passed from there, two blind men followed him, crying out and saying, "Take pity on us, Son of David."
28 And when he had arrived at the house, the blind men approached him. And Jesus said to them, "Do you trust that I am able to do this for you?" They say to him, "Certainly, Lord."
29 Then he touched their eyes, saying, "According to your faith, so let it be done for you."
30 And their eyes were opened. And Jesus warned them, saying, "See to it that no one knows of this."
31 But going out, they spread the news of it to all that land.
32 Then, when they had departed, behold, they brought him a man who was mute, having a demon.
33 And after the demon was cast out, the mute man spoke. And the crowds wondered, saying, "Never has anything like this been seen in Israel."
34 But the Pharisees said, "By the prince of demons does he cast out demons."
35 And Jesus traveled throughout all of the cities and towns, teaching in their synagogues, and preaching the Gospel of the kingdom, and healing every illness and every infirmity.
36 Then, seeing the multitudes, he had compassion on them, because they were distressed and were reclining, like sheep without a shepherd.
37 Then he said to his disciples: "The harvest indeed is great, but the laborers are few.
38 Therefore, petition the Lord of the harvest, so that he may sent out laborers to his harvest."
Currently Selected:
Matthew 9: CPDV
Highlight
Share
Copy
Want to have your highlights saved across all your devices? Sign up or sign in
Matthew 9
9
Who Needs a Doctor?
1-3Back in the boat, Jesus and the disciples recrossed the sea to Jesus’ hometown. They were hardly out of the boat when some men carried a paraplegic on a stretcher and set him down in front of them. Jesus, impressed by their bold belief, said to the paraplegic, “Cheer up, son. I forgive your sins.” Some religion scholars whispered, “Why, that’s blasphemy!”
4-8Jesus knew what they were thinking, and said, “Why this gossipy whispering? Which do you think is simpler: to say, ‘I forgive your sins,’ or, ‘Get up and walk’? Well, just so it’s clear that I’m the Son of Man and authorized to do either, or both. . . .” At this he turned to the paraplegic and said, “Get up. Take your bed and go home.” And the man did it. The crowd was awestruck, amazed and pleased that God had authorized Jesus to work among them this way.
9Passing along, Jesus saw a man at his work collecting taxes. His name was Matthew. Jesus said, “Come along with me.” Matthew stood up and followed him.
10-11Later when Jesus was eating supper at Matthew’s house with his close followers, a lot of disreputable characters came and joined them. When the Pharisees saw him keeping this kind of company, they had a fit, and lit into Jesus’ followers. “What kind of example is this from your Teacher, acting cozy with crooks and misfits?”
12-13Jesus, overhearing, shot back, “Who needs a doctor: the healthy or the sick? Go figure out what this Scripture means: ‘I’m after mercy, not religion.’ I’m here to invite outsiders, not coddle insiders.”
Kingdom Come
14A little later John’s followers approached, asking, “Why is it that we and the Pharisees rigorously discipline body and spirit by fasting, but your followers don’t?”
15Jesus told them, “When you’re celebrating a wedding, you don’t skimp on the cake and wine. You feast. Later you may need to exercise moderation, but not now. No one throws cold water on a friendly bonfire. This is Kingdom Come!”
16-17He went on, “No one cuts up a fine silk scarf to patch old work clothes; you want fabrics that match. And you don’t put your wine in cracked bottles.”
Just a Touch
18-19As he finished saying this, a local official appeared, bowed politely, and said, “My daughter has just now died. If you come and touch her, she will live.” Jesus got up and went with him, his disciples following along.
20-22Just then a woman who had hemorrhaged for twelve years slipped in from behind and lightly touched his robe. She was thinking to herself, “If I can just put a finger on his robe, I’ll get well.” Jesus turned—caught her at it. Then he reassured her: “Courage, daughter. You took a risk of faith, and now you’re well.” The woman was well from then on.
23-26By now they had arrived at the house of the town official, and pushed their way through the gossips looking for a story and the neighbors bringing in casseroles. Jesus was abrupt: “Clear out! This girl isn’t dead. She’s sleeping.” They told him he didn’t know what he was talking about. But when Jesus had gotten rid of the crowd, he went in, took the girl’s hand, and pulled her to her feet—alive. The news was soon out, and traveled throughout the region.
Become What You Believe
27-28As Jesus left the house, he was followed by two blind men crying out, “Mercy, Son of David! Mercy on us!” When Jesus got home, the blind men went in with him. Jesus said to them, “Do you really believe I can do this?” They said, “Why, yes, Master!”
29-31He touched their eyes and said, “Become what you believe.” It happened. They saw. Then Jesus became very stern. “Don’t let a soul know how this happened.” But they were hardly out the door before they started blabbing it to everyone they met.
32-33Right after that, as the blind men were leaving, a man who had been struck speechless by an evil spirit was brought to Jesus. As soon as Jesus threw the evil tormenting spirit out, the man talked away just as if he’d been talking all his life. The people were up on their feet applauding: “There’s never been anything like this in Israel!”
34The Pharisees were left sputtering, “Smoke and mirrors. It’s nothing but smoke and mirrors. He’s probably made a pact with the Devil.”
35-38Then Jesus made a circuit of all the towns and villages. He taught in their meeting places, reported kingdom news, and healed their diseased bodies, healed their bruised and hurt lives. When he looked out over the crowds, his heart broke. So confused and aimless they were, like sheep with no shepherd. “What a huge harvest!” he said to his disciples. “How few workers! On your knees and pray for harvest hands!”
Currently Selected:
:
Highlight
Share
Copy
Want to have your highlights saved across all your devices? Sign up or sign in
THE MESSAGE: The Bible in Contemporary Language copyright © 1993, 2002, 2018 by Eugene H. Peterson. All rights reserved. Used by permission of NavPress. Represented by Tyndale House Publishers.