Matthew 9, A Man Who Could Not Walk, a Tax Collector Called, and a Little Girl Raised by the Hand

I stepped into a boat, crossed back over the water, and came home to my own town. Not long after, some people came to me carrying a man who could not move. He lay on a bed, and they brought him to me just as he was.

I saw their faith. And I looked at the man and said to him, "Take heart, my son. Your sins are forgiven."

Some of the scribes were there. They said nothing aloud. But inside themselves, they were saying, "This man is blaspheming." I knew what they were thinking. So I asked them, "Why do you think evil in your hearts? Which is easier: to say, Your sins are forgiven, or to say, Get up and walk?"

"But so that you may know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins." Then I turned to the man on the bed. "Get up. Pick up your bed, and go home."

And he got up. And he went home. When the crowds saw it, they were filled with awe, and they gave glory to God, who had given such authority to men.

As I went on from there, I saw a man named Matthew, sitting at his tax booth. I said to him, "Follow me." And he got up, and he followed me.

Later, I was at table in the house, and many tax collectors and sinners came and sat down to eat with me and my disciples. The Pharisees saw it. They did not ask me. They went to my disciples instead. "Why does your teacher eat with tax collectors and sinners?"

I heard them. So I answered, "It is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick. Go and learn what this means: I desire mercy, not sacrifice. For I did not come to call the righteous, but sinners."

Then the disciples of John came to me with a question. "Why do we and the Pharisees fast often, but your disciples do not fast?" I answered them, "Can the wedding guests mourn while the bridegroom is still with them?" "The days will come when the bridegroom is taken away from them. And then they will fast."

And I told them this. "No one sews a patch of new, unshrunk cloth onto an old garment. The patch pulls away from the garment, and the tear becomes worse." "And no one pours 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 fresh wineskins, and both are kept safe."

While I was still saying these things, a ruler came and knelt before me. "My daughter has just died. But come and lay your hand on her, and she will live." I got up and went with him. And my disciples came too.

On the way, a woman came up behind me. For twelve years she had suffered from bleeding. She reached out and touched the edge of my cloak. She had been saying to herself, "If only I touch his cloak, I will be made well."

I turned, and I saw her. "Take heart, daughter. Your faith has made you well." And from that very hour, she was well.

When I came into the ruler's house, I saw the flute players, and the crowd, loud with mourning. I said, "Go away. The girl is not dead. She is sleeping." And they laughed at me.

But when the crowd had been sent outside, I went in. I took her by the hand. And the girl got up. The news of it spread through that whole region.

As I went on from there, two blind men followed me, calling out, "Have mercy on us, Son of David!" When I went into the house, they came right up to me. I asked them, "Do you believe that I am able to do this?" They said, "Yes, Lord."

I touched their eyes and said, "According to your faith, let it be done to you." And their eyes were opened. I warned them sternly, "See that no one knows about this." But they went out and spread the news about me through all that land.

As they were going out, people brought to me a man who could not speak. A demon held him. When the demon was driven out, the man spoke. The crowds were amazed. "Nothing like this has ever been seen in Israel." But the Pharisees said, "He drives out demons by the prince of demons."

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

And when I saw the crowds, I was moved with compassion for them. They were weary and scattered, like sheep without a shepherd. Then I said to my disciples, "The harvest is plentiful, but the workers are few. So pray to the Lord of the harvest, that he will send out workers into his harvest."