Matthew 9

9 ¹Jesus stepped into a boat, crossed over, and came to his own town.

²Some brought him a paralyzed man lying on a mat. Seeing their faith, Jesus told the paralyzed man, "Take heart, son; your sins are forgiven."

³At this, some of the teachers of the law said to themselves, "This man is blaspheming."

⁴Knowing their thoughts, Jesus said, "Why do you harbor evil in your hearts? ⁵Which is easier: to say, 'Your sins are forgiven,' or to say, 'Get up and walk'? ⁶But so you know the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins"—then he told the paralyzed man, "Get up, take your mat, and go home."

⁷And the man got up and went home. ⁸Seeing this, the crowds were awed and praised our Father, who gave people such authority.

Jesus Calls Matthew

⁹Moving on from there, Jesus saw a man named Matthew sitting at the tax booth. "Follow me," he said. Matthew got up and followed him.

¹⁰As Jesus ate in Matthew's house, many tax collectors and sinners joined him and his disciples at the table. ¹¹Seeing this, the Pharisees asked his disciples, "Why does your teacher eat with tax collectors and sinners?"

¹²On hearing this, Jesus said, "It is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick. ¹³But go and learn what this means: 'I want mercy, not sacrifice.' For I didn't come to call the righteous, but sinners."

New Wine Needs New Wineskins

¹⁴Then John's disciples came, asking him, "Why do we and the Pharisees fast often, but your disciples don't?"

¹⁵Jesus replied, "Can the groom's friends mourn while he's with them? But days are coming when the groom is taken from them—then they'll fast. ¹⁶No one sews an unshrunk patch on an old garment; the patch pulls away from it, leaving a worse tear. ¹⁷People don't pour new wine into old wineskins; otherwise the skins burst, the wine spills, and they're ruined. Instead, new wine goes into new wineskins, so both are kept."

A Father's Plea and a Woman's Touch

¹⁸While he spoke, a synagogue leader came, knelt before him, and said, "My daughter just died. But come, lay your hand on her, and she will live."

¹⁹Jesus got up and went with him, and so did his disciples. ²⁰Just then a woman bleeding twelve years came up behind and touched his cloak's edge. ²¹She kept saying to herself, "If I only touch his cloak, I will be healed."

²²Jesus turned, saw her. "Courage, daughter," he said, "your faith has healed you." The woman was healed at that moment.

²³When Jesus entered the synagogue leader's house and saw the flute players and the noisy crowd,

²⁴he said, "Go away. The girl is not dead but asleep." But they laughed at him.

²⁵When the crowd was sent out, he went in, took her hand, and the girl got up. ²⁶News of this spread through all that region.

The Blind See, the Mute Speak

²⁷As Jesus left there, two blind men followed, shouting, "Have mercy on us, Son of David!"

²⁸Entering the house, the blind men came to him. He asked, "Do you believe I am able to do this?" "Yes, Lord," they said.

²⁹Then he touched their eyes and said, "Let it be done to you according to your faith". ³⁰Their eyes opened. Jesus warned them sternly, "See that no one knows about this."

³¹But they went out and spread the news about him all over that region.

³²As they went out, a mute, demon-possessed man was brought to Jesus. ³³Once the demon was driven out, the mute man spoke. The crowds were amazed and said, "Nothing like this has ever appeared in Israel."

³⁴But the Pharisees said, "He drives out demons by the prince of demons."

The Father Calls for Harvest Workers

³⁵Jesus traveled every town and village, teaching in their synagogues, announcing the good news of our Father's kingdom, and healing every disease and sickness. ³⁶Seeing the crowds, he felt compassion for them, because they were troubled and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd.

³⁷Then he said to his disciples, "The harvest is plentiful but the workers are few. ³⁸So ask the Father of the harvest to send out workers into his harvest field." ^a a v38 Jesus tells his disciples to ask the owner of the harvest — our Father — to send out workers. The harvest of people coming home belongs to the Father, and he is the one who sends laborers into his field.