Jesus Forgives Sins^(A)

9 Jesus got into a boat, crossed the sea, and came to his own city. ² Some people brought him a paralyzed man on a stretcher.

When Jesus saw their faith, he said to the man, “Cheer up, friend! Your sins are forgiven.”

³ Then some of the experts in Moses’ Teachings thought, “He’s dishonoring God.”

⁴ Jesus knew what they were thinking. He asked them, “Why are you thinking evil things? ⁵ Is it easier to say, ‘Your sins are forgiven,’ or to say, ‘Get up and walk’? ⁶ I want you to know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins.” Then he said to the paralyzed man, “Get up, pick up your stretcher, and go home.”

⁷ So the man got up and went home. ⁸ When the crowd saw this, they were filled with awe and praised God for giving such authority to humans.

Jesus Chooses Matthew to Be a Disciple^(B)

⁹ When Jesus was leaving that place, he saw a man sitting in a tax office. The man’s name was Matthew. Jesus said to him, “Follow me!” So Matthew got up and followed him.

¹⁰ Later Jesus was having dinner at Matthew’s house. Many tax collectors and sinners came to eat with Jesus and his disciples. ¹¹ The Pharisees saw this and asked his disciples, “Why does your teacher eat with tax collectors and sinners?”

¹² When Jesus heard that, he said, “Healthy people don’t need a doctor; those who are sick do. ¹³ Learn what this means: ‘I want mercy, not sacrifices.’ I’ve come to call sinners, not people who think they have God’s approval.”

Jesus Is Questioned about Fasting^(C)

¹⁴ Then John’s disciples came to Jesus. They said, “Why do we and the Pharisees fast often but your disciples never do?”

¹⁵ Jesus replied, “Can wedding guests be sad while the groom is still with them? The time will come when the groom will be taken away from them. Then they will fast.

¹⁶ “No one patches an old coat with a new piece of cloth that will shrink. When the patch shrinks, it will rip away from the coat, and the tear will become worse. ¹⁷ Nor do people pour new wine into old wineskins. If they do, the skins burst, the wine runs out, and the skins are ruined. Rather, people pour new wine into fresh skins, and both are saved.”

A Synagogue Leader’s Daughter and the Woman with Chronic Bleeding^(D)

¹⁸ A ⌞synagogue⌟ leader came to Jesus while he was talking to John’s disciples. He bowed down in front of Jesus and said, “My daughter just died. Come, lay your hand on her, and she will live.”

¹⁹ Jesus and his disciples got up and followed the man.

²⁰ Then a woman came up behind Jesus and touched the edge of his clothes. She had been suffering from chronic bleeding for twelve years. ²¹ She thought, “If I only touch his clothes, I’ll get well.”

²² When Jesus turned and saw her he said, “Cheer up, daughter! Your faith has made you well.” At that very moment the woman became well.

²³ Jesus came to the ⌞synagogue⌟ leader’s house. He saw flute players and a noisy crowd. ²⁴ He said to them, “Leave! The girl is not dead. She’s sleeping.” But they laughed at him.

²⁵ When the crowd had been put outside, Jesus went in, took her hand, and the girl came back to life.

²⁶ The news about this spread throughout that region.

Jesus Heals Two Blind Men

²⁷ When Jesus left that place, two blind men followed him. They shouted, “Have mercy on us, Son of David.”

²⁸ Jesus went into a house, and the blind men followed him. He said to them, “Do you believe that I can do this?”

“Yes, Lord,” they answered.

²⁹ He touched their eyes and said, “What you have believed will be done for you!” ³⁰ Then they could see.

He warned them, “Don’t let anyone know about this!” ³¹ But they went out and spread the news about him throughout that region.

Jesus Forces a Demon out of a Man Who Couldn’t Talk

³² As they were leaving, some people brought a man to Jesus. The man was unable to talk because he was possessed by a demon. ³³ But as soon as the demon was forced out, the man began to speak.

The crowds were amazed and said, “We have never seen anything like this in Israel!”

³⁴ But the Pharisees said, “He forces demons out of people with the help of the ruler of demons.”

Jesus’ Compassion for People

³⁵ Jesus went to all the towns and villages. He taught in the synagogues and spread the Good News of the kingdom. He also cured every disease and sickness.

³⁶ When he saw the crowds, he felt sorry for them. They were troubled and helpless like sheep without a shepherd. ³⁷ Then he said to his disciples, “The harvest is large, but the workers are few. ³⁸ So ask the Lord who gives this harvest to send workers to harvest his crops.”

Jesus Appoints Twelve Apostles^(E)

10 Jesus called his twelve disciples and gave them authority to force evil spirits out of people and to cure every disease and sickness.

² These are the names of the twelve apostles: first and foremost, Simon (who is called Peter) and his brother Andrew; James and his brother John, the sons of Zebedee; ³ Philip and Bartholomew; Thomas and Matthew the tax collector; James (son of Alphaeus), and Thaddaeus; ⁴ Simon the Zealot and Judas Iscariot, who later betrayed Jesus.

Jesus Sends Out the Twelve^(F)

⁵ Jesus sent these twelve out with the following instructions: “Don’t go among people who are not Jewish or into any Samaritan city. ⁶ Instead, go to the lost sheep of the nation of Israel. ⁷ As you go, spread this message: ‘The kingdom of heaven is near.’ ⁸ Cure the sick, bring the dead back to life, cleanse those with skin diseases, and force demons out of people. Give these things without charging, since you received them without paying.

⁹ “Don’t take any gold, silver, or even copper coins in your pockets. ¹⁰ Don’t take a traveling bag for the trip, a change of clothes, sandals, or a walking stick. After all, the worker deserves to have his needs met.

¹¹ “When you go into a city or village, look for people who will listen to you there. Stay with them until you leave ⌞that place⌟. ¹² When you go into a house, greet the family. ¹³ If it is a family that listens to you, allow your greeting to stand. But if it is not receptive, take back your greeting. ¹⁴ If anyone doesn’t welcome you or listen to what you say, leave that house or city, and shake its dust off your feet. ¹⁵ I can guarantee this truth: Judgment day will be better for Sodom and Gomorrah than for that city.

¹⁶ “I’m sending you out like sheep among wolves. So be as cunning as snakes but as innocent as doves. ¹⁷ Watch out for people who will hand you over to the Jewish courts and whip you in their synagogues. ¹⁸ Because of me you will even be brought in front of governors and kings to testify to them and to everyone in the world. ¹⁹ When they hand you over ⌞to the authorities⌟, don’t worry about what to say or how to say it. When the time comes, you will be given what to say. ²⁰ Indeed, you’re not the ones who will be speaking. The Spirit of your Father will be speaking through you.

²¹ “Brother will hand over brother to death; a father will hand over his child. Children will rebel against their parents and kill them. ²² Everyone will hate you because you are committed to me. But the person who patiently endures to the end will be saved. ²³ So when they persecute you in one city, flee to another. I can guarantee this truth: Before you have gone through every city in Israel, the Son of Man will come.

²⁴ “A student is not better than his teacher. Nor is a slave better than his owner. ²⁵ It is enough for a student to become like his teacher and a slave like his owner. If they have called the owner of the house Beelzebul,^[a] they will certainly call the family members the same name. ²⁶ So don’t be afraid of them. Nothing has been covered that will not be exposed. Whatever is secret will be made known. ²⁷ Tell in the daylight what I say to you in the dark. Shout from the housetops what you hear whispered. ²⁸ Don’t be afraid of those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. Instead, fear the one who can destroy both body and soul in hell.

²⁹ “Aren’t two sparrows sold for a penny? Not one of them will fall to the ground without your Father’s permission. ³⁰ Every hair on your head has been counted. ³¹ Don’t be afraid! You are worth more than many sparrows.

³² “So I will acknowledge in front of my Father in heaven that person who acknowledges me in front of others. ³³ But I will tell my Father in heaven that I don’t know the person who tells others that he doesn’t know me.

³⁴ “Don’t think that I came to bring peace to earth. I didn’t come to bring peace but conflict. ³⁵ I came to turn a man against his father, a daughter against her mother, a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law. ³⁶ A person’s enemies will be the members of his own family.

³⁷ “The person who loves his father or mother more than me does not deserve to be my disciple. The person who loves a son or daughter more than me does not deserve to be my disciple. ³⁸ Whoever doesn’t take up his cross and follow me doesn’t deserve to be my disciple. ³⁹ The person who tries to preserve his life will lose it, but the person who loses his life for me will preserve it.

⁴⁰ “The person who welcomes you welcomes me, and the person who welcomes me welcomes the one who sent me. ⁴¹ The person who welcomes a prophet as such will receive a prophet’s reward. The person who welcomes a godly person as such will receive a godly person’s reward. ⁴² I can guarantee this truth: Whoever gives any of my humble followers a cup of cold water because that person is my disciple will certainly never lose his reward.”