Matthew 9
Revised Geneva Translation
9 Then He entered into a ship, and passed over, and came into His own city.
2 And lo, they brought to Him a paralytic, laid on a bed. And Jesus, seeing their faith, said to the paralytic, “Son, be of good courage. Your sins are forgiven you.”
3 And behold, certain of the Scribes said among themselves, “This man blasphemes.”
4 And Jesus, knowing their thoughts, said, “Why do you think evil things in your hearts?
5 “For, which is easier to say, ‘Your sins are forgiven you’ or ‘Arise, and walk’?
6 “But, so that you may know that the Son of Man has authority on Earth to forgive sins (then He said to the paralytic) Arise! Take up your bed and go to your house!”
7 And he arose and departed to his own house.
8 So when the multitude saw it, they marveled, and glorified God, Who had given such authority to man.
9 And as Jesus went forth from there, He saw a man named Matthew sitting at the tax collector’s booth, and said to him, “Follow Me.” And he arose and followed Him.
10 And it happened that as Jesus reclined in his house, behold, many tax collectors and sinners who came there sat down at the table with Jesus and His disciples.
11 And when the Pharisees saw that, they said to His disciples, “Why does your Master eat with tax collectors and sinners?”
12 Now when Jesus heard it, He said to them, “The healthy do not need the Physician, but those who are sick.
13 “But go and learn what this means, ‘I will have mercy, and not sacrifice.’ For I have not come to call the righteous, but the sinners, to repentance.”
14 Then the disciples of John came to Him, saying, “Why do we and the Pharisees often fast, but Your disciples do not fast?”
15 And Jesus said to them, “Can the children of the marriage chamber lament as long as the Bridegroom is with them? But the days will come, when the Bridegroom shall be taken from them. And then they shall fast.
16 “Moreover, no one patches an old garment with a piece of unshrunk cloth. For that which patches it pulls away from the garment, and the breach is worsened.
17 “Nor do they put new wine into old vessels. For then the vessels would break, and the wine would be spilled. And the vessels would perish. But they put new wine into new vessels. And so, both are preserved.”
18 While He spoke to them, behold, a certain ruler came and worshipped Him, saying, “My daughter is now deceased. But come and lay Your hand on her, and she shall live.”
19 And Jesus arose and followed him, with His disciples.
20 And behold, a woman who had been diseased with an issue of blood for twelve years came up behind Him and touched the hem of His garment.
21 For she said to herself, “If I may touch but His garment only, I shall be whole.”
22 Then Jesus turned around. And seeing her, He said, “Daughter, be encouraged. Your faith has made you whole.” And the woman was made whole at that same moment.
23 Now when Jesus came into the ruler’s house, and saw the flutists and the multitude making noise,
24 He said to them, “Leave. For the maid is not dead, but sleeps.” And they laughed Him to scorn.
25 And when the multitude had been cast out, He went in and took her by the hand. And the maid arose.
26 And report of this went throughout all that land.
27 And as Jesus departed from there, two blind men followed Him, crying, and saying, “O son of David! Have mercy upon us!”
28 And when He had come into the house, the blind came to Him. And Jesus said to them, “Do you believe that I am able to do this?” And they said to Him, “Yes, Lord.”
29 Then, He touched their eyes, saying, “According to your faith may it be done to you.”
30 And their eyes were opened. And Jesus strictly instructed them, saying, “See that no one knows it.”
31 But once they had left, they spread the news about Him throughout all that land.
32 And as they went out, behold, they brought to Him a mute man, possessed with a demon.
33 And after the demon had been cast out, the mute spoke. Then the multitude marveled, saying, “Such was never seen in Israel!”
34 But the Pharisees said, “He casts out demons through the prince of demons.”
35 And Jesus went throughout all the cities and towns, teaching in their synagogues, and preaching the Gospel of the Kingdom, and healing every sickness and every disease among the people.
36 But when He saw the multitude, He had compassion on them, because they were troubled and tossed aside, as sheep having no shepherd.
37 Then He said to His disciples, “Surely, the harvest is great. But the laborers are few.
38 “Therefore, pray that the Lord of the Harvest would send out laborers into His harvest!”
Matthew 9
The Message
Who Needs a Doctor?
9 1-3 Back 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!”
4-8 Jesus 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.
9 Passing 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.
10-11 Later 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?”
12-13 Jesus, 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
14 A 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?”
15 Jesus 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!”
16-17 He 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
18-19 As 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.
20-22 Just 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.
23-26 By 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
27-28 As 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!”
29-31 He 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.
32-33 Right 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!”
34 The Pharisees were left sputtering, “Smoke and mirrors. It’s nothing but smoke and mirrors. He’s probably made a pact with the Devil.”
35-38 Then 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!”
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