Matthew 9:9-13

International Children’s Bible

Jesus Chooses Matthew

⁹ When Jesus was leaving, he saw a man named Matthew. Matthew was sitting in the tax office. Jesus said to him, “Follow me.” And Matthew stood up and followed Jesus.

¹⁰ Jesus had dinner at Matthew’s house. Many tax collectors and “sinners” came and ate with Jesus and his followers. ¹¹ The Pharisees saw this and asked Jesus’ followers, “Why does your teacher eat with tax collectors and ‘sinners’?”

¹² Jesus heard the Pharisees ask this. So he said, “Healthy people don’t need a doctor. Only the sick need a doctor. ¹³ Go and learn what this means: ‘I want faithful love more than I want animal sacrifices.’^[a] I did not come to invite good people. I came to invite sinners.”