Beginning
Jesus Heals a Crippled Man(A)
9 Jesus got into a boat and went back across the lake to his own town. 2 Some people brought to him a man who was paralyzed and was lying on a mat. Jesus saw that these people had much faith. So he said to the paralyzed man, “Young man, you will be glad to hear this. Your sins are forgiven.”
3 Some of the teachers of the law heard what Jesus said. They said to themselves, “What an insult to God for this man to say that!”
4 Jesus knew what they were thinking. So he said, “Why are you thinking such evil thoughts? 5-6 The Son of Man has power on earth to forgive sins. But how can I prove this to you? Maybe you are thinking it was easy for me to say, ‘Your sins are forgiven.’ There’s no proof that it really happened. But what if I say to the man, ‘Stand up and walk’? Then you will be able to see that I really have this power.” So Jesus said to the paralyzed man, “Stand up. Take your mat and go home.”
7 The man stood up and went home. 8 The people saw this and they were amazed. They praised God for letting someone have such power.
Matthew (Levi) Follows Jesus(B)
9 When Jesus was leaving, he saw a man named Matthew sitting at the place for collecting taxes. Jesus said to him, “Follow me.” So he got up and followed Jesus.
10 Jesus ate dinner at Matthew’s house. Many tax collectors and others with bad reputations came and ate with him and his followers. 11 The Pharisees saw that Jesus was eating with these people. They asked his followers, “Why does your teacher eat with tax collectors and other sinners?”
12 Jesus heard them say this. So he said to them, “It is the sick people who need a doctor, not those who are healthy. 13 You need to go and learn what this Scripture means: ‘I don’t want animal sacrifices; I want you to show kindness to people.’[a] I did not come to invite good people. I came to invite sinners.”
Jesus Is Not Like Other Religious Leaders(C)
14 Then the followers of John came to Jesus and said, “We and the Pharisees fast often, but your followers don’t ever fast. Why?”
15 Jesus answered, “At a wedding the friends of the bridegroom are not sad while he is with them. They cannot fast then. But the time will come when the bridegroom will be taken from them. Then they will fast.
16 “When someone sews a patch over a hole in an old coat, they never use a piece of cloth that has not already been shrunk. If they do, the patch will shrink and pull away from the coat. Then the hole will be worse. 17 Also, people never pour new wine into old wineskins. They would break, the wine would spill out, and the wineskins would be ruined. People always put new wine into new wineskins, which won’t break, and the wine stays good.”
Jesus Gives Life to a Dead Girl and Heals a Sick Woman(D)
18 While Jesus was still talking, a leader of the synagogue came to him. The leader bowed down before him and said, “My daughter has just died. But if you will come and touch her with your hand, she will live again.”
19 So Jesus and his followers went with the man.
20 On the way, there was a woman who had been bleeding for twelve years. She came close behind Jesus and touched the bottom of his coat. 21 She was thinking, “If I can touch his coat, I will be healed.”
22 Jesus turned and saw the woman. He said, “Be happy, dear woman. You are made well because you believed.” Then the woman was healed.
23 Jesus continued going with the Jewish leader and went into the leader’s house. He saw people there who make music for funerals. And he saw a crowd of people crying loudly. 24 Jesus said, “Go away. The girl is not dead. She is only sleeping.” But the people laughed at him. 25 After the people were put out of the house, Jesus went into the girl’s room. He held the girl’s hand, and the girl stood up. 26 The news about this spread all around the area.
Jesus Heals More People
27 As Jesus was going away from there, two blind men followed him. They said loudly, “Show kindness to us, Son of David.”
28 Jesus went inside, and the blind men went with him. He asked them, “Do you believe that I am able to make you see again?” They answered, “Yes, Lord, we believe.”
29 Then Jesus touched their eyes and said, “You believe that I can make you see again, so it will happen.” 30 Then the men were able to see. Jesus gave them a strong warning. He said, “Don’t tell anyone about this.” 31 But they left and spread the news about Jesus all around that area.
32 As these two men were leaving, some people brought another man to Jesus. This man could not talk because he had a demon inside him. 33 Jesus forced the demon out, and the man was able to talk. The people were amazed and said, “We have never seen anything like this in Israel.”
34 But the Pharisees said, “The ruler of demons is the one that gives him power to force demons out.”
Jesus Feels Sorry for the People
35 Jesus traveled through all the towns and villages. He taught in their synagogues and told people the Good News about God’s kingdom. He healed all kinds of diseases and sicknesses. 36 Jesus saw the many people and felt sorry for them because they were worried and helpless—like sheep without a shepherd to lead them. 37 Jesus said to his followers, “There is such a big harvest of people to bring in. But there are only a few workers to help harvest them. 38 God owns the harvest. Ask him to send more workers to help gather his harvest.”
Jesus Sends His Apostles on a Mission(E)
10 Jesus called his twelve followers together. He gave them power over evil spirits and power to heal every kind of disease and sickness. 2 These are the names of the twelve apostles:
Simon (also called Peter),
Andrew, the brother of Peter,
James, the son of Zebedee,
John, the brother of James,
3 Philip,
Bartholomew,
Thomas,
Matthew, the tax collector,
James, the son of Alphaeus,
Thaddaeus,
4 Simon, the Zealot,
Judas Iscariot (the one who handed Jesus over to his enemies).
5 Jesus sent the twelve men out with these instructions: “Don’t go to the non-Jewish people. And don’t go into any town where the Samaritans live. 6 But go to the people of Israel. They are like sheep that are lost. 7 When you go, tell them this: ‘God’s kingdom is now very near.[b]’ 8 Heal the sick. Bring the dead back to life. Heal the people who have leprosy. And force demons out of people. I give you these powers freely, so help others freely. 9 Don’t carry any money with you—gold or silver or copper. 10 Don’t carry a bag. Take only the clothes and sandals you are wearing. And don’t take a walking stick. A worker should be given what he needs.
11 “When you enter a city or town, find some worthy person there and stay in his home until you leave. 12 When you enter that home, say, ‘Peace be with you.’ 13 If the people in that home welcome you, they are worthy of your peace. May they have the peace you wished for them. But if they don’t welcome you, they are not worthy of your peace. Take back the peace you wished for them. 14 And if the people in a home or a town refuse to welcome you or listen to you, then leave that place and shake the dust off your feet.[c] 15 I can assure you that on the judgment day it will be worse for that town than for the people of Sodom and Gomorrah.
Jesus Warns About Troubles(F)
16 “Listen! I am sending you, and you will be like sheep among wolves. So be smart like snakes. But also be like doves and don’t hurt anyone. 17 Be careful! There are people who will arrest you and take you to be judged. They will whip you in their synagogues. 18 You will be taken to stand before governors and kings. People will do this to you because you follow me. You will tell about me to those kings and governors and to the non-Jewish people. 19 When you are arrested, don’t worry about what to say or how you should say it. At that time you will be given the words to say. 20 It will not really be you speaking; the Spirit of your Father will be speaking through you.
21 “Brothers will turn against their own brothers and hand them over to be killed. Fathers will hand over their own children to be killed. Children will fight against their own parents and will have them killed. 22 Everyone will hate you because you follow me. But the one who remains faithful to the end will be saved. 23 When you are treated badly in one city, go to another city. I promise you that you will not finish going to all the cities of Israel before the Son of Man comes again.
24 “Students are not better than their teacher. Servants are not better than their master. 25 Students should be happy to be treated the same as their teacher. And servants should be happy to be treated the same as their master. If those people call me ‘the ruler of demons,’ and I am the head of the family,[d] then it is even more certain that they will insult you, the members of the family!
Fear God, Not People(G)
26 “So don’t be afraid of those people. Everything that is hidden will be shown. Everything that is secret will be made known. 27 I tell you all this secretly,[e] but I want you to tell it publicly.[f] Whatever I tell you privately,[g] you should shout for everyone to hear.[h]
28 “Don’t be afraid of people. They can kill the body, but they cannot kill the soul. The only one you should fear is God, the one who can send the body and the soul to be destroyed in hell. 29 When birds are sold, two small birds cost only a penny. But not even one of those little birds can die without your Father knowing it. 30 God even knows how many hairs are on your head. 31 So don’t be afraid. You are worth more than a whole flock of birds.
Don’t Be Ashamed of Your Faith(H)
32 “If you stand before others and are willing to say you believe in me, then I will tell my Father in heaven that you belong to me. 33 But if you stand before others and say you do not believe in me, then I will tell my Father in heaven that you do not belong to me.
Following Jesus May Bring You Trouble(I)
34 “Do not think that I have come to bring peace to the earth. I did not come to bring peace. I came to bring trouble.[i] 35 I have come to make this happen:
‘A son will turn against his father.
A daughter will turn against her mother.
A daughter-in-law will turn against her mother-in-law.
36 Even members of your own family will be your enemies.’ (J)
37 “Those who love their father or mother more than they love me are not worthy of me. And those who love their son or daughter more than they love me are not worthy of me. 38 Those who will not accept the cross that is given to them when they follow me are not worthy of me. 39 Those who try to keep the life they have will lose it. But those who give up their life for me will find true life.
God Will Bless Those Who Welcome You(K)
40 “Whoever accepts you also accepts me. And whoever accepts me accepts the one who sent me. 41 Whoever accepts a prophet because he is a prophet will get the same reward a prophet gets. And whoever accepts a godly person just because that person is godly will get the same reward a godly person gets. 42 Whoever helps any of these little ones because they are my followers will definitely get a reward, even if they only give them a cup of cold water.”
Copyright © 2006 by Bible League International