Beginning
Jesus helps a man who cannot walk
9 Then Jesus got back into the boat. He sailed across to the other side of the lake again. He went to Capernaum, the town where he was living.
2 Some men came to see Jesus there. They carried with them a man who could not walk or move his legs. He was lying on a mat. Jesus knew that they believed in him. He said to the man who could not walk, ‘Do not be afraid, my friend. I forgive you for the wrong things that you have done.’
3 Then some teachers of God's Law said to themselves: ‘This man is speaking as if he is God. That is not right.’
4 Jesus knew what the teachers were thinking. So he said to them, ‘You should not think these bad things in your minds. 5 I said to this man, “I forgive you for the wrong things that you have done.” Instead, I could have said to him, “Stand up and walk.” Which one is easier for me to say? 6 But I want you to know this. I, the Son of Man, have authority on earth.[a] I can forgive people for the wrong things that they have done.’ Then he said to the man who could not walk, ‘Stand up. Pick up your mat and go home.’ 7 So then the man stood up and he went home. 8 The crowds of people saw what had happened. They were very surprised and afraid. They saw that God had given so much authority to men. So they praised God and they said, ‘God is great!’
Jesus asks Matthew to come with him
9 Jesus went away from that place. While he walked, he saw a man called Matthew. Matthew's job was to take taxes from people. He was sitting in his office. Jesus said to him, ‘Come with me and be my disciple.’ So Matthew stood up and he went with Jesus.
10 Later, Jesus went to eat a meal in Matthew's house. Many bad people and men who took taxes also came to the house.[b] They came to eat there with Jesus and his disciples.
11 Some Pharisees saw what was happening. They said to Jesus' disciples, ‘Your teacher is eating a meal with these bad people. That is not right. They are people who do not obey God, and some of them take taxes from people.’
12 Jesus heard what the Pharisees were saying. He said to them, ‘People who are well do not need a doctor. It is people who are ill that need a doctor. 13 Go and study what it says in the Bible. God says there, “I want people to be kind to each other. I do not want them only to offer sacrifices to me.” Some people think that they always obey God. I did not come to help people like that. Some people know that they have done wrong things. I am asking those people to come to me for help.’
14 Then the disciples of John the Baptist came to Jesus. They said to him, ‘We often decide to fast for a time. The disciples of the Pharisees also do that. Why do your disciples never do that?’[c]
15 Jesus answered them: ‘When a man marries, his friends cannot be sad. They cannot refuse to eat food while he is with them. But there will be a time when people will take the man away from his friends. At that time his friends will choose to fast.’[d]
16 Then Jesus said, ‘Nobody uses a piece of new cloth to mend an old coat. If he does, the new cloth will cause the old cloth to tear again. It will make a bigger hole than before.
17 Nobody pours new wine into old wineskins.[e] If he does that, the new wine will tear the old wineskins. He will lose the wine and the wineskins will spoil. Instead, you must put new wine into new wineskins. Then there will be nothing to spoil the wine or the wineskins.’[f]
Jesus causes a dead girl to become alive again
18 While Jesus was saying these things to the people, a leader at the Jewish meeting place came to him. The man went down on his knees in front of Jesus and said to him, ‘My daughter has just died. Come to my house. Put your hand on her and then she will live again.’ 19 So Jesus went with the man. His disciples also went with them.
20 There was a sick woman in the crowd. She had been losing blood for 12 years. She came near to Jesus, behind him. She touched the edge of his coat. 21 The woman thought, ‘Even if I only touch his coat, I will become well again.’
22 Jesus turned round and he saw the woman. He said to her, ‘Young woman, do not be afraid. You are now well again because you believed in me.’ And immediately the woman became well again.
23 Then Jesus arrived at the Jewish leader's house. Some people there were making sad music and the crowd was making a loud noise.[g]
24 When Jesus saw this, he said to everybody in the house, ‘Go outside. This girl is not dead. She is only sleeping.’ The people laughed at Jesus when he said that. 25 The family sent all the people out of the house. Jesus went inside and he held the girl's hand. Immediately she stood up. 26 People in all that part of the country heard about what had happened.
Jesus causes two blind men to see again
27 Jesus left the house. While he walked along, two blind men began to follow him. They were shouting out to him, ‘Son of David! Please be kind to us and help us!’[h]
28 Jesus went into a house and the blind men came to him there. Jesus asked them, ‘Do you believe that I can make your eyes become well?’ The men replied, ‘Yes, Master, we believe that you can do this.’
29 So Jesus touched the men's eyes. He said to them, ‘Because you believed in me, you will now see again.’ 30 Then immediately the men could see again. Jesus said strongly to them, ‘You must not tell anyone about this.’ 31 So the men went away. But they told everybody in that part of the country all about what Jesus had done for them.
Jesus causes a man to speak again
32 While those two men were leaving, some people brought another man to Jesus. This man could not speak because of a bad spirit in him. 33 Jesus made the bad spirit go out of the man and leave him. Then the man began to speak again. Everybody there was very surprised. They said, ‘Nobody has seen anything like this happen in Israel before.’
34 But the Pharisees said, ‘This man can send bad spirits out of people because Satan gives him authority. Satan is the one who rules the bad spirits.’
Jesus wants God to send out more disciples
35 Jesus went to visit all the towns and villages near there. He taught the people in the Jewish meeting places. He told them the good news about God's kingdom. He also caused sick people to become well again from all their different pains and illnesses.
36 When Jesus saw the crowds of people, he felt sorry for them. They had trouble in their minds. They had nobody to help them. Jesus thought, ‘These people are like sheep that have nobody to take care of them.’ 37 Then Jesus said to his disciples, ‘Many people are ready to believe God's message. They are like crops in the fields at harvest time. But there are very few workers to bring in the crops. 38 So pray to God to send out workers. The field and the crops belong to him.’[i]
Jesus chooses 12 men to be his apostles[j]
10 One day, Jesus asked his 12 disciples to come to him. He gave them authority over bad spirits so that they could send the spirits out of people. They could also make sick people well again from every kind of illness.
2 These are the names of the 12 apostles:
The first apostle is Simon, who was also called Peter.
Then Simon's brother, who was called Andrew.
Also James and his brother John, who were Zebedee's sons.
3 There were Philip and Bartholomew.[k]
There were Thomas and Matthew.[l] (Matthew's job was to take taxes from people.)
And James who was the son of Alphaeus, and Thaddaeus.[m]
4 There was also Simon the Zealot and Judas Iscariot, who later gave Jesus to his enemies.[n]
Jesus sends out his 12 apostles
5 Jesus sent out these 12 disciples. Before they left, he said to them, ‘Do not go to any place where the people are Gentiles. And do not go to towns where only Samaritans live.[o] 6 Instead, you must go to the people of Israel. They are like lost sheep with nobody to take care of them. 7 While you travel, you must tell people about the kingdom of heaven. You must tell them that it has now become near. 8 Make sick people well again. Cause dead people to become alive again. If people have a bad disease of the skin, make them well again. Send bad spirits out of people to leave them. God has been very kind to you, so you should be kind to other people. When you help people, do not ask them for money. 9 Do not take any money in your purses. 10 Do not take a bag with you, or extra clothes. Do not take extra shoes or a stick. You are working to help people. So people should give you what you need to live.
11 When you arrive in a town or a village, look for a good person there. Continue to stay in that person's house until you leave there. 12 When you go into the house, say to the people there, “We pray that you will be well.” 13 If the people of that house accept you, then everyone in the house will be well. But if they do not accept you, then take back your kind words. 14 Sometimes you will go to some house or town and the people will not accept you there. They will not listen to your message. Then you should leave. Clean the dirt of that place off your feet. 15 I tell you this: One day God will punish people like that. God will punish them even more than the people who lived in Sodom and Gomorrah long ago.’[p]
16 Jesus then said to his disciples, ‘Listen well. I am sending you to people who will want to kill you. You will be like sheep among wild animals. You must watch carefully, like snakes do. But you must also be good and kind like doves.
17 Be careful! People will be against you. They will take you to stand in front of their leaders. They will punish you with whips in their meeting places. 18 They will take you to stand in front of kings and rulers. All this will happen because you are my disciples. You will tell all these important people and also the Gentiles the good news about me. 19 When they take you to stand in front of their leaders, do not be afraid. Do not worry about what you should say or how you should say it. At that time, God will give you the right words to speak. 20 You will not be speaking your own words. The Holy Spirit of your Father God will give you his own words to say.
21 At that time, a man will let people kill his own brother. A father will let people kill his own child. Children will be against their parents. They will even ask people to kill their parents. 22 All people will hate you because you are my disciples. But God will save the person who remains strong until the end. 23 If people in any town hurt you because of me, you should leave that town immediately. Go to another town. I tell you this: You will not have enough time to speak your message in all the towns of Israel. I, the Son of Man, will return before that can happen.
24 A student is not more important than his teacher is. A servant is not more important than his master is. 25 A student should be happy if he becomes like his teacher. A servant should be happy if he becomes like his master. People have called me, the master of the house, Beelzebul. You are like those people who live in my house. So do not be surprised when people call you even worse names than they call me.
26 So do not be afraid of these people. They hide the things that they do. But there will be a time when other people will see those things. Everyone will know all their secrets. 27 I tell you things secretly, like people do in the dark. But you must tell people these things clearly in the light of day. I have said things very quietly into your ears. But now you must shout those things loudly from the tops of the houses.[q]
28 Do not be afraid of those people who can kill only your body. These people cannot kill your soul. No, it is God that you should be afraid of. He can kill your body, and then he can also destroy your soul in hell. 29 Think about this. People sell two birds for just one small coin. But God takes care of these little birds. Not one of them can fall to the ground unless God lets it happen. 30 God even knows how many hairs there are on your head. 31 So do not be afraid of those people who are against you. You are more valuable to God than many little birds.
32 You should say clearly to other people, “I believe in Jesus.” If you do that, I will say to my Father in heaven, “This is someone who is my disciple.” 33 But if you say to other people, “I do not believe in Jesus,” I will then say to my Father in heaven, “I do not know that person. He is not one of my disciples.”
34 I will tell you why I have come into the world. I did not come so that everyone would agree with each other. No, I came to put people against one another, to fight against each other.[r]
35 A man will fight against his father.
A daughter will fight against her mother.
A woman will fight against her husband's mother.
36 A man's own family will fight against him.[s]
37 Nobody should love his own father and mother more than he loves me. If he does, he cannot be my disciple. Nobody should love his own son or daughter more than he loves me. If he does, then he cannot be my disciple. 38 If you really want to be one of my disciples, you must be ready to die for me. Live like a person who carries his own cross to go and die. 39 Whoever wants to keep his life safe will lose it. But whoever gives his life to serve me will have true life.’
Jesus teaches about God's gifts
40 Jesus said to his disciples, ‘If anyone accepts you in his home, then he is also accepting me. And anyone who accepts me, also accepts my Father God, who sent me. 41 Somebody may accept a prophet into his home because the visitor is a prophet of God. God will bless that person like he blesses a prophet. Or he may accept a good man who obeys God, because the man is good. God will bless that person like he blesses the good man. 42 People may think that my disciples are unimportant. But God will bless anyone who gives even a drink of cold water to one of them. I tell you, that person will never lose God's help.’
EasyEnglish Bible Copyright © MissionAssist 2019 - Charitable Incorporated Organisation 1162807. Used by permission. All rights reserved.