M’Cheyne Bible Reading Plan

9 Jesus got in the boat and crossed the sea. He came to his own town.

² Some men brought a sick man to him. The man could not move his arms or legs. He was lying on a bed. Jesus saw that they believed he would be healed. So he said to the sick man, `My son, be glad! The wrong things you have done are forgiven.'

³ Some of the scribes were thinking, `This man is not giving respect to God.'

⁴ Jesus knew what they were thinking. He said, `Why do you think these wrong things in your heart?

⁵ Which is easier, to say, "The wrong things you have done are forgiven," or to say, "Get up and walk"?

⁶ I want you to know that the Son of Man has power on earth to forgive wrong things people have done.' So he said to the sick man, `Get up. Make up your bed and go home.'

⁷ The man got up and went home.

⁸ Many people saw this and were much surprised. They praised God who had given such power to men.

⁹ Jesus went on from there. He saw a man named Matthew. He was sitting at the place where people came to pay taxes. Jesus said to him, `Come with me.' Matthew stood up and went with him.

¹⁰ Jesus was eating in a house. Many tax collectors and bad people came in. They sat down to eat with Jesus and his disciples.

¹¹ The Pharisees saw this. They said to his disciples, `Why does your teacher eat with tax collectors and bad people?'

¹² Jesus heard it. He said to them, `People who are well do not need a doctor. But sick people need him.

¹³ Go and learn what this means: "I want you to be kind. I do not want a sacrifice." I did not come to call good people. I came to call bad people to stop doing wrong things.'

¹⁴ Then John's disciples came to Jesus. They said, `We and the Pharisees fast. Why do your disciples not do the same?'

¹⁵ Jesus answered, `The people at a wedding cannot be sad while the man who is married is with them. But the time will come when he will be taken away from them. Then they will not eat.

¹⁶ No one sews a piece of new cloth on an old coat. If he does, the new cloth will tear the old coat. Then the hole is bigger than it was before.

¹⁷ `People do not put new wine into old wine skins. If they do, the old skins break. The wine is lost and the skins are spoiled. New wine is put into new skins. And so they are both saved.'

¹⁸ While Jesus was telling them these things, a ruler came to him. He bowed down in front of Jesus to worship him and said, `My daughter has just died. But if you will come and put your hand on her, she will live.'

¹⁹ Jesus got up and went with the ruler. His disciples went too.

²⁰ A woman had a sickness for twelve years. She was bleeding all the time. She came behind Jesus and touched his clothes.

²¹ She said to herself, `If only I touch his clothes, I will be well.'

²² Jesus turned around. He saw her and said, `Daughter, be glad. You were healed because you believed.' And right away the woman was healed.

²³ When Jesus came to the ruler's house, he saw the music players and people making a noise.

²⁴ He said to them, `Go away. The girl is not dead, but sleeping.' They laughed at him.

²⁵ The people were told to go outside. When they were out, he went in and took the girl's hand. The girl got up.

²⁶ People in all that part of the country heard about it.

²⁷ When Jesus went on from there, two blind men followed him. They called out, `Son of David, help us!'

²⁸ When Jesus came into the house, the blind men came to him. Jesus asked them, `Do you believe that I can do this?' They said, `Yes, sir.'

²⁹ Then Jesus touched their eyes. He said, `As you believed, so will it happen to you.'

³⁰ Then they were able to see. Jesus said to them, `Take care, do not tell anyone about this.'

³¹ But they went away and told everybody in that part of the country about him.

³² As they were leaving, people brought a man to Jesus. This man could not talk He had a bad spirit in him.

³³ Jesus drove the bad spirit out of the man. Then he could talk. The people were very much surprised. They said, `Nothing like this has ever been seen in the country of Israel.'

³⁴ But the Pharisees said, `He drives bad spirits out of people by the power of the chief of bad spirits.'

³⁵ Jesus went around to all the cities and towns. He taught people in their meeting houses and told them the good news of the kingdom of heaven. He healed all the sick and weak people.

³⁶ He saw the many people and was sorry for them. They were troubled and they could not help themselves. They were like sheep with no one to care for them.

³⁷ Then Jesus said to his disciples, `The harvest is much. But there are not many people to gather it.

³⁸ Talk to the Lord of this harvest, and ask him to send out people to his harvest.'

9 Saul was still very angry with the Lord's disciples. He said he would kill them. He went to the high priest.

² He asked him for letters to take to the meeting places at Damascus. In this way he was given the power to catch any men or women disciples. He could tie them and bring them back to Jerusalem.

³ He went on his way. All at once, near the city of Damascus, a light from the sky shone around him.

⁴ He fell to the ground and heard someone say, `Saul, Saul, why are you troubling me?'

⁵ Saul said, `Who are you, Lord?' The Lord said, `I am Jesus. You are troubling me.

⁶ But get up and go to the city. There you will be told what you must do.'

⁷ The men who had come with Saul stood there. They did not say a word. They heard a voice but did not see anyone.

⁸ Saul got up off the ground. When he opened his eyes, he was blind. They took his hand and led him to Damascus.

⁹ For three days he could not see, and he did not eat or drink.

¹⁰ A disciple named Ananias lived in Damascus. The Lord came to him in a vision and said. `Ananias.' He replied, `Here I am, Lord.'

¹¹ The Lord said, `Go into the street which is called Straight. At the house of Judas, ask for a man named Saul, from the city of Tarsus. He is there, talking with God.

¹² In a vision he has seen a man named Ananias coming to him. He has seen him put his hands on him so that he may see again.'

¹³ Then Ananias replied, `Lord, often I have heard of this man. He has brought much trouble to your people at Jerusalem.

¹⁴ The chief priests have given him power in this city to put into prison all those who call on your name.'

¹⁵ The Lord said, `Go, I have chosen him to take my name to the people who are not Jews, to kings, and to the people of Israel also.

¹⁶ I will show him how much he must suffer for my name's sake.'

¹⁷ Then Ananias went. He went into the house and put his hands on Saul. He said, `Brother Saul, the Lord Jesus came to you on the road while you were coming here. He has sent me to you so that you may see again, and that you may be filled with the Holy Spirit.'

¹⁸ At once some kind of skin which had covered Saul's eyes came off. He was able to see again from then on. He got up and was baptised.

¹⁹ And when he had eaten food, he was strong again. Saul stayed for some days with the disciples at Damascus.

²⁰ Right away he went to the Jewish meeting places and told the people that Jesus is the Son of God.

²¹ All the people who heard him were surprised. They said, `This man killed the people who called on Jesus' name in Jerusalem. He came here to catch them and tie them and take them to the chief priests!'

²² But Saul became stronger and stronger. He proved that Jesus is the Christ and made it so plain that the Jews at Damascus did not know what to say.

²³ Then some time after that, the leaders of the Jews planned to kill Saul.

²⁴ But he found out that they were waiting for him. The Jewish leaders watched the gates of the city night and day. They were waiting for a chance to kill him.

²⁵ Then one night the disciples put him in a basket and let him down outside the city wall.

²⁶ When Saul came to Jerusalem, he wanted to join the disciples, but they were all afraid of him. They did not believe that he was a disciple.

²⁷ But Barnabas took him and brought him to the apostles. He told them, `Saul has seen the Lord on the road. The Lord has talked to him. After that he told God's word in the name of Jesus, without fear at Damascus.'

²⁸ So Saul stayed with the apostles and went around in Jerusalem. He told God's word in the name of the Lord Jesus without fear.

²⁹ He talked to the Jews who spoke the Greek language. But they did not agree with Saul, and so they made plans to kill him.

³⁰ When the Christian brothers knew that, they took him to Caesarea. Then they sent him to Tarsus [the city where he was born].

³¹ After that, the churches in Judea, Galilee, and Samaria were not troubled any more and they believed more strongly. The people obeyed the Lord, and the Holy Spirit helped them to believe. And many more people joined them.

³² While Peter was travelling through all the towns, he came to visit God's people who lived in the city of Lydda.

³³ There he saw a man named Aeneas who was sick. He could not stand up. He had been on his bed for eight years.

³⁴ Peter said to him, `Aeneas, Jesus Christ heals you. Get up and make your bed!' The man got up at once.

³⁵ All the people who lived at Lydda and Sharon saw him, and they turned to the Lord.

³⁶ In the city of Joppa there was a disciple. Her name was Tabitha. That means Dorcas or Gazelle. She did much good work and she gave many things to the poor people.

³⁷ She became sick and died. They bathed her body and put her in a room upstairs.

³⁸ Lydda was near Joppa. When the disciples heard that Peter was at Lydda, they sent two men and asked for him to come quickly.

³⁹ Peter got up and went with them. When he got there, they took him to the room upstairs. Women whose husbands were dead stood there crying. They showed Peter the clothes and coats that Dorcas had made for them while she was with them.

⁴⁰ Peter put them all out. He kneeled down and talked to God. He turned to the body and said, `Tabitha, get up.' She opened her eyes. When she saw Peter, she sat up.

⁴¹ He took her hand and helped her get up. Then he called in God's people and the women, and he gave her back to them alive.

⁴² All over Joppa people heard about this. Many people believed on the Lord.

⁴³ Peter stayed in Joppa for many days. He was with a man named Simon, who made skins into leather.