Matthew:9

---

Seeker Overlay ON

* And getting into a boat , he crossed over and came to his own city . * And behold , they brought to him a paralytic , lying on a bed . And when Jesus saw their faith he said to the paralytic , »Take heart , my son ; your sins are forgiven .« * And behold , some of the scribes said to themselves , »This man is blaspheming !« * But Jesus , knowing their thoughts , said , »Why do you think evil in your hearts ? * For which is easier , to say , ‘Your sins are forgiven ,’ or to say , ‘Rise and walk ’? * But that you may know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins «—he then said to the paralytic —»Rise , take up your bed and go home .« * And he rose and went home . * When the crowds saw it , they were afraid , and they glorified God , who had given such authority to men . * As Jesus passed on from there , he saw a man named Matthew sitting at the tax office ; and he said to him , »Follow me .« And he rose and followed him . * And as Jesus sat at table in the house , behold , many tax collectors and sinners came and sat down with him and his disciples . * And when the Pharisees saw this , they said to his disciples , »Why does your teacher eat with tax collectors and sinners ?« * But when Jesus heard it , he said , »Those who are well have no need of a physician , but those who are sick . * But go and learn what this means : ‘I desire mercy , and not sacrifice .’ For I have not come to call the righteous , but sinners .« * Then the disciples of John came to him , saying , »Why do we and the Pharisees fast , but your disciples do not fast ?« * And Jesus said to them , »Can the guests of the bridegroom mourn as long as he is with them ? The days will come , when the bridegroom will be taken away from them , and then they will fast . * No one puts a piece of unshrunk cloth on an old garment , for the patch pulls away from the garment , and the tear is made worse . * Neither do they put new wine into old wineskins ; if they do , the skins burst , and the wine is spilled , and the skins are ruined . But they put new wine into new wineskins , and so both are preserved .« * While he was saying these things to them , behold , a ruler came and knelt before him , saying , »My daughter has just died , but come and lay your hand on her and she will live .« * So Jesus rose and followed him , and so did his disciples . * And behold , a woman who had suffered from a hemorrhage for twelve years came up behind him and touched the fringe of his garment . * For she said to herself , »If I only touch his garment , I shall be made well .« * Jesus turned , and when he saw her he said , »Take heart , daughter ; your faith has made you well .« And the woman was made well from that moment . * When Jesus came to the ruler ’s house , and saw the flute players and the noisy crowd , * he said , »Depart ; for the girl is not dead but sleeping .« And they laughed at him . * But when the crowd had been put outside , he went in and took her by the hand , and the girl arose . * And the report of this went through all that region . * And as Jesus passed on from there , two blind men followed him , crying out , »Have mercy on us , Son of David .« * When he had entered the house , the blind men came to him ; and Jesus said to them , »Do you believe that I am able to do this ?« They said to him , »Yes , Lord .« * Then he touched their eyes , saying , »According to your faith be it done to you .« * And their eyes were opened . And Jesus sternly warned them , »See that no one knows it .« * But they went out and spread the news about him all over that region . * As they were going out , behold , a mute and demon-possessed man was brought to him . * And when the demon had been cast out , the mute man spoke ; and the crowds marveled , saying , »Never was anything like this seen in Israel .« * But the Pharisees said , »He casts out demons by the prince of demons .« * And Jesus went about all the cities and villages , teaching in their synagogues and preaching the gospel of the kingdom , and healing every disease and every sickness . * When he saw the crowds , he had compassion for them , because they were harassed and helpless , like sheep without a shepherd . * Then he said to his disciples , »The harvest is plentiful , but the laborers are few . * Therefore pray the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into his harvest .«

---