Jesus Heals a Paralytic

¹And getting into a boat he crossed over and came to vhis own city. ²wAnd behold, some people brought to him a paralytic, lying on a bed. And when Jesus xsaw their faith, he said to the paralytic, y“Take heart, my son; zyour sins are forgiven.” ³And behold, some of the scribes said to themselves, a“This man is blaspheming.” ⁴But Jesus, bknowing1 their thoughts, said, “Why do you think evil in your hearts? ⁵For which is easier, to say, ‘Your sins are forgiven,’ or to say, ‘Rise and walk’? ⁶But that you may know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins”—he then said to the paralytic—“Rise, pick up your bed and go home.” ⁷And he rose and went home. ⁸When the crowds saw it, cthey were afraid, and cthey glorified God, who had dgiven such authority to men.

Jesus Calls Matthew

⁹eAs Jesus passed on from there, he saw a man called fMatthew sitting at the tax booth, and he said to him, “Follow me.” And he rose and followed him.

¹⁰And as Jesus2 reclined at table in the house, behold, many gtax collectors and sinners came and were reclining with Jesus and his disciples. ¹¹And when the Pharisees saw this, they said to his disciples, h“Why does your teacher eat with gtax collectors and sinners?” ¹²But when he heard it, he said, “Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick. ¹³Go and learn iwhat this means: j‘I desire mercy, and not sacrifice.’ For kI came not to call the righteous, lbut sinners.”

A Question About Fasting

¹⁴Then mthe disciples of John came to him, saying, n“Why do we and othe Pharisees fast,3 but your disciples do not fast?” ¹⁵And Jesus said to them, p“Can the wedding guests mourn as long as the bridegroom is with them? qThe days will come when the bridegroom is taken away from them, and rthen they will fast. ¹⁶No one puts a piece of unshrunk cloth on an old garment, for the patch tears away from the garment, and a worse tear is made. ¹⁷Neither is new wine put into old swineskins. If it is, the skins burst and the wine is spilled and the skins are destroyed. But new wine is put into fresh wineskins, and so both are preserved.”

A Girl Restored to Life and a Woman Healed

¹⁸tWhile he was saying these things to them, behold, a ruler came in and uknelt before him, saying, “My daughter has just died, but come and lay your hand on her, and she will live.” ¹⁹And Jesus rose and followed him, with his disciples. ²⁰And behold, a woman vwho had suffered from a discharge of blood for twelve years came up behind him and touched wthe fringe of his garment, ²¹for she said to herself, “If I only touch his garment, I will be made well.” ²²Jesus turned, and seeing her he said, x“Take heart, daughter; your faith has made you well.” yAnd instantly4 the woman was made well. ²³And when Jesus came to the ruler's house and saw zthe flute players and the crowd making a commotion, ²⁴he said, “Go away, for athe girl is not dead but bsleeping.” And they laughed at him. ²⁵But cwhen the crowd had been put outside, he went in and dtook her by the hand, and the girl arose. ²⁶And the report of this went through all that district.

Jesus Heals Two Blind Men

²⁷eAnd as Jesus passed on from there, two blind men followed him, crying aloud, “Have mercy on us, fSon of David.” ²⁸When he 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.” ²⁹gThen he touched their eyes, saying, h“According to your faith be it done to you.” ³⁰And their eyes were opened. And Jesus sternly warned them, i“See that no one knows about it.” ³¹jBut they went away and spread his fame through all that district.

Jesus Heals a Man Unable to Speak

³²As they were going away, behold, a kdemon-oppressed man who was mute lwas brought to him. ³³And when the demon had been cast out, the mute man spoke. And the crowds mmarveled, saying, “Never was anything like this seen in Israel.” ³⁴But the Pharisees said, “He casts out demons by the prince of demons.”

The Harvest Is Plentiful, the Laborers Few

³⁵nAnd Jesus went throughout all the cities and villages, teaching in their synagogues and proclaiming the gospel of the kingdom and healing every disease and every affliction. ³⁶oWhen he saw the crowds, phe had compassion for them, because they were harassed and helpless, qlike sheep without a shepherd. ³⁷rThen he said to his disciples, “The harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few; ³⁸therefore spray earnestly to the Lord of the harvest to tsend out laborers into his harvest.”