Matthew 9
9
1Then hee entred into a shippe, and passed ouer, and came into his owne citie. 2And loe, they brought to him a man sicke of the palsie, laid on a bed. And Iesus seeing their faith, saide to the sicke of the palsie, Sonne, be of good comfort: thy sinnes are forgiuen thee. 3And beholde, certaine of the Scribes saide with themselues, This man blasphemeth. 4But when Iesus saw their thoughts, he said, Wherefore thinke yee euil things in your hearts? 5For whether is it easier to say, Thy sinnes are forgiuen thee, or to say, Arise, and walke? 6And that ye may knowe that the Sonne of man hath authoritie in earth to forgiue sinnes, (then saide he vnto the sicke of the palsie,) Arise, take vp thy bed, and goe to thine house. 7And hee arose, and departed to his owne house. 8So when the multitude sawe it, they marueiled, and glorified God, which had giuen such authoritie to men. 9And as Iesus passed foorth from thence, hee sawe a man sitting at the custome, named Matthewe, and saide to him, Followe me. And he arose, and followed him. 10And it came to passe, as Iesus sate at meate in his house, beholde, many Publicanes and sinners, that came thither, sate downe at the table with Iesus and his disciples. 11And when the Pharises sawe that, they saide to his disciples, Why eateth your master with Publicanes and sinners? 12Nowe when Iesus heard it, hee sayde vnto them, The whole neede not a Physition, but they that are sicke. 13But goe yee and learne what this is, I will haue mercie, and not sacrifice: for I am not come to call the righteous, but the sinners to repentance. 14Then came the disciples of Iohn to him, saying, Why doe we and the Pharises fast oft, and thy disciples fast not? 15And Iesus saide vnto them, Can the children of the marriage chamber mourne as long as the bridegrome is with them? But the daies will come, when the bridegrome shall be taken from them, and then shall they fast. 16Moreouer no man pieceth an olde garment with a piece of newe cloth: for that that should fill it vp, taketh away from the garment, and the breach is worse. 17Neither doe they put newe wine into olde vessels: for then the vessels would breake, and the wine woulde be spilt, and the vessels shoulde perish: but they put new wine into newe vessels, and so are both preserued. 18While hee thus spake vnto them, beholde, there came a certaine ruler, and worshipped him, saying, My daughter is nowe deceased, but come and laie thine hande on her, and shee shall liue. 19And Iesus arose and followed him with his disciples. 20(And beholde, a woman which was diseased with an issue of blood twelue yeres, came behinde him, and touched the hemme of his garment. 21For shee saide in her selfe, If I may touche but his garment onely, I shalbe whole. 22Then Iesus turned him about, and seeing her, did say, Daughter, be of good comfort: thy faith hath made thee whole. And the woman was made whole at that same moment.) 23Nowe when Iesus came into the Rulers house, and saw the minstrels and the multitude making noise, 24He said vnto them, Get you hence: for the maid is not dead, but sleepeth. And they laughed him to scorne. 25And when the multitude were put foorth, hee went in and tooke her by the hande, and the maide arose. 26And this bruite went throughout all that lande. 27And as Iesus departed thence, two blinde men followed him, crying, and saying, O sonne of Dauid, haue mercie vpon vs. 28And when hee was come into the house, the blinde came to him, and Iesus saide vnto them, Beleeue yee that I am able to doe this? And they sayd vnto him, Yea, Lord. 29Then touched he their eyes, saying, According to your faith be it vnto you. 30And their eyes were opened, and Iesus gaue them great charge, saying, See that no man knowe it. 31But when they were departed, they spread abroad his fame throughout all that land. 32And as they went out, beholde, they brought to him a domme man possessed with a deuill. 33And when the deuill was cast out, the domme spake: then the multitude marueiled, saying, The like was neuer seene in Israel. 34But the Pharises saide, He casteth out deuils, through the prince of deuils. 35And Iesus went about all cities and townes, teaching in their Synagogues, and preaching the Gospel of the kingdome, and healing euery sickenesse and euery disease among the people. 36But when he saw the multitude, he had compassion vpon them, because they were dispersed, and scattered abroade, as sheepe hauing no shepheard. 37Then saide he to his disciples, Surely the haruest is great, but the labourers are fewe. 38Wherefore pray the Lord of the haruest, that he woulde sende foorth labourers into his haruest.
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Matthew 9: GNV
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PUBLIC DOMAIN
Matthew 9
9
Who Needs a Doctor?
1-3Back in the boat, Jesus and the disciples recrossed the sea to Jesus’ hometown. They were hardly out of the boat when some men carried a paraplegic on a stretcher and set him down in front of them. Jesus, impressed by their bold belief, said to the paraplegic, “Cheer up, son. I forgive your sins.” Some religion scholars whispered, “Why, that’s blasphemy!”
4-8Jesus knew what they were thinking, and said, “Why this gossipy whispering? Which do you think is simpler: to say, ‘I forgive your sins,’ or, ‘Get up and walk’? Well, just so it’s clear that I’m the Son of Man and authorized to do either, or both. . . .” At this he turned to the paraplegic and said, “Get up. Take your bed and go home.” And the man did it. The crowd was awestruck, amazed and pleased that God had authorized Jesus to work among them this way.
9Passing along, Jesus saw a man at his work collecting taxes. His name was Matthew. Jesus said, “Come along with me.” Matthew stood up and followed him.
10-11Later when Jesus was eating supper at Matthew’s house with his close followers, a lot of disreputable characters came and joined them. When the Pharisees saw him keeping this kind of company, they had a fit, and lit into Jesus’ followers. “What kind of example is this from your Teacher, acting cozy with crooks and misfits?”
12-13Jesus, overhearing, shot back, “Who needs a doctor: the healthy or the sick? Go figure out what this Scripture means: ‘I’m after mercy, not religion.’ I’m here to invite outsiders, not coddle insiders.”
Kingdom Come
14A little later John’s followers approached, asking, “Why is it that we and the Pharisees rigorously discipline body and spirit by fasting, but your followers don’t?”
15Jesus told them, “When you’re celebrating a wedding, you don’t skimp on the cake and wine. You feast. Later you may need to exercise moderation, but not now. No one throws cold water on a friendly bonfire. This is Kingdom Come!”
16-17He went on, “No one cuts up a fine silk scarf to patch old work clothes; you want fabrics that match. And you don’t put your wine in cracked bottles.”
Just a Touch
18-19As he finished saying this, a local official appeared, bowed politely, and said, “My daughter has just now died. If you come and touch her, she will live.” Jesus got up and went with him, his disciples following along.
20-22Just then a woman who had hemorrhaged for twelve years slipped in from behind and lightly touched his robe. She was thinking to herself, “If I can just put a finger on his robe, I’ll get well.” Jesus turned—caught her at it. Then he reassured her: “Courage, daughter. You took a risk of faith, and now you’re well.” The woman was well from then on.
23-26By now they had arrived at the house of the town official, and pushed their way through the gossips looking for a story and the neighbors bringing in casseroles. Jesus was abrupt: “Clear out! This girl isn’t dead. She’s sleeping.” They told him he didn’t know what he was talking about. But when Jesus had gotten rid of the crowd, he went in, took the girl’s hand, and pulled her to her feet—alive. The news was soon out, and traveled throughout the region.
Become What You Believe
27-28As Jesus left the house, he was followed by two blind men crying out, “Mercy, Son of David! Mercy on us!” When Jesus got home, the blind men went in with him. Jesus said to them, “Do you really believe I can do this?” They said, “Why, yes, Master!”
29-31He touched their eyes and said, “Become what you believe.” It happened. They saw. Then Jesus became very stern. “Don’t let a soul know how this happened.” But they were hardly out the door before they started blabbing it to everyone they met.
32-33Right after that, as the blind men were leaving, a man who had been struck speechless by an evil spirit was brought to Jesus. As soon as Jesus threw the evil tormenting spirit out, the man talked away just as if he’d been talking all his life. The people were up on their feet applauding: “There’s never been anything like this in Israel!”
34The Pharisees were left sputtering, “Smoke and mirrors. It’s nothing but smoke and mirrors. He’s probably made a pact with the Devil.”
35-38Then Jesus made a circuit of all the towns and villages. He taught in their meeting places, reported kingdom news, and healed their diseased bodies, healed their bruised and hurt lives. When he looked out over the crowds, his heart broke. So confused and aimless they were, like sheep with no shepherd. “What a huge harvest!” he said to his disciples. “How few workers! On your knees and pray for harvest hands!”
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THE MESSAGE: The Bible in Contemporary Language copyright © 1993, 2002, 2018 by Eugene H. Peterson. All rights reserved. Used by permission of NavPress. Represented by Tyndale House Publishers.