Jesus got into a boat, crossed over, and came to his own town.[1] 2 And look — some people brought him a paralyzed man lying on a mat. When Jesus saw their faith, he said to the paralyzed man, “Take heart, son. Your sins are forgiven.”
3 At that, some of the scribes said to themselves, “This man is blaspheming.”
4 Jesus knew what they were thinking and said, “Why are you thinking evil in your hearts? 5 Which is easier — to say, ‘Your sins are forgiven,’ or to say, ‘Get up and walk’? 6 But so you will know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins” — he then said to the paralyzed man, “Get up, pick up your mat, and go home.” 7 And the man got up and went home. 8 When the crowds saw it, they were afraid and gave glory to God, who had given such authority to human beings.
9 As Jesus went on from there, he saw a man named Matthew sitting at the tax booth. He said to him, “Follow me.” And Matthew got up and followed him.
10 Later, as Jesus was reclining at the table in the house, look — many tax collectors and sinners came and reclined with him and his disciples. 11 When the Pharisees saw this, they said to his disciples, “Why does your teacher eat with tax collectors and sinners?”
12 Jesus heard it and said, “It’s not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick. 13 Go and learn what this means: ‘I want mercy, not sacrifice.’ I did not come to call those who already do right, but sinners.”[2]
14 Then John’s disciples came to him and said, “Why do we and the Pharisees fast often, but your disciples don’t fast?”[3]
15 Jesus said to them, “Can the wedding guests mourn while the bridegroom is with them? But the days will come when the bridegroom is taken away from them — and then they will fast. 16 No one sews a patch of unshrunk cloth onto an old cloak. The patch pulls away from the cloak, and the tear becomes worse. 17 And no one pours new wine into old wineskins. If they do, the skins burst, the wine spills out, and the skins are ruined. No — they pour new wine into fresh wineskins, and both are preserved.”
18 While he was saying these things to them, look — 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.” 19 Jesus got up and followed him, and so did his disciples.
20 And look — a woman who had been bleeding for twelve years came up behind him and touched the tassel of his cloak.[4] 21 She was saying to herself, “If I can just touch his cloak, I will be saved.”
22 Jesus turned, saw her, and said, “Take heart, daughter. Your faith has saved you.” And the woman was healed from that moment.
23 When Jesus came to the ruler’s house and saw the flute players and the noisy crowd,[5] 24 he said, “Go away. The girl is not dead — she’s sleeping.” And they laughed at him. 25 But when the crowd had been put outside, he went in and took her by the hand, and the girl got up. 26 And the news of this spread through all that region.
27 As Jesus went on from there, two blind men followed him, shouting, “Have mercy on us, Son of David!”
28 When he had gone indoors, the blind men came to him. Jesus said to them, “Do you believe I am able to do this?”
They said, “Yes, Lord.”
29 Then he touched their eyes and said, “Let it happen to you according to your faith.” 30 And their eyes were opened. Jesus warned them sternly: “See that no one knows about this.” 31 But they went out and spread the word about him through all that region.
32 As they were leaving, look — people brought him a man who could not speak and was demon-possessed. 33 When the demon was driven out, the man spoke. The crowds were amazed and said, “Nothing like this has ever been seen in Israel.”
34 But the Pharisees said, “He drives out demons by the ruler of the demons.”
35 Jesus went through all the towns and villages, teaching in their synagogues, proclaiming the good news of the kingdom, and healing every disease and every sickness. 36 When he saw the crowds, he felt compassion for them, because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd.[6] 37 Then he said to his disciples, “The harvest is plentiful, but the workers are few. 38 So ask the Lord of the harvest to send out workers into his harvest.”
Notes
Note 1. Matthew doesn’t name the town. At 4:13 he says Jesus left Nazareth and settled in Capernaum, a fishing town on the Sea of Galilee — the base of his Galilean ministry. ↩
Note 2. The line is Hosea 6:6, where God tells Israel he prefers loyal love and faithfulness to ritual offerings. ↩
Note 3. The Law of Moses required only one fixed fast a year, on the Day of Atonement. A Pharisee in Luke 18:12 says he fasts twice a week; the Didache, an early Christian text, names those days as Monday and Thursday (8:1). ↩
Note 4. The Greek kraspedon is the edge or border of a thing; on a garment it is the tassel — tzitzit in Hebrew — that Israelite men were commanded to attach to the four corners of the outer cloak (Numbers 15:37–41; Deuteronomy 22:12). It is the same word Matthew uses at 23:5. ↩
Note 5. Professional flute players and wailers were standard at a first-century Jewish death, hired to lead the mourning and often arriving quickly. ↩
Note 6. The phrase echoes the Hebrew scriptures, where Moses asks God to appoint a successor so Israel won’t be “like sheep without a shepherd” (Numbers 27:17), and where prophets like Zechariah rebuke Israel’s failed leaders. ↩