Mat 9 | NASB2020 | STEP | Getting into a boat , Jesus crossed over the Sea of Galilee and came to His own city .

1 Getting into a boat, Jesus crossed over the Sea of Galilee and came to ^aHis own city.

2 ^bAnd they brought to Him a ^cparalyzed man lying on a stretcher. And seeing their faith, Jesus said to the man who was paralyzed, “ ^dTake courage, ^{▼▼Lit child}son; ^fyour sins are forgiven.” 3 And some of the scribes said ^{▼▼Lit among}to themselves, “This man is ^hblaspheming!” 4 And Jesus, ⁱperceiving their thoughts, said, “Why are you thinking evil in your hearts? 5 For which is easier, to say, ‘ ^jYour sins are forgiven,’ or to say, ‘Get up and walk’? 6 But so that you may know that ^kthe Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins” --then He *said to the ^lparalyzed man, “Get up, pick up your stretcher and go home.” 7 And he got up and ^{▼▼Lit departed to his home}went home. 8 But when the crowds saw this, they were ^{▼▼Lit afraid}awestruck, and they ^oglorified God, who had given such authority to men.

Matthew Called

9 ^pAs Jesus went on from there, He saw a man called ^qMatthew sitting in the tax collector’s office; and He *said to him, “ ^rFollow Me!” And he got up and followed Him.

10 Then it happened that as ^{▼▼Lit He}Jesus was reclining at the table in the house, behold, many tax collectors and ^{▼▼I.e., irreligious Jews}sinners came and began dining with Jesus and His disciples. 11 And when the Pharisees saw this, they said to His disciples, “ ^uWhy is your Teacher eating with the tax collectors and sinners?” 12 But when Jesus heard this, He said, “It is not ^vthose who are healthy who need a physician, but those who are sick. 13 Now go and learn ^{▼▼Lit what is
,} ^xwhat this means: ‘ ^yI desire ^{▼▼Or mercy}compassion, ^{▼▼Lit and not}rather than sacrifice,’ for ^abI did not come to call the righteous, but sinners.”

The Question about Fasting

14 Then the disciples of John *came to Him, asking, “Why do we and ^acthe Pharisees fast, but Your disciples do not fast?” 15 And Jesus said to them, “The ^{▼▼Lit sons of the wedding place}attendants of the groom cannot mourn as long as the groom is with them, can they? But the days will come when the groom is taken away from them, and then they will fast. 16 But no one puts a patch of unshrunk cloth on an old garment; for ^{▼▼Lit that which fills up}the patch pulls away from the garment, and a worse tear results. 17 Nor do people put new wine into old wineskins; otherwise the wineskins burst, and the wine pours out and the wineskins are ruined; but they put new wine into fresh wineskins, and both are preserved.”

Miracles of Healing

18 ^afWhile He was saying these things to them, behold, ^{▼▼Or one}a synagogue ^{▼▼Lit ruler}official came and ^{▼▼Or worshiped
,} ^ajbowed down before Him, and said, “My daughter has just died; but come and lay Your hand on her, and she will become alive again.” 19 Jesus got up from the table and began to accompany him, along with His disciples.

20 And behold, a woman who had been suffering from a hemorrhage for twelve years came up behind Him, and touched ^akthe ^{▼▼Or tassel; i.e., a ritual tassel sewn to corners of garments for Jewish men}border of His ^{▼▼Or outer garment}cloak; 21 for she was ^{▼▼Or thinking}saying ^{▼▼Lit in herself}to herself, “If I only ^aptouch His cloak, I will ^{▼▼Lit be saved}get well.” 22 But Jesus, turning and seeing her, said, “Daughter, ^artake courage; ^asyour faith has ^{▼▼Lit saved you}made you well.” And ^{▼▼Lit from that hour}at once the woman was ^{▼▼Lit saved}made well.

23 When Jesus came into the ^{▼▼Lit ruler’s}official’s house and saw ^axthe flute players and the crowd in noisy disorder, 24 He said, “Leave; for the girl ^ayhas not died, but is asleep.” And they began laughing at Him. 25 But ^azwhen the crowd had been sent out, He entered and ^batook her by the hand, and the girl ^{▼▼Or was raised up}got up. 26 And ^bcthis news spread throughout that land.

27 As Jesus went on from there, two men who were blind followed Him, crying out, “Have mercy on us, ^bdSon of David!” 28 And after He entered the house, the men who were blind came up to Him, and Jesus *said to them, “Do you believe that I am able to do this?” They *said to Him, “Yes, Lord.” 29 Then He touched their eyes, saying, “ ^{▼▼Or it is to be done; Gr imperative, i.e., a command}It shall be done for you ^bfaccording to your faith.” 30 And their eyes were opened. And Jesus ^bgsternly warned them, saying, “See that no one knows about this!” 31 But they went out and ^bhspread the news about Him throughout that land.

32 And as they were going out, behold, ^bia ^bjdemon-possessed man who was unable to speak ^{▼▼Lit they brought}was brought to Him. 33 And after the demon was cast out, the man who was previously unable to speak talked; and the crowds were amazed, and were saying, “ ^blNothing like this has ever ^{▼▼Lit appeared}been seen in Israel.” 34 But the Pharisees were saying, “He ^bncasts out the demons by the ruler of the demons.”

35 Jesus was going through all the cities and villages, ^boteaching in their synagogues and proclaiming the gospel of the kingdom, and healing every disease and every sickness.

36 ^bpSeeing the crowds, He felt compassion for them, ^bqbecause they were ^{▼▼Or weary}distressed and downcast, like sheep ^{▼▼Lit not having}without a shepherd. 37 Then He *said to His disciples, “ ^btThe harvest is plentiful, but the workers are few. 38 Therefore, plead with the Lord of the harvest to send out workers into His harvest.”