Mat 8-9 | ESV | STEP | When he came down from the mountain , great crowds followed him .

1 When he came down from the mountain, ^agreat crowds followed him. 2 ^bAnd behold, a leper ^{▼▼Leprosy was a term for several skin diseases; see Leviticus 13} came to him and ^dknelt before him, saying, “Lord, if you will, you can make me clean.” 3 And Jesus ^{▼▼Greek he} stretched out his hand and touched him, saying, “I will; be clean.” And immediately his leprosy was cleansed. 4 And Jesus said to him, ^f“See that you say nothing to anyone, but go, ^gshow yourself to the priest and ^hoffer the gift that Moses commanded, ⁱfor a proof to them.”

The Faith of a Centurion

5 ^jWhen he had entered Capernaum, a centurion came forward to him, appealing to him, 6 “Lord, my servant is lying paralyzed at home, suffering terribly.” 7 And he said to him, “I will come and heal him.” 8 But the centurion replied, “Lord, I am not worthy to have you come under my roof, but ^konly say the word, and my servant will be healed. 9 For I too am a man under authority, with soldiers under me. And I say to one, ‘Go,’ and he goes, and to another, ‘Come,’ and he comes, and to my servant, ^{▼▼Greek bondservant} ‘Do this,’ and he does it.” 10 When Jesus heard this, ^mhe marveled and said to those who followed him, “Truly, I tell you, with ⁿno one in Israel ^{▼▼Some manuscripts not even in Israel} have I found such faith. 11 I tell you, ^pmany will come from east and west and recline at table with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob in the kingdom of heaven, 12 ^qwhile the sons of the kingdom ^rwill be thrown into the outer darkness. In that place ^sthere will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.” 13 And to the centurion Jesus said, “Go; let it be done for you ^tas you have believed.” ^uAnd the servant was healed at that very moment.

Jesus Heals Many

14 ^vAnd when Jesus entered Peter’s house, he saw ^whis mother-in-law lying sick with a fever. 15 He ^xtouched her hand, and the fever left her, and she rose and began to serve him. 16 That evening they brought to him many who were ^yoppressed by demons, and he cast out the spirits ^zwith a word and healed all who were sick. 17 ^aaThis was to fulfill what was spoken by the prophet Isaiah: ^ab“He took our illnesses and bore our diseases.”

The Cost of Following Jesus

18 Now ^acwhen Jesus saw a crowd around him, ^adhe gave orders to go over to the other side. 19 ^aeAnd a scribe came up and said to him, “Teacher, I will follow you wherever you go.” 20 And Jesus said to him, “Foxes have holes, and birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay his head.” 21 Another of the disciples said to him, “Lord, let me first go and bury my father.” 22 And Jesus said to him, “Follow me, and leave ^afthe dead to bury their own dead.”

Jesus Calms a Storm

23 ^agAnd when he got into the boat, his disciples followed him. 24 And behold, there arose a great storm on the sea, so that the boat was being swamped by the waves; but ^ahhe was asleep. 25 And they went and woke him, saying, ^ai“Save us, Lord; we are perishing.” 26 And he said to them, “Why are you ^ajafraid, ^akO you of little faith?” Then he rose and ^alrebuked the winds and the sea, and ^amthere was a great calm. 27 And the men ^anmarveled, saying, “What sort of man is this, that even ^aowinds and sea obey him?”

Jesus Heals Two Men with Demons

28 ^apAnd when he came to the other side, to the country of the Gadarenes, ^{▼▼Some manuscripts Gergesenes; some Gerasenes} two ^ardemon-possessed ^{▼▼Greek daimonizomai; also verse 33; elsewhere rendered oppressed by demons} men met him, coming out of the tombs, so fierce that no one could pass that way. 29 And behold, they ^atcried out, “What have you to do with us, ^auO Son of God? Have you come here to torment us ^avbefore the time?” 30 Now a herd of many pigs was feeding at some distance from them. 31 And the demons begged him, saying, “If you cast us out, send us away into the herd of pigs.” 32 And he said to them, “Go.” So they came out and went into the pigs, and behold, the whole herd rushed down the steep bank into the sea and drowned in the waters. 33 The herdsmen fled, and going into the city they told everything, especially what had happened to the ^awdemon-possessed men. 34 And behold, all the city came out to meet Jesus, and when they saw him, ^axthey begged him to leave their region.

Matthew 9

Jesus Heals a Paralytic

1 And getting into a boat he crossed over and came to ^ayhis own city. 2 ^azAnd behold, some people brought to him a paralytic, lying on a bed. And when Jesus ^basaw their faith, he said to the paralytic, ^bb“Take heart, my son; ^bcyour sins are forgiven.” 3 And behold, some of the scribes said to themselves, ^bd“This man is blaspheming.” 4 But Jesus, ^beknowing ^{▼▼Some manuscripts perceiving} their thoughts, said, “Why do you think evil in your hearts? 5 For which is easier, to say, ‘Your sins are forgiven,’ or to say, ‘Rise and walk’? 6 But 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.” 7 And he rose and went home. 8 When the crowds saw it, ^bgthey were afraid, and ^bhthey glorified God, who had ^bigiven such authority to men.

Jesus Calls Matthew

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

10 And as Jesus ^{▼▼Greek he} reclined at table in the house, behold, many ^bmtax collectors and sinners came and were reclining with Jesus and his disciples. 11 And when the Pharisees saw this, they said to his disciples, ^bn“Why does your teacher eat with ^botax collectors and sinners?” 12 But when he heard it, he said, “Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick. 13 Go and learn ^bpwhat this means: ^bq‘I desire mercy, and not sacrifice.’ For ^brI came not to call the righteous, ^bsbut sinners.”

A Question About Fasting

14 Then ^btthe disciples of John came to him, saying, ^bu“Why do we and ^bvthe Pharisees fast, ^{▼▼Some manuscripts add much, or often} but your disciples do not fast?” 15 And Jesus said to them, ^bx“Can the wedding guests mourn as long as the bridegroom is with them? ^byThe days will come when the bridegroom is taken away from them, and ^bzthen they will fast. 16 No 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. 17 Neither is new wine put into old ^cawineskins. 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

18 ^cbWhile he was saying these things to them, behold, a ruler came in and ^ccknelt before him, saying, “My daughter has just died, but come and lay your hand on her, and she will live.” 19 And Jesus rose and followed him, with his disciples. 20 And behold, a woman ^cdwho had suffered from a discharge of blood for twelve years came up behind him and touched ^cethe fringe of his garment, 21 for she said to herself, “If I only touch his garment, I will be made well.” 22 Jesus turned, and seeing her he said, ^cf“Take heart, daughter; your faith has made you well.” ^cgAnd instantly ^{▼▼Greek from that hour} the woman was made well. 23 And when Jesus came to the ruler’s house and saw ^cithe flute players and the crowd making a commotion, 24 he said, “Go away, for ^cjthe girl is not dead but ^cksleeping.” And they laughed at him. 25 But ^clwhen the crowd had been put outside, he went in and ^cmtook her by the hand, and the girl arose. 26 And the report of this went through all that district.

Jesus Heals Two Blind Men

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

Jesus Heals a Man Unable to Speak

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

The Harvest Is Plentiful, the Laborers Few

35 ^cwAnd 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. 36 ^cxWhen he saw the crowds, ^cyhe had compassion for them, because they were harassed and helpless, ^czlike sheep without a shepherd. 37 ^daThen he said to his disciples, “The harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few; 38 therefore ^dbpray earnestly to the Lord of the harvest to ^dcsend out laborers into his harvest.”