Matthew 9:9-17

Jesus Calls Matthew

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

10And as Jesus
Greek he
reclined at table in the house, behold, many dtax collectors and sinners came and were reclining with Jesus and his disciples.
11And when the Pharisees saw this, they said to his disciples, eWhy does your teacher eat with ftax 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 gwhat this means: h‘I desire mercy, and not sacrifice.’ For iI came not to call the righteous, jbut sinners.”

A Question About Fasting

14Then kthe disciples of John came to him, saying, lWhy do we and mthe Pharisees fast,
Some manuscripts add much, or often
but your disciples do not fast?”
15And Jesus said to them, oCan the wedding guests mourn as long as the bridegroom is with them? pThe days will come when the bridegroom is taken away from them, and qthen 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 rwineskins. 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.”

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