Matthew 8

Jesus Heals a Sick Man

1 When Jesus came down from the hill, great crowds followed him.

2 Then a man with a skin disease came to Jesus. The man bowed down before him and said, “Lord, you can heal me if you will.”
3 Jesus reached out his hand and touched the man and said, “I will. Be healed!” And immediately the man was healed from his disease.4 Then Jesus said to him, “Don’t tell anyone about this. But go and show yourself to the priest 

Jesus Heals a Soldier’s Servant

5 When Jesus entered the city of Capernaum, an army officer came to him, begging for help.

6 The officer said, “Lord, my servant is at home in bed. He can’t move his body and is in much pain.”

7 Jesus said to the officer, “I will go and heal him.”
8 The officer answered, “Lord, I am not worthy for you to come into my house. You only need to command it, and my servant will be healed.

9 I, too, am a man under the authority of others, and I have soldiers under my command. I tell one soldier, ‘Go,’ and he goes. I tell another soldier, ‘Come,’ and he comes. I say to my servant, ‘Do this,’ and my servant does it.
10 When Jesus heard this, he was amazed. He said to those who were following him, “I tell you the truth, this is the greatest faith I have found, even in Israel. 11 Many people will come from the east and from the west and will sit and eat with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob in the kingdom of heaven.

12 But those people who should be in the kingdom will be thrown outside into the darkness, where people will cry and grind their teeth with pain.”

13 Then Jesus said to the officer, “Go home. Your servant will be healed just as you believed he would.” And his servant was healed that same hour.

Jesus Heals Many People

14 When Jesus went to Peter’s house, he saw that Peter’s mother-in-law was sick in bed with a fever.

15 Jesus touched her hand, and the fever left her. Then she stood up and began to serve Jesus.
16 That evening people brought to Jesus many who had demons. Jesus spoke and the demons left them, and he healed all the sick.

17 He did these things to bring about what Isaiah the prophet had said:
“He took our suffering on him and carried our diseases.” t

People Want to Follow Jesus

18 When Jesus saw the crowd around him, he told his followers to go to the other side of the lake.

19 Then a teacher of the law came to Jesus and said, “Teacher, I will follow you any place you go.”

20 Jesus said to him, “The foxes have holes to live in, and the birds have nests, but the Son of Man has no place to rest his head.”

21 Another man, one of Jesus’ followers, said to him, “Lord, first let me go and bury my father.”

22 But Jesus told him, “Follow me, and let the people who are dead bury their own dead.”

Jesus Calms a Storm

23 Jesus got into a boat, and his followers went with him.24 A great storm arose on the lake so that waves covered the boat, but Jesus was sleeping.

25 His followers went to him and woke him, saying, “Lord, save us! We will drown!”

26 Jesus answered, “Why are you afraid? You don’t have enough faith.” Then Jesus got up and gave a command to the wind and the waves, and it became completely calm.

27 The men were amazed and said, “What kind of man is this? Even the wind and the waves obey him!”

Jesus Heals Two Men with Demons

28 When Jesus arrived at the other side of the lake in the area of the Gadarene 

29 They shouted, “What do you want with us, Son of God? Did you come here to torture us before the right time?”
30 Near that place there was a large herd of pigs feeding.

31 The demons begged Jesus, “If you make us leave these men, please send us into that herd of pigs.”
32 Jesus said to them, “Go!” So the demons left the men and went into the pigs. Then the whole herd rushed down the hill into the lake and were drowned.33 The herdsmen ran away and went into town, where they told about all of this and what had happened to the men who had demons.34 Then the whole town went out to see Jesus. When they saw him, they begged him to leave their area.

Matthew 9

Jesus Heals a Paralyzed Man

1 Jesus got into a boat and went back across the lake to his own town.

2 Some people brought to Jesus a man who was paralyzed and lying on a mat. When Jesus saw the faith of these people, he said to the paralyzed man, “Be encouraged, young man. Your sins are forgiven.”
3 Some of the teachers of the law said to themselves, “This man speaks as if he were God. That is blasphemy!” 4 Knowing their thoughts, Jesus said, “Why are you thinking evil thoughts? 5 Which is easier: to say, ‘Your sins are forgiven,’ or to tell him, ‘Stand up and walk’? 6 But I will prove to you that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins.” Then Jesus said to the paralyzed man, “Stand up, take your mat, and go home.”7 And the man stood up and went home.

8 When the people saw this, they were amazed and praised God for giving power like this to human beings.

Jesus Chooses Matthew

9 When Jesus was leaving, he saw a man named Matthew sitting in the tax collector’s booth. Jesus said to him, “Follow me,” and he stood up and followed Jesus.
10 As Jesus was having dinner at Matthew’s house, many tax collectors and “sinners” came and ate with Jesus and his followers.

11 When the Pharisees saw this, they asked Jesus’ followers, “Why does your teacher eat with tax collectors and sinners?”
12 When Jesus heard them, he said, “It is not the healthy people who need a doctor, but the sick. 13 Go and learn what this means: ‘I want kindness more than I want animal sacrifices.’ 

Jesus’ Followers Are Criticized

14 Then the followers of John 

15 Jesus answered, “The friends of the bridegroom are not sad while he is with them. But the time will come when the bridegroom will be taken from them, and then they will fast.
16 “No one sews a patch of unshrunk cloth over a hole in an old coat. If he does, the patch will shrink and pull away from the coat, making the hole worse.

17 Also, people never pour new wine into old leather bags. Otherwise, the bags will break, the wine will spill, and the wine bags will be ruined. But people always pour new wine into new wine bags. Then both will continue to be good.”

Jesus Gives Life to a Dead Girl and Heals a Sick Woman

18 While Jesus was saying these things, a leader of the synagogue came to him. He bowed down before Jesus and said, “My daughter has just died. But if you come and lay your hand on her, she will live again.”

19 So Jesus and his followers stood up and went with the leader.
20 Then a woman who had been bleeding for twelve years came behind Jesus and touched the edge of his coat.

21 She was thinking, “If I can just touch his clothes, I will be healed.”

22 Jesus turned and saw the woman and said, “Be encouraged, dear woman. You are made well because you believed.” And the woman was healed from that moment on.
23 Jesus continued along with the leader and went into his house. There he saw the funeral musicians and many people crying.24 Jesus said, “Go away. The girl is not dead, only asleep.” But the people laughed at him.25 After the crowd had been thrown out of the house, Jesus went into the girl’s room and took hold of her hand, and she stood up.

26 The news about this spread all around the area.

Jesus Heals More People

27 When Jesus was leaving there, two blind men followed him. They cried out, “Have mercy on us, Son of David!”

28 After Jesus went inside, the blind men went with him. He asked the men, “Do you believe that I can make you see again?”
They answered, “Yes, Lord.”
29 Then Jesus touched their eyes and said, “Because you believe I can make you see again, it will happen.”30 Then the men were able to see. But Jesus warned them strongly, saying, “Don’t tell anyone about this.”

31 But the blind men left and spread the news about Jesus all around that area.
32 When the two men were leaving, some people brought another man to Jesus. This man could not talk because he had a demon in him.

33 After Jesus forced the demon to leave the man, he was able to speak. The crowd was amazed and said, “We have never seen anything like this in Israel.”

34 But the Pharisees said, “The prince of demons is the one that gives him power to force demons out.”
35 Jesus traveled through all the towns and villages, teaching in their synagogues, preaching the Good News about the kingdom, and healing all kinds of diseases and sicknesses.36 When he saw the crowds, he felt sorry for them because they were hurting and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd.37 Jesus said to his followers, “There are many people to harvest but only a few workers to help harvest them. 38 Pray to the Lord, who owns the harvest, that he will send more workers to gather his harvest.” 

Matthew 10

Jesus Sends Out His Apostles

1 Jesus called his twelve followers together and gave them authority to drive out evil spirits and to heal every kind of disease and sickness.2 These are the names of the twelve apostles: Simon (also called Peter) and his brother Andrew; James son of Zebedee, and his brother John;3 Philip and Bartholomew; Thomas and Matthew, the tax collector; James son of Alphaeus, and Thaddaeus;

4 Simon the Zealot and Judas Iscariot, who turned against Jesus.
5 Jesus sent out these twelve men with the following order: “Don’t go to the non-Jewish people or to any town where the Samaritans live. 6 But go to the people of Israel, who are like lost sheep. 7 When you go, preach this: ‘The kingdom of heaven is near.’ 8 Heal the sick, raise the dead to life again, heal those who have skin diseases, and force demons out of people. I give you these powers freely, so help other people freely. 9 Don’t carry any money with you—gold or silver or copper.

10 Don’t carry a bag or extra clothes or sandals or a walking stick. Workers should be given what they need.
11 “When you enter a city or town, find some worthy person there and stay in that home until you leave. 12 When you enter that home, say, ‘Peace be with you.’ 13 If the people there welcome you, let your peace stay there. But if they don’t welcome you, take back the peace you wished for them. 14 And if a home or town refuses to welcome you or listen to you, leave that place and shake its dust off your feet. 15 I tell you the truth, on the Judgment Day it will be better for the towns of Sodom and Gomorrah 

Jesus Warns His Apostles

16 “Listen, I am sending you out like sheep among wolves. So be as clever as snakes and as innocent as doves. 17 Be careful of people, because they will arrest you and take you to court and whip you in their synagogues. 18 Because of me you will be taken to stand before governors and kings, and you will tell them and the non-Jewish people about me. 19 When you are arrested, don’t worry about what to say or how to say it. At that time you will be given the things to say.

20 It will not really be you speaking but the Spirit of your Father speaking through you.
21 “Brothers will give their own brothers to be killed, and fathers will give their own children to be killed. Children will fight against their own parents and have them put to death. 22 All people will hate you because you follow me, but those people who keep their faith until the end will be saved.

23 When you are treated badly in one city, run to another city. I tell you the truth, you will not finish going through all the cities of Israel before the Son of Man comes.
24 “A student is not better than his teacher, and a servant is not better than his master.

25 A student should be satisfied to become like his teacher; a servant should be satisfied to become like his master. If the head of the family is called Beelzebul, then the other members of the family will be called worse names!

Fear God, Not People

26 “So don’t be afraid of those people, because everything that is hidden will be shown. Everything that is secret will be made known. 27 I tell you these things in the dark, but I want you to tell them in the light. What you hear whispered in your ear you should shout from the housetops. 28 Don’t be afraid of people, who can kill the body but cannot kill the soul. The only one you should fear is the one who can destroy the soul and the body in hell. 29 Two sparrows cost only a penny, but not even one of them can die without your Father’s knowing it. 30 God even knows how many hairs are on your head.

31 So don’t be afraid. You are worth much more than many sparrows.

Tell People About Your Faith

32 “All those who stand before others and say they believe in me, I will say before my Father in heaven that they belong to me.

33 But all who stand before others and say they do not believe in me, I will say before my Father in heaven that they do not belong to me.
34 “Don’t think that I came to bring peace to the earth. I did not come to bring peace, but a sword.

35 I have come so that
‘a son will be against his father, a daughter will be against her mother,
a daughter-in-law will be against her mother-in-law.

36 A person’s enemies will be members of his own family.’ t
37 “Those who love their father or mother more than they love me are not worthy to be my followers. Those who love their son or daughter more than they love me are not worthy to be my followers. 38 Whoever is not willing to carry the cross and follow me is not worthy of me. 39 Those who try to hold on to their lives will give up true life. Those who give up their lives for me will hold on to true life. 40 Whoever accepts you also accepts me, and whoever accepts me also accepts the One who sent me. 41 Whoever meets a prophet and accepts him will receive the reward of a prophet. And whoever accepts a good person because that person is good will receive the reward of a good person. 42 Those who give one of these little ones a cup of cold water because they are my followers will truly get their reward.”