Jesus Heals a Palsied Man

91 Getting into a boat , Jesus crossed over the sea and came to His own city . 2 And they brought to Him a paralytic lying on a bed . Seeing their faith , Jesus said to the paralytic , " Take courage , son ; your sins are forgiven ." 3 And some of the scribes said to themselves , "This fellow blasphemes ." 4 And Jesus knowing their thoughts 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 that you may know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins "-then He said to the paralytic , "Get up, pick up your bed and go home ." 7 And he got up and went home . 8 But when the crowds saw this, they were awestruck , and glorified God , who had given such authority to men .

The Call of Matthew

9 As Jesus went on from there , He saw a man called Matthew , sitting in the tax collector's booth ; and He said to him, " Follow Me!" And he got up and followed Him. 10 Then it happened that as Jesus was reclining at the table in the house , behold , many tax collectors and sinners came and were dining with Jesus and His disciples . 11 When the Pharisees saw this, they said to His disciples , " Why e is your Teacher eating with the tax collectors and sinners ?" 12 But when Jesus heard this, He said , "It is not those who are healthy who need a physician , but those who are sick . 13 "But go and learn what this means : ' I DESIRE COMPASSION , AND NOT SACRIFICE ,' for I did not come to call the righteous , but sinners ."

The Question about Fasting

14 Then the disciples of John came to Him, asking , "Why e do we and the Pharisees fast , but Your disciples do not fast ?" 15 And Jesus said to them, "The attendants of the bridegroom cannot e mourn as long as the bridegroom is with them, can they? But the days will come when the bridegroom 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 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 ."

The Ruler's Daughter and the Woman Who Touched Jesus' Garment

18 While He was saying these things to them, a synagogue official came and bowed down before Him, and said , "My daughter has just died ; but come and lay Your hand on her, and she will live ." 19 Jesus got up and began to follow him, and so did His disciples . 20 And a woman who had been suffering from a hemorrhage for twelve years , came up behind Him and touched the fringe of His cloak ; 21 for she was saying to herself , "If I only touch His garment , I will get well ." 22 But Jesus turning and seeing her said , "Daughter , take courage ; your faith has made you well ." At once e the woman was made well . 23 When Jesus came into the official's house , and saw the flute-players and the crowd in noisy disorder , 24 He said , "Leave ; for the girl has not died , but is asleep ." And they began laughing at Him. 25 But when the crowd had been sent out, He entered and took her by the hand , and the girl got up. 26 This news spread throughout all that land .

Two Blind Men Receive Sight

27 As Jesus went on from there , two blind men followed Him, crying out, "Have mercy on us, Son of David !" 28 When He entered the house , the blind men 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 , "It shall be done to you according to your faith ." 30 And their eyes were opened . And Jesus sternly warned them: "See that no one knows about this!" 31 But they went out and spread the news about Him throughout all that land .

A Dumb Man Speaks

32 As they were going out, a mute , demon-possessed man was brought to Him. 33 After the demon was cast out, the mute man spoke ; and the crowds were amazed , and were saying , " Nothing like this has ever been seen in Israel ." 34 But the Pharisees were saying , "He casts out the demons by the ruler of the demons ."

The Harvest Is Plenteous

35 Jesus was going through all the cities and villages , teaching in their synagogues and proclaiming the gospel of the kingdom , and healing every kind of disease and every kind of sickness . 36 Seeing the people , He felt compassion for them, because they were distressed and dispirited like sheep without e a shepherd . 37 Then He said to His disciples , " The harvest is plentiful , but the workers are few . 38 "Therefore beseech the Lord of the harvest to send out workers into His harvest ."

The Preaching of John the Baptist

31 Now in those days John the Baptist came , preaching in the wilderness of Judea , saying , 2 " Repent , for the kingdom of heaven is at hand ." 3 For this is the one referred to by Isaiah the prophet when he said , " THE VOICE OF ONE CRYING IN THE WILDERNESS , ' MAKE READY THE WAY OF THE Lord , MAKE HIS PATHS STRAIGHT !' " 4 Now John himself had a garment of camel's hair and a leather belt around his waist ; and his food was locusts and wild honey . 5 Then Jerusalem was going out to him, and all Judea and all the district around the Jordan ; 6 and they were being baptized by him in the Jordan River , as they confessed their sins .

7 But when he saw many of the Pharisees and Sadducees coming for baptism , he said to them, "You brood of vipers , who warned you to flee from the wrath to come ? 8 " Therefore bear fruit in keeping with repentance ; 9 and do not suppose that you can say to yourselves , ' We have Abraham for our father '; for I say to you that from these stones God is able to raise up children to Abraham . 10 "The axe is already laid at the root of the trees ; therefore every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire . 11 "As for me, I baptize you with water for repentance , but He who is coming after me is mightier than I, and I am not fit to remove His sandals ; He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire . 12 "His winnowing fork is in His hand , and He will thoroughly clear His threshing floor ; and He will gather His wheat into the barn , but He will burn up the chaff with unquenchable fire ."

The Baptism of Jesus

13 Then Jesus arrived from Galilee at the Jordan coming to John , to be baptized by him. 14 But John tried to prevent Him, saying , "I have need to be baptized by You, and do You come to me?" 15 But Jesus answering said to him, "Permit it at this time ; for in this way it is fitting for us to fulfill all righteousness ." Then he permitted Him. 16 After being baptized , Jesus came up immediately from the water ; and behold , the heavens were opened , and he saw the Spirit of God descending as a dove and lighting on Him, 17 and behold , a voice out of the heavens said , " This is My beloved Son , in whom I am well-pleased ."