Matthew 8-9

New International Version

Jesus Heals a Man With Leprosy^(A)

8 When Jesus came down from the mountainside, large crowds followed him. ² A man with leprosy^[a](B) came and knelt before him^(C) and said, “Lord, if you are willing, you can make me clean.”

³ Jesus reached out his hand and touched the man. “I am willing,” he said. “Be clean!” Immediately he was cleansed of his leprosy. ⁴ Then Jesus said to him, “See that you don’t tell anyone.^(D) But go, show yourself to the priest^(E) and offer the gift Moses commanded,^(F) as a testimony to them.”

The Faith of the Centurion^(G)

⁵ When Jesus had entered Capernaum, a centurion came to him, asking for help. ⁶ “Lord,” he said, “my servant lies at home paralyzed,^(H) suffering terribly.”

⁷ Jesus said to him, “Shall I come and heal him?”

⁸ The centurion replied, “Lord, I do not deserve to have you come under my roof. But just say the word, and my servant will be healed.^{(I) 9} For I myself am a man under authority, with soldiers under me. I tell this one, ‘Go,’ and he goes; and that one, ‘Come,’ and he comes. I say to my servant, ‘Do this,’ and he does it.”

¹⁰ When Jesus heard this, he was amazed and said to those following him, “Truly I tell you, I have not found anyone in Israel with such great faith.^{(J) 11} I say to you that many will come from the east and the west,^(K) and will take their places at the feast with Abraham, Isaac and Jacob in the kingdom of heaven.^{(L) 12} But the subjects of the kingdom^(M) will be thrown outside, into the darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.”^(N)

¹³ Then Jesus said to the centurion, “Go! Let it be done just as you believed it would.”^(O) And his servant was healed at that moment.

Jesus Heals Many^(P)

¹⁴ When Jesus came into Peter’s house, he saw Peter’s mother-in-law lying in bed with a fever. ¹⁵ He touched her hand and the fever left her, and she got up and began to wait on him.

¹⁶ When evening came, many who were demon-possessed were brought to him, and he drove out the spirits with a word and healed all the sick.^{(Q) 17} This was to fulfill^(R) what was spoken through the prophet Isaiah:

The Cost of Following Jesus^(T)

¹⁸ When Jesus saw the crowd around him, he gave orders to cross to the other side of the lake.^{(U) 19} Then a teacher of the law came to him and said, “Teacher, I will follow you wherever you go.”

²⁰ Jesus replied, “Foxes have dens and birds have nests, but the Son of Man^(V) has no place to lay his head.”

²¹ Another disciple said to him, “Lord, first let me go and bury my father.”

²² But Jesus told him, “Follow me,^(W) and let the dead bury their own dead.”

Jesus Calms the Storm^(X)(Y)

²³ Then he got into the boat and his disciples followed him. ²⁴ Suddenly a furious storm came up on the lake, so that the waves swept over the boat. But Jesus was sleeping. ²⁵ The disciples went and woke him, saying, “Lord, save us! We’re going to drown!”

²⁶ He replied, “You of little faith,^(Z) why are you so afraid?” Then he got up and rebuked the winds and the waves, and it was completely calm.^(AA)

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

Jesus Restores Two Demon-Possessed Men^(AB)

²⁸ When he arrived at the other side in the region of the Gadarenes,^[c] two demon-possessed^(AC) men coming from the tombs met him. They were so violent that no one could pass that way. ²⁹ “What do you want with us,^(AD) Son of God?” they shouted. “Have you come here to torture us before the appointed time?”^(AE)

³⁰ Some distance from them a large herd of pigs was feeding. ³¹ The demons begged Jesus, “If you drive us out, send us into the herd of pigs.”

³² He said to them, “Go!” So they came out and went into the pigs, and the whole herd rushed down the steep bank into the lake and died in the water. ³³ Those tending the pigs ran off, went into the town and reported all this, including what had happened to the demon-possessed men. ³⁴ Then the whole town went out to meet Jesus. And when they saw him, they pleaded with him to leave their region.^(AF)

Jesus Forgives and Heals a Paralyzed Man^(AG)

9 Jesus stepped into a boat, crossed over and came to his own town.^{(AH) 2} Some men brought to him a paralyzed man,^(AI) lying on a mat. When Jesus saw their faith,^(AJ) he said to the man, “Take heart,^(AK) son; your sins are forgiven.”^(AL)

³ At this, some of the teachers of the law said to themselves, “This fellow is blaspheming!”^(AM)

⁴ Knowing their thoughts,^(AN) Jesus said, “Why do you entertain evil thoughts in your hearts? ⁵ Which is easier: to say, ‘Your sins are forgiven,’ or to say, ‘Get up and walk’? ⁶ But I want you to know that the Son of Man^(AO) has authority on earth to forgive sins.” So he said to the paralyzed man, “Get up, take your mat and go home.” ⁷ Then the man got up and went home. ⁸ When the crowd saw this, they were filled with awe; and they praised God,^(AP) who had given such authority to man.

The Calling of Matthew^(AQ)

⁹ As Jesus went on from there, he saw a man named Matthew sitting at the tax collector’s booth. “Follow me,”^(AR) he told him, and Matthew got up and followed him.

¹⁰ While Jesus was having dinner at Matthew’s house, many tax collectors and sinners came and ate with him and his disciples. ¹¹ When the Pharisees saw this, they asked his disciples, “Why does your teacher eat with tax collectors and sinners?”^(AS)

¹² On hearing this, Jesus said, “It is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick. ¹³ But go and learn what this means: ‘I desire mercy, not sacrifice.’^[d](AT) For I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners.”^(AU)

Jesus Questioned About Fasting^(AV)

¹⁴ Then John’s^(AW) disciples came and asked him, “How is it that we and the Pharisees fast often,^(AX) but your disciples do not fast?”

¹⁵ Jesus answered, “How can the guests of the bridegroom mourn while he is with them?^(AY) The time will come when the bridegroom will be taken from them; then they will fast.^(AZ)

¹⁶ “No one sews a patch of unshrunk cloth on an old garment, for the patch will pull away from the garment, making the tear worse. ¹⁷ Neither do people pour new wine into old wineskins. If they do, the skins will burst; the wine will run out and the wineskins will be ruined. No, they pour new wine into new wineskins, and both are preserved.”

Jesus Raises a Dead Girl and Heals a Sick Woman^(BA)

¹⁸ While he was saying this, a synagogue leader came and knelt before him^(BB) and said, “My daughter has just died. But come and put your hand on her,^(BC) and she will live.” ¹⁹ Jesus got up and went with him, and so did his disciples.

²⁰ Just then a woman who had been subject to bleeding for twelve years came up behind him and touched the edge of his cloak.^{(BD) 21} She said to herself, “If I only touch his cloak, I will be healed.”

²² Jesus turned and saw her. “Take heart,^(BE) daughter,” he said, “your faith has healed you.”^(BF) And the woman was healed at that moment.^(BG)

²³ When Jesus entered the synagogue leader’s house and saw the noisy crowd and people playing pipes,^{(BH) 24} he said, “Go away. The girl is not dead^(BI) but asleep.”^(BJ) But they laughed at him. ²⁵ After the crowd had been put outside, he went in and took the girl by the hand, and she got up.^{(BK) 26} News of this spread through all that region.^(BL)

Jesus Heals the Blind and the Mute

²⁷ As Jesus went on from there, two blind men followed him, calling out, “Have mercy on us, Son of David!”^(BM)

²⁸ When he had gone indoors, the blind men came to him, and he asked them, “Do you believe that I am able to do this?”

“Yes, Lord,” they replied.^(BN)

²⁹ Then he touched their eyes and said, “According to your faith let it be done to you”;^{(BO) 30} and their sight was restored. Jesus warned them sternly, “See that no one knows about this.”^{(BP) 31} But they went out and spread the news about him all over that region.^(BQ)

³² While they were going out, a man who was demon-possessed^(BR) and could not talk^(BS) was brought to Jesus. ³³ And when the demon was driven out, the man who had been mute spoke. The crowd was amazed and said, “Nothing like this has ever been seen in Israel.”^(BT)

³⁴ But the Pharisees said, “It is by the prince of demons that he drives out demons.”^(BU)

The Workers Are Few

³⁵ Jesus went through all the towns and villages, teaching in their synagogues, proclaiming the good news of the kingdom and healing every disease and sickness.^{(BV) 36} When he saw the crowds, he had compassion on them,^(BW) because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd.^{(BX) 37} Then he said to his disciples, “The harvest^(BY) is plentiful but the workers are few.^{(BZ) 38} Ask the Lord of the harvest, therefore, to send out workers into his harvest field.”