Matthew 9:1-13 ▼

1 After getting into a boat, Jesus crossed to the other side and came to his own city.

2 All at once some people brought him a paralyzed man lying on a stretcher. When Jesus saw their faith, he told the paralyzed man, |Be courageous, son! Your sins are forgiven.|

3 Then some of the scribes told themselves, |This fellow is blaspheming!|

4 But Jesus, knowing what they were thinking, replied, |Why do you have such evil thoughts in your hearts?

5 Which is easier: to say, 'Your sins are forgiven,' or to say, 'Get up and walk'?

6 But so you will know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins...| he told the paralyzed man, |Get up, pick up your stretcher, and go home!|

7 So the man got up and went home.

8 When the crowds saw this, they became frightened and glorified God for giving such authority to humans.

9 As Jesus went on from there, he saw a man named Matthew sitting at the tax collector's desk and told him, |Follow me.| So he got up and followed him.

10 While he was having dinner at Matthew's home, many tax collectors and sinners arrived and began eating with Jesus and his disciples.

11 The Pharisees saw this and asked his disciples, |Why does your teacher eat with tax collectors and sinners?|

12 When Jesus heard that, he said, |Healthy people don't need a physician, but sick people do.

13 Go and learn what this means: 'I want mercy and not sacrifice,' because I did not come to call righteous people, but sinners.|