HelpFinder Bible - Flipbook - Page 1238
MAT T H EW 9
happened.” And the young servant was healed
that same hour.
Jesus Heals Many People
14 When Jesus arrived at Peter’s house, Peter’s
mother-in-law was sick in bed with a high fever.
15 But when Jesus touched her hand, the fever
left her. Then she got up and prepared a meal
for him.
16 That evening many demon-possessed
people were brought to Jesus. He cast out the
evil spirits with a simple command, and he
healed all the sick. 17 This fulfilled the word of
the Lord through the prophet Isaiah, who said,
“He took our sicknesses
and removed our diseases.”*
The Cost of Following Jesus
18 When Jesus saw the crowd around him, he instructed his disciples to cross to the other side
of the lake.
19 Then one of the teachers of religious law
said to him, “Teacher, I will follow you wherever you go.”
20 But Jesus replied, “Foxes have dens to live
in, and birds have nests, but the Son of Man*
has no place even to lay his head.”
21 Another of his disciples said, “Lord, first let
me return home and bury my father.”
22 But Jesus told him, “Follow me now. Let the
spiritually dead bury their own dead.*”
Jesus Calms the Storm
23 Then Jesus got into the boat and started across
the lake with his disciples. 24 Suddenly, a fierce
storm struck the lake, with waves breaking into
the boat. But Jesus was sleeping. 25 The disciples
went and woke him up, shouting, “Lord, save
us! We’re going to drown!”
26 Jesus responded, “Why are you afraid? You
have so little faith!” Then he got up and rebuked
the wind and waves, and suddenly there was a
great calm.
27 The disciples were amazed. “Who is this
man?” they asked. “Even the winds and waves
obey him!”
Jesus Heals Two Demon-Possessed Men
28 When Jesus arrived on the other side of the
lake, in the region of the Gadarenes,* two men
who were possessed by demons met him. They
came out of the tombs and were so violent that
no one could go through that area.
29 They began screaming at him, “Why are you
interfering with us, Son of God? Have you come
here to torture us before God’s appointed time?”
30 There happened to be a large herd of
pigs feeding in the distance. 31 So the demons
begged, “If you cast us out, send us into that
herd of pigs.”
32 “All right, go!” Jesus commanded them. So
the demons came out of the men and entered
page 868
the pigs, and the whole herd plunged down the
steep hillside into the lake and drowned in
the water.
33 The herdsmen fled to the nearby town,
telling everyone what happened to the demonpossessed men. 34 Then the entire town came
out to meet Jesus, but they begged him to go
away and leave them alone.
Jesus Heals a Paralyzed Man
Jesus climbed into a boat and went back
across the lake to his own town. 2 Some
people brought to him a paralyzed man on a
mat. Seeing their faith, Jesus said to the paralyzed man, “Be encouraged, my child! Your sins
are forgiven.”
3 But some of the teachers of religious law
said to themselves, “That’s blasphemy! Does
he think he’s God?”
4 Jesus knew* what they were thinking, so
he asked them, “Why do you have such evil
thoughts in your hearts? 5 Is it easier to say ‘Your
sins are forgiven,’ or ‘Stand up and walk’? 6 So
I will prove to you that the Son of Man* has the
authority on earth to forgive sins.” Then Jesus
turned to the paralyzed man and said, “Stand
up, pick up your mat, and go home!”
7 And the man jumped up and went home!
8 Fear swept through the crowd as they saw this
happen. And they praised God for giving humans such authority.
9
Jesus Calls Matthew
9 As Jesus was walking along, he saw a man
named Matthew sitting at his tax collector’s
booth. “Follow me and be my disciple,” Jesus
said to him. So Matthew got up and followed
him.
10 Later, Matthew invited Jesus and his disciples to his home as dinner guests, along with
many tax collectors and other disreputable sinners. 11 But when the Pharisees saw this, they
asked his disciples, “Why does your teacher eat
with such scum?*”
12 When Jesus heard this, he said, “Healthy
people don’t need a doctor—sick people do.”
13 Then he added, “Now go and learn the meaning of this Scripture: ‘I want you to show mercy,
not offer sacrifices.’* For I have come to call not
those who think they are righteous, but those
who know they are sinners.”
A Discussion about Fasting
14 One day the disciples of John the Baptist came
to Jesus and asked him, “Why don’t your disciples fast* like we do and the Pharisees do?”
8:17 Isa 53:4. 8:20 “Son of Man” is a title Jesus used for
himself. 8:22 Greek Let the dead bury their own dead.
8:28 Other manuscripts read Gerasenes; still others read
Gergesenes. Compare Mark 5:1; Luke 8:26. 9:4 Some
manuscripts read saw. 9:6 “Son of Man” is a title Jesus
used for himself. 9:11 Greek with tax collectors and
sinners? 9:13 Hos 6:6 (Greek version). 9:14 Some
manuscripts read fast often.