Matthew 9:2-17

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.” Some of the teachers of the law said to themselves, “This man speaks as if he were God. That is blasphemy!” Knowing their thoughts, Jesus said, “Why are you thinking evil thoughts? Which is easier: to say, ‘Your sins are forgiven,’ or to tell him, ‘Stand up and walk’? 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.” And the man stood up and went home. When the people saw this, they were amazed and praised God for giving power like this to human beings. 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. As Jesus was having dinner at Matthew’s house, many tax collectors and “sinners” came and ate with Jesus and his followers. When the Pharisees saw this, they asked Jesus’ followers, “Why does your teacher eat with tax collectors and sinners?” When Jesus heard them, he said, “It is not the healthy people who need a doctor, but the sick. Go and learn what this means: ‘I want kindness more than I want animal sacrifices.’ I did not come to invite good people but to invite sinners.” Then the followers of John came to Jesus and said, “Why do we and the Pharisees often fast for a certain time, but your followers don’t?” 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. “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. 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.”