Matthew 15:1-39 (New King James Version)

Matthew 15:1-39 (New King James Version)

Matthew 15

Defilement Comes from Within

 ¹ Then the scribes and Pharisees who were from Jerusalem came to Jesus, saying, ² “Why do Your disciples transgress the tradition of the elders? For they do not wash their hands when they eat bread.”
³ He answered and said to them, “Why do you also transgress the commandment of God because of your tradition? ⁴ For God commanded, saying, ‘Honor your father and your mother’;^[a] and, ‘He who curses father or mother, let him be put to death.’^[b] 5 But you say, ‘Whoever says to his father or mother, “Whatever profit you might have received from me is a gift to God”— ⁶ then he need not honor his father or mother.’^[c] Thus you have made the commandment^[d] of God of no effect by your tradition. ⁷ Hypocrites! Well did Isaiah prophesy about you, saying: 
       ⁸ ‘ These people draw near to Me with their mouth,
      And^[e]honor Me with their lips,
      But their heart is far from Me.
       ⁹ And in vain they worship Me,
       Teaching as doctrines the commandments of men.’”^[f]

Matthew 11:1-30 (New King James Version)

Matthew 11:1-30 (New King James Version)

Matthew 11

John the Baptist Sends Messengers to Jesus

 ¹ Now it came to pass, when Jesus finished commanding His twelve disciples, that He departed from there to teach and to preach in their cities.
² And when John had heard in prison about the works of Christ, he sent two of^[a] his disciples ³ and said to Him, “Are You the Coming One, or do we look for another?” 
⁴ Jesus answered and said to them, “Go and tell John the things which you hear and see: ⁵ The blind see and the lame walk; the lepers are cleansed and the deaf hear; the dead are raised up and the poor have the gospel preached to them. ⁶ And blessed is he who is not offended because of Me.” 
⁷ As they departed, Jesus began to say to the multitudes concerning John: “What did you go out into the wilderness to see? A reed shaken by the wind? ⁸ But what did you go out to see? A man clothed in soft garments? Indeed, those who wear soft clothing are in kings’ houses. ⁹ But what did you go out to see? A prophet? Yes, I say to you, and more than a prophet. ¹⁰ For this is he of whom it is written: 


      ‘ Behold, I send My messenger before Your face,
      Who will prepare Your way before You.’^[b]

Matthew 9:1-38 (New King James Version)

Matthew 9:1-38 (New King James Version)

Matthew 9

Jesus Forgives and Heals a Paralytic

 ¹ So He got into a boat, crossed over, and came to His own city. ² Then behold, they brought to Him a paralytic lying on a bed. When Jesus saw their faith, He said to the paralytic, “Son, be of good cheer; your sins are forgiven you.”
³ And at once some of the scribes said within themselves, “This Man blasphemes!” 
⁴ But Jesus, knowing their thoughts, said, “Why do you think evil in your hearts? ⁵ For which is easier, to say, ‘Your sins are forgiven you,’ or to say, ‘Arise and walk’? ⁶ But that you may know that the Son of Man has power on earth to forgive sins”—then He said to the paralytic, “Arise, take up your bed, and go to your house.” ⁷ And he arose and departed to his house. 
⁸ Now when the multitudes saw it, they marveled^[a] and glorified God, who had given such power to men.

Matthew the Tax Collector

  
⁹ As Jesus passed on from there, He saw a man named Matthew sitting at the tax office. And He said to him, “Follow Me.” So he arose and followed Him. 
¹⁰ Now it happened, as Jesus sat at the table in the house, that behold, many tax collectors and sinners came and sat down with Him and His disciples. ¹¹ And when the Pharisees saw it, they said to His disciples, “Why does your Teacher eat with tax collectors and sinners?” 
¹² When Jesus heard that, He said to them, “Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick. ¹³ But go and learn what this means: ‘I desire mercy and not sacrifice.’^[b] For I did not come to call the righteous, but sinners, to repentance.”^[c]

Jesus Is Questioned About Fasting

  
¹⁴ Then the disciples of John came to Him, saying, “Why do we and the Pharisees fast often,^[d] but Your disciples do not fast?” 
¹⁵ And Jesus said to them, “Can the friends of the bridegroom mourn as long as the bridegroom is with them? But the days will come when the bridegroom will be taken away from them, and then they will fast. ¹⁶ No one puts a piece of unshrunk cloth on an old garment; for the patch pulls away from the garment, and the tear is made worse. ¹⁷ Nor do they put new wine into old wineskins, or else the wineskins break, the wine is spilled, and the wineskins are ruined. But they put new wine into new wineskins, and both are preserved.”

A Girl Restored to Life and a Woman Healed

  
¹⁸ While He spoke these things to them, behold, a ruler came and worshiped Him, saying, “My daughter has just died, but come and lay Your hand on her and she will live.” ¹⁹ So Jesus arose and followed him, and so did His disciples. 
²⁰ And suddenly, a woman who had a flow of blood for twelve years came from behind and touched the hem of His garment. ²¹ For she said to herself, “If only I may touch His garment, I shall be made well.” ²² But Jesus turned around, and when He saw her He said, “Be of good cheer, daughter; your faith has made you well.” And the woman was made well from that hour. 
²³ When Jesus came into the ruler’s house, and saw the flute players and the noisy crowd wailing, ²⁴ He said to them, “Make room, for the girl is not dead, but sleeping.” And they ridiculed Him. ²⁵ But when the crowd was put outside, He went in and took her by the hand, and the girl arose. ²⁶ And the report of this went out into all that land.

Two Blind Men Healed

  
²⁷ When Jesus departed from there, two blind men followed Him, crying out and saying, “Son of David, have mercy on us!” 
²⁸ And when He had come into the house, the blind men came 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, “According to your faith let it be to you.” ³⁰ And their eyes were opened. And Jesus sternly warned them, saying, “See that no one knows it. ” ³¹ But when they had departed, they spread the news about Him in all that country.

A Mute Man Speaks

  
³² As they went out, behold, they brought to Him a man, mute and demon-possessed. ³³ And when the demon was cast out, the mute spoke. And the multitudes marveled, saying, “It was never seen like this in Israel!” 
³⁴ But the Pharisees said, “He casts out demons by the ruler of the demons.”

The Compassion of Jesus

  
³⁵ Then Jesus went about all the cities and villages, teaching in their synagogues, preaching the gospel of the kingdom, and healing every sickness and every disease among the people.^[e] 36 But when He saw the multitudes, He was moved with compassion for them, because they were weary^[f] and scattered, like sheep having no shepherd. ³⁷ Then He said to His disciples, “The harvest truly is plentiful, but the laborers are few. ³⁸ Therefore pray the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into His harvest.”

Matthew 8:1-34 (New King James Version)

Matthew 8:1-34 (New King James Version)

Matthew 8

Jesus Cleanses a Leper

 ¹ When He had come down from the mountain, great multitudes followed Him. ² And behold, a leper came and worshiped Him, saying, “Lord, if You are willing, You can make me clean.”
³ Then Jesus put out His hand and touched him, saying, “I am willing; be cleansed.” Immediately his leprosy was cleansed. 
⁴ And Jesus said to him, “See that you tell no one; but go your way, show yourself to the priest, and offer the gift that Moses commanded, as a testimony to them.”

Jesus Heals a Centurion’s Servant

  
⁵ Now when Jesus had entered Capernaum, a centurion came to Him, pleading with Him, ⁶ saying, “Lord, my servant is lying at home paralyzed, dreadfully tormented.” 
⁷ And Jesus said to him, “I will come and heal him.” 
⁸ The centurion answered and said, “Lord, I am not worthy that You should come under my roof. But only speak a word, and my servant will be healed. ⁹ For I also am a man under authority, having soldiers under me. And I say to this one, ‘Go,’ and he goes; and to another, ‘Come,’ and he comes; and to my servant, ‘Do this,’ and he does it.” 
¹⁰ When Jesus heard it, He marveled, and said to those who followed, “Assuredly, I say to you, I have not found such great faith, not even in Israel! ¹¹ And I say to you that many will come from east and west, and sit down with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob in the kingdom of heaven. ¹² But the sons of the kingdom will be cast out into outer darkness. There will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.” ¹³ Then Jesus said to the centurion, “Go your way; and as you have believed, so let it be done for you.” And his servant was healed that same hour.

Peter’s Mother-in-Law Healed

  
¹⁴ Now when Jesus had come into Peter’s house, He saw his wife’s mother lying sick with a fever. ¹⁵ So He touched her hand, and the fever left her. And she arose and served them.^[a]

Many Healed in the Evening

  
¹⁶ When evening had come, they brought to Him many who were demon-possessed. And He cast out the spirits with a word, and healed all who were sick, ¹⁷ that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by Isaiah the prophet, saying: 


      “ He Himself took our infirmities
      And bore our sicknesses.”^[b]

The Cost of Discipleship

  
¹⁸ And when Jesus saw great multitudes about Him, He gave a command to depart to the other side. ¹⁹ Then a certain scribe came and said to Him, “Teacher, I will follow You wherever You go.” 
²⁰ And Jesus said to him, “Foxes have holes and birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay His head.” 
²¹ Then another of His disciples said to Him, “Lord, let me first go and bury my father.” 
²² But Jesus said to him, “Follow Me, and let the dead bury their own dead.”

Wind and Wave Obey Jesus

  
²³ Now when He got into a boat, His disciples followed Him. ²⁴ And suddenly a great tempest arose on the sea, so that the boat was covered with the waves. But He was asleep. ²⁵ Then His disciples came to Him and awoke Him, saying, “Lord, save us! We are perishing!” 
²⁶ But He said to them, “Why are you fearful, O you of little faith?” Then He arose and rebuked the winds and the sea, and there was a great calm. ²⁷ So the men marveled, saying, “Who can this be, that even the winds and the sea obey Him?”

Two Demon-Possessed Men Healed

  
²⁸ When He had come to the other side, to the country of the Gergesenes,^[c] there met Him two demon-possessed men, coming out of the tombs, exceedingly fierce, so that no one could pass that way. ²⁹ And suddenly they cried out, saying, “What have we to do with You, Jesus, You Son of God? Have You come here to torment us before the time?” 
³⁰ Now a good way off from them there was a herd of many swine feeding. ³¹ So the demons begged Him, saying, “If You cast us out, permit us to go away^[d] into the herd of swine.” 
³² And He said to them, “Go.” So when they had come out, they went into the herd of swine. And suddenly the whole herd of swine ran violently down the steep place into the sea, and perished in the water. 
³³ Then those who kept them fled; and they went away into the city and told everything, including what had happened to the demon-possessed men. ³⁴And behold, the whole city came out to meet Jesus. And when they saw Him, they begged Him to depart from their region.