Read Matthew's Story: From Sinner to Saint Page 23


  forever. Amen.a

  14“For if you forgive men their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. 15 But if you do not forgive men their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses.

  Fasting to Be Seen Only by God

  16“Moreover, when you fast, do not be like the hypocrites, with a sad countenance. For they disfigure their faces that they may appear to men to be fasting. Assuredly, I say to you, they have their reward. 17But you, when you fast, anoint your head and wash your face, 18so that you do not appear to men to be fasting, but to your Father who is in the secret place; and your Father who sees in secret will reward you openly.a

  Lay Up Treasures in Heaven

  19“Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal; 20but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal. 21For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.

  The Lamp of the Body

  22“The lamp of the body is the eye. If therefore your eye is good, your whole body will be full of light. 23But if your eye is bad, your whole body will be full of darkness. If therefore the light that is in you is darkness, how great is that darkness!

  You Cannot Serve God and Riches

  24“No one can serve two masters; for either he will hate the one and love the other, or else he will be loyal to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and mammon.

  Do Not Worry

  25“Therefore I say to you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink; nor about your body, what you will put on. Is not life more than food and the body more than clothing? 26Look at the6:13 aNU-Text omits For Yours through Amen.

  6:18 aNU-Text and M-Text omit openly.

  birds of the air, for they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns; yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they? 27Which of you by worrying can add one cubit to his stature?

  28“So why do you worry about clothing? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow: they neither toil nor spin; 29and yet I say to you that even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these. 30Now if God so clothes the grass of the field, which today is, and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, will He not much more clothe you, O you of little faith?

  31“There fore do not worry, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ 32For after all these things the Gentiles seek. For your heavenly Father knows that you need all these things. 33But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you. 34Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about its own things. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble.

  Do Not Judge

  7“Judge not, that you be not judged. 2For with what judgment you judge, you will be judged; and with the measure you use, it will be measured back to you. 3And why do you look at the speck in your brother’s eye, but do not consider the plank in your own eye? 4Or how can you say to your brother, ‘Let me remove the speck from your eye’; and look, a plank is in your own eye? 5Hypocrite! First remove the plank from your own eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother’s eye.

  6“Do not give what is holy to the dogs; nor cast your pearls before swine, lest they trample them under their feet, and turn and tear you in pieces.

  Keep Asking, Seeking, Knocking

  7“Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you. 8For everyone who asks receives, and he who seeks finds, and to him who knocks it will be opened. 9Or what man is there among you who, if his son asks for bread, will give him a stone? 10Or if he asks for a fish, will he give him a serpent? 11If you then, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father who is in heaven give good things to those who ask Him! 12Therefore, whatever you want men to do to you, do also to them, for this is the Law and the Prophets.

  The Narrow Way

  13“Enter by the narrow gate; for wide is the gate and broad is the way that leads to destruction, and there are many who go in by it. 14 Becausea narrow is the gate and difficult is the way which leads to life, and there are few who find it.

  You Will Know Them by Their Fruits

  15“Beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ravenous wolves. 16You will know them by their fruits. Do men gather grapes from thorn-bushes or figs from thistles? 17Even so, every good tree bears good fruit, but a bad tree bears bad fruit. 18A good tree cannot bear bad fruit, nor can a bad tree bear good fruit. 19Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. 20Therefore by their fruits you will know them.

  I Never Knew You

  21“Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ shall enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father in heaven. 22Many will say to Me in that day, ‘Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in Your name, cast out demons in Your name, and done many wonders in Your name?’ 23 And then I will declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness!’

  Build on the Rock

  24“Therefore whoever hears these sayings of Mine, and does them, I will liken him to a wise man who built his house on the rock: 25and the rain descended, the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house; and it did not fall, for it was founded on the rock.

  26“But everyone who hears these sayings of Mine, and does not do them, will be like a foolish man who built his house on the sand: 27and the rain descended, the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house; and it fell. And great was its fall.”

  28And so it was, when Jesus had ended these sayings, that the people were astonished at His teaching, 29for He taught them as one having authority, and not as the scribes.

  7:14 aNU-Text and M-Text read How . . . !

  Jesus Cleanses a Leper

  8 When He had come down from the mountain, great multitudes followed Him. 2And behold, a leper followed Him. 2And behold, a leper came and worshiped Him, saying, “Lord, if You are willing, You can make me clean.”

  3Then Jesus put out His hand and touched him, saying, “I am willing; be cleansed.” Immediately his leprosy was cleansed.

  4And 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

  5Now when Jesus had entered Capernaum, a centurion came to Him, pleading with Him, 6saying, “Lord, my servant is lying at home paralyzed, dreadfully tormented.”

  7And Jesus said to him, “I will come and heal him.” 7The 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. 9For 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.”

  10When Jesus heard it, He marveled, and said to those who followed, “As suredly, I say to you, I have not found such great faith, not even in Israel! 11And 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. 12But the sons of the kingdom will be cast out into outer darkness. There will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.” 13Then 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

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

  Many Healed in the Evening

  16When evening had come, they brought to Him many who were demon-possessed. And He cast out the spirits with a wor
d, and healed all who were sick, 17that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by Isaiah the prophet, saying:“He Himself took our infirmities And bore our sicknesses.”a

  The Cost of Discipleship

  18And when Jesus saw great multitudes about Him, He gave a command to depart to the other side. 19Then a certain scribe came and said to Him, “Teacher, I will follow You wherever You go.”

  20And 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.”

  21Then another of His disciples said to Him, “Lord, let me first go and bury my father.”

  22But Jesus said to him, “Follow Me, and let the dead bury their own dead.”

  Wind and Wave Obey Jesus

  23Now when He got into a boat, His disciples followed Him. 24And suddenly a great tempest arose on the sea, so that the boat was covered with the waves. But He was asleep. 25Then His disciples came to Him and awoke Him, saying, “Lord, save us! We are perishing!”

  26But 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. 27So the men marveled, saying, “Who can this be, that even the winds and the sea obey Him?”

  Two Demon-Possessed Men Healed

  28When He had come to the other side, to the country of the Gergesenes,a there met Him two demon-possessed men, coming out of the tombs, exceedingly fierce, so that no one could pass that way. 29And 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?”

  30Now a good way off from them there was a herd of many swine feeding. 31So the demons begged Him, saying, “If You cast us out, permit us to go awaya into the herd of swine.”

  32And He said to them, “Go.” So when they had come out, they went into the herd of swine. And suddenly8:17 aIsaiah 53:4

  8:28 aNU-Text reads Gadarenes.

  8:31 aNU-Text reads send us.

  the whole herd of swine ran violently down the steep place into the sea, and perished in the water.

  33Then 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.

  Jesus Forgives and Heals a Paralytic

  9 So He got into a boat, crossed over, and came to His own city. 2Then 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.”

  3And at once some of the scribes said within themselves, “This Man blasphemes!”

  4But Jesus, knowing their thoughts, said, “Why do you think evil in your hearts? 5For which is easier, to say, ‘Your sins are forgiven you,’ or to say, ‘Arise and walk’? 6But 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.” 7And he arose and departed to his house.

  8Now when the multitudes saw it, they marveleda and glorified God, who had given such power to men.

  Matthew the Tax Collector

  8As 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.

  10Now 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. 11And when the Pharisees saw it, they said to His disciples, “Why does your Teacher eat with tax collectors and sinners?”

  12When Jesus heard that, He said to them, “Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick. 13But go and learn what this means: ‘I desire mercy and not sacrifice.’a For I did not come to call the righteous, but sinners, to repentance.”b

  Jesus Is Questioned About Fasting

  14Then the disciples of John came to Him, saying, “Why do we and the 9:13 aHosea 6:6 bNU-Text omits to repentance.

  Pharisees fast often,a but Your disciples do not fast?”

  15And 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. 16No 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. 17Nor 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

  18While 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.” 19So Jesus arose and followed him, and so did His disciples.

  20And suddenly, a woman who had a flow of blood for twelve years came from behind and touched the hem of His garment. 21For she said to herself, “If only I may touch His garment, I shall be made well.” 22But 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.

  23When Jesus came into the ruler’s house, and saw the flute players and the noisy crowd wailing, 24He said to them, “Make room, for the girl is not dead, but sleeping.” And they ridiculed Him. 25But when the crowd was put outside, He went in and took her by the hand, and the girl arose. 26And the report of this went out into all that land.

  Two Blind Men Healed

  27When Jesus departed from there, two blind men followed Him, crying out and saying, “Son of David, have mercy on us!”

  28And 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.” 29Then He touched their eyes, saying, “According to your faith let it be to you.” 30And their eyes were opened. And Jesus sternly warned9:14 aNU-Text brackets often as disputed.

  them, saying, “See that no one knows it.” 31But when they had departed, they spread the news about Him in all that country.

  A Mute Man Speaks

  32As they went out, behold, they brought to Him a man, mute and demon-possessed. 33And when the demon was cast out, the mute spoke. And the multitudes marveled, saying, “It was never seen like this in Israel!”

  34But the Pharisees said, “He casts out demons by the ruler of the demons.”

  The Compassion of Jesus

  35Then 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.a 36But when He saw the multitudes, He was moved with compassion for them, because they were wearya and scattered, like sheep having no shepherd. 37Then He said to His disciples, “The harvest truly is plentiful, but the laborers are few. 38Therefore pray the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into His harvest.”

  The Twelve Apostles

  10 And when He had called His twelve disciples to Him, He gave them power over unclean spirits, to cast them out, and to heal all kinds of sickness and all kinds of disease. 2Now the names of the twelve apostles are these: first, Simon, who is called Peter, and Andrew his brother; James the son of Zebedee, and John his brother; 3Philip and Bartholomew; Thomas and Matthew the tax collector; James the son of Alphaeus, and Lebbaeus, whose surname wasa Thaddaeus; 4Simon the Cananite,a and Judas Iscariot, who also betrayed Him.

  Sending Out the Twelve

  5These twelve Jesus sent out and commanded them, saying: “Do not go into the way of the Gentiles, and do not enter a city of the Samaritans. 6But go rather to the lost sheep of the house of Israel. 7And as you go, preach, saying, ‘The kingdom of heaven is at hand.’ 8Heal the sick, cleanse the lepers, raise the dead,a 9:35 aNU-Text omits among the people.

  9:36 aNU-Text and M-Text read harassed.

>   10:3 aNU-Text omits Lebbaeus, whose surname was. 10:4 aNU-Text reads Cananaean.

  10:8 aNU-Text reads raise the dead, cleanse the lepers; M-Text omits raise the dead.

  cast out demons. Freely you have received, freely give. 9Provide neither gold nor silver nor copper in your money belts, 9nor bag for your journey, nor two tunics, nor sandals, nor staffs; for a worker is worthy of his food.