1And getting into a boat, he crossed over and came to his own city. 2And behold, they brought to him a paralytic, lying on a bed. And when Jesus saw their faith he said to the paralytic, »Take heart, my son; your sins are forgiven.« 3And behold, some of the scribes said to themselves, »This man is blaspheming!« 4But Jesus, knowing their thoughts, said, »Why do you think evil in your hearts? 5For which is easier, to say, ‘Your sins are forgiven,’ or to say, ‘Rise and walk’? 6But that you may know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins«—he then said to the paralytic—»Rise, take up your bed and go home.« 7And he rose and went home. 8When the crowds saw it, they were afraid, and they glorified God, who had given such authority to men. 9As Jesus passed on from there, he saw a man named Matthew sitting at the tax office; and he said to him, »Follow me.« And he rose and followed him. 10And as Jesus sat at table in the house, behold, many tax collectors and sinners came and sat down with him and his disciples. 11And when the Pharisees saw this, they said to his disciples, »Why does your teacher eat with tax collectors and sinners?« 12But when Jesus heard it, he said, »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.’ For I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners.« 14Then the disciples of John came to him, saying, »Why do we and the Pharisees fast, but your disciples do not fast?« 15And Jesus said to them, »Can the guests of the bridegroom mourn as long as he is with them? 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. 17Neither do they put new wine into old wineskins; if they do, the skins burst, and the wine is spilled, and the skins are ruined. But they put new wine into new wineskins, and so both are preserved.« 18While he was saying these things to them, behold, a ruler came and knelt before him, saying, »My daughter has just died, but come and lay your hand on her and she will live.« 19So Jesus rose and followed him, and so did his disciples. 20And behold, a woman who had suffered from a hemorrhage for twelve years came up behind him and touched the fringe of his garment. 21For she said to herself, »If I only touch his garment, I shall be made well.« 22Jesus turned, and when he saw her he said, »Take heart, daughter; your faith has made you well.« And the woman was made well from that moment. 23When Jesus came to the ruler’s house, and saw the flute players and the noisy crowd, 24he said, »Depart; for the girl is not dead but sleeping.« And they laughed at him. 25But when the crowd had been put outside, he went in and took her by the hand, and the girl arose. 26And the report of this went through all that region. 27And as Jesus passed on from there, two blind men followed him, crying out, »Have mercy on us, Son of David.« 28When he had entered 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 be it done to you.« 30And their eyes were opened. And Jesus sternly warned them, »See that no one knows it.« 31But they went out and spread the news about him all over that region. 32As they were going out, behold, a mute and demon-possessed man was brought to him. 33And when the demon had been cast out, the mute man spoke; and the crowds marveled, saying, »Never was anything like this seen in Israel.« 34But the Pharisees said, »He casts out demons by the prince of demons.« 35And Jesus went about all the cities and villages, teaching in their synagogues and preaching the gospel of the kingdom, and healing every disease and every sickness. 36When he saw the crowds, he had compassion for them, because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd. 37Then he said to his disciples, »The harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few. 38Therefore pray the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into his harvest.«