Matthew 9:27-38

Jesus causes two blind men to see again

27 Jesus left the house. While he walked along, two blind men began to follow him. They were shouting out to him, ‘Son of David! Please be kind to us and help us!’

9:27King David was an ancestor of Jesus.

28 Jesus went into a house and the blind men came to him there. Jesus asked them, ‘Do you believe that I can make your eyes become well?’ The men replied, ‘Yes, Master, we believe that you can do this.’

29 So Jesus touched the men's eyes. He said to them, ‘Because you believed in me, you will now see again.’ 30 Then immediately the men could see again. Jesus said strongly to them, ‘You must not tell anyone about this.’ 31 So the men went away. But they told everybody in that part of the country all about what Jesus had done for them.

Jesus causes a man to speak again

32 While those two men were leaving, some people brought another man to Jesus. This man could not speak because of a bad spirit in him. 33 Jesus made the bad spirit go out of the man and leave him. Then the man began to speak again. Everybody there was very surprised. They said, ‘Nobody has seen anything like this happen in Israel before.’

34 But the Pharisees said, ‘This man can send bad spirits out of people because Satan gives him authority. Satan is the one who rules the bad spirits.’

Jesus wants God to send out more disciples

35 Jesus went to visit all the towns and villages near there. He taught the people in the Jewish meeting places. He told them the good news about God's kingdom. He also caused sick people to become well again from all their different pains and illnesses.

36 When Jesus saw the crowds of people, he felt sorry for them. They had trouble in their minds. They had nobody to help them. Jesus thought, ‘These people are like sheep that have nobody to take care of them.’ 37 Then Jesus said to his disciples, ‘Many people are ready to believe God's message. They are like crops in the fields at harvest time. But there are very few workers to bring in the crops. 38 So pray to God to send out workers. The field and the crops belong to him.’

9:38In this story, the master of the fields is like God. The fields are like the world. The plants that are growing in the fields are like the people in the world. The workers are like the people who know the Good News about the kingdom of God. They must tell other people about God and the Good News.