Jesus Cleanses a Leper

1 When he came down from the mountain, ^dgreat crowds followed him. 2 ^eAnd behold, a leper¹ came to him and ^fknelt before him, saying, “Lord, if you will, you can make me clean.” 3 And Jesus² stretched out his hand and touched him, saying, “I will; be clean.” And immediately his leprosy was cleansed. 4 And Jesus said to him, ^g“See that you say nothing to anyone, but go, ^hshow yourself to the priest and ⁱoffer the gift that Moses commanded, ^jfor a proof to them.”

Jesus Calls Matthew

9 ^eAs Jesus passed on from there, he saw a man called ^fMatthew sitting at the tax booth, and he said to him, “Follow me.” And he rose and followed him.

10 And as Jesus¹ reclined at table in the house, behold, many ^gtax collectors and sinners came and were reclining with Jesus and his disciples. 11 And when the Pharisees saw this, they said to his disciples, ^h“Why does your teacher eat with ^gtax collectors and sinners?” 12 But when he heard it, he said, “Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick. 13 Go and learn ⁱwhat this means: ^j‘I desire mercy, and not sacrifice.’ For ^kI came not to call the righteous, ^lbut sinners.”

The Parable of the Two Sons

28 ^h“What do you think? A man had two sons. And he went to the first and said, ‘Son, go and work in ⁱthe vineyard today.’ 29 And he answered, ‘I will not,’ but afterward he ^jchanged his mind and went. 30 And he went to the other son and said the same. And he answered, ‘I will, sir,’ but did not go. 31 Which of the two did the will of his father?” They said, “The first.” Jesus said to them, “Truly, I say to you, ^kthe tax collectors and ^lthe prostitutes go into ^mthe kingdom of God before you. 32 For John came to you ⁿin the way of righteousness, and ^oyou did not believe him, but ^pthe tax collectors and the prostitutes believed him. And even when you saw it, you did not afterward ^jchange your minds and believe him.