Mat 9:9-17 | ESV | STEP | As Jesus passed on from there , he saw a man called Matthew sitting at the tax booth , and he said to him , Follow me . And he rose and followed him .

aFor ver. 9-17, see Mark 2:14-22; Luke 5:27-38

b ch. 10:3; Mark 3:18; Luke 6:15; Acts 1:13

d ch. 11:19; See ch. 5:46

e[Luke 15:2]

f[See ver. 10 above]

g ch. 12:7

hCited from Hos. 6:6; [ch. 23:23; Mark 12:33]

i[Luke 15:7; John 9:39]

j 1 Tim. 1:15

k ch. 11:2; 14:12; Luke 11:1; John 1:35; 3:25; 4:1; [Acts 18:25; 19:3]

pSee Luke 17:22

‏ Matthew 9:9-17

Jesus Calls Matthew

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

10 And as Jesus ^{▼▼Greek he} reclined at table in the house, behold, many ^dtax collectors and sinners came and were reclining with Jesus and his disciples. 11 And when the Pharisees saw this, they said to his disciples, ^e“Why does your teacher eat with ^ftax 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 ^gwhat this means: ^h‘I desire mercy, and not sacrifice.’ For ⁱI came not to call the righteous, ^jbut sinners.”

A Question About Fasting

14 Then ^kthe disciples of John came to him, saying, ^l“Why do we and ^mthe Pharisees fast, ^{▼▼Some manuscripts add much, or often} but your disciples do not fast?” 15 And Jesus said to them, ^o“Can the wedding guests mourn as long as the bridegroom is with them? ^pThe days will come when the bridegroom is taken away from them, and ^qthen they will fast. 16 No one puts a piece of unshrunk cloth on an old garment, for the patch tears away from the garment, and a worse tear is made. 17 Neither is new wine put into old ^rwineskins. If it is, the skins burst and the wine is spilled and the skins are destroyed. But new wine is put into fresh wineskins, and so both are preserved.”