Matthew 9:1-38 (NLT)
1 Jesus climbed into a boat and went back across the lake to his own town.
2 Some people brought to him a paralyzed man on a mat. Seeing their faith, Jesus said to the paralyzed man, “Be encouraged, my child! Your sins are forgiven.”
3 But some of the teachers of religious law said to themselves, “That’s blasphemy! Does he think he’s God?”
4 Jesus knew what they were thinking, so he asked them, “Why do you have such evil thoughts in your hearts?
5 Is it easier to say ‘Your sins are forgiven,’ or ‘Stand up and walk’?
6 So I will prove to you that the Son of Man has the authority on earth to forgive sins.” Then Jesus turned to the paralyzed man and said, “Stand up, pick up your mat, and go home!”
7 And the man jumped up and went home!
8 Fear swept through the crowd as they saw this happen. And they praised God for giving humans such authority.
9 As Jesus was walking along, he saw a man named Matthew sitting at his tax collector’s booth. “Follow me and be my disciple,” Jesus said to him. So Matthew got up and followed him.
10 Later, Matthew invited Jesus and his disciples to his home as dinner guests, along with many tax collectors and other disreputable sinners.
11 But when the Pharisees saw this, they asked his disciples, “Why does your teacher eat with such scum?”
12 When Jesus heard this, he said, “Healthy people don’t need a doctor—sick people do.”
13 Then he added, “Now go and learn the meaning of this Scripture: ‘I want you to show mercy, not offer sacrifices.’ For I have come to call not those who think they are righteous, but those who know they are sinners.”
14 One day the disciples of John the Baptist came to Jesus and asked him, “Why don’t your disciples fast like we do and the Pharisees do?”
15 Jesus replied, “Do wedding guests mourn while celebrating with the groom? Of course not. But someday the groom will be taken away from them, and then they will fast.
16 “Besides, who would patch old clothing with new cloth? For the new patch would shrink and rip away from the old cloth, leaving an even bigger tear than before.
17 “And no one puts new wine into old wineskins. For the old skins would burst from the pressure, spilling the wine and ruining the skins. New wine is stored in new wineskins so that both are preserved.”
18 As Jesus was saying this, the leader of a synagogue came and knelt before him. “My daughter has just died,” he said, “but you can bring her back to life again if you just come and lay your hand on her.”
19 So Jesus and his disciples got up and went with him.
20 Just then a woman who had suffered for twelve years with constant bleeding came up behind him. She touched the fringe of his robe,
21 for she thought, “If I can just touch his robe, I will be healed.”
22 Jesus turned around, and when he saw her he said, “Daughter, be encouraged! Your faith has made you well.” And the woman was healed at that moment.
23 When Jesus arrived at the official’s home, he saw the noisy crowd and heard the funeral music.
24 “Get out!” he told them. “The girl isn’t dead; she’s only asleep.” But the crowd laughed at him.
25 After the crowd was put outside, however, Jesus went in and took the girl by the hand, and she stood up!
26 The report of this miracle swept through the entire countryside.
27 After Jesus left the girl’s home, two blind men followed along behind him, shouting, “Son of David, have mercy on us!”
28 They went right into the house where he was staying, and Jesus asked them, “Do you believe I can make you see?” “Yes, Lord,” they told him, “we do.”
29 Then he touched their eyes and said, “Because of your faith, it will happen.”
30 Then their eyes were opened, and they could see! Jesus sternly warned them, “Don’t tell anyone about this.”
31 But instead, they went out and spread his fame all over the region.
32 When they left, a demon-possessed man who couldn’t speak was brought to Jesus.
33 So Jesus cast out the demon, and then the man began to speak. The crowds were amazed. “Nothing like this has ever happened in Israel!” they exclaimed.
34 But the Pharisees said, “He can cast out demons because he is empowered by the prince of demons.”
35 Jesus traveled through all the towns and villages of that area, teaching in the synagogues and announcing the Good News about the Kingdom. And he healed every kind of disease and illness.
36 When he saw the crowds, he had compassion on them because they were confused and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd.
37 He said to his disciples, “The harvest is great, but the workers are few.
38 So pray to the Lord who is in charge of the harvest; ask him to send more workers into his fields.”
From Jesus came a continual demonstration of authority—authority over sickness, shame, demons, and even death. His approach to the works of the devil was unlike anything people had ever seen. He didn’t analyze the problem, negotiate with it, or even pray in hopes of something happening. What set Him apart was how He confronted evil’s strongholds: He simply resolved them—effortlessly—with a word spoken from a position above them.
This is what shocked the religious leaders and ultimately accelerated His path to the cross. He spoke and acted as though He were speaking for God Himself. From a religious standpoint, that was blasphemy—proof, in their minds, that He must be aligned with darkness. The problem with that view, however, was that everything He did was unmistakably good. Evil had caused devastation, but Jesus revealed where evil truly belonged—under His feet.
The traditional approaches to darkness—attempts proven powerless and perilously ineffective—were suddenly contrasted by a new way, a way marked not by struggle but by authority. This wasn’t a technique or a role someone could take on through effort. It was an authority given to Him by His Father, an authority that shaped how He saw Himself and everything the enemy could produce. He stood far above it all, and a single authoritative word was enough to shatter whatever hell had constructed.
Matthew 28:1–19 reveals this reception of authority that empowered His earthly ministry. But it doesn’t stop there—it directly connects that same authority to us. Just as Jesus demonstrated repeatedly in countless circumstances, received authority becomes the position from which we go and operate as He did—exercising power over all the works of the enemy. As He confronted every evil work as though God Himself were speaking, we too have been given that same power.
Yes, study of the Word and a life of prayer build understanding and strengthen faith in this gift—but when adversity appears, it is authority that makes the enemy flee in terror, leaving behind miracles and restored lives.
As He is, so are we.