Wednesday, July 15

¹⁴Then John’s disciples came to Jesus and asked, “Why do we and the Pharisees fast often, but your disciples don’t fast?” ¹⁵Jesus said to them, “The wedding guests cannot mourn while the bridegroom is with them, can they? But the days are coming when the bridegroom will be taken from them, and then they will fast. ¹⁶No one sews a patch of unshrunk cloth on an old garment because the patch will pull away from the garment and the tear will be worse. ¹⁷And no one pours new wine into old wineskins; otherwise the skins burst and the wine is spilled out and the skins are destroyed. Instead they put new wine into new wineskins and both are preserved.”

¹⁸As he was saying these things, a leader came, bowed low before him, and said, “My daughter has just died, but come and lay your hand on her and she will live.” ¹⁹Jesus and his disciples got up and followed him. ²⁰But a woman who had been suffering from a hemorrhage for 12 years came up behind him and touched the edge of his cloak. ²¹For she kept saying to herself, “If only I touch his cloak, I will be healed.” ²²But when Jesus turned and saw her he said, “Have courage, daughter! Your faith has made you well.” And the woman was healed from that hour. ²³When Jesus entered the leader’s house and saw the flute players and the disorderly crowd, ²⁴he said, “Go away, for the girl is not dead but asleep!” And they began making fun of him. ²⁵But when the crowd had been forced outside, he went in and gently took her by the hand, and the girl got up. ²⁶And the news of this spread throughout that region.

²⁷As Jesus went on from there, two blind men began to follow him, shouting, “Have mercy on us, Son of David!” ²⁸When he went into the house, the blind men came to him. 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, “Let it be done for you according to your faith.” ³⁰And their eyes were opened. Then Jesus sternly warned them, “See that no one knows about this!” ³¹But they went out and spread the news about him throughout that entire region.

³²As they were going away, a man who was demon-possessed and unable to speak was brought to him. ³³After the demon was cast out, the man who had been mute began to speak. The crowds were amazed and said, “Never has anything like this been seen in Israel!” ³⁴But the Pharisees said, “By the ruler of demons he casts out demons!”

³⁵Then Jesus went throughout all the towns and villages, teaching in their synagogues, preaching the good news of the kingdom, and healing every kind of disease and sickness. ³⁶When he saw the crowds, he had compassion on them because they were bewildered and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd. ³⁷Then he said to his disciples, “The harvest is plentiful, but the workers are few. ³⁸Therefore ask the Lord of the harvest to send out workers into his harvest-ready fields.”

¹Jesus called his 12 disciples and gave them authority over unclean spirits so they could cast them out and heal every kind of disease and sickness. ²Now these are the names of the 12 apostles: first, Simon (called Peter), and Andrew his brother; James son of Zebedee and John his brother; ³Philip and Bartholomew; Thomas and Matthew the tax collector; James the son of Alphaeus, and Thaddaeus; ⁴Simon the Zealot and Judas Iscariot, who betrayed him.