Jesus' cruise returns to port and he is immediately asked to heal a man who is sick with palsy as a punishment some unknown sin. Jesus not only cures the palsy, he forgives the mans. Some scribes look at him askance for this, because only god is supposed to be able to forgive sin, but Jesus answers that it's totally cool, because he has a permission slip from god.
As Jesus is leaving, he sees Matthew the tax collector sitting in his office. This may or may not be the person this book is named after. Anyway, he invites Jesus over for lunch, along with a bunch of other tax collectors and sinners.
The Pharisees then show up to be all judgey about Jesus eating with vagabonds and Jesus tells them to mind their own business. They persist, asking why they fast and Jesus doesn't, and Jesus says it's like a wedding: you party now, and when the groom dies, you fast.
Jesus' lunch is further interrupted by a local official whose daughter has just died. While he's on the way, an old woman with a blood disorder touches his robe and asks to be healed. He turns and says, thy faith hath made thee whole. (v. 22) Odd that you don't see many Christians, even literalists, trying that one out.
When he finally arrives, he says that the girl isn't dead, she's just resting. He wakes her up by taking her hand.
I'm only nine chapters in, and I'm already bored of recounting all Jesus' miracles. And if I understand correctly, all the gospels repeat these same stories. Urgh. In a nutshell: 2 blind men and a dumb (as in non-speaking) man. The Pharisees, of course, are skeptical and say it's the work of the devil, not god, but no one listens to them.
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