The Berean Pursuit
A Psalm of Asaph.
The Mighty One, God the LORD,
speaks and summons the earth
from where the sun rises to where it sets.
From Zion, perfect in beauty,
God shines forth.
Our God approaches and will not be silent!
Consuming fire precedes Him,
and a tempest rages around Him.
He summons the heavens above,
and the earth, that He may judge His people:
"Gather to Me My saints,
who made a covenant with Me by sacrifice."
And the heavens proclaim His righteousness,
for God Himself is Judge.
Selah
"Hear, O My people, and I will speak,
O Israel, and I will testify against you:
I am God, your God.
I do not rebuke you for your sacrifices,
and your burnt offerings are ever before Me.
I have no need for a bull from your stall
or goats from your pens,
for every beast of the forest is Mine-
the cattle on a thousand hills.
I know every bird in the mountains,
and the creatures of the field are Mine.
If I were hungry, I would not tell you,
for the world is Mine, and the fullness thereof.
Do I eat the flesh of bulls,
or drink the blood of goats?
Sacrifice a thank offering to God,
and fulfill your vows to the Most High.
Call upon Me in the day of trouble;
I will deliver you, and you will honor Me."
To the wicked, however, God says,
"What right have you to recite My statutes
and to bear My covenant on your lips?
For you hate My instruction
and cast My words behind you.
When you see a thief, you befriend him,
and throw in your lot with adulterers.
You unleash your mouth for evil
and unharness your tongue for deceit.
You sit and malign your brother;
you slander your own mother's son.
You have done these things, and I kept silent;
you thought I was just like you.
But now I rebuke you
and accuse you to your face.
Now consider this, you who forget God,
lest I tear you to pieces,
with no one to rescue you:
He who sacrifices a thank offering honors Me,
and to him who rights his way,
I will show the salvation of God."
Jesus got into a boat, crossed over, and came to His own town. Just then some men brought to Him a paralytic lying on a mat. When Jesus saw their faith, He said to the paralytic, "Take courage, son; your sins are forgiven."
On seeing this, some of the scribes said to themselves, "This man is blaspheming!"
But Jesus knew what they were thinking and said, "Why do you harbor evil in your hearts? Which is easier: to say, 'Your sins are forgiven,' or to say, 'Get up and walk?' But so that you may know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins..." Then He said to the paralytic, "Get up, pick up your mat, and go home." And the man got up and went home.
When the crowds saw this, they were filled with awe and glorified God, who had given such authority to men.
As Jesus went on from there, He saw a man named Matthew sitting at the tax booth. "Follow Me," He told him, and Matthew got up and followed Him.
Later, as Jesus was dining at Matthew's house, many tax collectors and sinners came and ate with Him and His disciples. When the Pharisees saw this, they asked His disciples, "Why does your Teacher eat with tax collectors and sinners?"
On hearing this, Jesus said, "It is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick. But go and learn what this means: 'I desire mercy, not sacrifice.' For I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners."
At that time John's disciples came to Jesus and asked, "Why is it that we and the Pharisees fast so often, but Your disciples do not fast?"
Jesus replied, "How can the guests of the bridegroom mourn while He is with them? But the time will come when the bridegroom will be taken from them; then they will fast.
No one sews a patch of unshrunk cloth on an old garment. For the patch will pull away from the garment, and a worse tear will result.
Neither do men pour new wine into old wineskins. If they do, the skins will burst, the wine will spill, and the wineskins will be ruined. Instead, they pour new wine into new wineskins, and both are preserved."
While Jesus was saying these things, a synagogue leader came and knelt before Him. "My daughter has just died," he said. "But come and place Your hand on her, and she will live."
So Jesus got up and went with him, along with His disciples. Suddenly a woman who had suffered from bleeding for twelve years came up behind Him and touched the fringe of His cloak. She said to herself, "If only I touch His cloak, I will be healed."
Jesus turned and saw her. "Take courage, daughter," He said, "your faith has healed you." And the woman was cured from that very hour.
When Jesus entered the house of the synagogue leader, He saw the flute players and the noisy crowd. "Go away," He told them. "The girl is not dead, but asleep." And they laughed at Him.
After the crowd had been put outside, Jesus went in and took the girl by the hand, and she got up. And the news about this spread throughout that region.
As Jesus went on from there, two blind men followed Him, crying out, "Have mercy on us, Son of David!"
After Jesus had entered the house, the blind men came to Him. "Do you believe that I am able to do this?" He asked.
"Yes, Lord," they answered.
Then He touched their eyes and said, "According to your faith will it be done to you." And their eyes were opened. Jesus warned them sternly, "See that no one finds out about this!" But they went out and spread the news about Him throughout the land.
As they were leaving, a demon-possessed man who was mute was brought to Jesus. And when the demon had been driven out, the man began to speak. The crowds were amazed and said, "Nothing like this has ever been seen in Israel!"
But the Pharisees said, "It is by the prince of demons that He drives out demons."
Jesus went through all the towns and villages, teaching in their synagogues, preaching the gospel of the kingdom, and healing every disease and sickness. When He saw the crowds, He was moved with compassion for them, because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd.
Then He said to His disciples, "The harvest is plentiful, but the workers are few. Ask the Lord of the harvest, therefore, to send out workers into His harvest."