MATTHEW 12:9-14
A Man with a Crippled Hand
(Mark 3.1-6; Luke 6.6-11)

Jesus left and went into one of the Jewish meeting places, where there was a man whose hand was crippled.  Some Pharisees wanted to accuse Jesus of doing something wrong, and they asked him, "Is it right to heal someone on the Sabbath?"
Jesus answered, "If you had a sheep that fell into a ditch on the Sabbath, wouldn't you lift it out?  People are worth much more than sheep, and so it is right to do good on the Sabbath."
Then Jesus told the man, "Hold out your hand."
The man did, and it became as healthy as the other one.   The Pharisees left and started making plans to kill Jesus.

JOHN 5:1-9
Jesus Heals a Sick Man

Later, Jesus went to Jerusalem for another Jewish festival.  In the city near the sheep gate was a pool with five porches, and its name in Hebrew was Bethzatha.  Many sick, blind, lame, and crippled people were lying close to the pool.  Beside the pool was a man who had been sick for thirty-eight years.  When Jesus saw the man and realized that he had been crippled for a long time, he asked him, "Do you want to be healed?"
The man answered, "Lord, I don't have anyone to put me in the pool when the water is stirred up.  I try to get in, but someone else always gets there first."
Jesus told him, "Pick up your mat and walk!"
Right then the man was healed.  He picked up his mat and started walking around.  The day on which this happened was a Sabbath.

MATTHEW 9:1-8
Jesus Heals a Crippled Man
(Mark 2.1-12; Luke 5.17-26)

Jesus got into a boat and crossed back over to the town where he lived.  Some people soon brought to him a crippled man lying on a mat.  When Jesus saw how much faith they had, he said to the crippled man, "My friend, don't worry! Your sins are forgiven."
Some teachers of the Law of Moses said to themselves, "Jesus must think he is God!"
But Jesus knew what was in their minds, and he said, "Why are you thinking such evil things?  Is it easier for me to tell this crippled man that his sins are forgiven or to tell him to get up and walk?  But I will show you that the Son of Man has the right to forgive sins here on earth."
So Jesus said to the man, "Get up! Pick up your mat and go on home."
The man got up and went home.  When the crowds saw this, they were afraid and praised God for giving such authority to people.