Read Matthew 9:9-13, 18-26 with your family.

Helping people is a big part of the work Jesus did while he was living on earth. Our story today has three people who were helped by Jesus.

The first was Matthew the tax collector. He worked with the Roman government even though he was a Hebrew, so no one liked him. It didn’t matter to Jesus what he did for a job, just that Matthew was open to hearing about the world of God and living with love for everyone.

The second was a woman who had been bleeding for a very long time. The community would have avoided her and she would have been both tired and lonely. Jesus healed her and told her everything would be different from that moment on.

The third was a little girl who was probably too sick to ask for anything except her parents. Her father loved her so much he went in faith to find Jesus. Unlike Matthew or the woman that was bleeding, this father was a respected member of the temple, the very people who said Jesus was a bad person. The father didn’t believe that and so he turned on his friends because of his love for his daughter.

All three people were very different, but Jesus gave them the acceptance and healing they needed. It didn’t matter to Jesus where they came from, just that they needed his help.