Jesus Is Lord of the Sabbath^(A)(B)

12 At that time Jesus went through the grainfields on the Sabbath. His disciples were hungry and began to pick some heads of grain^(C) and eat them. ² When the Pharisees saw this, they said to him, “Look! Your disciples are doing what is unlawful on the Sabbath.”^(D)

³ He answered, “Haven’t you read what David did when he and his companions were hungry?^{(E) 4} He entered the house of God, and he and his companions ate the consecrated bread—which was not lawful for them to do, but only for the priests.^{(F) 5} Or haven’t you read in the Law that the priests on Sabbath duty in the temple desecrate the Sabbath^(G) and yet are innocent? ⁶ I tell you that something greater than the temple is here.^{(H) 7} If you had known what these words mean, ‘I desire mercy, not sacrifice,’^[a](I) you would not have condemned the innocent. ⁸ For the Son of Man^(J) is Lord of the Sabbath.”

⁹ Going on from that place, he went into their synagogue, ¹⁰ and a man with a shriveled hand was there. Looking for a reason to bring charges against Jesus,^(K) they asked him, “Is it lawful to heal on the Sabbath?”^(L)

¹¹ He said to them, “If any of you has a sheep and it falls into a pit on the Sabbath, will you not take hold of it and lift it out?^{(M) 12} How much more valuable is a person than a sheep!^(N) Therefore it is lawful to do good on the Sabbath.”

¹³ Then he said to the man, “Stretch out your hand.” So he stretched it out and it was completely restored, just as sound as the other.

³⁹ Then the Lord^(A) said to him, “Now then, you Pharisees clean the outside of the cup and dish, but inside you are full of greed and wickedness.^{(B) 40} You foolish people!^(C) Did not the one who made the outside make the inside also? ⁴¹ But now as for what is inside you—be generous to the poor,^(D) and everything will be clean for you.^(E)

The Believer’s Freedom

²³ “I have the right to do anything,” you say—but not everything is beneficial.^(A) “I have the right to do anything”—but not everything is constructive.

³¹ So whether you eat or drink or whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God.^(A)

¹⁵ To the pure, all things are pure,^(A) but to those who are corrupted and do not believe, nothing is pure.^(B) In fact, both their minds and consciences are corrupted.^{(C) 16} They claim to know God, but by their actions they deny him.^(D) They are detestable, disobedient and unfit for doing anything good.^(E)