Controlling the Things We Say

3 My brothers, not many of you should become teachers. You know that we who teach will be judged more strictly than others. ² We all make many mistakes. If there were a person who never said anything wrong, he would be perfect. He would be able to control his whole body, too. ³ We put bits into the mouths of horses to make them obey us. We can control their whole bodies. ⁴ It is the same with ships. A ship is very big, and it is pushed by strong winds. But a very small rudder controls that big ship. The man who controls the rudder decides where the ship will go. The ship goes where the man wants. ⁵ It is the same with the tongue. It is a small part of the body, but it brags about doing great things.

A big forest fire can be started with only a little flame. ⁶ And the tongue is like a fire. It is a whole world of evil among the parts of our bodies. The tongue spreads its evil through the whole body. It starts a fire that influences all of life. The tongue gets this fire from hell. ⁷ People can tame every kind of wild animal, bird, reptile, and fish, and they have tamed them. ⁸ But no one can tame the tongue. It is wild and evil. It is full of poison that can kill. ⁹ We use our tongues to praise our Lord and Father, but then we curse people. And God made them like himself. ¹⁰ Praises and curses come from the same mouth! My brothers, this should not happen. ¹¹ Do good and bad water flow from the same spring? ¹² My brothers, can a fig tree make olives? Can a grapevine make figs? No! And a well full of salty water cannot give good water.

True Wisdom

¹³ Is there anyone among you who is truly wise and understanding? Then he should show his wisdom by living right. He should do good things without being proud. A wise person does not brag. ¹⁴ But if you are selfish and have bitter jealousy in your hearts, you have no reason to brag. Your bragging is a lie that hides the truth. ¹⁵ That kind of “wisdom” does not come from God. That “wisdom” comes from the world. It is not spiritual. It is from the devil. ¹⁶ Where there is jealousy and selfishness, there will be confusion and every kind of evil. ¹⁷ But the wisdom that comes from God is like this: First, it is pure. Then it is also peaceful, gentle, and easy to please. This wisdom is always ready to help those who are troubled and to do good for others. This wisdom is always fair and honest. ¹⁸ When people work for peace in a peaceful way, they receive the good result of their right living.

Being Right with God

⁹ There were some people who thought that they were very good and looked down on everyone else. Jesus used this story to teach them: ¹⁰ “One day there was a Pharisee and a tax collector. Both went to the Temple to pray. ¹¹ The Pharisee stood alone, away from the tax collector. When the Pharisee prayed, he said, ‘God, I thank you that I am not as bad as other people. I am not like men who steal, cheat, or take part in adultery. I thank you that I am better than this tax collector. ¹² I give up eating^[a] twice a week, and I give one-tenth of everything I earn!’

¹³ “The tax collector stood at a distance. When he prayed, he would not even look up to heaven. He beat on his chest because he was so sad. He said, ‘God, have mercy on me. I am a sinner!’ ¹⁴ I tell you, when this man went home, he was right with God. But the Pharisee was not right with God. Everyone who makes himself great will be made humble. But everyone who makes himself humble will be made great.”

Jesus Is Lord of the Sabbath

12 About that same time, Jesus was walking through some fields of grain on a Sabbath day. His followers were with him, and they were hungry. So they began to pick the grain and eat it. ² The Pharisees saw this, and they said to Jesus, “Look! Your followers are doing something that is against the Jewish law to do on the Sabbath day.”

³ Jesus answered, “Have you not read what David did when he and the people with him were hungry? ⁴ David went into God’s house. He and those with him ate the bread that was made holy for God. It was against the law for them to eat that bread. Only the priests were allowed to eat it. ⁵ And have you not read in the law of Moses that on every Sabbath day the priests in the Temple break this law about the Sabbath day? But the priests are not wrong for doing that. ⁶ I tell you that there is something here that is greater than the Temple. ⁷ The Scripture says, ‘I want faithful love more than I want animal sacrifices.’^[a] You don’t really know what those words mean. If you understood them, you would not judge those who have done nothing wrong.

⁸ “The Son of Man is Lord of the Sabbath day.”

Jesus Heals a Man’s Crippled Hand

⁹ Jesus left there and went into their synagogue. ¹⁰ In the synagogue, there was a man with a crippled hand. Some Jews there were looking for a reason to accuse Jesus of doing wrong. So they asked him, “Is it right to heal on the Sabbath day?”^[b]

¹¹ Jesus answered, “If any of you has a sheep, and it falls into a ditch on the Sabbath day, then you will take the sheep and help it out of the ditch. ¹² Surely a man is more important than a sheep. So the law of Moses allows people to do good things on the Sabbath day.”

¹³ Then Jesus said to the man with the crippled hand, “Let me see your hand.” The man put his hand out, and the hand became well again, the same as the other hand. ¹⁴ But the Pharisees left and made plans to kill Jesus.