Lord of the Sabbath

12 At that time Jesus passed through the grainfields on the Sabbath.(A) His disciples(B) were hungry and began to pick and eat some heads of grain. But when the Pharisees saw it, they said to Him, “Look, Your disciples are doing what is not lawful(C) to do on the Sabbath!”

He said to them, “Haven’t you read what David did when he and those who were with him were hungry— how he entered the house of God, and they ate[a] the sacred bread, which is not lawful for him or for those with him to eat, but only for the priests?(D) Or haven’t you read in the Law[b] that on Sabbath days the priests in the temple violate the Sabbath and are innocent?(E) But I tell you that something greater than the temple is here!(F) If you had known what this means: I desire mercy and not sacrifice,(G)[c] you would not have condemned the innocent. For the Son of Man is Lord of the Sabbath.”(H)

The Man with the Paralyzed Hand

Moving on from there, He entered their synagogue.(I) 10 There He saw a man who had a paralyzed hand. And in order to accuse Him they asked Him, “Is it lawful to heal on the Sabbath?”(J)

11 But He said to them, “What man among you, if he had a sheep[d] that fell into a pit on the Sabbath, wouldn’t take hold of it and lift it out?(K) 12 A man is worth far more than a sheep,(L) so it is lawful to do what is good on the Sabbath.”

13 Then He told the man, “Stretch out your hand.” So he stretched it out, and it was restored,(M) as good as the other. 14 But the Pharisees went out and plotted against Him, how they might destroy Him.(N)

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Footnotes

  1. Matthew 12:4 Other mss read he ate
  2. Matthew 12:5 = The Torah (the Pentateuch)
  3. Matthew 12:7 Hs 6:6
  4. Matthew 12:11 Or had one sheep

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. When the Pharisees saw this, they said to him, “Look! Your disciples are doing what is unlawful on the Sabbath.”(D)

He answered, “Haven’t you read what David did when he and his companions were hungry?(E) 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) 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? I tell you that something greater than the temple is here.(H) If you had known what these words mean, ‘I desire mercy, not sacrifice,’[a](I) you would not have condemned the innocent. For the Son of Man(J) is Lord of the Sabbath.”

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. 14 But the Pharisees went out and plotted how they might kill Jesus.(O)

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Footnotes

  1. Matthew 12:7 Hosea 6:6