Jesus Is Lord of the Sabbath

12 At that time ^(A)Jesus went through the grainfields on the Sabbath. His disciples were hungry, and ^(B)they began to pluck heads of grain and to eat. ² But when the Pharisees saw it, they said to him, ^(C)“Look, your disciples are doing ^(D)what is not lawful to do on the Sabbath.” ³ He said to them, ^(E)“Have you not read what David did when he was hungry, and those who were with him: ⁴ how he entered the house of God and ate ^(F)the bread of the Presence, which it was not lawful for him to eat nor for those who were with him, but only for the priests? ⁵ Or have you not read ^(G)in the Law how on the Sabbath the priests in the temple profane the Sabbath and are guiltless? ⁶ I tell you, ^(H)something greater than the temple is here. ⁷ And if you had known ^(I)what this means, ^(J)‘I desire mercy, and not sacrifice,’ you would not have condemned the guiltless. ⁸ For ^(K)the Son of Man is lord of the Sabbath.”

A Man with a Withered Hand

⁹ He went on from there and ^(L)entered their synagogue. ¹⁰ And a man was there with a withered hand. And they asked him, ^(M)“Is it lawful to heal on the Sabbath?”—^(N)so that they might accuse him. ¹¹ He said to them, “Which one of you who has a sheep, ^(O)if it falls into a pit on the Sabbath, will not take hold of it and lift it out? ^12 (P)Of how much more value is a man than a sheep! So ^(Q)it is lawful to do good on the Sabbath.” ¹³ Then he said to the man, “Stretch out your hand.” And ^(R)the man stretched it out, and it was restored, healthy like the other. ¹⁴ But the Pharisees went out and conspired against him, how to destroy him.

God's Chosen Servant

¹⁵ Jesus, aware of this, ^(S)withdrew from there. And ^(T)many followed him, and he healed them all ¹⁶ and ^(U)ordered them not to make him known. ^17 (V)This was to fulfill what was spoken by the prophet Isaiah:

Blasphemy Against the Holy Spirit

^22 (AA)Then a demon-oppressed man who was blind and mute was brought to him, and he healed him, so that the man spoke and saw. ^23 (AB)And all the people were amazed, and said, ^(AC)“Can this be the Son of David?” ²⁴ But when the Pharisees heard it, they said, ^(AD)“It is only by Beelzebul, the prince of demons, that this man casts out demons.” ^25 (AE)Knowing their thoughts, ^(AF)he said to them, “Every kingdom divided against itself is laid waste, and no city or house divided against itself will stand. ²⁶ And if Satan casts out Satan, he is divided against himself. How then will his kingdom stand? ²⁷ And if I cast out demons by Beelzebul, ^(AG)by whom do ^(AH)your sons cast them out? Therefore they will be your judges. ²⁸ But if it is ^(AI)by the Spirit of God that I cast out demons, then ^(AJ)the kingdom of God has come upon you. ²⁹ Or ^(AK)how can someone enter a strong man's house and plunder his goods, unless he first binds the strong man? Then indeed ^(AL)he may plunder his house. ^30 (AM)Whoever is not with me is against me, and whoever does not gather with me scatters. ^31 (AN)Therefore I tell you, every sin and blasphemy will be forgiven people, but ^(AO)the blasphemy against the Spirit will not be forgiven. ³² And whoever speaks a word ^(AP)against the Son of Man ^(AQ)will be forgiven, but ^(AR)whoever speaks against the Holy Spirit will not be forgiven, either in ^(AS)this age or in the age to come.

A Tree Is Known by Its Fruit

^33 (AT)“Either make the tree good and its fruit good, or make the tree bad and its fruit bad, ^(AU)for the tree is known by its fruit. ^34 (AV)You brood of vipers! How can you speak good, ^(AW)when you are evil? ^(AX)For out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks. ^35 (AY)The good person out of his good treasure brings forth good, and the evil person out of his evil treasure brings forth evil. ³⁶ I tell you, ^(AZ)on the day of judgment ^(BA)people will give account for ^(BB)every careless word they speak, ³⁷ for ^(BC)by your words you will be justified, and by your words you will be condemned.”

The Sign of Jonah

³⁸ Then some of the scribes and Pharisees answered him, saying, “Teacher, ^(BD)we wish to see a sign from you.” ³⁹ But he answered them, ^(BE)“An evil and ^(BF)adulterous generation seeks for a sign, but no sign will be given to it except the sign of the prophet Jonah. ⁴⁰ For ^(BG)just as Jonah was three days and three nights in the belly of the great fish, ^(BH)so will the Son of Man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth. ^41 (BI)The men of Nineveh will rise up at the judgment with this generation and ^(BJ)condemn it, for ^(BK)they repented at the preaching of Jonah, and behold, ^(BL)something greater than Jonah is here. ^42 (BM)The queen of the South will rise up at the judgment with this generation and condemn it, for she came from the ends of the earth to hear the wisdom of Solomon, and behold, ^(BN)something greater than Solomon is here.

Return of an Unclean Spirit

⁴³ “When ^(BO)the unclean spirit has gone out of a person, it passes through ^(BP)waterless places seeking rest, but finds none. ⁴⁴ Then it says, ‘I will return to my house from which I came.’ And when it comes, it finds the house empty, swept, and put in order. ⁴⁵ Then it goes and brings with it seven other spirits more evil than itself, and they enter and dwell there, and ^(BQ)the last state of that person is worse than the first. So also will it be with this ^(BR)evil generation.”

Jesus' Mother and Brothers

⁴⁶ While he was still speaking to the people, behold, ^(BS)his mother and his ^(BT)brothers^[a] stood outside, asking to speak to him.^{[b] 48} But he replied to the man who told him, “Who is my mother, and who are my brothers?” ⁴⁹ And stretching out his hand toward his disciples, he said, “Here are my mother and my brothers! ⁵⁰ For ^(BU)whoever ^(BV)does the will of my Father in heaven is my brother and sister and mother.”

A Man with a Withered Hand

3 ^(A)Again ^(B)he entered the synagogue, and a man was there with a withered hand. ² And ^(C)they watched Jesus,^[a] to see whether he would heal him on the Sabbath, so that they might accuse him. ³ And he said to the man with the withered hand, “Come here.” ⁴ And he said to them, ^(D)“Is it lawful on the Sabbath to do good or to do harm, to save life or to kill?” But they were silent. ⁵ And he ^(E)looked around at them with anger, grieved at ^(F)their hardness of heart, and said to the man, “Stretch out your hand.” ^(G)He stretched it out, and his hand was restored. ^6 (H)The Pharisees went out and immediately ^(I)held counsel with ^(J)the Herodians against him, how to destroy him.

A Great Crowd Follows Jesus

^7 (K)Jesus withdrew with his disciples to the sea, and ^(L)a great crowd followed, from Galilee and Judea ⁸ and Jerusalem and ^(M)Idumea and from beyond the Jordan and from around ^(N)Tyre and Sidon. When the great crowd heard all that he was doing, they came to him. ⁹ And he told his disciples to ^(O)have a boat ready for him because of the crowd, lest they ^(P)crush him, ¹⁰ for ^(Q)he had healed many, so that all who had ^(R)diseases pressed around him ^(S)to touch him. ^11 (T)And whenever the unclean spirits saw him, they ^(U)fell down before him and cried out, “You are ^(V)the Son of God.” ¹² And ^(W)he strictly ordered them not to make him known.

The Twelve Apostles

^13 (X)And he went up on the mountain and called to him those ^(Y)whom he desired, and they came to him. ^14 (Z)And he appointed twelve (whom he also named apostles) so that they might be with him and he might send them out to preach ^15 (AA)and have authority to cast out demons. ¹⁶ He appointed the twelve: ^(AB)Simon (to whom ^(AC)he gave the name Peter); ^17 (AD)James the son of Zebedee and John the brother of James (to whom he gave the name Boanerges, that is, Sons of Thunder); ¹⁸ Andrew, and Philip, and Bartholomew, and ^(AE)Matthew, and Thomas, and James the son of Alphaeus, and Thaddaeus, and Simon the Zealot,^{[b] 19} and Judas Iscariot, who betrayed him.

²⁰ Then he went ^(AF)home, and the crowd gathered again, ^(AG)so that they could not even eat. ^21 (AH)And when ^(AI)his family heard it, they went out to seize him, for they were saying, “He ^(AJ)is out of his mind.”

Blasphemy Against the Holy Spirit

²² And ^(AK)the scribes who came down from Jerusalem were saying, ^(AL)“He is possessed by Beelzebul,” and “by the prince of demons he casts out the demons.” ^23 (AM)And he called them to him and said to them in parables, “How can Satan cast out Satan? ²⁴ If a kingdom is divided against itself, that kingdom cannot stand. ²⁵ And if a house is divided against itself, that house will not be able to stand. ²⁶ And if Satan has risen up against himself and is divided, he cannot stand, but is coming to an end. ²⁷ But ^(AN)no one can enter a strong man's house and plunder his goods, unless he first binds the strong man. ^(AO)Then indeed he may plunder his house.

^28 (AP)“Truly, I say to you, all sins will be forgiven the children of man, and whatever blasphemies they utter, ²⁹ but whoever ^(AQ)blasphemes against the Holy Spirit never has forgiveness, but is guilty of an eternal sin”— ³⁰ for they were saying, “He has an unclean spirit.”

Jesus' Mother and Brothers

^31 (AR)And his mother and his ^(AS)brothers came, and standing outside they sent to him and called him. ³² And a crowd was sitting around him, and they said to him, “Your mother and your brothers^[c] are outside, seeking you.” ³³ And he answered them, “Who are my mother and my brothers?” ³⁴ And ^(AT)looking about at those who sat around him, he said, “Here are my mother and my brothers! ^35 (AU)For whoever ^(AV)does the will of God, he is my brother and sister and mother.”

Jesus Is Lord of the Sabbath

6 ^(A)On a Sabbath,^[a] while he was going through the grainfields, his disciples ^(B)plucked and ate some heads of grain, rubbing them in their hands. ² But some of the Pharisees said, ^(C)“Why are you doing ^(D)what is not lawful to do on the Sabbath?” ³ And Jesus answered them, ^(E)“Have you not read ^(F)what David did when he was hungry, he and those who were with him: ⁴ how he entered the house of God and took and ate ^(G)the bread of the Presence, ^(H)which is not lawful for any but the priests to eat, and also gave it to those with him?” ⁵ And he said to them, ^(I)“The Son of Man is lord of the Sabbath.”

A Man with a Withered Hand

⁶ On another Sabbath, ^(J)he entered the synagogue ^(K)and was teaching, and a man was there whose right hand was withered. ⁷ And the scribes and the Pharisees ^(L)watched him, to see whether he would heal on the Sabbath, ^(M)so that they might find a reason to accuse him. ⁸ But ^(N)he knew their thoughts, and he said to the man with the withered hand, “Come and stand here.” And he rose and stood there. ⁹ And Jesus said to them, “I ask you, ^(O)is it lawful on the Sabbath to do good or to do harm, to save life or to destroy it?” ¹⁰ And ^(P)after looking around at them all he said to him, “Stretch out your hand.” And ^(Q)he did so, and his hand was restored. ¹¹ But they were filled with ^(R)fury and discussed with one another what they might do to Jesus.

The Twelve Apostles

¹² In these days ^(S)he went out to the mountain to pray, and all night he continued in prayer to God. ¹³ And when day came, ^(T)he called his disciples ^(U)and ^(V)chose from them twelve, whom he named ^(W)apostles: ¹⁴ Simon, ^(X)whom he named Peter, and ^(Y)Andrew his brother, and ^(Z)James and John, and Philip, and Bartholomew, ¹⁵ and ^(AA)Matthew, and Thomas, and James the son of Alphaeus, and Simon who was called ^(AB)the Zealot, ¹⁶ and ^(AC)Judas the son of James, and Judas Iscariot, who became a traitor.

Jesus Ministers to a Great Multitude

¹⁷ And ^(AD)he came down with them and stood on a level place, with ^(AE)a great crowd of his disciples and a great multitude of people from all Judea and Jerusalem and the seacoast of ^(AF)Tyre and Sidon, ¹⁸ who came to hear him and to be healed of their diseases. ^(AG)And those who were troubled with unclean spirits were cured. ¹⁹ And all the crowd ^(AH)sought to touch him, for ^(AI)power came out from him and healed them all.

The Beatitudes

²⁰ And ^(AJ)he lifted up his eyes on his disciples, ^(AK)and said:

“Blessed are you who are poor, for ^(AL)yours is the kingdom of God.

^21 (AM)“Blessed are you who are hungry now, for you shall be satisfied.

^(AN)“Blessed are you who weep now, for you shall laugh.

²² “Blessed are you when ^(AO)people hate you and when they ^(AP)exclude you and revile you and ^(AQ)spurn your name as evil, ^(AR)on account of the Son of Man! ^23 (AS)Rejoice in that day, and leap for joy, for behold, your reward is great in heaven; for ^(AT)so their fathers did to the prophets.

Jesus Pronounces Woes

^24 (AU)“But woe to you who are rich, ^(AV)for you ^(AW)have received your consolation.

²⁵ “Woe to you who are full now, for ^(AX)you shall be hungry.

“Woe to ^(AY)you who laugh now, ^(AZ)for you shall mourn and weep.

²⁶ “Woe to you, ^(BA)when all people speak well of you, for ^(BB)so their fathers did to ^(BC)the false prophets.

Love Your Enemies

²⁷ “But I say to you who hear, ^(BD)Love your enemies, ^(BE)do good to those who hate you, ^28 (BF)bless those who curse you, ^(BG)pray for those who abuse you. ^29 (BH)To one who ^(BI)strikes you on the cheek, offer the other also, and from one who takes away your cloak do not withhold your tunic^[b] either. ^30 (BJ)Give to everyone who begs from you, and from one who takes away your goods do not demand them back. ³¹ And ^(BK)as you wish that others would do to you, do so to them.

^32 (BL)“If you love those who love you, what benefit is that to you? For even sinners love those who love them. ³³ And if you do good to those who do good to you, what benefit is that to you? For even sinners do the same. ³⁴ And ^(BM)if you ^(BN)lend to those from whom you expect to receive, what credit is that to you? Even sinners lend to sinners, to get back the same amount. ³⁵ But ^(BO)love your enemies, and do good, and lend, expecting nothing in return, and your reward will be great, and ^(BP)you will be sons of ^(BQ)the Most High, for ^(BR)he is kind to the ungrateful and the evil. ^36 (BS)Be merciful, even as ^(BT)your Father is merciful.

Judging Others

^37 (BU)(BV)“Judge not, and you will not be judged; condemn not, and you will not be condemned; ^(BW)forgive, and you will be forgiven; ^38 (BX)give, and it will be given to you. Good measure, pressed down, shaken together, running over, will be put ^(BY)into your lap. For ^(BZ)with the measure you use it will be measured back to you.”

³⁹ He also told them a parable: ^(CA)“Can a blind man lead a blind man? Will they not both fall into a pit? ^40 (CB)A disciple is not above his teacher, but everyone when he is ^(CC)fully trained will be like his teacher. ^41 (CD)Why do you see the speck that is in your brother's eye, but ^(CE)do not notice the log that is in your own eye? ⁴² How can you say to your brother, ‘Brother, let me take out the speck that is in your eye,’ when you yourself do not see the log that is in your own eye? You hypocrite, first take the log out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to take out the speck that is in your brother's eye.

A Tree and Its Fruit

⁴³ “For ^(CF)no good tree bears bad fruit, nor again does a bad tree bear good fruit, ⁴⁴ for ^(CG)each tree is known by its own fruit. For figs are not gathered from thornbushes, nor are grapes picked from a bramble bush. ^45 (CH)The good person out of the good treasure of his heart produces good, and the evil person out of his evil treasure produces ^(CI)evil, ^(CJ)for out of the abundance of the heart his mouth speaks.

Build Your House on the Rock

^46 (CK)“Why ^(CL)do you call me ‘Lord, Lord,’ and not do what I tell you? ^47 (CM)Everyone who comes to me and hears my words and does them, I will show you what he is like: ⁴⁸ he is like a man building a house, who dug deep and laid the foundation on the rock. And when a flood arose, the stream broke against that house and could not shake it, because it had been well built.^{[c] 49 (CN)}But the one who hears and does not do them is like a man who built a house on the ground without a foundation. When the stream broke against it, immediately it fell, and ^(CO)the ruin of that house was great.”