Sabbath Questions

12 ^[a](A)At that time Jesus went through the grainfields on the Sabbath, and His disciples became hungry and began to ^(B)pick the heads of grain and eat. ² Now when the Pharisees saw this, they said to Him, “Look, Your disciples are doing what ^(C)is not lawful to do on a Sabbath!” ³ But He said to them, “Have you not read what David did when he became hungry, he and his companions— ⁴ how he entered the house of God, and ^(D)they ate the ^[b]consecrated bread, which was not lawful for him to eat nor for those with him, but for the priests alone? ⁵ Or have you not read in the Law that on the Sabbath the priests in the temple ^[c]violate the Sabbath, and yet are innocent? ⁶ But I say to you that something ^(E)greater than the temple is here. ⁷ But if you had known what this ^[d]means: ‘^(F)I desire ^[e]compassion, ^[f]rather than sacrifice,’ you would not have condemned ^[g]the innocent.

Lord of the Sabbath

⁸ For ^(G)the Son of Man is Lord of the Sabbath.”

^9 (H)Departing from there, He went into their synagogue. ¹⁰ And a man was there whose hand was withered. And they questioned ^[h]Jesus, asking, “^(I)Is it lawful to heal on the Sabbath?”—so that they might bring charges against Him. ¹¹ But He said to them, “^(J)What man ^[i]is there among you who ^[j]has a sheep, and if it falls into a pit on the Sabbath, will he not take hold of it and lift it out? ^12 (K)How much more valuable then is a person than a sheep! So then, it is lawful to do ^[k]good on the Sabbath.” ¹³ Then He *said to the man, “Stretch out your hand!” ^(L)He stretched it out, and it was restored to ^[l]normal, like the other. ¹⁴ But the Pharisees went out and ^[m](M)conspired against Him, as to how they might destroy Him.

¹⁵ But Jesus, ^[n]aware of this, withdrew from there. Many followed Him, and ^(N)He healed them all, ¹⁶ and ^(O)warned them not to ^[o]tell who He was. ¹⁷ This happened so that what was spoken through Isaiah the prophet would be fulfilled:

The Pharisees Rebuked

^22 (W)Then a ^(X)demon-possessed man who was blind and unable to speak was brought to ^[x]Jesus, and He healed him so that the man who was unable to speak talked and ^[y]could see. ²³ And all the crowds were amazed and were saying, “This man cannot be the ^(Y)Son of David, can he?” ²⁴ But when the Pharisees heard this, they said, “This man ^(Z)casts out demons only by ^[z]Beelzebul the ruler of the demons.”

^25 (AA)And ^(AB)knowing their thoughts, Jesus said to them, “Every kingdom divided against itself is laid waste; and no city or house divided against itself will stand. ²⁶ And if ^(AC)Satan is casting out Satan, he ^[aa]has become divided against himself; how then will his kingdom stand? ²⁷ And if ^(AD)by ^[ab]Beelzebul I cast out the demons, ^(AE)by whom do your sons cast them out? Therefore, they will be your judges. ²⁸ But ^(AF)if I cast out the demons by the Spirit of God, then the kingdom of God has come upon you. ²⁹ Or, how can anyone enter the strong man’s house and carry off his property, unless he first ties up the strong man? And then he will plunder his house.

The Unpardonable Sin

^30 (AG)The one who is not with Me is against Me; and the one who does not gather with Me scatters.

³¹ “^(AH)Therefore I say to you, every sin and blasphemy shall be forgiven people, but blasphemy against the Spirit shall not be forgiven. ^32 (AI)And whoever speaks a word against the Son of Man, it shall be forgiven him; but whoever speaks against the Holy Spirit, it shall not be forgiven him, either in ^(AJ)this age or in the age to come.

Words Reveal Character

³³ “Either ^[ac]assume the tree to be good as well as its fruit good, or ^[ad]assume the tree to be bad as well as its fruit bad; for ^(AK)the tree is known by its fruit. ^34 (AL)You ^[ae]offspring of vipers, how can you, being evil, express any good things? ^(AM)For the mouth speaks from that which fills the heart. ^35 (AN)The good person brings out of his good treasure good things; and the evil person brings out of his evil treasure evil things. ³⁶ But I tell you that for every ^[af]careless word that people ^[ag]speak, they will give an account of it on the ^(AO)day of judgment. ³⁷ For ^[ah]by your words you will be justified, and ^[ai]by your words you will be condemned.”

The Desire for Signs

³⁸ Then some of the scribes and Pharisees said to Him, “Teacher, ^(AP)we want to see a ^[aj]sign from You.” ³⁹ But He answered and said to them, “^(AQ)An evil and adulterous generation craves a ^[ak]sign; and so no ^[al]sign will be given to it except the ^[am]sign of Jonah the prophet; ⁴⁰ for just as ^(AR)Jonah was in the stomach of the sea monster for three days and three nights, so will ^(AS)the Son of Man be in the heart of the earth for ^(AT)three days and three nights. ^41 (AU)The men of Nineveh will stand up with this generation at the judgment, and will condemn it because ^(AV)they repented at the preaching of Jonah; and behold, something ^(AW)greater than Jonah is here. ^42 (AX)The Queen of the South will rise up with this generation at the judgment and will condemn it, because she came from the ends of the earth to hear the wisdom of Solomon; and behold, something ^(AY)greater than Solomon is here.

⁴³ “^(AZ)Now when the unclean spirit comes out of a person, it passes through waterless places seeking rest, and does not find it. ⁴⁴ Then it says, ‘I will return to my house from which I came’; and when it comes, it finds it unoccupied, swept, and put in order. ⁴⁵ Then it goes and brings along with it seven other spirits more wicked than itself, and they come in and live there; and ^(BA)the last condition of that person becomes worse than the first. That is the way it will also be with this evil generation.”

Changed Relationships

^46 (BB)While He was still speaking to the crowds, behold, His ^(BC)mother and ^(BD)brothers were standing outside, seeking to speak to Him. ⁴⁷ [^[an]Someone said to Him, “Look, Your mother and Your brothers are standing outside, seeking to speak to You.”] ⁴⁸ But ^[ao]Jesus replied to the one who was telling Him and said, “Who is My mother, and who are My brothers?” ⁴⁹ And extending His hand toward His disciples, He said, “Behold: My mother and My brothers! ⁵⁰ For whoever does the will of My Father who is in heaven, he is My brother, and sister, and mother.”

Jesus Heals on the Sabbath

3 ^(A)He ^(B)entered a synagogue again; and a man was there whose hand was withered. ² And ^(C)they were watching Him ^[a]closely to see if He would heal him on the Sabbath, ^(D)so that they might accuse Him. ³ He *said to the man with the withered hand, “^[b]Get up and come forward!” ⁴ And He *said to them, “Is it lawful to do good on the Sabbath or to do harm, to save a life or to kill?” But they kept silent. ⁵ After ^(E)looking around at them with anger, grieved at their hardness of heart, He *said to the man, “Stretch out your hand.” And he stretched it out, and his hand was restored. ⁶ The Pharisees went out and immediately began ^[c]conspiring with the ^(F)Herodians against Him, as to how they might put Him to death.

^7 (G)Jesus withdrew to the sea with His disciples; and ^(H)a large multitude from Galilee followed, and also from Judea, ⁸ and from Jerusalem, and from ^(I)Idumea, and beyond the Jordan, and the vicinity of ^(J)Tyre and Sidon, a great number of people heard about everything that He was doing and came to Him. ^9 (K)And He told His disciples to see that a boat would be ready for Him because of the ^[d]masses, so that they would not crowd Him; ¹⁰ for He had ^(L)healed many, with the result that all those who had ^(M)diseases pushed in around Him in order to ^(N)touch Him. ¹¹ And whenever the unclean spirits saw Him, they would fall down before Him and shout, “You are ^(O)the Son of God!” ¹² And He ^(P)strongly warned them not to ^[e]reveal who He was.

The Twelve Are Chosen

¹³ And He *went up on ^(Q)the mountain and *^(R)summoned those whom He Himself wanted, and they came to Him. ¹⁴ And He appointed twelve, so that they would be with Him and that He could send them out to preach, ¹⁵ and to have authority to cast out the demons. ¹⁶ And He appointed the twelve: ^(S)Simon (to whom He gave the name Peter), ^17 [f]James the son of Zebedee and John the brother of ^[g]James (to them He gave the name Boanerges, which means, “Sons of Thunder”); ¹⁸ and Andrew, Philip, Bartholomew, Matthew, Thomas, ^[h]James the son of Alphaeus, Thaddaeus, and Simon the ^[i]Zealot; ¹⁹ and Judas Iscariot, who also betrayed Him.

²⁰ And He *came ^[j](T)home, and the ^(U)crowd *gathered again, ^(V)to such an extent that they could not even eat ^[k]a meal. ²¹ And when ^(W)His own ^[l]people heard about this, they came out to take custody of Him; for they were saying, “^(X)He has lost His senses.” ²² The scribes who came down ^(Y)from Jerusalem were saying, “He ^[m]is possessed by ^[n](Z)Beelzebul,” and “^(AA)He casts out the demons by the ruler of the demons.” ^23 (AB)And so He called them to Himself and began speaking to them in ^(AC)parables: “How can ^(AD)Satan cast out Satan? ²⁴ And if a kingdom is divided against itself, that kingdom cannot stand. ²⁵ If a house is divided against itself, that house will not be able to stand. ²⁶ And if ^(AE)Satan has risen up against himself and is divided, he cannot stand, but ^[o]he is finished! ^27 (AF)But no one can enter the strong man’s house and plunder his property unless he first ties up the strong man, and then he will plunder his house.

²⁸ “^(AG)Truly I say to you, all sins will be forgiven the sons and daughters of men, and whatever blasphemies they commit; ²⁹ but ^(AH)whoever blasphemes against the Holy Spirit never has forgiveness, but is guilty of an eternal sin”— ³⁰ because they were saying, “He has an unclean spirit.”

^31 (AI)Then His mother and His brothers *came, and while standing outside they sent word to Him, calling for Him. ³² And a crowd was sitting around Him, and they *said to Him, “Behold, Your mother and Your brothers are outside looking for You.” ³³ Answering them, He *said, “Who are My mother and My brothers?” ³⁴ And looking around at those who were sitting around Him, He *said, “^(AJ)Here are My mother and My brothers! ³⁵ For whoever ^(AK)does the will of God, this is My brother, and sister, and mother.”

Jesus Is Lord of the Sabbath

6 ^(A)Now it happened that ^[a]Jesus was passing through some grainfields on a Sabbath, and His disciples ^(B)were picking the heads of grain, rubbing them in their hands, and eating them. ² But some of the Pharisees said, “Why are you doing what ^(C)is not lawful on the Sabbath?” ³ And Jesus, answering them, said, “Have you not even read ^(D)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 the ^[b]consecrated bread, which ^(E)is not lawful for anyone to eat except the priests alone, and gave it to his companions?” ⁵ And He was saying to them, “The Son of Man is Lord of the Sabbath.”

^6 (F)On another Sabbath He entered ^(G)the synagogue and taught; and a man was there ^[c]whose right hand was withered. ⁷ Now the scribes and the Pharisees ^(H)were watching Him ^[d]closely to see if He healed on the Sabbath, so that they might find a reason to accuse Him. ⁸ But He ^(I)knew ^[e]what they were thinking, and He said to the man with the withered hand, “Get up and ^[f]come forward!” And he got up and ^[g]came forward. ⁹ And Jesus said to them, “I ask you whether it is lawful to do good on the Sabbath or to do harm, to save a life or to destroy it?” ¹⁰ And after ^(J)looking around at them all, He said to him, “Stretch out your hand!” And he did so; and his hand was restored. ¹¹ But they themselves were filled with senseless rage, and began discussing together what they might do to Jesus.

Choosing the Twelve

¹² Now it was ^[h]at this time that He went off to ^(K)the mountain to ^(L)pray, and He spent the whole night in prayer with God. ¹³ And when day came, ^(M)He called His disciples to Him and chose twelve of them, whom He also named as ^(N)apostles: ¹⁴ Simon, whom He also named Peter, and his brother Andrew; and ^[i]James and John; and Philip and Bartholomew; ¹⁵ and ^(O)Matthew and Thomas; James the son of Alphaeus, and Simon who was called the Zealot; ¹⁶ Judas the son of James, and Judas Iscariot, who became a traitor.

¹⁷ And then Jesus ^(P)came down with them and stood on a level place; and there was ^(Q)a large crowd of His disciples, and a great multitude of the people from all Judea and Jerusalem, and the coastal region of ^(R)Tyre and Sidon, ¹⁸ who had come to hear Him and to be healed of their diseases; and those who were troubled by unclean spirits were being cured. ¹⁹ And all the ^[j]people were trying to ^(S)touch Him, because ^(T)power was coming from Him and healing them all.

The Beatitudes

²⁰ And He raised His eyes toward His disciples and began saying, “^(U)Blessed are ^[k]you who are poor, for ^(V)yours is the kingdom of God. ²¹ Blessed are ^[l]you who are hungry now, for you will be satisfied. Blessed are ^[m]you who weep now, for you will laugh. ^22 (W)Blessed are you when the people hate you, and when they ^[n](X)exclude you, and insult you, and scorn your name as evil, on account of the Son of Man. ²³ Rejoice on that day and ^(Y)jump for joy, for behold, your reward is great in heaven. For their fathers used to ^[o]treat the prophets ^(Z)the same way. ²⁴ But woe to ^(AA)you who are rich, for ^(AB)you are receiving your comfort in full. ²⁵ Woe to you who ^[p]are well-fed now, for you will be hungry. Woe to you who laugh now, for you will mourn and weep. ²⁶ Woe to you when all the people speak well of you; for their fathers used to ^[q]treat the ^(AC)false prophets the same way.

²⁷ “But I say to you who hear, ^(AD)love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, ²⁸ bless those who curse you, ^(AE)pray for those who are abusive to you. ^29 (AF)Whoever hits you on the cheek, offer him the other also; and whoever takes away your ^[r]cloak, do not withhold your ^[s]tunic from him either. ³⁰ Give to everyone who asks of you, and whoever takes away what is yours, do not demand it back. ^31 [t](AG)Treat people the same way you want them to ^[u]treat you. ^32 (AH)If you love those who love you, what credit 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 credit is that to you? For even sinners do the same. ^34 (AI)And if you lend to those from whom you expect to receive, what credit is that to you? Even sinners lend to sinners in order to receive back the same amount. ³⁵ But ^(AJ)love your enemies and do good, and lend, expecting nothing in return; and your reward will be great, and you will be ^(AK)sons of ^(AL)the Most High; for He Himself is kind to ungrateful and evil people. ^36 [v]Be merciful, just as your Father is merciful.

³⁷ “^(AM)Do not ^[w]judge, and you will not be judged; and do not ^[x]condemn, and you will not be condemned; ^[y](AN)pardon, and you will be pardoned. ³⁸ Give, and it will be given to you. They will ^[z]pour ^(AO)into your lap a ^(AP)good measure—pressed down, shaken together, and running over. For by your standard of measure it will be measured to you in return.”

³⁹ Now He also spoke a parable to them: “^(AQ)A person who is blind cannot guide another who is blind, can he? Will they not both fall into a pit? ^40 (AR)A ^[aa]student is not above the teacher; but everyone, when he has been fully trained, will be like his teacher. ⁴¹ Why do you look at the ^[ab]speck that is in your brother’s eye, but 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 ^[ac]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 ^[ad]speck that is in your brother’s eye. ^43 (AS)For there is no good tree that bears bad fruit, nor, ^[ae]on the other hand, a bad tree that bears good fruit. ^44 (AT)For each tree is known by its own fruit. For people do not gather figs from thorns, nor do they pick grapes from a briar bush. ^45 (AU)The good person out of the good ^[af]treasure of his heart brings forth what is good; and the evil person out of the evil treasure brings forth what is evil; ^(AV)for his mouth speaks from ^[ag]that which fills his heart.

The Parable of the Builders

⁴⁶ “Now ^(AW)why do you call Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ and do not do what I say? ^47 (AX)Everyone who comes to Me and hears My words and ^[ah]acts on them, I will show you whom he is like: ⁴⁸ he is like a man building a house, who ^[ai]dug deep and laid a foundation on the rock; and when there was a flood, the river burst against that house and yet it could not shake it, because it had been well built. ⁴⁹ But the one who has heard and has not acted accordingly is like a man who built a house on the ground without a foundation; and the river burst against it and it immediately collapsed, and the ruin of that house was great.”