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:

Jesus Is Lord of the Sabbath

^23 (A)One Sabbath he was going through the grainfields, and as they made their way, his disciples ^(B)began to pluck heads of grain. ²⁴ And the Pharisees were saying to him, “Look, ^(C)why are they doing ^(D)what is not lawful on the Sabbath?” ²⁵ And he said to them, ^(E)“Have you never read ^(F)what David did, when he was in need and was hungry, he and those who were with him: ²⁶ how he entered the house of God, in the time of^{[a] (G)}Abiathar the high priest, and ate ^(H)the bread of the Presence, which it is not lawful for any but the priests to eat, and also gave it to those who were with him?” ²⁷ And he said to them, ^(I)“The Sabbath was made for man, ^(J)not man for the Sabbath. ²⁸ So ^(K)the Son of Man is lord even of the Sabbath.”

A Man with a Withered Hand

3 ^(L)Again ^(M)he entered the synagogue, and a man was there with a withered hand. ² And ^(N)they watched Jesus,^[b] 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, ^(O)“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 ^(P)looked around at them with anger, grieved at ^(Q)their hardness of heart, and said to the man, “Stretch out your hand.” ^(R)He stretched it out, and his hand was restored. ^6 (S)The Pharisees went out and immediately ^(T)held counsel with ^(U)the Herodians against him, how to destroy him.

A Great Crowd Follows Jesus

^7 (V)Jesus withdrew with his disciples to the sea, and ^(W)a great crowd followed, from Galilee and Judea ⁸ and Jerusalem and ^(X)Idumea and from beyond the Jordan and from around ^(Y)Tyre and Sidon. When the great crowd heard all that he was doing, they came to him. ⁹ And he told his disciples to ^(Z)have a boat ready for him because of the crowd, lest they ^(AA)crush him, ¹⁰ for ^(AB)he had healed many, so that all who had ^(AC)diseases pressed around him ^(AD)to touch him. ^11 (AE)And whenever the unclean spirits saw him, they ^(AF)fell down before him and cried out, “You are ^(AG)the Son of God.” ¹² And ^(AH)he strictly ordered them not to make him known.

The Twelve Apostles

^13 (AI)And he went up on the mountain and called to him those ^(AJ)whom he desired, and they came to him. ^14 (AK)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 (AL)and have authority to cast out demons. ¹⁶ He appointed the twelve: ^(AM)Simon (to whom ^(AN)he gave the name Peter); ^17 (AO)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 ^(AP)Matthew, and Thomas, and James the son of Alphaeus, and Thaddaeus, and Simon the Zealot,^{[c] 19} and Judas Iscariot, who betrayed him.