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. ² When the Pharisees saw this, they said to him, “Look! Your disciples are doing what is unlawful on the Sabbath.”^(D)

³ He answered, “Haven’t you read what David did when he and his companions were hungry?^{(E) 4} 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) 5} 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? ⁶ I tell you that something greater than the temple is here.^{(H) 7} If you had known what these words mean, ‘I desire mercy, not sacrifice,’^[a](I) you would not have condemned the innocent. ⁸ For the Son of Man^(J) is Lord of the Sabbath.”

⁹ 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)

God’s Chosen Servant

¹⁵ Aware of this, Jesus withdrew from that place. A large crowd followed him, and he healed all who were ill.^{(P) 16} He warned them not to tell others about him.^{(Q) 17} This was to fulfill^(R) what was spoken through the prophet Isaiah:

Jesus and Beelzebul^(V)

²² Then they brought him a demon-possessed man who was blind and mute, and Jesus healed him, so that he could both talk and see.^{(W) 23} All the people were astonished and said, “Could this be the Son of David?”^(X)

²⁴ But when the Pharisees heard this, they said, “It is only by Beelzebul,^(Y) the prince of demons, that this fellow drives out demons.”^(Z)

²⁵ Jesus knew their thoughts^(AA) and said to them, “Every kingdom divided against itself will be ruined, and every city or household divided against itself will not stand. ²⁶ If Satan^(AB) drives out Satan, he is divided against himself. How then can his kingdom stand? ²⁷ And if I drive out demons by Beelzebul,^(AC) by whom do your people^(AD) drive them out? So then, they will be your judges. ²⁸ But if it is by the Spirit of God that I drive out demons, then the kingdom of God^(AE) has come upon you.

²⁹ “Or again, how can anyone enter a strong man’s house and carry off his possessions unless he first ties up the strong man? Then he can plunder his house.

³⁰ “Whoever is not with me is against me, and whoever does not gather with me scatters.^{(AF) 31} And so I tell you, every kind of sin and slander can be forgiven, but blasphemy against the Spirit will not be forgiven.^{(AG) 32} Anyone who speaks a word against the Son of Man will be forgiven, but anyone who speaks against the Holy Spirit will not be forgiven, either in this age^(AH) or in the age to come.^(AI)

³³ “Make a tree good and its fruit will be good, or make a tree bad and its fruit will be bad, for a tree is recognized by its fruit.^{(AJ) 34} You brood of vipers,^(AK) how can you who are evil say anything good? For the mouth speaks^(AL) what the heart is full of. ³⁵ A good man brings good things out of the good stored up in him, and an evil man brings evil things out of the evil stored up in him. ³⁶ But I tell you that everyone will have to give account on the day of judgment for every empty word they have spoken. ³⁷ For by your words you will be acquitted, and by your words you will be condemned.”^(AM)

The Sign of Jonah^(AN)(AO)

³⁸ Then some of the Pharisees and teachers of the law said to him, “Teacher, we want to see a sign^(AP) from you.”^(AQ)

³⁹ He answered, “A wicked and adulterous generation asks for a sign! But none will be given it except the sign of the prophet Jonah.^{(AR) 40} For as Jonah was three days and three nights in the belly of a huge fish,^(AS) so the Son of Man^(AT) will be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth.^{(AU) 41} The men of Nineveh^(AV) will stand up at the judgment with this generation and condemn it; for they repented at the preaching of Jonah,^(AW) and now something greater than Jonah is here. ⁴² The Queen of the South will rise at the judgment with this generation and condemn it; for she came^(AX) from the ends of the earth to listen to Solomon’s wisdom, and now something greater than Solomon is here.

⁴³ “When an impure spirit comes out of a person, it goes through arid places seeking rest and does not find it. ⁴⁴ Then it says, ‘I will return to the house I left.’ When it arrives, it finds the house unoccupied, swept clean and put in order. ⁴⁵ Then it goes and takes with it seven other spirits more wicked than itself, and they go in and live there. And the final condition of that person is worse than the first.^(AY) That is how it will be with this wicked generation.”

Jesus’ Mother and Brothers^(AZ)

⁴⁶ While Jesus was still talking to the crowd, his mother^(BA) and brothers^(BB) stood outside, wanting to speak to him. ⁴⁷ Someone told him, “Your mother and brothers are standing outside, wanting to speak to you.”

⁴⁸ He replied to him, “Who is my mother, and who are my brothers?” ⁴⁹ Pointing to his disciples, he said, “Here are my mother and my brothers. ⁵⁰ For whoever does the will of my Father in heaven^(BC) is my brother and sister and mother.”

That Which Defiles^(A)

15 Then some Pharisees and teachers of the law came to Jesus from Jerusalem and asked, ² “Why do your disciples break the tradition of the elders? They don’t wash their hands before they eat!”^(B)

³ Jesus replied, “And why do you break the command of God for the sake of your tradition? ⁴ For God said, ‘Honor your father and mother’^[a](C) and ‘Anyone who curses their father or mother is to be put to death.’^{[b](D) 5} But you say that if anyone declares that what might have been used to help their father or mother is ‘devoted to God,’ ⁶ they are not to ‘honor their father or mother’ with it. Thus you nullify the word of God for the sake of your tradition. ⁷ You hypocrites! Isaiah was right when he prophesied about you:

¹⁰ Jesus called the crowd to him and said, “Listen and understand. ¹¹ What goes into someone’s mouth does not defile them,^(G) but what comes out of their mouth, that is what defiles them.”^(H)

¹² Then the disciples came to him and asked, “Do you know that the Pharisees were offended when they heard this?”

¹³ He replied, “Every plant that my heavenly Father has not planted^(I) will be pulled up by the roots. ¹⁴ Leave them; they are blind guides.^[d](J) If the blind lead the blind, both will fall into a pit.”^(K)

¹⁵ Peter said, “Explain the parable to us.”^(L)

¹⁶ “Are you still so dull?”^(M) Jesus asked them. ¹⁷ “Don’t you see that whatever enters the mouth goes into the stomach and then out of the body? ¹⁸ But the things that come out of a person’s mouth come from the heart,^(N) and these defile them. ¹⁹ For out of the heart come evil thoughts—murder, adultery, sexual immorality, theft, false testimony, slander.^{(O) 20} These are what defile a person;^(P) but eating with unwashed hands does not defile them.”

The Faith of a Canaanite Woman^(Q)

²¹ Leaving that place, Jesus withdrew to the region of Tyre and Sidon.^{(R) 22} A Canaanite woman from that vicinity came to him, crying out, “Lord, Son of David,^(S) have mercy on me! My daughter is demon-possessed and suffering terribly.”^(T)

²³ Jesus did not answer a word. So his disciples came to him and urged him, “Send her away, for she keeps crying out after us.”

²⁴ He answered, “I was sent only to the lost sheep of Israel.”^(U)

²⁵ The woman came and knelt before him.^(V) “Lord, help me!” she said.

²⁶ He replied, “It is not right to take the children’s bread and toss it to the dogs.”

²⁷ “Yes it is, Lord,” she said. “Even the dogs eat the crumbs that fall from their master’s table.”

²⁸ Then Jesus said to her, “Woman, you have great faith!^(W) Your request is granted.” And her daughter was healed at that moment.

Jesus Feeds the Four Thousand^(X)(Y)(Z)

²⁹ Jesus left there and went along the Sea of Galilee. Then he went up on a mountainside and sat down. ³⁰ Great crowds came to him, bringing the lame, the blind, the crippled, the mute and many others, and laid them at his feet; and he healed them.^{(AA) 31} The people were amazed when they saw the mute speaking, the crippled made well, the lame walking and the blind seeing. And they praised the God of Israel.^(AB)

³² Jesus called his disciples to him and said, “I have compassion for these people;^(AC) they have already been with me three days and have nothing to eat. I do not want to send them away hungry, or they may collapse on the way.”

³³ His disciples answered, “Where could we get enough bread in this remote place to feed such a crowd?”

³⁴ “How many loaves do you have?” Jesus asked.

“Seven,” they replied, “and a few small fish.”

³⁵ He told the crowd to sit down on the ground. ³⁶ Then he took the seven loaves and the fish, and when he had given thanks, he broke them^(AD) and gave them to the disciples, and they in turn to the people. ³⁷ They all ate and were satisfied. Afterward the disciples picked up seven basketfuls of broken pieces that were left over.^{(AE) 38} The number of those who ate was four thousand men, besides women and children. ³⁹ After Jesus had sent the crowd away, he got into the boat and went to the vicinity of Magadan.

The Greatest in the Kingdom of Heaven^(A)

18 At that time the disciples came to Jesus and asked, “Who, then, is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven?”

² He called a little child to him, and placed the child among them. ³ And he said: “Truly I tell you, unless you change and become like little children,^(B) you will never enter the kingdom of heaven.^{(C) 4} Therefore, whoever takes the lowly position of this child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven.^{(D) 5} And whoever welcomes one such child in my name welcomes me.^(E)

Causing to Stumble

⁶ “If anyone causes one of these little ones—those who believe in me—to stumble, it would be better for them to have a large millstone hung around their neck and to be drowned in the depths of the sea.^{(F) 7} Woe to the world because of the things that cause people to stumble! Such things must come, but woe to the person through whom they come!^{(G) 8} If your hand or your foot causes you to stumble,^(H) cut it off and throw it away. It is better for you to enter life maimed or crippled than to have two hands or two feet and be thrown into eternal fire. ⁹ And if your eye causes you to stumble,^(I) gouge it out and throw it away. It is better for you to enter life with one eye than to have two eyes and be thrown into the fire of hell.^(J)

The Parable of the Wandering Sheep^(K)

¹⁰ “See that you do not despise one of these little ones. For I tell you that their angels^(L) in heaven always see the face of my Father in heaven. ^[11] [a]

¹² “What do you think? If a man owns a hundred sheep, and one of them wanders away, will he not leave the ninety-nine on the hills and go to look for the one that wandered off? ¹³ And if he finds it, truly I tell you, he is happier about that one sheep than about the ninety-nine that did not wander off. ¹⁴ In the same way your Father in heaven is not willing that any of these little ones should perish.

Dealing With Sin in the Church

¹⁵ “If your brother or sister^[b] sins,^[c] go and point out their fault,^(M) just between the two of you. If they listen to you, you have won them over. ¹⁶ But if they will not listen, take one or two others along, so that ‘every matter may be established by the testimony of two or three witnesses.’^{[d](N) 17} If they still refuse to listen, tell it to the church;^(O) and if they refuse to listen even to the church, treat them as you would a pagan or a tax collector.^(P)

¹⁸ “Truly I tell you, whatever you bind on earth will be^[e] bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be^[f] loosed in heaven.^(Q)

¹⁹ “Again, truly I tell you that if two of you on earth agree about anything they ask for, it will be done for them^(R) by my Father in heaven. ²⁰ For where two or three gather in my name, there am I with them.”^(S)

The Parable of the Wedding Banquet^(A)

22 Jesus spoke to them again in parables, saying: ² “The kingdom of heaven is like^(B) a king who prepared a wedding banquet for his son. ³ He sent his servants^(C) to those who had been invited to the banquet to tell them to come, but they refused to come.

⁴ “Then he sent some more servants^(D) and said, ‘Tell those who have been invited that I have prepared my dinner: My oxen and fattened cattle have been butchered, and everything is ready. Come to the wedding banquet.’

⁵ “But they paid no attention and went off—one to his field, another to his business. ⁶ The rest seized his servants, mistreated them and killed them. ⁷ The king was enraged. He sent his army and destroyed those murderers^(E) and burned their city.

⁸ “Then he said to his servants, ‘The wedding banquet is ready, but those I invited did not deserve to come. ⁹ So go to the street corners^(F) and invite to the banquet anyone you find.’ ¹⁰ So the servants went out into the streets and gathered all the people they could find, the bad as well as the good,^(G) and the wedding hall was filled with guests.

¹¹ “But when the king came in to see the guests, he noticed a man there who was not wearing wedding clothes. ¹² He asked, ‘How did you get in here without wedding clothes, friend^(H)?’ The man was speechless.

¹³ “Then the king told the attendants, ‘Tie him hand and foot, and throw him outside, into the darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.’^(I)

¹⁴ “For many are invited, but few are chosen.”^(J)

Paying the Imperial Tax to Caesar^(K)

¹⁵ Then the Pharisees went out and laid plans to trap him in his words. ¹⁶ They sent their disciples to him along with the Herodians.^(L) “Teacher,” they said, “we know that you are a man of integrity and that you teach the way of God in accordance with the truth. You aren’t swayed by others, because you pay no attention to who they are. ¹⁷ Tell us then, what is your opinion? Is it right to pay the imperial tax^[a](M) to Caesar or not?”

¹⁸ But Jesus, knowing their evil intent, said, “You hypocrites, why are you trying to trap me? ¹⁹ Show me the coin used for paying the tax.” They brought him a denarius, ²⁰ and he asked them, “Whose image is this? And whose inscription?”

²¹ “Caesar’s,” they replied.

Then he said to them, “So give back to Caesar what is Caesar’s,^(N) and to God what is God’s.”

²² When they heard this, they were amazed. So they left him and went away.^(O)

Marriage at the Resurrection^(P)

²³ That same day the Sadducees,^(Q) who say there is no resurrection,^(R) came to him with a question. ²⁴ “Teacher,” they said, “Moses told us that if a man dies without having children, his brother must marry the widow and raise up offspring for him.^{(S) 25} Now there were seven brothers among us. The first one married and died, and since he had no children, he left his wife to his brother. ²⁶ The same thing happened to the second and third brother, right on down to the seventh. ²⁷ Finally, the woman died. ²⁸ Now then, at the resurrection, whose wife will she be of the seven, since all of them were married to her?”

²⁹ Jesus replied, “You are in error because you do not know the Scriptures^(T) or the power of God. ³⁰ At the resurrection people will neither marry nor be given in marriage;^(U) they will be like the angels in heaven. ³¹ But about the resurrection of the dead—have you not read what God said to you, ³² ‘I am the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob’^[b]?^(V) He is not the God of the dead but of the living.”

³³ When the crowds heard this, they were astonished at his teaching.^(W)

The Greatest Commandment^(X)

³⁴ Hearing that Jesus had silenced the Sadducees,^(Y) the Pharisees got together. ³⁵ One of them, an expert in the law,^(Z) tested him with this question: ³⁶ “Teacher, which is the greatest commandment in the Law?”

³⁷ Jesus replied: “‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’^{[c](AA) 38} This is the first and greatest commandment. ³⁹ And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’^{[d](AB) 40} All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments.”^(AC)

Whose Son Is the Messiah?^(AD)

⁴¹ While the Pharisees were gathered together, Jesus asked them, ⁴² “What do you think about the Messiah? Whose son is he?”

“The son of David,”^(AE) they replied.

⁴³ He said to them, “How is it then that David, speaking by the Spirit, calls him ‘Lord’? For he says,

⁴⁵ If then David calls him ‘Lord,’ how can he be his son?” ⁴⁶ No one could say a word in reply, and from that day on no one dared to ask him any more questions.^(AG)

A Warning Against Hypocrisy^(AH)(AI)

23 Then Jesus said to the crowds and to his disciples: ² “The teachers of the law^(AJ) and the Pharisees sit in Moses’ seat. ³ So you must be careful to do everything they tell you. But do not do what they do, for they do not practice what they preach. ⁴ They tie up heavy, cumbersome loads and put them on other people’s shoulders, but they themselves are not willing to lift a finger to move them.^(AK)

⁵ “Everything they do is done for people to see:^(AL) They make their phylacteries^[f](AM) wide and the tassels on their garments^(AN) long; ⁶ they love the place of honor at banquets and the most important seats in the synagogues;^{(AO) 7} they love to be greeted with respect in the marketplaces and to be called ‘Rabbi’ by others.^(AP)

⁸ “But you are not to be called ‘Rabbi,’ for you have one Teacher, and you are all brothers. ⁹ And do not call anyone on earth ‘father,’ for you have one Father,^(AQ) and he is in heaven. ¹⁰ Nor are you to be called instructors, for you have one Instructor, the Messiah. ¹¹ The greatest among you will be your servant.^{(AR) 12} For those who exalt themselves will be humbled, and those who humble themselves will be exalted.^(AS)

Seven Woes on the Teachers of the Law and the Pharisees

¹³ “Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites!^(AT) You shut the door of the kingdom of heaven in people’s faces. You yourselves do not enter, nor will you let those enter who are trying to.^{(AU) [14] [g]}

¹⁵ “Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You travel over land and sea to win a single convert,^(AV) and when you have succeeded, you make them twice as much a child of hell^(AW) as you are.

¹⁶ “Woe to you, blind guides!^(AX) You say, ‘If anyone swears by the temple, it means nothing; but anyone who swears by the gold of the temple is bound by that oath.’^{(AY) 17} You blind fools! Which is greater: the gold, or the temple that makes the gold sacred?^{(AZ) 18} You also say, ‘If anyone swears by the altar, it means nothing; but anyone who swears by the gift on the altar is bound by that oath.’ ¹⁹ You blind men! Which is greater: the gift, or the altar that makes the gift sacred?^{(BA) 20} Therefore, anyone who swears by the altar swears by it and by everything on it. ²¹ And anyone who swears by the temple swears by it and by the one who dwells^(BB) in it. ²² And anyone who swears by heaven swears by God’s throne and by the one who sits on it.^(BC)

²³ “Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You give a tenth^(BD) of your spices—mint, dill and cumin. But you have neglected the more important matters of the law—justice, mercy and faithfulness.^(BE) You should have practiced the latter, without neglecting the former. ²⁴ You blind guides!^(BF) You strain out a gnat but swallow a camel.

²⁵ “Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You clean the outside of the cup and dish,^(BG) but inside they are full of greed and self-indulgence.^{(BH) 26} Blind Pharisee! First clean the inside of the cup and dish, and then the outside also will be clean.

²⁷ “Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You are like whitewashed tombs,^(BI) which look beautiful on the outside but on the inside are full of the bones of the dead and everything unclean. ²⁸ In the same way, on the outside you appear to people as righteous but on the inside you are full of hypocrisy and wickedness.

²⁹ “Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You build tombs for the prophets^(BJ) and decorate the graves of the righteous. ³⁰ And you say, ‘If we had lived in the days of our ancestors, we would not have taken part with them in shedding the blood of the prophets.’ ³¹ So you testify against yourselves that you are the descendants of those who murdered the prophets.^{(BK) 32} Go ahead, then, and complete^(BL) what your ancestors started!^(BM)

³³ “You snakes! You brood of vipers!^(BN) How will you escape being condemned to hell?^{(BO) 34} Therefore I am sending you prophets and sages and teachers. Some of them you will kill and crucify;^(BP) others you will flog in your synagogues^(BQ) and pursue from town to town.^{(BR) 35} And so upon you will come all the righteous blood that has been shed on earth, from the blood of righteous Abel^(BS) to the blood of Zechariah son of Berekiah,^(BT) whom you murdered between the temple and the altar.^{(BU) 36} Truly I tell you, all this will come on this generation.^(BV)

³⁷ “Jerusalem, Jerusalem, you who kill the prophets and stone those sent to you,^(BW) how often I have longed to gather your children together, as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings,^(BX) and you were not willing. ³⁸ Look, your house is left to you desolate.^{(BY) 39} For I tell you, you will not see me again until you say, ‘Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord.’^[h]”^(BZ)