Book of Common Prayer

¹⁴ For this I bow my knees to the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, ¹⁵ who is Father over all that is called father in heaven and in earth. ¹⁶ I pray that he would grant you, according to the riches of his glory, to be strengthened with power by his Spirit in the inner man, ¹⁷ and that Christ may dwell in your hearts by faith, so that you, being rooted and grounded in love, ¹⁸ may be able to comprehend with all the saints what is that breadth and length, depth and height, ¹⁹ and to know what is the love of Christ, which love passes knowledge; that you might be filled with every kind of fullness that comes of God.

²⁰ Now to him who is able to do exceeding abundantly above all that we ask or think by the power that works in us, ²¹ be praise in the congregation by Jesus Christ throughout all generations, world without end.

Amen.

²³ And it chanced that he was walking through the grain fields in the Sabbath days, and his disciples, as they went their way, began to pluck the ears of grain. ²⁴ And the Pharisees said to him, Look, why are they doing on the Sabbath days that which is not lawful?

²⁵ And he said to them, Have you never read what David did when he had need and was hungry, both he and those who were with him? ²⁶ How he went into the house of God in the days of Abiathar the high priest and did eat the hallowed loaves, which it is not lawful to eat but for the priests only, and gave also to those who were with him?

²⁷ And he said to them, The Sabbath was made for man, and not man for the Sabbath. ²⁸ Therefore the Son of man is Lord even of the Sabbath day.

He helps the man with the withered hand, and chooses his apostles. He casts out the unclean spirit, which the Pharisees ascribe to the devil. The brother, sister, and mother of Christ.

3 And he entered again into the synagogue, and there was a man there who had a withered hand. ² And they watched him to see if he would heal him on the Sabbath day, so that they might accuse him. ³ And he said to the man who had the withered hand, Arise, and stand in the midst. ⁴ And he said to them, Is it lawful to do a good deed on the Sabbath days, or an evil deed? To save life, or to kill? But they held their peace. ⁵ And he looked round about on them angrily, mourning the blindness of their hearts, and said to the man, Stretch forth your hand. And he stretched it out, and his hand was restored fully as whole as the other.

⁶ Then the Pharisees departed, and straightaway assembled a council with Herod’s men against him, so that they might destroy him.