Beginning

Chapter 6

Picking Grain on the Sabbath.^{[a] 1} On one Sabbath, when Jesus was going through a field of grain, his disciples picked some heads of grain, rubbed them in their hands, and ate them. ² Some of the Pharisees said, “Why are you doing what is forbidden on the Sabbath?”

³ Jesus answered them, “Have you not read what David did when he and his companions were hungry? ⁴ He entered the house of God and took and ate the sacred bread that only the priests were permitted to eat, and he shared it with his companions.” ⁵ Then he said to them, “The Son of Man,^[b] is lord of the Sabbath.”

A Man with a Withered Hand. ⁶ On another Sabbath, Jesus entered the synagogue and began to teach. A man was there whose right hand was withered. ⁷ The scribes and the Pharisees watched him closely to see whether he would cure him on the Sabbath so that they would have a charge to bring against him.

⁸ But Jesus was fully aware of their thoughts, and he said to the man with the withered hand, “Come here and stand before us.” The man got up and stood there. ⁹ Then Jesus said to them, “I put this question to you: Is it lawful to do good or to do evil on the Sabbath, to save life or to destroy it?” ¹⁰ After looking around at all of them, he said to the man, “Stretch out your hand.” He did so, and his hand was restored. ¹¹ But they were filled with fury and discussed among themselves what they might do with Jesus.

¹² Jesus Chooses the Twelve Apostles.^[c] It was in those days that he went onto the mountain to pray, and he spent the entire night in prayer to God. ¹³ Then, when it was daylight, he summoned his disciples and chose twelve of them, whom he designated as apostles: ¹⁴ Simon, to whom he gave the name Peter, and his brother Andrew, James, John, Philip, Bartholomew, ¹⁵ Matthew, Thomas, James the son of Alphaeus, Simon called the Zealot, ¹⁶ Judas the son of James, and Judas Iscariot, who became a traitor.

¹⁷ The Crowds Seek Out Jesus.^[d] He then came down with them and stood on a spot of level ground, where there was a large crowd of his disciples and a great multitude of people from all sections of Judea and Jerusalem and the coastal region of Tyre and Sidon. ¹⁸ They had come there to listen to him and to be healed of their diseases. Those who were afflicted by unclean spirits were cured. ¹⁹ And everyone in the crowd was trying to touch him, because power came forth from him and healed them all.

The Sermon on the Plain^[e]

²⁰ The Beatitudes.^[f] Then, turning to his disciples, he began to speak:

²² “Blessed are you when people hate you and ostracize you, when they insult you and denounce your name as evil on account of the Son of Man. ²³ Rejoice on that day and dance for joy, for your reward will be great in heaven. This was the way their ancestors treated the Prophets.

²⁷ Love of Enemies.^[g]“But to those of you who are listening to me, I say: Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, ²⁸ bless those who curse you, pray for those who mistreat you. ²⁹ If anyone strikes you on one cheek, offer him the other cheek as well, and should someone take your cloak, let him have your tunic as well. ³⁰ Give to everyone who begs from you, and do not demand the return of what is yours from the one who has taken it.

³¹ “Deal with others as you would like them to deal with you. ³² If you love only those who love you, what credit is that to you? 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? Even sinners do as much. ³⁴ And if you lend only to those from whom you expect to be repaid, what credit is that to you? Even sinners lend to sinners, expecting to be repaid in full.

³⁵ “Rather, you must love your enemies and do good to them, and lend without expecting any repayment. In this way, you will receive a great reward. You will be sons of the Most High, for he himself is kind to the ungrateful and the wicked. ³⁶ Be merciful, just as your Father is merciful.

³⁷ Relations with Others.^[h]“Do not judge, and you will not be judged. Do not condemn, and you will not be condemned. Forgive, and you will be forgiven. ³⁸ Give, and it will be given to you. A good measure, pressed down, shaken together, and running over, will be poured into your lap. The measure that you use for others will be used to measure you.”

³⁹ Parable of the Blind Leading the Blind. He also told them a parable: “Can one blind man guide another who is also blind? Will not both of them fall into a pit? ⁴⁰ No student is greater than his teacher, but a fully trained student will be like his teacher.

⁴¹ “Why do you take note of the splinter in your brother’s eye but do not notice the wooden plank in your own eye? ⁴² How can you say to your brother, ‘Brother, let me remove the splinter that is in your eye,’ while all the time you do not notice the wooden plank that is in your own eye? You hypocrite! First remove the wooden plank from your own eye, and then you will be able to see clearly enough to remove the splinter that is in your brother’s eye.

⁴³ A Tree Is Known by Its Fruit.^[i]“No healthy tree can bear rotten fruit, nor does a rotting tree bear healthy fruit. ⁴⁴ Every tree is known by its own fruit. For people do not pick figs from thornbushes or grapes from brambles. ⁴⁵ A good man produces good from the store of goodness in his heart, whereas an evil man produces evil from the store of evil within him. For the mouth speaks from the abundance of the heart.

⁴⁶ Parable of the Two Foundations.“Why do you call me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ but fail to do what I tell you? ⁴⁷ I will show you what everyone is like who comes to me and hears my words and acts in accordance with them. ⁴⁸ He is like a man who in building a house dug deeply and laid its foundations on rock. When the flood rose, it burst against that house but could not shake it because it had been solidly constructed. ⁴⁹ In contrast, the one who hears and does not act in accordance with my words is like a man who built a house on the ground without a foundation. As soon as the river burst against it, the house collapsed and was completely destroyed.”

From the Beatitudes to the Parables^[j]

Chapter 7

Jesus Heals the Centurion’s Servant.^{[k] 1} After Jesus had finished speaking to the people, he entered Capernaum. ² A centurion who dwelt there had a servant whom he regarded highly and who was ill and near death. ³ When he heard about Jesus, he sent some Jewish elders to ask him if he would come and heal his servant.

⁴ When they came to Jesus, they pleaded earnestly with him, saying, “He deserves this favor from you, ⁵ for he loves our people, and he was the one who built our synagogue for us.”

⁶ Jesus went with them. When he drew near the house, the centurion sent friends to say to him, “Lord, do not trouble yourself, for I am not worthy to have you come under my roof. ⁷ That is the reason why I did not presume to approach you personally. But say the word and let my servant be healed. ⁸ For I also am a man subject to authority, with soldiers who are subject to me. I say to one: ‘Go,’ and he goes, and to another: ‘Come here,’ and he comes, and to my servant: ‘Do this,’ and he does it.”

⁹ When Jesus heard these words, he was amazed, and, turning to the crowd that was following him, he said, “I tell you, in no one throughout Israel have I found faith as great as this.” ¹⁰ When the messengers returned to the house, they found the servant completely healthy.

¹¹ Jesus Raises the Son of a Widow.^[l] Soon afterward, Jesus went to a town called Nain, accompanied by his disciples and a large crowd. ¹² As he drew near to the gate of the town, a man who had died was being carried out, the only son of his widowed mother. A large group of people from the town accompanied her.

¹³ When the Lord saw her, he was filled with compassion, and he said to her, “Do not weep.” ¹⁴ After this, he came forward and touched the bier, and the bearers halted. Then he said, “Young man, I say to you, arise!” ¹⁵ The dead man sat up and began to speak, and Jesus gave him to his mother.

¹⁶ Fear seized all who were present, and they glorified God, saying, “A great prophet has risen among us,” and “God has visited his people.” ¹⁷ The news of what he had done spread throughout Judea and the surrounding region.

¹⁸ Jesus Answers the Baptist’s Question.^[m] When the disciples of John brought him reports about all these things, ¹⁹ John designated two of his disciples and sent them to the Lord to ask, “Are you the one who is to come, or are we to wait for another?” ²⁰ When they came to him, they said, “John the Baptist has sent us to you to ask: ‘Are you the one who is to come, or are we to wait for another?’ ”

²¹ At that time, Jesus had just cured many people of diseases and afflictions and evil spirits, and had restored the sight of many who were blind. ²² And he gave them this reply: “Go back and tell John what you have seen and heard: the blind receive their sight, the lame walk, those who have leprosy are cleansed, the deaf hear, the dead are raised to life, the poor have the good news proclaimed to them. ²³ And blessed is anyone who takes no offense at me.”

²⁴ Jesus Praises John the Baptist.^[n]When John’s messengers had departed, Jesus spoke to the crowds about John: “What did you go out into the desert to see? A reed swaying in the wind? ²⁵ What did you go out to see? Someone robed in fine clothing? Those who are robed in gorgeous clothing and live luxuriously are to be found in royal palaces. ²⁶ Then what did you go out to see? A prophet? Yes, I tell you, and far more than a prophet. ²⁷ This is the one about whom it is written:

²⁸ “I tell you, among those born of women, no one is greater than John, and yet the least in the kingdom of God is greater than he.”

²⁹ (All the people who heard him, including the tax collectors, acknowledged the saving justice of God, for they had received John’s baptism. ³⁰ However, the Pharisees and the teachers of the Law who had refused his baptism rejected God’s plan for them.)

³¹ Indecisive Children.“Then to what shall I compare the people of this generation? What are they like? ³² They are like children sitting in the marketplace and calling to each other:

³³ “For John the Baptist has come, eating no bread and drinking no wine, and you say: ‘He is possessed.’ ³⁴ The Son of Man has come eating and drinking, and you say: ‘Look at him! He is a glutton and a drunkard, a friend of tax collectors and sinners.’ ³⁵ Yet wisdom is proved right by all her children.”

³⁶ Jesus Pardons a Sinful Woman.^[o] One of the Pharisees invited Jesus to dine with him. When he arrived at the Pharisee’s house, he took his place at table. ³⁷ A woman of that town, who was leading a sinful life, learned that Jesus was a dinner guest in the Pharisee’s house. Carrying with her an alabaster jar of ointment,^{[p] 38} she stood behind him at his feet, weeping, and began to bathe his feet with her tears and to dry them with her hair. Then she kissed his feet and anointed them with the ointment.

³⁹ When the Pharisee who had invited him saw this, he said to himself, “If this man were really a prophet, he would have known who and what kind of woman this is who is touching him—that she is a sinner.” ⁴⁰ Jesus then said to the Pharisee, “Simon, I have something to say to you.” He replied, “What is it, Teacher?”

⁴¹ “There were two men who were in debt to a certain creditor. One owed him five hundred denarii, and the other owed fifty. ⁴² When they were unable to repay him, he canceled both debts. Now which one of them will love him more?” ⁴³ Simon answered, “I would imagine that it would be the one who was forgiven the larger amount.” Jesus replied, “You have judged rightly.”

⁴⁴ Then, turning toward the woman, he said to Simon, “Do you see this woman? I entered your home, and you provided no water for my feet, but she has bathed them with her tears and wiped them with her hair. ⁴⁵ You gave me no kiss, but she has not ceased to kiss my feet from the time I came in. ⁴⁶ You did not anoint my head with oil, but she has anointed my feet with ointment. ⁴⁷ Therefore, I tell you: her many sins have been forgiven her because she has shown great love. But the one who has been forgiven little has little love.”

⁴⁸ Then Jesus said to her, “Your sins are forgiven.” ⁴⁹ Those who were at table began to say to themselves, “Who is this man who even forgives sins?” ⁵⁰ But Jesus said to the woman, “Your faith has saved you. Go in peace.”