Beginning
11 ¶ And it came to pass, when Jesus had finished giving commandments to his twelve disciples, he departed from there to teach and to preach in their cities.
2 Now when John had heard in the prison the works of the Christ, he sent two of his disciples,
3 and said unto him, Art thou he that should come, or do we look for another?
4 Jesus answered and said unto them, Go and tell John those things which you hear and see:
5 The blind receive their sight, and the lame walk; the lepers are cleansed, and the deaf hear; the dead are raised up, and the poor have the gospel preached to them.
6 And blessed is he who is not offended in me.
7 ¶ And as they departed, Jesus began to say unto the multitudes concerning John, What did you go out into the wilderness to see? A reed shaken with the wind?
8 But what did you go out to see? A man clothed in soft raiment? Behold, those that wear soft clothing are in kings’ houses.
9 But what did you go out to see? A prophet? Yes, I say unto you, and more than a prophet.
10 For this is he of whom it is written, Behold, I send my messenger before thy face, who shall prepare thy way before thee.
11 Verily I say unto you, Among those that are born of women there has not risen a greater than John the Baptist; notwithstanding, he that is least in the kingdom of the heavens is greater than he.
12 From the days of John the Baptist until now, life is given unto the kingdom of the heavens, and the valiant take hold of it.
13 For all the prophets and the law prophesied until John.
14 And if ye will receive it, this is that Elijah who was to come.
15 He that has ears to hear, let him hear.
16 ¶ But unto whom shall I liken this generation? It is like unto children sitting in the markets and shouting unto their fellows
17 and saying, We have piped unto you, and ye have not danced; we have mourned unto you, and ye have not lamented.
18 For John came neither eating nor drinking, and they say, He has a devil.
19 The Son of man came eating and drinking, and they say, Behold a gluttonous man and a winebibber, a friend of publicans and sinners. But wisdom is justified by her children.
20 Then he began to upbraid the cities wherein most of his mighty works were done because they repented not:
21 Woe unto thee, Chorazin! woe unto thee, Bethsaida! for if the mighty works which were done in you had been done in Tyre and Sidon, they would have repented long ago in sackcloth and ashes.
22 But I say unto you, It shall be more tolerable for Tyre and Sidon at the day of judgment than for you.
23 And thou, Capernaum, which art exalted unto heaven, shalt be brought down to Hades, for if the mighty works which have been done in thee had been done in those of Sodom, it would have remained until this day.
24 Therefore I say unto you, That it shall be more tolerable for the land of Sodom in the day of judgment than for thee.
25 ¶ At that time Jesus answered and said, I praise thee, O Father, Lord of heaven and earth, because thou hast hid these things from the wise and understanding and hast revealed them unto children.
26 Even so, Father, for thus it was pleasing in thy sight.
27 All things are delivered unto me of my Father, and no one has known the Son but the Father, neither has anyone known the Father except the Son and he unto whom the Son will reveal him.
28 Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.
29 Take my yoke upon you and learn of me, for I am meek and humble of heart, and ye shall find rest for your souls.
30 For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.
12 ¶ At that time Jesus went on the sabbath day through the planted fields, and his disciples were hungry and began to pluck the ears of grain and to eat.
2 But when the Pharisees saw it, they said unto him, Behold, thy disciples do that which is not lawful to do upon the sabbath day.
3 But he said unto them, Have ye not read what David did, and those that were with him, when he was hungry,
4 how he entered into the house of God and ate the showbread, which was not lawful for him to eat, neither for those who were with him, but only for the priests?
5 Or have ye not read in the law, how that on the sabbath days the priests in the temple profane the sabbath and are blameless?
6 But I say unto you, That in this place is one greater than the temple.
7 But if ye knew what this means, I will have mercy and not sacrifice, ye would not condemn the innocent.
8 For the Son of man is Lord even of the sabbath day.
9 And when he was departed from there, he went into their synagogue;
10 and, behold, there was a man who had his hand withered. And they asked him, saying, Is it lawful to heal on the sabbath days? that they might accuse him.
11 And he said unto them, What man shall there be among you that shall have one sheep, and if it falls into a pit on the sabbath day, will he not lay hold on it and lift it out?
12 Therefore, how much more is a man worth than a sheep? So that it is lawful to do good on the sabbath days.
13 Then he said to the man, Stretch forth thine hand. And he stretched it forth; and it was restored whole, like the other.
14 ¶ Then the Pharisees went out and took council against him that they might destroy him.
15 But when Jesus knew it, he withdrew himself from there; and great multitudes followed him, and he healed them all;
16 and strictly charged them that they should not make him known;
17 so that it which was spoken by Isaiah the prophet might be fulfilled, who said,
18 Behold my servant, whom I have chosen, my beloved, in whom my soul is well pleased; I will put my Spirit upon him, and he shall declare judgment unto the Gentiles.
19 He shall not strive nor cry, neither shall anyone hear his voice in the streets.
20 A bruised reed he shall not break, and a smoking flax he shall not quench until he sends forth judgment unto victory.
21 And in his name shall the Gentiles wait.
22 ¶ Then was brought unto him one possessed with a demon, blind, and dumb, and he healed him, insomuch that the blind and dumb both spoke and saw.
23 And all the people were amazed and said, Is not this the son of David?
24 But when the Pharisees heard it, they said, This fellow does not cast out demons but by Beelzebub the prince of the demons.
25 And Jesus knew their thoughts and said unto them, Every kingdom divided against itself is brought to desolation, and every city or house divided against itself shall not remain;
26 and if Satan casts out Satan, he is divided against himself; how shall then his kingdom remain?
27 And if I by Beelzebub cast out demons, by whom do your sons cast them out? Therefore they shall be your judges.
28 But if I cast out the demons by the Spirit of God, then certainly the kingdom of God is come unto you.
29 Or else how can one enter into the strong man’s house and spoil his goods except he first bind the strong man? and then he will spoil his house.
30 He that is not with me is against me, and he that does not gather with me scatters abroad.
31 Therefore I say unto you, All manner of sin and blasphemy shall be forgiven unto men, but the blasphemy against the Spirit shall not be forgiven unto men.
32 And whosoever speaks a word against the Son of man, it shall be forgiven him, but whosoever speaks against the Holy Spirit, it shall not be forgiven him, neither in this age, neither in the age to come.
33 Either make the tree good and its fruit good, or else make the tree corrupt and its fruit corrupt; for the tree is known by its fruit.
34 O generation of vipers, how can ye, being evil, speak good things? For out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks.
35 The good man out of the good treasure of the heart brings forth good things, and the evil man out of the evil treasure brings forth evil things.
36 But I say unto you, That every idle word that men shall speak, they shall give account thereof in the day of judgment.
37 For by thy words thou shalt be justified, and by thy words thou shalt be condemned.
38 ¶ Then certain of the scribes and of the Pharisees answered, saying, Master, we desire to see a sign from thee.
39 But he answered and said unto them, An evil and adulterous generation seeks after a sign, and there no sign shall be given to it, but the sign of the prophet Jonah;
40 for as Jonah was three days and three nights in the whale’s belly, so shall the Son of man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth.
41 The men of Nineveh shall rise in the judgment with this generation and shall condemn it because they repented at the preaching of Jonah; and, behold, a greater than Jonah is here.
42 The queen of the south shall rise up in the judgment with this generation and shall condemn it, for she came from the uttermost parts of the earth to hear the wisdom of Solomon; and, behold, a greater than Solomon is here.
43 When the unclean spirit is gone out of the man, it walks through dry places, seeking rest, and finds none.
44 Then it says, I will return into my house from which I came out; and when it is come, it finds it empty, swept, and garnished.
45 Then it goes and takes with itself seven other spirits worse than itself, and they enter in and dwell there; and the last state of that man is worse than the first. Even so shall it also be unto this wicked generation.
46 ¶ While he yet talked to the people, behold, his mother and his brothers stood without, desiring to speak with him.
47 Then one said unto him, Behold, thy mother and thy brothers stand without, desiring to speak with thee.
48 But he answered and said unto him that told him, Who is my mother? and who are my brothers?
49 And he stretched forth his hand toward his disciples, and said, Behold my mother and my brothers!
50 For whosoever shall do the will of my Father who is in the heavens, the same is my brother and sister and mother.
Copyright © 2013, 2020 by Ransom Press International