Chronological
Lord of the Sabbath
12 At that time, Jesus went through the grain fields on the Sabbath. His disciples were hungry and began to pick heads of grain and eat them. 2 But when the Pharisees saw it, they said to him, “Look, what your disciples are doing is unlawful on the Sabbath.”
3 But he said to them, “Have you not read what David did when he and his companions were hungry? 4 He entered God’s house and ate the Bread of the Presence, which was lawful only for the priests to eat, not for him or his companions. 5 Or have you not read in the law that on the Sabbath days, the priests in the temple violate the Sabbath and yet are innocent? 6 But I tell you that one greater than the temple is here. 7 Yet if you had known what this means, ‘I desire mercy, and not sacrifice,’[a] you would not have condemned the innocent. 8 For the Son of Man is Lord of the Sabbath.”
Jesus Heals a Man With a Withered Hand
9 Going on from there, he went into their synagogue. 10 A man was there who had a withered hand. Looking for a way to accuse Jesus, they asked him, “Is it lawful to heal on Sabbath days?”
11 He said to them, “Who among you, if you have one sheep that falls into a pit on the Sabbath, will not take hold of it and lift it out? 12 How much more valuable is a man than a sheep! So it is lawful to do good on the Sabbath.” 13 Then he told the man, “Stretch out your hand.” He stretched it out, and it was restored, as healthy as the other one. 14 But the Pharisees went out and plotted against him, considering how they might put him to death.
“Here Is My Servant”
15 Since Jesus was aware of this, he withdrew from that place. Large crowds followed him and he healed them all. 16 He ordered them not to tell others about him. 17 This happened to fulfill what was spoken through Isaiah the prophet:
18 Here is my servant whom I have chosen,
the one I love, in whom I am[b] well pleased.
I will put my Spirit on him,
and he will proclaim justice to the nations.[c]
19 He will not quarrel or cry out,
and no one will hear his voice in the streets.
20 A bruised reed he will not break.
A smoldering wick he will not put out,
until he leads justice to victory.
21 And in his name the nations[d] will hope.[e]
Jesus Heals a Man With a Withered Hand
3 Jesus entered the synagogue again, and a man was there with a withered[a] hand. 2 They were watching Jesus closely to see if he would heal the man on the Sabbath day, so that they could accuse him. 3 He said to the man with the withered hand, “Step forward!”[b] 4 Then he said to them, “Is it lawful on the Sabbath day to do good or to do evil, to save life or to kill?” But they were silent. 5 Then he looked around at them with anger, deeply grieved at the hardness of their hearts. He said to the man, “Stretch out your hand.” The man stretched it out, and his hand was restored. 6 The Pharisees left and immediately began to conspire against Jesus with the Herodians, plotting how they might kill him.
Jesus Heals Many
7 Jesus withdrew to the sea with his disciples. A large crowd followed him from Galilee, Judea, 8 Jerusalem, Idumaea, and beyond the Jordan, as well as from around Tyre and Sidon. A large crowd came to him when they heard all that he was doing. 9 He told his disciples to have a boat ready for him because of the crowd, so that the people would not crush him. 10 Since he had healed many people, all those who had illnesses were pressing forward to touch him. 11 Whenever the unclean spirits saw him, they fell down in front of him, crying out, “You are the Son of God!” 12 But he warned them sternly that they should not tell who he was.
Jesus Appoints the Twelve Apostles
13 Jesus went up the mountain, summoned those he wanted, and they came to him. 14 He appointed twelve whom he designated apostles,[c] so that they would be with him and so that he could send them out to preach 15 and to have authority to drive out demons. 16 He appointed the Twelve: Simon, to whom he gave the name Peter; 17 then James the son of Zebedee, and John the brother of James, to whom he gave the nickname Boanerges, which means “Sons of Thunder”; 18 also Andrew, Philip, Bartholomew, Matthew, Thomas, and James the son of Alphaeus; finally, Thaddaeus, Simon the Zealot, 19 and Judas Iscariot, who betrayed him.
Jesus Has Power to Drive Out Demons
20 They went[d] into a house. A crowd gathered again so that they were not even able to eat a meal. 21 When his own people[e] heard this, they went out to take control of him, because they were saying, “He is out of his mind.”
22 The experts in the law who came down from Jerusalem were saying, “He is possessed by Beelzebul,” and “He drives out demons by the ruler of demons.”
23 Jesus called them together and spoke to them in parables. “How can Satan drive out Satan? 24 If a kingdom is divided against itself, that kingdom cannot stand. 25 And if a house is divided against itself, that house cannot stand. 26 And if Satan has risen up against himself and is divided, he cannot stand but is finished. 27 On the other hand, no one can enter a strong man’s house to steal his possessions unless he ties up the strong man first. Then he can plunder his house. 28 Amen[f] I tell you: Everything will be forgiven people, their sins and whatever blasphemies they may speak. 29 But whoever blasphemes against the Holy Spirit will never have forgiveness, but is guilty of an eternal sin.”[g] 30 Jesus said this because they were saying, “He has an unclean spirit.”
Jesus’ Mother and Brothers
31 Then his mother and his brothers arrived. While they were standing outside, they sent word to Jesus, calling for him. 32 A crowd was sitting around him. They began to tell him, “Look, your mother and your brothers are outside looking for you.”
33 He replied, “Who are my mother and my brothers?” 34 He looked at those who sat around him in a circle and he said, “Look, my mother and my brothers! 35 For whoever does the will of God is my brother and sister and mother.”
Lord of the Sabbath
6 When Jesus was going through the grain fields on a Sabbath day, his disciples were picking heads of grain, rubbing them in their hands, and eating them. 2 But some of the Pharisees said, “Why are you doing what is not lawful on the Sabbath?”
3 Jesus answered them, “Haven’t you read what David did when he was hungry (he and his companions)? 4 He went into the house of God, took and ate the Bread of the Presence, which is lawful only for the priests to eat. He also gave some to his companions.” 5 Jesus also said to them, “The Son of Man is Lord of the Sabbath.”
Jesus Heals a Man With a Withered Hand
6 On another Sabbath he went into the synagogue and taught. A man was there whose right hand was withered. 7 The experts in the law and the Pharisees were watching him closely, to see if he would heal on the Sabbath. They wanted to find a reason to accuse him. 8 But he always knew their thoughts. He said to the man with the withered hand, “Stand up and step forward.”[a] He got up and stood there. 9 Then Jesus said to them, “I will ask you something. Is it lawful on the Sabbath to do good or to do evil, to save life or to destroy it?” 10 He looked around at all of them and told the man, “Stretch out your hand.” He did, and his hand was restored. 11 They were filled with rage and began discussing with one another what they could do to Jesus.
Jesus Sends Out the Twelve
12 It happened in those days that Jesus went up on the mountain to pray, and he spent all night in prayer to God. 13 When it was day, he summoned his disciples and chose twelve of them, whom he also called apostles: 14 Simon, whom he also named Peter, and his brother Andrew; James and John; Philip and Bartholomew; 15 Matthew and Thomas; James the son of Alphaeus, also Simon, who was called the Zealot; 16 Judas the son of James, and Judas Iscariot, who became a traitor.
Jesus Heals Many
17 He went down with them and stood on a level place with a large crowd of his disciples and a large number of people from all Judea and Jerusalem, as well as from the coastal area of Tyre and Sidon. These people came to listen to him and to be healed of their diseases. 18 Those who were troubled by unclean spirits were also cured. 19 The whole crowd kept trying to touch him, because power was going out from him and healing them all.
Blessings and Woes
20 He lifted up his eyes to his disciples and said:
Blessed are you who are poor,
because yours is the kingdom of God.
21 Blessed are you who hunger now,
because you will be satisfied.
Blessed are you who weep now,
because you will laugh.
22 Blessed are you whenever people hate you,
and whenever they exclude and insult you
and reject your name as evil because of the Son of Man.
23 “Rejoice in that day and leap for joy because of this: Your reward is great in heaven! The fact is, their fathers constantly did the same things to the prophets.”
24 But woe to you who are rich,
because you are receiving your comfort now.
25 Woe to you who are well fed now,
because you will be hungry.
Woe to you who laugh now,
because you will be mourning and weeping.
26 Woe to you when all people speak well of you,
because that is how their fathers constantly treated the
false prophets.
Love Your Enemies
27 “But I say to you who are listening: Love your enemies. Do good to those who hate you. 28 Bless those who curse you. Pray for those who mistreat you. 29 If someone strikes you on one cheek, offer the other too. If someone takes away your coat, do not withhold your shirt. 30 Give to everyone who asks you, and if anyone takes away your things, do not demand them back.
31 “Treat others just as you would want them to treat you. 32 If you love those who love you, what credit is that to you? To be sure, even the 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 the sinners do the same thing. 34 If you lend to those from whom you expect to be repaid, what credit is that to you? Even the sinners lend to sinners in order to be paid back in full. 35 Instead, love your enemies, do good and lend, expecting nothing in return. Your reward will be great, and you will be sons of the Most High, because he is kind to the unthankful and the evil. 36 Be merciful, just as your Father is merciful.
Consider the Beam in Your Own Eye
37 “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. In fact, the measure with which you measure will be measured back to you.”
39 He also told them a parable: “A blind man cannot guide a blind man, can he? Won’t they both fall into a pit? 40 A disciple is not above his teacher, but everyone who is fully trained will be like his teacher. 41 Why do you look at the speck in your brother’s eye, but fail to notice the beam in your own eye? 42 Or how can you tell your brother, ‘Brother, let me remove the speck in your eye,’ when you do not see the beam in your own eye? Hypocrite! First remove the beam from your own eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck in your brother’s eye.
Listen and Do
43 “Certainly a good tree does not produce bad fruit, and a bad tree does not produce good fruit. 44 In fact, each tree is known by its own fruit. For people do not gather figs from thorn bushes, and they do not gather grapes from a bramble bush. 45 The good person brings what is good out of the good stored in his heart, and the evil person brings what is evil out of the evil within.[b] To be sure, what his mouth speaks flows from the heart.
46 “Why do you call me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ and do not do what I say? 47 Everyone who comes to me and listens to my words and does them—I will show you what he is like: 48 He is like a man building a house who dug down deep and laid a foundation on bedrock. When a flood came, the river beat against that house but could not shake it, because it was founded on bedrock.[c] 49 But the one who listened to my words and did not do them is like a man who built a house on the ground without a foundation. When the river broke against it, it fell immediately, and that house was completely destroyed.”
The Holy Bible, Evangelical Heritage Version®, EHV®, © 2019 Wartburg Project, Inc. All rights reserved.