Chronological
Jesus and Beelzebul
22 Then they brought to him a demon-possessed man who was blind and mute. Jesus[a] healed him so that he could speak and see.[b] 23 All the crowds were amazed and said, “Could this one be the Son of David?” 24 But when the Pharisees[c] heard this they said, “He does not cast out demons except by the power of Beelzebul,[d] the ruler[e] of demons!” 25 Now when Jesus[f] realized what they were thinking, he said to them,[g] “Every kingdom divided against itself is destroyed,[h] and no town or house divided against itself will stand. 26 So if[i] Satan casts out Satan, he is divided against himself. How then will his kingdom stand? 27 And if I cast out demons by Beelzebul, by whom do your sons[j] cast them[k] out? For this reason they will be your judges. 28 But if I cast out demons by the Spirit of God, then the kingdom of God[l] has already overtaken[m] you. 29 How[n] else can someone enter a strong man’s[o] house and steal his property, unless he first ties up the strong man? Then he can thoroughly plunder the house.[p] 30 Whoever is not with me is against me,[q] and whoever does not gather with me scatters.[r] 31 For this reason I tell you, people will be forgiven for every sin and blasphemy,[s] but the blasphemy against the Spirit will not be forgiven. 32 Whoever speaks a word against the Son of Man will be forgiven.[t] But whoever speaks against the Holy Spirit will not be forgiven,[u] either in this age or in the age to come.
Trees and Their Fruit
33 “Make a tree good and its fruit will be good, or make a tree bad[v] and its fruit will be bad, for a tree is known by its fruit. 34 Offspring of vipers! How are you able to say anything good, since you are evil? For the mouth speaks from what fills the heart. 35 The good person[w] brings good things out of his[x] good treasury,[y] and the evil person brings evil things out of his evil treasury. 36 I[z] tell you that on the day of judgment, people will give an account for every worthless word they speak. 37 For by your words you will be justified, and by your words you will be condemned.”
The Sign of Jonah
38 Then some of the experts in the law[aa] along with some Pharisees[ab] answered him,[ac] “Teacher, we want to see a sign[ad] from you.” 39 But he answered them,[ae] “An evil and adulterous generation asks for a sign, but no sign will be given to it except the sign of the prophet Jonah. 40 For just as Jonah was in the belly of the huge fish[af] for three days and three nights,[ag] so the Son of Man will be in the heart of the earth for three days and three nights. 41 The people[ah] of Nineveh will stand up at the judgment with this generation and condemn it, because they repented when Jonah preached to them[ai]—and now,[aj] something greater than Jonah is here! 42 The queen of the South[ak] will rise up at the judgment with this generation and condemn it, because she came from the ends of the earth to hear the wisdom of Solomon—and now,[al] something greater than Solomon is here!
The Return of the Unclean Spirit
43 “When[am] an unclean spirit[an] goes out of a person,[ao] it passes through waterless places[ap] looking for rest but[aq] does not find it. 44 Then it says, ‘I will return to the home I left.’[ar] When it returns,[as] it finds the house[at] empty, swept clean, and put in order.[au] 45 Then it goes and brings with it seven other spirits more evil than itself, and they go in and live there, so[av] the last state of that person is worse than the first. It will be that way for this evil generation as well!”
Jesus’ True Family
46 While Jesus[aw] was still speaking to the crowds,[ax] his mother and brothers[ay] came and stood outside, asking[az] to speak to him. 47 [ba] Someone[bb] told him, “Look, your mother and your brothers are standing outside wanting[bc] to speak to you.” 48 To the one who had said this, Jesus[bd] replied,[be] “Who is my mother and who are my brothers?” 49 And pointing[bf] toward his disciples he said, “Here[bg] are my mother and my brothers! 50 For whoever does the will of my Father in heaven is[bh] my brother and sister and mother.”
Instructions on Prayer
11 Now[a] Jesus[b] was praying in a certain place. When[c] he stopped, one of his disciples said to him, “Lord, teach us to pray, just as John[d] taught[e] his disciples.” 2 So he said to them, “When you pray,[f] say:
Father,[g] may your name be honored;[h]
may your kingdom come.[i]
3 Give us each day our daily bread,[j]
4 and forgive us our sins,
for we also forgive everyone who sins[k] against us.
And do not lead us into temptation.”[l]
5 Then[m] he said to them, “Suppose one of you[n] has a friend, and you go to him[o] at midnight and say to him, ‘Friend, lend me three loaves of bread,[p] 6 because a friend of mine has stopped here while on a journey,[q] and I have nothing to set before[r] him.’ 7 Then[s] he will reply[t] from inside, ‘Do not bother me. The door is already shut, and my children and I are in bed.[u] I cannot get up and give you anything.’[v] 8 I tell you, even though the man inside[w] will not get up and give him anything because he is his friend, yet because of the first man’s[x] sheer persistence[y] he will get up and give him whatever he needs.
9 “So[z] I tell you: Ask,[aa] and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and the door[ab] will be opened for you. 10 For everyone who asks[ac] receives, and the one who seeks finds, and to the one who knocks, the door[ad] will be opened. 11 What father among you, if your[ae] son asks for[af] a fish, will give him a snake[ag] instead of a fish? 12 Or if he asks for an egg, will give him a scorpion?[ah] 13 If you then, although you are[ai] evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will the heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit[aj] to those who ask him!”
Jesus and Beelzebul
14 Now[ak] he was casting out a demon that was mute.[al] When[am] the demon had gone out, the man who had been mute began to speak,[an] and the crowds were amazed. 15 But some of them said, “By the power of Beelzebul,[ao] the ruler[ap] of demons, he casts out demons!” 16 Others, to test[aq] him,[ar] began asking for[as] a sign[at] from heaven. 17 But Jesus,[au] realizing their thoughts, said to them,[av] “Every kingdom divided against itself is destroyed,[aw] and a divided household falls.[ax] 18 So[ay] if[az] Satan too is divided against himself, how will his kingdom stand? I ask you this because[ba] you claim that I cast out demons by Beelzebul. 19 Now if I cast out demons by Beelzebul, by whom do your sons[bb] cast them[bc] out? Therefore they will be your judges. 20 But if I cast out demons by the finger[bd] of God, then the kingdom of God[be] has already overtaken[bf] you. 21 When a strong man,[bg] fully armed, guards his own palace,[bh] his possessions are safe.[bi] 22 But[bj] when a stronger man[bk] attacks[bl] and conquers him, he takes away the first man’s[bm] armor on which the man relied[bn] and divides up[bo] his plunder.[bp] 23 Whoever is not with me is against me,[bq] and whoever does not gather with me scatters.[br]
Response to Jesus’ Work
24 “When an unclean spirit[bs] goes out of a person,[bt] it passes through waterless places[bu] looking for rest but[bv] not finding any. Then[bw] it says, ‘I will return to the home I left.’[bx] 25 When it returns,[by] it finds the house[bz] swept clean and put in order.[ca] 26 Then it goes and brings seven other spirits more evil than itself, and they go in and live there, so[cb] the last state of that person[cc] is worse than the first.”[cd]
27 As[ce] he said these things, a woman in the crowd spoke out[cf] to him, “Blessed is the womb[cg] that bore you and the breasts at which you nursed!”[ch] 28 But he replied,[ci] “Blessed rather are those who hear the word of God and obey[cj] it!”
The Sign of Jonah
29 As[ck] the crowds were increasing, Jesus[cl] began to say, “This generation is a wicked generation; it looks for a sign,[cm] but no sign will be given to it except the sign of Jonah.[cn] 30 For just as Jonah became a sign to the people of Nineveh,[co] so the Son of Man will be a sign[cp] to this generation.[cq] 31 The queen of the South[cr] will rise up at the judgment[cs] with the people[ct] of this generation and condemn them, because she came from the ends of the earth to hear the wisdom of Solomon—and now,[cu] something greater[cv] than Solomon is here! 32 The people[cw] of Nineveh will stand up at the judgment with this generation and condemn it, because they repented when Jonah preached to them[cx]—and now,[cy] something greater than Jonah is here!
Internal Light
33 “No one after lighting a lamp puts it in a hidden place[cz] or under a basket,[da] but on a lampstand, so that those who come in can see the light. 34 Your eye is the lamp of your body. When your eye is healthy,[db] your whole body is full of light, but when it is diseased,[dc] your body is full of darkness. 35 Therefore see to it[dd] that the light in you[de] is not darkness. 36 If[df] then[dg] your whole body is full of light, with no part in the dark,[dh] it will be as full of light as when the light of a lamp shines on you.”[di]
Rebuking the Pharisees and Experts in the Law
37 As he spoke,[dj] a Pharisee[dk] invited Jesus[dl] to have a meal with him, so he went in and took his place at the table.[dm] 38 The[dn] Pharisee was astonished when he saw that Jesus[do] did not first wash his hands[dp] before the meal. 39 But the Lord said to him, “Now you Pharisees clean[dq] the outside of the cup and the plate, but inside you are full of greed and wickedness.[dr] 40 You fools![ds] Didn’t the one who made the outside make the inside as well?[dt] 41 But give from your heart to those in need,[du] and[dv] then everything will be clean for you.[dw]
42 “But woe to you Pharisees![dx] You give a tenth[dy] of your mint,[dz] rue,[ea] and every herb, yet you neglect justice[eb] and love for God! But you should have done these things without neglecting the others.[ec] 43 Woe to you Pharisees! You love the best seats[ed] in the synagogues[ee] and elaborate greetings[ef] in the marketplaces![eg] 44 Woe to you![eh] You are like unmarked graves, and people[ei] walk over them without realizing it!”[ej]
45 One of the experts in religious law[ek] answered him, “Teacher, when you say these things you insult[el] us too.” 46 But Jesus[em] replied,[en] “Woe to you experts in religious law as well![eo] You load people[ep] down with burdens difficult to bear, yet you yourselves refuse to touch[eq] the burdens with even one of your fingers! 47 Woe to you! You build[er] the tombs of the prophets whom your ancestors[es] killed. 48 So you testify that you approve of[et] the deeds of your ancestors,[eu] because they killed the prophets[ev] and you build their[ew] tombs![ex] 49 For this reason also the wisdom[ey] of God said, ‘I will send them prophets and apostles, some of whom they will kill and persecute,’ 50 so that this generation may be held accountable[ez] for the blood of all the prophets that has been shed since the beginning[fa] of the world,[fb] 51 from the blood of Abel[fc] to the blood of Zechariah,[fd] who was killed[fe] between the altar and the sanctuary.[ff] Yes, I tell you, it will be charged against[fg] this generation. 52 Woe to you experts in religious law! You have taken away[fh] the key to knowledge! You did not go in yourselves, and you hindered[fi] those who were going in.”
53 When he went out from there, the experts in the law[fj] and the Pharisees began to oppose him bitterly,[fk] and to ask him hostile questions[fl] about many things, 54 plotting against[fm] him, to catch[fn] him in something he might say.
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