Chronological
Whose Power Will Rule?
22 Then a demon-plagued man, who was blind and mute, was brought to Yeshua; and He healed him, so that he spoke and saw. 23 All the crowds were astounded and saying, “This can’t be Ben-David, can it?”
24 But hearing this, the Pharisees said, “This fellow drives out demons only by beelzebul, the ruler of demons.”
25 Knowing their thoughts, Yeshua said to them, “Every kingdom divided against itself is destroyed, and every city or house divided against itself will not stand. 26 If satan drives out satan, he is divided against himself; how then will his kingdom stand? 27 And if I drive out demons by beelzebul, by whom do your sons drive them out? For this reason, they will be your judges. 28 But if I drive out demons by the Ruach Elohim, then the kingdom of God has come upon you. 29 Or how can one enter a strong man’s house and carry off his property, unless he first ties up the strong man? Then he will thoroughly plunder his house. 30 He who is not with Me is against Me, and he who does not gather with Me scatters.
31 “For this reason I say to you, every sin and blasphemy will be forgiven men, but blasphemy against the Ruach will not be forgiven. 32 Whoever speaks a word against the Son of Man will be forgiven, but whoever speaks against the Ruach ha-Kodesh will not be forgiven, neither in this age nor in the one to come.”
33 “Either make the tree good and its fruit good, or make the tree rotten and its fruit rotten; for the tree is known by its fruit. 34 You brood of vipers! How can you who are evil say anything good? For from the overflow of the heart the mouth speaks. 35 The good man from his good treasury brings forth good, and the evil man from his evil treasury brings forth evil. 36 But I tell you that on the Day of Judgment, men will give account for every careless word they speak. 37 For by your words you will be justified, and by your words you will be condemned.”
A Sign Greater than Jonah
38 Then some of the Torah scholars and Pharisees answered Him, “Teacher, we want to see a sign from You.”
39 But Yeshua replied to them, “An evil and adulterous generation clamors for a sign, yet no sign shall be given to it except the sign of Jonah the prophet. 40 For just as Jonah was in the belly of the great fish for three days and three nights,[a] so the Son of Man will be in the heart of the earth for three days and three nights. 41 The men of Nineveh will rise up at the judgment with this generation and condemn it, because they repented at the preaching of Jonah. And behold, something greater than Jonah is here. 42 The Queen of the South[b] will rise up at the judgment with this generation and condemn it, for she came from the ends of the earth to hear the wisdom of Solomon. And behold, something greater than Solomon is here.
43 “Now when an unclean spirit goes out of a man, it passes through waterless places looking for rest and doesn’t find it. 44 Then it says, ‘I’ll go back home where I came from.’ And when it comes, it finds the house vacant, swept clean, and put in order. 45 Then it goes and brings along seven other spirits more evil than itself, and they go in and live there. And that man’s last condition becomes worse than the first. So also will it be for this evil generation.”
Embrace and Refrain
46 While Yeshua was still speaking to the crowds, His mother and brothers were standing outside, trying to speak to Him. 47 Someone said to Him, “Look, Your mother and Your brothers are standing outside, trying to speak to You.”[c]
48 But to the one telling Him this, Yeshua responded, “Who is My mother? And who are My brothers?” 49 Stretching out His hand toward His disciples, He said, “Here are My mother and My brothers. 50 For whoever does the will of My Father in heaven, he is My brother and sister and mother.”
Praying Along the Way
11 Now Yeshua was praying in a certain place. When He finished, one of His disciples said to Him, “Master, teach us to pray, just as John taught his disciples.”
2 Then Yeshua said to them, “When you pray, say,
‘Father, sanctified be Your Name,
Your kingdom come.[a]
3 Give us each day our daily bread.
4 And forgive us our sins,
for we also forgive everyone indebted to us.
And lead us not into temptation.”
5 Then Yeshua said to them, “Which of you has a friend and will go to him in the middle of the night and say to him, ‘Friend, lend me three loaves of bread, 6 because a friend of mine has come to me on his journey and I have nothing to set before him.’ 7 Then from within he may answer, saying, ‘Don’t bother me. The door is already locked, and my children and I are in bed. I can’t get up to give you anything.’ 8 I tell you, even if the friend will not get up and give him anything out of friendship, yet because of the man’s persistence he will get up and give him as much as he needs.
9 “So I say to you, ‘Ask, and it shall be given to you. Seek, and you shall find. Knock, and it shall be opened to you. 10 For everyone who asks receives, and the one who seeks finds, and to the one who knocks it will be opened.’ 11 What father, if his son asks for a fish, will give him a snake instead? 12 And if he asks for an egg, will he give him a scorpion? 13 If you then, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your heavenly Father give the Ruach ha-Kodesh[b] to those who ask Him!”
Crowds Demand a Sign from Heaven
14 Now Yeshua was driving out a demon, and it was mute. When the demon had gone out, the mute one spoke and the crowds were amazed. 15 But some among them said, “By beelzebul, the ruler of demons, He drives out demons.” 16 Others, testing Him, were demanding from Him a sign from heaven.
17 But Yeshua, knowing their thoughts, said to them, “Every kingdom divided against itself is destroyed, and a house against a house falls. 18 Now if satan is divided against himself, how will his kingdom stand? For you say by beelzebul I drive out the demons. 19 But if by beelzebul I drive out demons, by whom do your sons drive them out? For this reason, they will be your judges. 20 But if by the finger of God[c] I drive out demons, then the kingdom of God has come to you.
21 “When a strong one, fully-armed, protects his own estate, his possessions are safe. 22 But as soon as someone stronger than he attacks and overpowers him, then he takes away the armor that he had trusted in and divides up his plunder. 23 He who is not with Me is against Me, and he who does not gather with Me scatters.
24 “When an unclean spirit goes out of a man, it passes through waterless places looking for rest. Not finding any, it says, ‘I will return to my house where I came from.’ 25 And when it comes, it finds the house swept and put in order. 26 Then it goes and takes along seven other spirits more evil than itself, and they go in and settle there. And that man’s last condition becomes worse than the first.”
27 Then as Yeshua was saying these things, a certain woman in the crowd, raising her voice, said to Him, “Blessed is the womb that carried You and the breasts that nursed You!”
28 But He said, “Rather, blessed are those who hear the word of God and obey it.”
29 With the crowds increasing, Yeshua began to say, “This generation is a wicked generation. It demands a sign, yet no sign will be given to it except the sign of Jonah. 30 For just as Jonah became a sign to the Ninevites,[d] so also the Son of Man will be to this generation. 31 The Queen of the South will rise up at the Judgment with the men of this generation and condemn them, for she came from the ends of the earth to hear the wisdom of Solomon.[e] And behold, something greater than Solomon is here. 32 The men of Nineveh will rise at the judgment with this generation and will condemn it, because they repented at Jonah’s proclamation. And indeed, one greater than Jonah is here.
33 “No one lighting a lamp puts it in a cellar or under a basket, but on the lampstand so that those entering may see the light. 34 Your eye is the lamp of your body. When your eye is healthy, your whole body is full of light. But when it is sick, your body is full of darkness. 35 Therefore, watch out that the light in you is not darkness. 36 If then your body is full of light, with no part of it dark, it will be as full of light as when a lamp gives you light with its gleam.”
Dinner with a Pharisee
37 As He spoke, a Pharisee asked Yeshua to eat with him, so He entered and sat down. 38 But the Pharisee was surprised when he saw that Yeshua did not do the ritual handwashing before the meal. 39 But the Lord said to him, “You Pharisees clean the outside of the cup and plate, but inside you are full of greed and wickedness. 40 Fools! Didn’t He who created the outside also create the inside? 41 But give as tzedakah those things that are within, and indeed everything is pure to you.
42 “But woe to you Pharisees, for you tithe mint, rue, and every garden herb,[f] yet bypass justice and the love of God. It is necessary to do these things without neglecting the others. 43 Woe to you Pharisees, for you love the best seats in the synagogues and the greetings in the marketplaces. 44 Woe to you, for you are like unmarked tombs, and people walk over them without knowing.”
45 But answering, one of the Torah lawyers says to Him, “Teacher, when You say these things, You insult us too.”
46 Then Yeshua said, “Woe to you Torah lawyers as well, for you weigh the people down with burdens hard to carry, yet you yourselves will not touch the burdens with even a finger.
47 “Woe to you, for you build the tombs of the prophets whom your own fathers killed! 48 So you are witnesses and approve the deeds of your fathers, for indeed they killed them and you are building their tombs.
49 “For this reason also the wisdom of God said, ‘I will send them prophets and emissaries, and some of them they will kill and persecute, 50 so that the blood of the prophets shed since the foundation of the world might be required from this generation— 51 from the blood of Abel to the blood of Zechariah, the one who perished between the altar and the house of God.[g] Yes, I tell you, it will be required from this generation.’
52 “Woe to you, Torah lawyers, for you have taken away the key of knowledge. You yourselves did not enter, and you stood in the way of those entering.”
53 When Yeshua left there, the Torah scholars and the Pharisees began to be very hostile and to interrogate Him on many issues, 54 plotting against Him to catch Him in His words.
Tree of Life (TLV) Translation of the Bible. Copyright © 2015 by The Messianic Jewish Family Bible Society.