Chronological

12 One Shabbat during that time, Yeshua was walking through some wheat fields. His talmidim were hungry, so they began picking heads of grain and eating them. ² On seeing this, the P’rushim said to him, “Look! Your talmidim are violating Shabbat!” ³ But he said to them, “Haven’t you ever read what David did when he and those with him were hungry? ⁴ He entered the House of God and ate the Bread of the Presence!” — which was prohibited, both to him and to his companions; it is permitted only to the cohanim. ⁵ “Or haven’t you read in the Torah that on Shabbat the cohanim profane Shabbat and yet are blameless? ⁶ I tell you, there is in this place something greater than the Temple! ⁷ If you knew what ‘I want compassion rather than animal-sacrifice’^[a] meant, you would not condemn the innocent. ⁸ For the Son of Man is Lord of Shabbat!”

⁹ Going on from that place, he went into their synagogue. ¹⁰ A man there had a shriveled hand. Looking for a reason to accuse him of something, they asked him, “Is healing permitted on Shabbat?” ¹¹ But he answered, “If you have a sheep that falls in a pit on Shabbat, which of you won’t take hold of it and lift it out? ¹² How much more valuable is a man than a sheep! Therefore, what is permitted on Shabbat is to do good.” ¹³ Then to the man he said, “Hold out your hand.” As he held it out, it became restored, as sound as the other one. ¹⁴ But the P’rushim went out and began plotting how they might do away with Yeshua. ¹⁵ Aware of this, he left that area.

Many people followed him; and he healed them all ¹⁶ but warned them not to make him known. ¹⁷ This was to fulfill what had been spoken through Yesha‘yahu the prophet,

3 Yeshua went again into a synagogue, and a man with a shriveled hand was there. ² Looking for a reason to accuse him of something, people watched him carefully to see if he would heal him on Shabbat. ³ He said to the man with the shriveled hand, “Come up where we can see you!” ⁴ Then to them he said, “What is permitted on Shabbat? Doing good or doing evil? Saving life or killing?” But they said nothing. ⁵ Then, looking them over and feeling both anger with them and sympathy for them at the stoniness of their hearts, he said to the man, “Hold out your hand.” As he held it out, it became restored. ⁶ The P’rushim went out and immediately began plotting with some members of Herod’s party how to do away with him.

⁷ Yeshua went off with his talmidim to the lake, and great numbers followed him from the Galil. ⁸ When they heard what he was doing, great numbers also followed him from Y’hudah, Yerushalayim, Idumea, the territory beyond the Yarden, and the Tzor-Tzidon area. ⁹ He told his talmidim to have a boat ready for him, so that he could escape the crush of the crowd if necessary, ¹⁰ for he had healed many people, and all the sick kept pressing forward to touch him. ¹¹ Whenever the unclean spirits saw him, they would fall down in front of him and scream, “You are the Son of God!” ¹² But he warned them strictly not to make him known.

¹³ Then he went up into the hill country and summoned to himself those he wanted, and they came to him. ¹⁴ He appointed twelve to be with him, to be sent out to preach ¹⁵ and to have authority to expel demons:

¹⁶ Shim‘on, to whom he gave another name, “Kefa”;

¹⁷ Ya‘akov Ben-Zavdai and Yochanan, Ya‘akov’s brother — to them he gave the name “B’nei-Regesh” (that is, “Thunderers”);

¹⁸ Andrew, Philip, Bar-Talmai, Mattityahu, T’oma, Ya‘akov Ben-Halfai, Taddai, Shim‘on the Zealot,

¹⁹ and Y’hudah from K’riot, the one who betrayed him.

Then he entered a house; ²⁰ and once more, such a crowd came together that they couldn’t even eat. ²¹ When his family heard about this, they set out to take charge of him; for they said, “He’s out of his mind!”

²² The Torah-teachers who came down from Yerushalayim said, “He has Ba‘al-Zibbul in him,” and “It is by the ruler of the demons that he expels the demons.” ²³ But he called them and spoke to them in parables: “How can Satan expel Satan? ²⁴ If a kingdom is divided against itself, that kingdom can’t survive; ²⁵ and if a household is divided against itself, that household can’t survive. ²⁶ So if Satan has rebelled against himself and is divided, he can’t survive either; and that’s the end of him. ²⁷ Furthermore, no one can break into a strong man’s house and make off with his possessions unless he first ties up the strong man. After that, he can ransack his house. ²⁸ Yes! I tell you that people will be forgiven all sins and whatever blasphemies they utter; ²⁹ however, someone who blasphemes against the Ruach HaKodesh never has forgiveness but is guilty of an eternal sin.” ³⁰ For they had been saying, “He has an unclean spirit in him.”

³¹ Then his mother and brothers arrived. Standing outside, they sent a message asking for him. ³² A crowd was sitting around him; and they said to him, “Your mother and your brothers are outside, asking for you.” ³³ He replied, “Who are my mother and my brothers?” ³⁴ Looking at those seated in a circle around him, he said, “See! Here are my mother and my brothers! ³⁵ Whoever does what God wants is my brother, sister and mother!”

6 One Shabbat, while Yeshua was passing through some wheat fields, his talmidim began plucking the heads of grain, rubbing them between their hands and eating the seeds. ² Some of the P’rushim said, “Why are you violating Shabbat?” ³ Yeshua answered them, “Haven’t you ever read what David did when he and his companions were hungry? ⁴ He entered the House of God and took and ate the Bread of the Presence” — which no one is permitted to eat but the cohanim. ⁵ “The Son of Man,” he concluded, “is Lord of Shabbat.”

⁶ On another Shabbat, when Yeshua had gone into the synagogue and was teaching, a man was there who had a shriveled hand. ⁷ The Torah-teachers and P’rushim watched Yeshua carefully to see if he would heal on Shabbat, so that they could accuse him of something. ⁸ But he knew what they were thinking and said to the man with the shriveled hand, “Come up and stand where we can see you!” He got up and stood there. ⁹ Then Yeshua said to them, “I ask you now: what is permitted on Shabbat? Doing good or doing evil? Saving life or destroying it?” ¹⁰ Then, after looking around at all of them, he said to the man, “Hold out your hand.” As he held it out, his hand was restored. ¹¹ But the others were filled with fury and began discussing with each other what they could do to Yeshua.

¹² It was around that time that Yeshua went out to the hill country to pray, and all night he continued in prayer to God. ¹³ When day came, he called his talmidim and chose from among them twelve to be known as emissaries:

¹⁴ Shim‘on, whom he named Kefa; Andrew, his brother; Ya‘akov; Yochanan; Philip; Bar-Talmai;

¹⁵ Mattityahu; T’oma; Ya‘akov Ben-Halfai;

¹⁶ Shim‘on, the one called the Zealot; Y’hudah Ben-Ya‘akov; and Y’hudah from K’riot, who turned traitor.

¹⁷ Then he came down with them and stood on a level place. A large crowd of his talmidim was there with great numbers of people from all Y’hudah, Yerushalayim and the coast around Tzor and Tzidon; they had come to hear him and be healed of their diseases. ¹⁸ Those who were troubled with unclean spirits were being healed; ¹⁹ and the whole crowd was trying to touch him, because power kept going out from him, healing everyone. ²⁰ He looked at his talmidim and said:

²² “How blessed you are whenever people hate you and ostracize you and insult you and denounce you as a criminal on account of the Son of Man. ²³ Be glad when that happens; yes, dance for joy! because in heaven your reward is great. For that is just how their fathers treated the prophets.

²⁶ “Woe to you when people speak well of you, for that is just how their fathers treated the false prophets!

²⁷ Nevertheless, to you who are listening, what I say is this:

³¹ “Treat other people as you would like them to treat you. ³² What credit is it to you if you love only those who love you? Why, even sinners love those who love them. ³³ What credit is it to you if you do good only to those who do good to you? Even sinners do that. ³⁴ What credit is it to you if you lend only to those who you expect will pay you back? Even sinners lend to each other, expecting to be repaid in full. ³⁵ But love your enemies, do good, and lend expecting nothing back! Your reward will be great, and you will be children of Ha‘Elyon; for he is kind to the ungrateful and the wicked. ³⁶ Show compassion, just as your Father shows compassion.

the full measure, compacted, shaken together and overflowing, will be put right in your lap. For the measure with which you measure out will be used to measure back to you!”

³⁹ He also told them a parable: “Can one blind man lead another blind man? Won’t they both fall into a pit? ⁴⁰ A talmid is not above his rabbi; but each one, when he is fully trained, will be like his rabbi. ⁴¹ So why do you see the splinter in your brother’s eye, but not notice the log in your own eye? ⁴² How can you say to your brother, ‘Brother, let me remove the splinter from your eye,’ when you yourself don’t see the log in your own eye? You hypocrite! First take the log out of your own eye; then you will see clearly, so that you can remove the splinter from your brother’s eye!

⁴³ “For no good tree produces bad fruit, nor does a bad tree produce good fruit. ⁴⁴ Each tree is recognized by its own fruit — figs aren’t picked from thorn bushes, nor grapes from a briar patch. ⁴⁵ The good person produces good things from the store of good in his heart, while the evil person produces evil things from the store of evil in his heart. For his mouth speaks what overflows from his heart.

⁴⁶ “Why do you call me, ‘Lord! Lord!’ but not do what I say? ⁴⁷ Everyone who comes to me, hears my words and acts on them — I will show you what he is like: ⁴⁸ he is like someone building a house who dug deep and laid the foundation on bedrock. When a flood came, the torrent beat against that house but couldn’t shake it, because it was constructed well. ⁴⁹ And whoever hears my words but doesn’t act on them is like someone who built his house on the ground without any foundation. As soon as the river struck it, it collapsed and that house became a horrendous wreck!”