Chronological

Jesus is Lord of the Sabbath^(A)

12 At that time, Jesus walked through the grain fields on a Sabbath.^[a] His disciples became hungry and began picking heads of grain to eat. ² When the Pharisees saw this, they told him, “Look! Your disciples are doing what is not lawful to do on the Sabbath!”

³ But he told them, “Haven’t you read what David did when he and his companions were hungry? ⁴ How is it that he went into the house of God and ate the Bread of the Presence, which was not lawful for him and his companions to eat but was reserved^[b] for the priests? ⁵ Or haven’t you read in the Law that on every Sabbath^[c] the priests in the Temple violate the Sabbath^[d] and yet are innocent?^{[e] 6} But I tell you, something greater than the Temple is here! ⁷ If you had known what ‘I want mercy and not sacrifice’^[f] means, you would not have condemned the innocent, ⁸ for the Son of Man is Lord of the Sabbath.”

Jesus Heals a Man with a Paralyzed Hand^(B)

⁹ Moving on from there, Jesus^[g] went into their synagogue. ¹⁰ Suddenly, a man with a paralyzed hand appeared. The people^[h] asked Jesus^[i] if it was lawful to heal on Sabbath days,^[j] intending to accuse him of doing something wrong.

¹¹ But he asked them, “Is there a man among you who, if he had one sheep and it fell into a ditch on the Sabbath, wouldn’t take hold of it and pull it out? ¹² How much more is a human being worth than a sheep! So it is lawful to do good on Sabbath days.”^[k]

¹³ Then he told the man, “Hold out your hand.” He held it out and it became normal, as healthy as his other hand. ¹⁴ The Pharisees, however, went out and plotted against Jesus^[l] to kill him.

Jesus, God’s Chosen Servant

¹⁵ When Jesus became aware of this, he left that place. Many crowds^[m] followed him, and he healed all of them, ¹⁶ ordering them not to make him known. ¹⁷ This was to fulfill what was declared by the prophet Isaiah when he said,

Jesus Heals a Man with a Paralyzed Hand^(A)

3 Jesus^[a] went into the synagogue again, and a man with a paralyzed hand was there. ² The people^[b] watched Jesus^[c] closely to see whether he would heal him on the Sabbath,^[d] intending to accuse him of doing something wrong. ³ He told the man with the paralyzed hand, “Come forward.”^{[e] 4} Then he asked them, “Is it lawful to do good or to do evil on Sabbath days,^[f] to save a life or to destroy it?” But they remained silent.

⁵ Jesus^[g] looked around at them in anger, deeply hurt because of their hard hearts. Then he told the man, “Hold out your hand.” The man^[h] held it out, and his hand was restored to health. ⁶ Immediately the Pharisees and Herodians^[i] went out and began to plot how to kill him.

Jesus Encounters a Large Crowd

⁷ So Jesus withdrew with his disciples to the sea. A large crowd from Galilee, Judea, ⁸ Jerusalem, Idumea, from across the Jordan, and from the region around Tyre and Sidon followed him. They came to him because they kept hearing about everything he was doing. ⁹ Jesus^[j] told his disciples to have a boat ready for him so that the crowd wouldn’t crush him, ¹⁰ because he had healed so many people that everyone who had diseases kept crowding up against him in order 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 sternly ordered them again and again not to tell people who he was.

Jesus Appoints Twelve Apostles^(B)

¹³ Then Jesus^[k] went up on a hillside and called to himself those whom he had decided on, and they approached him. ¹⁴ He appointed the Twelve,^[l] whom he called apostles, to accompany him, to be sent out to preach, ¹⁵ and to have the authority to drive out demons. ¹⁶ He appointed the Twelve:^[m] Simon (whom he named Peter), ¹⁷ Zebedee’s sons James and his brother John (whom he named Boanerges, that is, Sons of Thunder), ¹⁸ Andrew, Philip, Bartholomew, Matthew, Thomas, James son of Alphaeus, Thaddeus,^[n] Simon the Cananaean,^{[o] 19} and Judas Iscariot, who also betrayed him.

Jesus is Accused of Working with Beelzebul^(C)

²⁰ Then he went home. Such a large crowd gathered again that Jesus and his disciples^[p] couldn’t even eat. ²¹ When his family heard about it, they went to restrain him, because they kept saying, “He’s out of his mind!”

²² The scribes who had come down from Jerusalem kept repeating, “He has Beelzebul,” and, “He drives out demons by the ruler of demons.”

²³ So Jesus^[q] called them together and began to speak 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 household is divided against itself, that household won’t stand. ²⁶ So if Satan rebels against himself and is divided, he cannot stand. Indeed, his end has come. ²⁷ No one can go into a strong man’s house and carry off his possessions without first tying up the strong man. Then he can ransack his house. ²⁸ I tell all of you^[r] with certainty, people will be forgiven their sins and whatever blasphemies they utter.^{[s] 29} But whoever blasphemes against the Holy Spirit can never be forgiven, but is guilty of eternal sin.” ³⁰ …because they had been saying, “He has an unclean spirit.”

The True Family of Jesus^(D)

³¹ Then his mother and his brothers arrived. Milling around outside, they sent for him, continuously summoning him. ³² A crowd was sitting around him. They told him, “Look! Your mother and your brothers^[t] are outside asking for you.”

³³ He answered them, “Who are my mother and my brothers?” ³⁴ Then looking at the people sitting around him, he said, “Here are my mother and my brothers! ³⁵ Whoever does the will of God is my brother and sister and mother.”

Jesus is Lord of the Sabbath^(A)

6 One time Jesus^[a] was walking through some grain fields on a Sabbath.^[b] His disciples were picking the heads of grain, rubbing them in their hands, and eating them. ² Some of the Pharisees asked, “Why are you doing what isn’t lawful on Sabbath days?”^[c]

³ Jesus answered them, “Haven’t you read what David did when he and his companions became hungry? ⁴ How was it that he went into the house of God, took the Bread of the Presence and ate it, which was not lawful for anyone but the priests to eat, and then gave some of it to his companions?”

⁵ Then he told them, “The Son of Man is Lord of the Sabbath.”

Jesus Heals a Man with a Paralyzed Hand^(B)

⁶ Once, on another Sabbath, Jesus^[d] went into a synagogue and began teaching. A man whose right hand was paralyzed was there. ⁷ The scribes and the Pharisees were watching Jesus^[e] closely to see^[f] whether he would heal on the Sabbath, in order to find a way of accusing him of doing something wrong. ⁸ But Jesus^[g] knew what they were thinking. So he told the man with the paralyzed hand, “Get up, and stand in the middle of the synagogue.”^[h] So he got up and stood there.

⁹ Then Jesus asked them, “I ask you, is it lawful to do good or to do evil on the Sabbath, to save a life or to destroy it?”

¹⁰ He looked around at all of them and then told the man,^[i] “Hold out your hand.” The man^[j] did so, and his hand was restored to health. ¹¹ The others were furious^[k] and began to discuss with each other what they could do to Jesus.

Jesus Appoints Twelve Apostles^(C)

¹² Now it was in those days that Jesus^[l] went to a mountain to pray, and he spent the whole night in prayer to God. ¹³ When daylight came, he called his disciples and chose twelve of them, whom he also called apostles: ¹⁴ Simon (whom he named Peter), his brother Andrew, James, John, Philip, Bartholomew, ¹⁵ Matthew, Thomas, James (the son of Alphaeus), Simon (who was called the Zealot), ¹⁶ Judas (the son of James), and Judas Iscariot (who became a traitor).

Jesus Ministers to Many People^(D)

¹⁷ Then Jesus^[m] came down with them and stood on a level place, along with many of his disciples and a large gathering of people from all over Judea, Jerusalem, and the seacoast of Tyre and Sidon. ¹⁸ They had come to hear him and to be healed of their diseases. Even those who were being tormented by unclean spirits were being healed. ¹⁹ The entire crowd was trying to touch him, because power was coming out from him and healing all of them.

Jesus Pronounces Blessings and Judgment^(E)

²⁰ Then Jesus^[n] looked at his disciples and said,

²² “How blessed are you whenever people hate you, avoid you, insult you, and slander you because of the Son of Man! ²³ Rejoice in that day and leap for joy, because your reward in heaven is great! That’s the way their ancestors used to treat the prophets.

²⁶ “How terrible it will be for you when everyone says nice things about you, because that’s the way their ancestors used to treat the false prophets!”

Teaching about Love for Enemies^(F)

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, and pray for those who insult you. ²⁹ If someone strikes you on the cheek, offer him the other one as well, and if someone takes your coat, don’t keep back your shirt, either. ³⁰ Keep on giving to everyone who asks you for something, and if anyone takes what is yours, do not insist on getting it back. ³¹ Whatever you want people to do for you, do the same for them.

³² “If you love those who love you, what thanks do you deserve? Why, even sinners love those who love them. ³³ If you do good to those who do good to you, what thanks do you deserve? Even sinners do that. ³⁴ If you lend to those from whom you expect to get something back, what thanks do you deserve? Even sinners lend to sinners to get back what they lend. ³⁵ Instead, love your enemies, do good to them, and lend to them, expecting nothing in return. Then your reward will be great, and you will be children of the Most High, because he is kind even to ungrateful and evil people. ³⁶ Be merciful, just as your Father is merciful.”

Judging Others^(G)

³⁷ “Stop judging, and you’ll never be judged. Stop condemning, and you’ll never be condemned. Forgive, and you’ll be forgiven. ³⁸ Give, and it will be given to you. A large quantity, pressed together, shaken down, and running over will be put into your lap, because you’ll be evaluated by the same standard with which you evaluate others.”

³⁹ He also told them a parable: “One blind person can’t lead another blind person, can he? Both will fall into a ditch, won’t they? ⁴⁰ A disciple is not better than his teacher. But everyone who is fully-trained will be like his teacher.

⁴¹ “Why do you see the speck in your brother’s eye but fail to notice the beam in your own eye? ⁴² How can you say to your brother, ‘Brother, let me take the speck out of your eye,’ when you don’t see the beam in your own eye? You hypocrite! First remove the beam from your own eye, and then you’ll see clearly enough to remove the speck from your brother’s eye.”

A Tree is Known by Its Fruit^(H)

⁴³ “A good tree doesn’t produce rotten fruit, and a rotten tree doesn’t produce good fruit, ⁴⁴ because every tree is known by its own fruit. People^[o] don’t gather figs from thorny plants or pick grapes from a thorn bush. ⁴⁵ A good person produces good from the good treasure of his heart, and an evil person produces evil from an evil treasure, because the mouth speaks from the overflow of the heart.”

The Two Foundations^(I)

⁴⁶ “Why do you keep calling me ‘Lord, Lord,’ but don’t do what I tell you? ⁴⁷ I will show you what everyone is like who comes to me, hears my words, and acts on them. ⁴⁸ They are like a person building a house, who dug a deep hole to lay the foundation on rock. When a flood came, the floodwaters pushed against that house but couldn’t shake it, because it had been founded on the rock.^{[p] 49} But the person who hears what I say^[q] but doesn’t act on it is like someone who built a house on the ground without any foundation. When the floodwaters pushed against it, that house^[r] quickly collapsed, and the resulting destruction of that house was extensive.”