M’Cheyne Bible Reading Plan
Regarding The Sabbath, Jesus Makes Himself The Issue: I Am Lord of The Sabbath
12 At that time Jesus went through the grainfields on the Sabbath. And His disciples were hungry and began to pluck[a] heads [of grain] and eat. 2 And the Pharisees, having seen it, said to Him, “Behold— Your disciples are doing what is not lawful to be doing on a Sabbath”. 3 And the One said to them, “Did you not read [in 1 Sam 21:1-6] what David did when he was hungry, and the ones with him— 4 how he entered into the house of God and they ate the Bread of Presentation[b] which it was not lawful for him to eat, nor for the ones with him, but for the priests alone? 5 Or did you not read in the Law that on the Sabbaths, the priests in the temple profane[c] the Sabbath and are guiltless[d]? 6 But I say to you that a greater-thing than the temple is here. 7 But if you had known what it means [in Hos 6:6]— ‘I desire mercy, and not a sacrifice’— you would not have condemned the guiltless ones. 8 For the Son of Man is Lord of the Sabbath[e]”.
Jesus Deliberately Heals a Man On The Sabbath, Inflaming The Pharisees
9 And having passed-on from there, He went into their synagogue. 10 And behold— there was a man having a withered hand. And they questioned Him, saying, ‘Is it lawful to cure on the Sabbath?’— in order that they might accuse Him. 11 And the One said to them, “What person will there be from-among you who will have one sheep, and if this sheep falls into a pit on the Sabbath, will not take hold of it and raise it? 12 How much then is a person more-valuable than a sheep! So then, it is lawful to be acting commendably[f] on the Sabbath”. 13 Then He says to the man, “Stretch-out your hand”. And he stretched it out, and it was restored, healthy like the other. 14 And having gone out, the Pharisees took counsel against Him, so that they might destroy Him.
Jesus Speaks By His Actions. He Does Not Quarrel Or Shout, Fulfilling Isaiah
15 But Jesus, having known it, withdrew from there. And large crowds followed Him, and He cured them all. 16 And He warned them that they should not make Him known, 17 in order that the thing might be fulfilled having been spoken through Isaiah the prophet saying 18 “Behold My servant Whom I chose, My Beloved in Whom My soul was[g] well-pleased: I will put My Spirit upon Him, and He will announce[h] justice to the Gentiles. 19 He will not quarrel, nor shout, nor will anyone hear His voice in the wide-roads. 20 He will not break a reed having been bruised, and He will not quench a smoldering wick, until He leads-out[i] justice[j] to victory. 21 And the Gentiles will put-hope in His name” [Isa 42:1-4].
The Crowds Call Jesus The Messiah. The Pharisees Attribute His Power To The Devil
22 Then a blind and mute man being demon-possessed was brought to Him. And He cured him, so that the mute man was speaking and seeing. 23 And all the crowds were astonished, and were saying, “This One is not the Son of David, is He?” 24 But the Pharisees, having heard it, said, “This One is not casting out the demons except by Beelzebul, the ruler of the demons!”
Such Blasphemy Against The Spirit Will Not Be Forgiven
25 And knowing their thoughts, He said to them— “Every kingdom having been divided against itself is desolated, and every city or house having been divided against itself will not stand; 26 and if Satan is casting-out Satan, he was divided against himself. How then will his kingdom stand? 27 And if I am casting out the demons by Beelzebul, by whom[k] are your sons casting them out? For this reason they will be your judges; 28 but if I am casting out the demons by the Spirit of God, then the kingdom of God came[l] upon you. 29 Or how can anyone enter into the house of the strong man and snatch-away his things unless he first binds the strong man? And then he will plunder his house. 30 The one not being with Me[m] is against Me. And the one not gathering with Me is scattering. 31 For this reason I say to you— every sin and blasphemy will be forgiven to people. But the blasphemy against the Spirit will not be forgiven[n]. 32 And whoever speaks a word against the Son of Man, it will be forgiven to him. But whoever speaks against the Holy Spirit, it will not be forgiven to him— neither in this age nor in the one coming. 33 Either make the tree good and its fruit good, or make the tree bad and its fruit bad[o]. For the tree is known by the fruit. 34 Brood of vipers! How are you able to speak good things, being evil? For the mouth speaks out of the abundance of the heart— 35 the good person brings out good things from his good treasure[p], and the evil person brings out evil things from his evil treasure. 36 And I say to you that every useless[q] word which people will speak— they will render an account for it on the day of judgment. 37 For by your words you will be declared-righteous, and by your words you will be condemned”.
Pharisees Ask Jesus For a Sign. He Offers Only The Sign of Jonah: Three Days In a Grave
38 Then some of the scribes and Pharisees responded to Him, saying “Teacher, we want to see a sign from You”. 39 But the One, having responded, said to them— “An evil and adulterous[r] generation is seeking-for a sign. And a sign will not be given to it, except the sign of Jonah the prophet. 40 For just as Jonah was three days and three nights in the belly of the sea-creature[s], so the Son of Man will be three days and three nights[t] in the heart of the earth.
The Ninevites Will Condemn This Generation, For They Repented At Jonah’s Message
41 “Ninevite men will rise-up at the judgment with this generation, and they will condemn it. Because they repented at the proclamation of Jonah, and behold— a greater thing than Jonah is here. 42 The Queen of the South will be raised at the judgment with this generation, and she will condemn it. Because she came from the ends of the earth to hear the wisdom of Solomon, and behold— a greater thing than Solomon is here.
The Demons I Cast Out Now Will Return Later, And You Will Be Worse Off
43 “Now when the unclean spirit departs from the person, it goes through waterless places seeking rest[u], and does not find it. 44 Then it says, ‘I will return to my house from where I came-out’. And having come, it finds it being unoccupied, having been swept and put-in-order[v]. 45 Then it proceeds and takes along with itself seven other spirits more evil than itself. And having gone in, they dwell there, and the last[w] state of that person becomes worse than the first. So it will be[x] also with this evil generation”.
Jesus Says That Whoever Does The Will of God Is His Brother And Sister And Mother
46 While He was still speaking to the crowds, behold— His mother and brothers were standing outside, seeking to speak to Him. 47 And someone said to Him, “Behold— Your mother and Your brothers are standing outside, seeking to speak to You”. 48 But the One, having responded, said to the one speaking to Him, “Who is My mother and who are My brothers?” 49 And having stretched-out His hand toward His disciples, He said “Behold— My mother and My brothers! 50 For whoever does the will of My Father in the heavens— he is My brother and sister and mother”.
During This Time, King Herod Kills The Apostle James And Imprisons Peter
12 And about that time, Herod[a] the king put hands on some of the ones from the church to mistreat them. 2 And he killed James[b], the brother of John, with a sword. 3 And having seen that it was pleasing to the Jews, he proceeded to arrest Peter also (now the days of the Feast of Unleavened-Bread were taking place)— 4 whom indeed having seized, he put into prison, having handed him over to four squads[c] of soldiers to guard him, intending to bring him up to the people after the Passover [Feast]. 5 So indeed Peter was being kept in the prison. And prayer was fervently being made by the church to God for him.
An Angel Releases Peter
6 And when Herod was about to bring him forth, on that night Peter was sleeping between two soldiers, having been bound with two chains. And guards in front of the door were keeping-watch-over the prison. 7 And behold— an angel of the Lord stood near, and light[d] shined in the cell. And having struck the side of Peter, he woke him, saying, “Arise quickly”. And his chains fell off of his hands. 8 And the angel said to him, “Gird-yourself [e] and tie-on your sandals”. And he did so. And he says to him, “Put-on your cloak and be following me”. 9 And having gone forth, he was following. And he did not know that the thing taking place by-means-of the angel was real, but he was thinking that he was seeing a vision. 10 And having gone through a first guard-post[f] and a second, they came to the iron gate leading into the city, which by-itself was opened for them. And having gone out, they went ahead one lane[g], and immediately the angel departed from him.
Peter Goes To The House of The Mother of John Mark, Where They Were Praying
11 And Peter, having become within[h] himself, said, “Now I know truly that the Lord sent-out His angel and rescued me from the hand of Herod, and from all the expectation of the people of the Jews”. 12 And having become-aware[i], he went to the house of Mary, the mother of John (the one being called Mark), where there were many assembled-together and praying. 13 And he having knocked-on the door of the gate, a servant-girl went to it to answer— Rhoda by name. 14 And having recognized the voice of Peter, because of her joy she did not open the gate, but having run in, she reported that Peter was standing in front of the gate. 15 But the ones said to her, “You are mad[j]”. But the one was insisting that it was holding so. But the ones were saying, “It is his angel”. 16 But Peter was continuing-on knocking. And having opened, they saw him and were astonished. 17 And having motioned to them with his hand to be silent, he related to them how the Lord led him out of the prison. And he said, “Report these things to James[k] and the brothers”. And having gone out, he proceeded to another place.
When Peter Can’t Be Found, The Guards Are Executed. Herod Dies In Caesarea
18 Now having become day, there was no small disturbance[l] among the soldiers as to what then became of Peter. 19 And Herod, having searched-for him and not having found him, having examined the guards, ordered that they be led[m] away. And having gone down from Judea to Caesarea, he was spending-time there. 20 Now he was being very-angry with the Tyrians and Sidonians. And they were coming to him with-one-accord. And having won-over[n] Blastus, the one over the bedroom[o] of the king, they were asking-for peace, because of their country being provided-for[p] from the royal land. 21 And on an appointed day, Herod— having put on the royal clothing, and having sat on the judgment-seat— was giving-a-public-address to them. 22 And the public-assembly was calling-out, “The voice of a god and not of a man!” 23 And at once an angel of the Lord struck him because he did not give the glory to God. And having become eaten-by-worms, he expired[q].
Barnabas And Saul Return To Antioch From Judea, With John Mark
24 But the word of God was growing and being multiplied. 25 And Barnabas and Saul returned, having fulfilled the ministry to Jerusalem, having taken along John[r] with them (the one having been called Mark).
Disciples' Literal New Testament: Serving Modern Disciples by More Fully Reflecting the Writing Style of the Ancient Disciples, Copyright © 2011 Michael J. Magill. All Rights Reserved. Published by Reyma Publishing