Old/New Testament
Lord of the sabbath
12 At that time Jesus went through the cornfields on the sabbath. His disciples were hungry, and they began to pluck ears of corn and eat them. 2 When the Pharisees observed this they said to him, “Look here! Your disciples are doing something that’s not permitted on the sabbath!”
3 “Did you never read what David did?” replied Jesus. “When he and his men were hungry, 4 they went into God’s house and ate the holy bread which neither he nor his men were allowed to eat—only the priests had that right. 5 Or didn’t you read in the law that the priests in the Temple do things on the sabbath which are against sabbath law—and they aren’t guilty? 6 Let me tell you this: something greater than the Temple is here. 7 If you’d known what this saying means:
Mercy, not sacrifice, is what I really want—
you wouldn’t have passed judgment on blameless people. 8 Yes, you see: the son of man is master of the sabbath, too.”
9 He left the place and went into their synagogue, 10 where there was a man with a withered hand.
They put the question to him: “Is it lawful to heal on the sabbath?”
(They asked this so that they could frame a charge against him.)
11 “Supposing one of you has just one sheep,” replied Jesus, “and it falls into a ditch on the sabbath. You’ll grab it and haul it out, won’t you? 12 Well then, think how much more important a human being is than a sheep! So, you see, it is permitted to do good on the sabbath.”
13 Then he said to the man, “Stretch your hand out.” He stretched it out, and it was restored to health, just like the other one. 14 But the Pharisees went off and plotted against him, with the intention of doing away with him.
The servant
15 Jesus discovered the plots against him, and left the district. Large crowds followed him, and he healed them all, 16 giving them strict instructions not to tell people about him. 17 This was so that what was spoken through Isaiah the prophet might come true:
18 Look! Here’s my servant, whom I chose;
my beloved one, my heart’s delight.
My spirit I will place on him,
and he’ll announce true judgment
to the whole wide world.
19 He will not argue, nor will he
lift up his voice and shout aloud;
nobody in the streets will hear
his voice. 20 He will not break the damaged
reed, or snuff the guttering lamp,
until his judgment wins the day.
21 The world will hope upon his name.
Jesus and Beelzebul
22 They brought to Jesus a man who was possessed by a demon that made him unable to see or speak. Jesus healed him, so that the sick man was able to talk and see. 23 All the crowds were astonished.
“He can’t be David’s Son, can he?” they said.
Scripture quotations from The New Testament for Everyone are copyright © Nicholas Thomas Wright 2011, 2018, 2019.