Jesus Is Lord of the Sabbath
1At
that time
Jesus went
through
the
grainfields
on the
Sabbath.
His
disciples
were
hungry and
began to
pick some
heads of
grain and
eat them.
2 When
the
Pharisees
saw this,
they said
to him,
“Look!
Your
disciples
are doing
what is
unlawful
on the
Sabbath.”
3 He
answered,
“Haven’t
you read
what David
did when
he and his
companions
were
hungry?
4 He
entered
the house
of God,
and he and
his
companions
ate the
consecrated
bread—which
was not
lawful for
them to
do, but
only for
the
priests.
5 Or
haven’t
you read
in the Law
that the
priests on
Sabbath
duty in
the temple
desecrate
the
Sabbath
and yet
are
innocent?
6 I
tell you
that
something
greater
than the
temple is
here.
7 If
you had
known what
these
words
mean, ‘I
desire
mercy, not
sacrifice,’
you would
not have
condemned
the
innocent.
8 For
the Son of
Man is
Lord of
the
Sabbath.”
9 Going
on from
that
place, he
went into
their
synagogue,
10 and
a man with
a
shriveled
hand was
there.
Looking
for a
reason to
bring
charges
against
Jesus,
they asked
him, “Is
it lawful
to heal on
the
Sabbath?”
11 He said to them,
“If any of
you has a
sheep and
it falls
into a pit
on the
Sabbath,
will you
not take
hold of it
and lift
it out?
12 How
much more
valuable
is a
person
than a
sheep!
Therefore
it is
lawful to
do good on
the
Sabbath.”
13 Then he said to the man,
“Stretch
out your
hand.”
So he
stretched
it out and
it was
completely
restored,
just as
sound as
the other.
14 But
the
Pharisees
went out
and
plotted
how they
might kill
Jesus.
God’s Chosen Servant
15 Aware of this, Jesus withdrew from
that
place. A
large
crowd
followed
him, and
he healed
all who
were ill.
16 He
warned
them not
to tell
others
about him.
17 This
was to
fulfill
what was
spoken
through
the
prophet
Isaiah:
18 “Here is my servant whom I have
chosen,
the
one I
love, in
whom I
delight;
I will put
my Spirit
on him,
and
he will
proclaim
justice to
the
nations.
19 He
will not
quarrel or
cry out;
no
one will
hear his
voice in
the
streets.
20 A
bruised
reed he
will not
break,
and
a
smoldering
wick he
will not
snuff out,
till he
has
brought
justice
through to
victory.
21 In
his name
the
nations
will put
their
hope.”
Jesus and Beelzebul
22 Then they brought him a demon-possessed
man who
was blind
and mute,
and Jesus
healed
him, so
that he
could both
talk and
see.
23 All
the people
were
astonished
and said,
“Could
this be
the Son of
David?”
24 But when the Pharisees heard this,
they said,
“It is
only by
Beelzebul,
the prince
of demons,
that this
fellow
drives out
demons.”
25 Jesus knew their thoughts and said to
them,
“Every kingdom divided against itself
will be
ruined,
and every
city or
household
divided
against
itself
will not
stand.
26 If
Satan
drives out
Satan, he
is divided
against
himself.
How then
can his
kingdom
stand?
27 And
if I drive
out demons
by
Beelzebul,
by whom do
your
people
drive them
out? So
then, they
will be
your
judges.
28 But
if it is
by the
Spirit of
God that I
drive out
demons,
then the
kingdom of
God has
come upon
you.
29 “Or
again, how
can anyone
enter a
strong
man’s
house and
carry off
his
possessions
unless he
first ties
up the
strong
man? Then
he can
plunder
his house.
30 “Whoever
is not
with me is
against
me, and
whoever
does not
gather
with me
scatters.
31 And
so I tell
you, every
kind of
sin and
slander
can be
forgiven,
but
blasphemy
against
the Spirit
will not
be
forgiven.
32 Anyone
who speaks
a word
against
the Son of
Man will
be
forgiven,
but anyone
who speaks
against
the Holy
Spirit
will not
be
forgiven,
either in
this age
or in the
age to
come.
33 “Make
a tree
good and
its fruit
will be
good, or
make a
tree bad
and its
fruit will
be bad,
for a tree
is
recognized
by its
fruit.
34 You
brood of
vipers,
how can
you who
are evil
say
anything
good? For
the mouth
speaks
what the
heart is
full of.
35 A
good man
brings
good
things out
of the
good
stored up
in him,
and an
evil man
brings
evil
things out
of the
evil
stored up
in him.
36 But
I tell you
that
everyone
will have
to give
account on
the day of
judgment
for every
empty word
they have
spoken.
37 For
by your
words you
will be
acquitted,
and by
your words
you will
be
condemned.”
The Sign of Jonah
38 Then some of the Pharisees and
teachers
of the law
said to
him,
“Teacher,
we want to
see a sign
from you.”
39 He answered,
“A wicked
and
adulterous
generation
asks for a
sign! But
none will
be given
it except
the sign
of the
prophet
Jonah.
40 For
as Jonah
was three
days and
three
nights in
the belly
of a huge
fish, so
the Son of
Man will
be three
days and
three
nights in
the heart
of the
earth.
41 The
men of
Nineveh
will stand
up at the
judgment
with this
generation
and
condemn
it; for
they
repented
at the
preaching
of Jonah,
and now
something
greater
than Jonah
is here.
42 The
Queen of
the South
will rise
at the
judgment
with this
generation
and
condemn
it; for
she came
from the
ends of
the earth
to listen
to
Solomon’s
wisdom,
and now
something
greater
than
Solomon is
here.
43 “When
an impure
spirit
comes out
of a
person, it
goes
through
arid
places
seeking
rest and
does not
find it.
44 Then
it says,
‘I will
return to
the house
I left.’
When it
arrives,
it finds
the house
unoccupied,
swept
clean and
put in
order.
45 Then
it goes
and takes
with it
seven
other
spirits
more
wicked
than
itself,
and they
go in and
live
there. And
the final
condition
of that
person is
worse than
the first.
That is
how it
will be
with this
wicked
generation.”
Jesus’ Mother and Brothers
46 While Jesus was still talking to the
crowd, his
mother and
brothers
stood
outside,
wanting to
speak to
him.
47 Someone
told him,
“Your
mother and
brothers
are
standing
outside,
wanting to
speak to
you.”
48 He replied to him,
“Who is my
mother,
and who
are my
brothers?”
49 Pointing
to his
disciples,
he said,
“Here are
my mother
and my
brothers.
50 For
whoever
does the
will of my
Father in
heaven is
my brother
and sister
and
mother.”