Matthew 12
12
The Question About the Sabbath
Mk 2:23–28; Lk 6:1–5
1#Dt 23:25; Mk 2:23–28At that time Jesus went through the grain fields on the Sabbath. And His disciples were hungry and began to pluck the heads of grain and to eat. 2#Mt 12:10; Ex 20:9–11But when the Pharisees saw it, they said to Him, “Look, Your disciples are doing that which is not lawful to do on the Sabbath!”
3#1Sa 21:3–6; Mt 21:16But He said to them, “Have you not read what David and those who were with him did when he was hungry, 4#Ex 25:30; Lev 24:5–9how he entered the house of God and ate the ritual bread, which was not lawful for him to eat, neither for those who were with him, but only for the priests? 5#Nu 28:9–10; Jn 7:22–23Or have you not read in the law how on the Sabbath the priests in the temple profane the Sabbath, but are blameless? 6#Mt 12:41–42; 2Ch 6:18I say to you, in this place there is One who is greater than the temple. 7#Hos 6:6; Mt 9:13If you had known what this meant, ‘I desire mercy, and not sacrifice,’ you would not have condemned the innocent. 8#Mt 9:6For the Son of Man is Lord even of the Sabbath.”
The Healing of the Withered Hand
Mk 3:1–6; Lk 6:6–11
9#Lk 6:6–11When He had departed from there, He went into their synagogue. 10#Lk 13:14; Jn 9:16And there was a man whose hand had withered. They asked Him, “Is it lawful to heal on the Sabbath?” that they might accuse Him.
11#Lk 14:5; Ex 23:4–5He said to them, “What man is there among you who has one sheep, and if it falls into a pit on the Sabbath, will not lay hold of it and lift it out? 12#Mt 6:26; 10:31Then how much better is a man than a sheep? Therefore, it is lawful to do good on the Sabbath.”
13Then He said to the man, “Stretch out your hand.” And he stretched it out, and it was restored whole like the other. 14#Jn 11:53; Mt 27:1Then the Pharisees went out and took counsel against Him, how they might kill Him.
The Chosen Servant
15#Mt 10:23; 19:2But when Jesus knew it, He withdrew from there. And great crowds followed Him, and He healed them all, 16#Mt 8:4; 9:30and warned them that they should not make Him known, 17to fulfill what was spoken by Isaiah the prophet, saying:
18#Lk 4:18; Jn 3:34 “Here is My Servant, whom I have chosen,
My Beloved, in whom My soul is well pleased;
I will put My Spirit upon Him,
and He will render judgment to the Gentiles.
19He shall not struggle nor cry out,
nor will anyone hear His voice in the streets.
20A bruised reed He will not break,
and a smoldering wick He will not quench,
until He renders judgment unto victory;
21#Isa 11:10 and in His name will the Gentiles trust.”
Jesus and Beelzebub
Mk 3:20–30; Lk 11:14–23; 12:10
22Then one possessed with a demon was brought to Him, blind and mute, and He healed him, so that the blind and mute man both spoke and saw. 23#Mt 9:27; Jn 4:29All the people were amazed and said, “Is He not the Son of David?”
24#Mt 9:34; Mk 3:22But when the Pharisees heard it, they said, “This Man does not cast out demons, except by Beelzebub the ruler of the demons.”
25#Mt 9:4Jesus knew their thoughts and said to them, “Every kingdom divided against itself is brought to desolation. And every city or house divided against itself will not stand. 26If Satan casts out Satan, he is divided against himself. Then how will his kingdom stand? 27And if I cast out demons by Beelzebub, by whom do your sons cast them out? Therefore, they shall be your judges. 28#Lk 11:20; Mt 12:18But if I cast out demons by the Spirit of God, then the kingdom of God has come upon you.
29#Isa 49:24; 53:12“Or else how can one enter a strong man’s house and plunder his goods unless he first binds the strong man? And then he will plunder his house.
30#Mk 9:40; Lk 11:23“He who is not with Me is against Me, and he who does not gather with Me scatters abroad. 31#Lk 12:10; Mk 3:28–30; Isa 1:18Therefore I say to you, all kinds of sin and blasphemy will be forgiven men, but the blasphemy against the Holy Spirit will not be forgiven men. 32#Mt 11:19; Mk 3:29Whoever speaks a word against the Son of Man will be forgiven. But whoever speaks against the Holy Spirit will not be forgiven, neither in this world, nor in the world to come.
A Tree and Its Fruit
Lk 6:43–45
33#Lk 6:43–44; Mt 7:16–20“Either make the tree good and its fruit good, or else make the tree corrupt and its fruit corrupt. For the tree is known by its fruit. 34#Mt 23:33; Lk 6:45; Mt 3:7O generation of vipers, how can you, being evil, speak good things? For out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks. 35#Pr 10:20–21; 25:11–12A good man out of the good treasure of his heart brings forth good things. And an evil man out of the evil treasure brings forth evil things. 36#Ecc 12:14But I say to you that for every idle word that men speak, they will give an account on the Day of Judgment. 37For by your words you will be justified, and by your words you will be condemned.”
The Demand for a Sign
Mk 8:11–12; Lk 11:29–32
38#Mk 8:11–12; Lk 11:16Then some of the scribes and Pharisees said to Him, “Teacher, we wish to see a sign from You.”
39#Mt 16:4; Isa 57:3But He answered them, “An evil and adulterous generation seeks after a sign, and no sign will be given to it except the sign of the prophet Jonah. 40#Jnh 1:17; Mt 16:21; 17:23For as Jonah was three days and three nights in the belly of the great fish,#Jnh 1:17. so will the Son of Man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth. 41#Mt 12:42; 12:6The men of Nineveh will stand up at the judgment with this generation and will condemn it, because they repented at the preaching of Jonah.#Jnh 3:5. And now One greater than Jonah is here. 42The Queen of the South will rise up at the judgment with this generation and will condemn it, for she came from the ends of the earth to hear the wisdom of Solomon. And now One greater than Solomon is here.
The Return of the Unclean Spirit
Lk 11:24–26
43#Ps 63:1“When an unclean spirit goes out of a man, it passes through dry places seeking rest, but finds none. 44Then it says, ‘I will return to my house from which I came.’ And when it comes, it finds it empty, swept, and put in order. 45#Mk 5:9; Lk 11:26Then it goes and brings with itself seven other spirits more evil than itself, and they enter and dwell there. And the last state of that man is worse than the first. So shall it be also with this evil generation.”
The Mother and Brothers of Jesus
Mk 3:31–35; Lk 8:19–21
46#Ac 1:14; Mt 13:55; Jn 2:12While He was still speaking to the people, right then His mother and His brothers stood outside asking to speak with Him. 47Then one said to Him, “Look, Your mother and Your brothers are standing outside asking to speak with You.”
48But He answered the man who told him, “Who is My mother, and who are My brothers?” 49He stretched out His hand toward His disciples and said, “Here are My mother and My brothers! 50#Jn 15:14For whoever does the will of My Father who is in heaven is My brother, and sister, and mother.”
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Military Bible Association
Matthew 12
12
The Question about the Sabbath
(Mk 2.23–28; Lk 6.1–5)
1 #
Deut 23.25
Not long afterwards Jesus was walking through some cornfields on the Sabbath. His disciples were hungry, so they began to pick ears of corn and eat the grain. 2When the Pharisees saw this, they said to Jesus, “Look, it is against our Law for your disciples to do this on the Sabbath!”
3 #
1 Sam 21.1–6
Jesus answered, “Have you never read what David did that time when he and his men were hungry? 4#Lev 24.9He went into the house of God, and he and his men ate the bread offered to God, even though it was against the Law for them to eat it — only the priests were allowed to eat that bread. 5#Num 28.9–10Or have you not read in the Law of Moses that every Sabbath the priests in the Temple actually break the Sabbath law, yet they are not guilty? 6I tell you that there is something here greater than the Temple. 7#Mt 9.13; Hos 6.6The scripture says, ‘It is kindness that I want, not animal sacrifices.’ If you really knew what this means, you would not condemn people who are not guilty; 8for the Son of Man is Lord of the Sabbath.”
The Man with a Paralysed Hand
(Mk 3.1–6; Lk 6.6–11)
9Jesus left that place and went to a synagogue, 10where there was a man who had a paralysed hand. Some people were there who wanted to accuse Jesus of doing wrong, so they asked him, “Is it against our Law to heal on the Sabbath?”
11 #
Lk 14.5
Jesus answered, “What if one of you has a sheep and it falls into a deep hole on the Sabbath? Will you not take hold of it and lift it out? 12And a human being is worth much more than a sheep! So then, our Law does allow us to help someone on the Sabbath.” 13Then he said to the man with the paralysed hand, “Stretch out your hand.”
He stretched it out, and it became well again, just like the other one. 14Then the Pharisees left and made plans to kill Jesus.
God's Chosen Servant
15When Jesus heard about the plot against him, he went away from that place; and large crowds followed him. He healed all those who were ill 16and gave them orders not to tell others about him. 17He did this so as to make what God had said through the prophet Isaiah come true:
18 #
Is 42.1–4 (LXX) “Here is my servant, whom I have chosen,
the one I love, and with whom I am pleased.
I will send my Spirit upon him,
and he will announce my judgement to the nations.
19He will not argue or shout,
or make loud speeches in the streets.
20He will not break off a bent reed,
or put out a flickering lamp.
He will persist until he causes justice to triumph,
21and in him all peoples will put their hope.”
Jesus and Beelzebul
(Mk 3.20–30; Lk 11.14–23)
22Then some people brought to Jesus a man who was blind and could not talk because he had a demon. Jesus healed the man, so that he was able to talk and see. 23The crowds were all amazed at what Jesus had done. “Could he be the Son of David?” they asked.
24 #
Mt 9.34; 10.25 When the Pharisees heard this, they replied, “He drives out demons only because their ruler Beelzebul gives him power to do so.”
25Jesus knew what they were thinking, so he said to them, “Any country that divides itself into groups which fight each other will not last very long. And any town or family that divides itself into groups which fight each other will fall apart. 26So if one group is fighting another in Satan's kingdom, this means that it is already divided into groups and will soon fall apart! 27You say that I drive out demons because Beelzebul gives me the power to do so. Well, then, who gives your followers the power to drive them out? What your own followers do proves that you are wrong! 28No, it is not Beelzebul, but God's Spirit, who gives me the power to drive out demons, which proves that the Kingdom of God has already come upon you.
29 “No one can break into a strong man's house and take away his belongings unless he first ties up the strong man; then he can plunder his house.
30 #
Mk 9.40
“Anyone who is not for me is really against me; anyone who does not help me gather is really scattering. 31And so I tell you that people can be forgiven any sin and any evil thing they say;#12.31 evil thing they say; or evil thing they say against God. but whoever says evil things against the Holy Spirit will not be forgiven. 32#Lk 12.10Anyone who says something against the Son of Man can be forgiven; but whoever says something against the Holy Spirit will not be forgiven — now or ever.
A Tree and its Fruit
(Lk 6.43–45)
33 #
Mt 7.20; Lk 6.44 “To have good fruit you must have a healthy tree; if you have a poor tree, you will have bad fruit. A tree is known by the kind of fruit it bears. 34#Mt 3.7; 23.33; 15.18; Lk 3.7; 6.45You snakes — how can you say good things when you are evil? For the mouth speaks what the heart is full of. 35A good person brings good things out of a treasure of good things; a bad person brings bad things out of a treasure of bad things.
36 “You can be sure that on Judgement Day everyone will have to give account of every useless word he has ever spoken. 37Your words will be used to judge you — to declare you either innocent or guilty.”
The Demand for a Miracle
(Mk 8.11–12; Lk 11.29–32)
38 #
Mt 16.1; Mk 8.11; Lk 11.16 Then some teachers of the Law and some Pharisees spoke up. “Teacher,” they said, “we want to see you perform a miracle.”
39 #
Mt 16.4; Mk 8.12 “How evil and godless are the people of this day!” Jesus exclaimed. “You ask me for a miracle? No! The only miracle you will be given is the miracle of the prophet Jonah. 40#Jon 1.17In the same way that Jonah spent three days and nights in the big fish, so will the Son of Man spend three days and nights in the depths of the earth. 41#Jon 3.5On Judgement Day the people of Nineveh will stand up and accuse you, because they turned from their sins when they heard Jonah preach; and I tell you that there is something here greater than Jonah! 42#1 Kgs 10.1–10; 2 Chr 9.1–12On Judgement Day the Queen of Sheba will stand up and accuse you, because she travelled all the way from her country to listen to King Solomon's wise teaching; and I assure you that there is something here greater than Solomon!
The Return of the Evil Spirit
(Lk 11.24–26)
43 “When an evil spirit goes out of a person, it travels over dry country looking for a place to rest. If it can't find one, 44it says to itself, ‘I will go back to my house.’ So it goes back and finds the house empty, clean, and all tidy. 45Then it goes out and brings along seven other spirits even worse than itself, and they come and live there. So when it is all over, that person is in a worse state than he was at the beginning. This is what will happen to the evil people of this day.”
Jesus' Mother and Brothers
(Mk 3.31–35; Lk 8.19–21)
46Jesus was still talking to the people when his mother and brothers arrived. They stood outside, asking to speak with him. 47So one of the people there said to him, “Look, your mother and brothers are standing outside, and they want to speak with you.”#12.47 Some manuscripts do not have verse 47.
48Jesus answered, “Who is my mother? Who are my brothers?” 49Then he pointed to his disciples and said, “Look! Here are my mother and my brothers! 50Whoever does what my Father in heaven wants him to do is my brother, my sister, and my mother.”
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Good News Bible. Scripture taken from the Good News Bible (r) (Today's English Version Second Edition, UK/British Edition). Copyright © 1992 British & Foreign Bible Society. Used by permission.