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
In Charge of the Sabbath
1-2One Sabbath, Jesus was strolling with his disciples through a field of ripe grain. Hungry, the disciples were pulling off the heads of grain and munching on them. Some Pharisees reported them to Jesus: “Your disciples are breaking the Sabbath rules!”
3-5Jesus said, “Really? Didn’t you ever read what David and his companions did when they were hungry, how they entered the sanctuary and ate fresh bread off the altar, bread that no one but priests were allowed to eat? And didn’t you ever read in God’s Law that priests carrying out their Temple duties break Sabbath rules all the time and it’s not held against them?
6-8“There is far more at stake here than religion. If you had any idea what this Scripture meant—‘I prefer a flexible heart to an inflexible ritual’—you wouldn’t be nitpicking like this. The Son of Man is no yes-man to the Sabbath; he’s in charge.”
9-10When Jesus left the field, he entered their meeting place. There was a man there with a crippled hand. They said to Jesus, “Is it legal to heal on the Sabbath?” They were baiting him.
11-14He replied, “Is there a person here who, finding one of your lambs fallen into a ravine, wouldn’t, even though it was a Sabbath, pull it out? Surely kindness to people is as legal as kindness to animals!” Then he said to the man, “Hold out your hand.” He held it out and it was healed. The Pharisees walked out furious, sputtering about how they were going to ruin Jesus.
In Charge of Everything
15-21Jesus, knowing they were out to get him, moved on. A lot of people followed him, and he healed them all. He also cautioned them to keep it quiet, following guidelines set down by Isaiah:
Look well at my handpicked servant;
I love him so much, take such delight in him.
I’ve placed my Spirit on him;
he’ll decree justice to the nations.
But he won’t yell, won’t raise his voice;
there’ll be no commotion in the streets.
He won’t walk over anyone’s feelings,
won’t push you into a corner.
Before you know it, his justice will triumph;
the mere sound of his name will signal hope, even
among far-off unbelievers.
No Neutral Ground
22-23Next a poor demon-afflicted wretch, both blind and deaf, was set down before him. Jesus healed him, gave him his sight and hearing. The people who saw it were impressed—“This has to be the Son of David!”
24But the Pharisees, when they heard the report, were cynical. “Black magic,” they said. “Some devil trick he’s pulled from his sleeve.”
25-27Jesus confronted their slander. “A judge who gives opposite verdicts on the same person cancels himself out; a family that’s in a constant squabble disintegrates; if Satan banishes Satan, is there any Satan left? If you’re slinging devil mud at me, calling me a devil kicking out devils, doesn’t the same mud stick to your own exorcists?
28-29“But if it’s by God’s power that I am sending the evil spirits packing, then God’s kingdom is here for sure. How in the world do you think it’s possible in broad daylight to enter the house of an awake, able-bodied man and walk off with his possessions unless you tie him up first? Tie him up, though, and you can clean him out.
30“This is war, and there is no neutral ground. If you’re not on my side, you’re the enemy; if you’re not helping, you’re making things worse.
31-32“There’s nothing done or said that can’t be forgiven. But if you deliberately persist in your slanders against God’s Spirit, you are repudiating the very One who forgives. If you reject the Son of Man out of some misunderstanding, the Holy Spirit can forgive you, but when you reject the Holy Spirit, you’re sawing off the branch on which you’re sitting, severing by your own perversity all connection with the One who forgives.
33“If you grow a healthy tree, you’ll pick healthy fruit. If you grow a diseased tree, you’ll pick worm-eaten fruit. The fruit tells you about the tree.
34-37“You have minds like a snake pit! How do you suppose what you say is worth anything when you are so foul-minded? It’s your heart, not the dictionary, that gives meaning to your words. A good person produces good deeds and words season after season. An evil person is a blight on the orchard. Let me tell you something: Every one of these careless words is going to come back to haunt you. There will be a time of Reckoning. Words are powerful; take them seriously. Words can be your salvation. Words can also be your damnation.”
Jonah-Evidence
38Later a few religion scholars and Pharisees cornered him. “Teacher, we want to see your credentials. Give us some hard evidence that God is in this. How about a miracle?”
39-40Jesus said, “You’re looking for proof, but you’re looking for the wrong kind. All you want is something to titillate your curiosity, satisfy your lust for miracles. The only proof you’re going to get is what looks like the absence of proof: Jonah-evidence. Like Jonah, three days and nights in the fish’s belly, the Son of Man will be gone three days and nights in a deep grave.
41-42“On Judgment Day, the Ninevites will stand up and give evidence that will condemn this generation, because when Jonah preached to them they changed their lives. A far greater preacher than Jonah is here, and you squabble about ‘proofs.’ On Judgment Day, the Queen of Sheba will come forward and bring evidence that will condemn this generation, because she traveled from a far corner of the earth to listen to wise Solomon. Wisdom far greater than Solomon’s is right in front of you, and you quibble over ‘evidence.’
43-45“When a defiling evil spirit is expelled from someone, it drifts along through the desert looking for an oasis, some unsuspecting soul it can bedevil. When it doesn’t find anyone, it says, ‘I’ll go back to my old haunt.’ On return it finds the person spotlessly clean, but vacant. It then runs out and rounds up seven other spirits more evil than itself and they all move in, whooping it up. That person ends up far worse off than if he’d never gotten cleaned up in the first place.
“That’s what this generation is like: You may think you have cleaned out the junk from your lives and gotten ready for God, but you weren’t hospitable to my kingdom message, and now all the devils are moving back in.”
Obedience Is Thicker than Blood
46-47While he was still talking to the crowd, his mother and brothers showed up. They were outside trying to get a message to him. Someone told Jesus, “Your mother and brothers are out here, wanting to speak with you.”
48-50Jesus didn’t respond directly, but said, “Who do you think my mother and brothers are?” He then stretched out his hand toward his disciples. “Look closely. These are my mother and brothers. Obedience is thicker than blood. The person who obeys my heavenly Father’s will is my brother and sister and mother.”
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THE MESSAGE: The Bible in Contemporary Language copyright © 1993, 2002, 2018 by Eugene H. Peterson. All rights reserved. Used by permission of NavPress. Represented by Tyndale House Publishers.