Mattityahu (Mat) 12
12
1One Shabbat during that time, Yeshua was walking through some wheat fields. His talmidim were hungry, so they began picking heads of grain and eating them. 2On seeing this, the P’rushim said to him, “Look! Your talmidim are violating Shabbat!” 3But he said to them, “Haven’t you ever read what David did when he and those with him were hungry? 4He entered the House of God and ate the Bread of the Presence!” — which was prohibited, both to him and to his companions; it is permitted only to the cohanim. 5“Or haven’t you read in the Torah that on Shabbat the cohanim profane Shabbat and yet are blameless? 6I tell you, there is in this place something greater than the Temple! 7If you knew what ‘I want compassion rather than animal-sacrifice’ meant, you would not condemn the innocent. 8For the Son of Man is Lord of Shabbat!”
9Going on from that place, he went into their synagogue. 10A man there had a shriveled hand. Looking for a reason to accuse him of something, they asked him, “Is healing permitted on Shabbat?” 11But he answered, “If you have a sheep that falls in a pit on Shabbat, which of you won’t take hold of it and lift it out? 12How much more valuable is a man than a sheep! Therefore, what is permitted on Shabbat is to do good.” 13Then to the man he said, “Hold out your hand.” As he held it out, it became restored, as sound as the other one. 14But the P’rushim went out and began plotting how they might do away with Yeshua. 15Aware of this, he left that area.
Many people followed him; and he healed them all 16but warned them not to make him known. 17This was to fulfill what had been spoken through Yesha‘yahu the prophet,
18“Here is my servant, whom I have chosen,
my beloved, with whom I am well pleased;
I will put my Spirit on him,
and he will announce justice to the Gentiles.
19He will not fight or shout,
no one will hear his voice in the streets;
20he will not snap off a broken reed
or snuff out a smoldering wick
until he has brought justice through to victory.
21In him the Gentiles will put their hope.”
22Then some people brought him a man controlled by demons who was blind and mute; and Yeshua healed him, so that he could both speak and see. 23The crowds were astounded and asked, “This couldn’t be the Son of David, could it?” 24But when the P’rushim heard of it, they said, “It is only by Ba‘al-Zibbul” — the ruler of the demons — “that this man drives out demons.”
25However, knowing what they were thinking, Yeshua said to them, “Every kingdom divided against itself will be ruined, and every city or household divided against itself will not survive. 26If Satan drives out Satan, he is divided against himself; so how can his kingdom survive? 27Besides, if I drive out demons by Ba‘al-Zibbul, by whom do your people drive them out? So, they will be your judges! 28But if I drive out demons by the Spirit of God, then the Kingdom of God has come upon you!
29“Or again, how can someone break into a strong man’s house and make off with his possessions unless he first ties up the strong man? After that he can ransack his house.
30“Those who are not with me are against me, and those who do not gather with me are scattering. 31Because of this, I tell you that people will be forgiven any sin and blasphemy, but blaspheming the Ruach HaKodesh will not be forgiven. 32One can say something against the Son of Man and be forgiven; but whoever keeps on speaking against the Ruach HaKodesh will never be forgiven, neither in the ‘olam hazeh nor in the ‘olam haba.
33“If you make a tree good, its fruit will be good; and if you make a tree bad, its fruit will be bad; for a tree is known by its fruit. 34You snakes! How can you who are evil say anything good? For the mouth speaks what overflows from the heart. 35The good person brings forth good things from his store of good, and the evil person brings forth evil things from his store of evil. 36Moreover, I tell you this: on the Day of Judgment people will have to give account for every careless word they have spoken; 37for by your own words you will be acquitted, and by your own words you will be condemned.”
38At this some of the Torah-teachers said, “Rabbi, we want to see a miraculous sign from you.” 39He replied, “A wicked and adulterous generation asks for a sign? No! None will be given to it but the sign of the prophet Yonah. 40For just as Yonah was three days and three nights in the belly of the sea-monster, so will the Son of Man be three days and three nights in the depths of the earth. 41The people of Ninveh will stand up at the Judgment with this generation and condemn it, for they turned from their sins to God when Yonah preached, but what is here now is greater than Yonah. 42The Queen of the South will stand up at the Judgment with this generation and condemn it, for she came from the ends of the earth to hear the wisdom of Shlomo, but what is here now is greater than Shlomo.
43“When an unclean spirit comes out of a person, it travels through dry country seeking rest and does not find it. 44Then it says to itself, ‘I will return to the house I left.’ When it arrives, it finds the house standing empty, swept clean and put in order. 45Then it goes and takes with it seven other spirits more evil than itself, and they come and live there — so that in the end, the person is worse off than he was before. This is how it will be for this wicked generation.”
46He was still speaking to the crowd when his mother and brothers appeared outside, asking to talk with him. 47 48But to the one who had informed him he replied, “Who is my mother? Who are my brothers?” 49Pointing to his talmidim, he said, “Look! Here are my mother and my brothers! 50Whoever does what my Father in heaven wants, that person is my brother and sister and mother.”
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Mattityahu (Mat) 12: CJB
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Learn More About Complete Jewish BibleMatthew 12
12
Jesus Is Lord of the Sabbath
1At that time Jesus was walking through some fields of grain on a Sabbath day. His followers were hungry, so they began to pick the grain and eat it. 2When the Pharisees saw this, they said to Jesus, “Look! Your followers are doing what is unlawful to do on the Sabbath day.”
3Jesus answered, “Have you not read what David did when he and the people with him were hungry? 4He went into God’s house, and he and those with him ate the holy bread, which was lawful only for priests to eat. 5And have you not read in the law of Moses that on every Sabbath day the priests in the Temple break this law about the Sabbath day? But the priests are not wrong for doing that. 6I tell you that there is something here that is greater than the Temple. 7The Scripture says, ‘I want kindness more than I want animal sacrifices.’ You don’t really know what those words mean. If you understood them, you would not judge those who have done nothing wrong.
8“So the Son of Man is Lord of the Sabbath day.”
Jesus Heals a Man’s Hand
9Jesus left there and went into their synagogue, 10where there was a man with a crippled hand. They were looking for a reason to accuse Jesus, so they asked him, “Is it right to heal on the Sabbath day?”
11Jesus answered, “If any of you has a sheep, and it falls into a ditch on the Sabbath day, you will help it out of the ditch. 12Surely a human being is more important than a sheep. So it is lawful to do good things on the Sabbath day.”
13Then Jesus said to the man with the crippled hand, “Hold out your hand.” The man held out his hand, and it became well again, like the other hand. 14But the Pharisees left and made plans to kill Jesus.
Jesus Is God’s Chosen Servant
15Jesus knew what the Pharisees were doing, so he left that place. Many people followed him, and he healed all who were sick. 16But Jesus warned the people not to tell who he was. 17He did these things to bring about what Isaiah the prophet had said:
18“Here is my servant whom I have chosen.
I love him, and I am pleased with him.
I will put my Spirit upon him,
and he will tell of my justice to all people.
19He will not argue or cry out;
no one will hear his voice in the streets.
20He will not break a crushed blade of grass
or put out even a weak flame
until he makes justice win the victory.
21In him will the non-Jewish people find hope.”#Isaiah 42:1–4
Jesus’ Power Is from God
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 could talk and see. 23All the people were amazed and said, “Perhaps this man is the Son of David!”
24When the Pharisees heard this, they said, “Jesus uses the power of Beelzebul, the ruler of demons, to force demons out of people.”
25Jesus knew what the Pharisees were thinking, so he said to them, “Every kingdom that is divided against itself will be destroyed. And any city or family that is divided against itself will not continue. 26And if Satan forces out himself, then Satan is divided against himself, and his kingdom will not continue. 27You say that I use the power of Beelzebul to force out demons. If that is true, then what power do your people use to force out demons? So they will be your judges. 28But if I use the power of God’s Spirit to force out demons, then the kingdom of God has come to you.
29“If anyone wants to enter a strong person’s house and steal his things, he must first tie up the strong person. Then he can steal the things from the house.
30“Whoever is not with me is against me. Whoever does not work with me is working against me. 31So I tell you, people can be forgiven for every sin and everything they say against God. But whoever speaks against the Holy Spirit will not be forgiven. 32Anyone who speaks against the Son of Man can be forgiven, but anyone who speaks against the Holy Spirit will not be forgiven, now or in the future.
People Know You by Your Words
33“If you want good fruit, you must make the tree good. If your tree is not good, it will have bad fruit. A tree is known by the kind of fruit it produces. 34You snakes! You are evil people, so how can you say anything good? The mouth speaks the things that are in the heart. 35Good people have good things in their hearts, and so they say good things. But evil people have evil in their hearts, so they say evil things. 36And I tell you that on the Judgment Day people will be responsible for every careless thing they have said. 37The words you have said will be used to judge you. Some of your words will prove you right, but some of your words will prove you guilty.”
The People Ask for a Miracle
38Then some of the Pharisees and teachers of the law answered Jesus, saying, “Teacher, we want to see you work a miracle as a sign.”
39Jesus answered, “Evil and sinful people are the ones who want to see a miracle for a sign. But no sign will be given to them, except the sign of the prophet Jonah. 40Jonah was in the stomach of the big fish for three days and three nights. In the same way, the Son of Man will be in the grave three days and three nights. 41On the Judgment Day the people from Nineveh will stand up with you people who live now, and they will show that you are guilty. When Jonah preached to them, they were sorry and changed their lives. And I tell you that someone greater than Jonah is here. 42On the Judgment Day, the Queen of the South will stand up with you people who live today. She will show that you are guilty, because she came from far away to listen to Solomon’s wise teaching. And I tell you that someone greater than Solomon is here.
People Today Are Full of Evil
43“When an evil spirit comes out of a person, it travels through dry places, looking for a place to rest, but it doesn’t find it. 44So the spirit says, ‘I will go back to the house I left.’ When the spirit comes back, it finds the house still empty, swept clean, and made neat. 45Then the evil spirit goes out and brings seven other spirits even more evil than it is, and they go in and live there. So the person has even more trouble than before. It is the same way with the evil people who live today.”
Jesus’ True Family
46While Jesus was talking to the people, his mother and brothers stood outside, trying to find a way to talk to him. 47Someone told Jesus, “Your mother and brothers are standing outside, and they want to talk to you.”
48He answered, “Who is my mother? Who are my brothers?” 49Then he pointed to his followers and said, “Here are my mother and my brothers. 50My true brother and sister and mother are those who do what my Father in heaven wants.”
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The Holy Bible, New Century Version, Copyright © 2005 Thomas Nelson. All rights reserved.