Matthew 12
12
1Around that time Jesus was walking through fields of grain on the Sabbath day. His disciples were hungry so they started to pick ears of grain and eat them. 2When the Pharisees saw this they said to Jesus, “Look at your disciples—they're doing what isn't allowed on the Sabbath!”
3But Jesus told them, “Haven't you read what David did when he and his men were hungry? 4He went into the house of God, and he and his men ate the sacred bread that they weren't allowed to eat since it's only for the priests. 5Haven't you read in the law that on the Sabbath day the priests in the Temple break the Sabbath but are not considered guilty? 6However, I tell you that someone is here who is greater than the Temple! 7If you'd known the meaning of this Scripture, ‘I want mercy, and not sacrifice,’#12:7. Quoting Hosea 6:6. you wouldn't have condemned those who are innocent. 8For the Son of man is Lord of the Sabbath.”
9Then Jesus left and went into their synagogue. 10A man was there with a crippled hand. “Does the law allow healing on the Sabbath?” they asked him, looking for a reason to accuse him.
11“Suppose you have a sheep and it falls into a hole in the ground on the Sabbath. Don't you grab hold of it and pull it out?” Jesus asked them. 12“Don't you think a human being is worth much more than a sheep? So yes, you are allowed to do good on the Sabbath.” 13Then he said to the man, “Hold out your hand.” The man held out his hand, and it was healed, just as healthy as the other hand.
14But the Pharisees went out and plotted how to kill Jesus. 15Knowing this, Jesus left, with large crowds following him. He healed all of them, 16but instructed them not to tell people who he was. 17This fulfilled what Isaiah the prophet said:
18This is my servant whom I've chosen,
The one I love, who pleases me.
I will put my Spirit on him,
And he will tell the foreigners what's right.
19He won't argue, he won't shout out,
And nobody will hear his voice in the streets.
20He won't break a damaged reed,
And he won't extinguish a smoking wick,
Until he has proved that his judgment is right,#12:20. Or “has brought victory to justice.”
21And foreigners will put their hope in him.#12:21. Literally, “hope in his name.” These verses are a quote from Isaiah 42:1-4.
22Then a man was brought to Jesus who was demon-possessed and blind and dumb. Jesus healed him, so that the dumb man could speak and see. 23All the crowds were amazed, and asked, “This man couldn't really be the son of David, could he?”#12:23. Meaning the Messiah who was expected to come.
24But when the Pharisees heard this, they replied, “This man can only throw out demons through the power of Beelzebub, the chief of demons!”
25Knowing what they were thinking, Jesus told them, “Any kingdom that is divided against itself will be destroyed. No town or household that is divided against itself can stand. 26If Satan drives out Satan, then he's divided against himself—so how could his kingdom stand? 27If I'm throwing out demons in the name of Beelzebub, in whose name are your people throwing out demons? Your own people prove you're wrong! 28But if I'm throwing out demons through the power of the Spirit of God, then the kingdom of God has come to you!
29Can you enter a strong man's house and take his belongings unless you tie him up first? If you do that then you can take everything in his house. 30Those who are not with me are against me, and those who do not gather together with me do the opposite: they are scattering. 31That's why I'm telling you that every sin and blasphemy you commit will be forgiven, except blasphemy against the Spirit which won't be forgiven. 32Those who say something against the Son of man will be forgiven, but those who say something against the Holy Spirit won't be forgiven, neither in this life nor the next. 33Either decide that the tree is good, and its fruit is good, or decide that the tree is bad and its fruit is bad—for the tree is known by its fruit. 34You viper's brood, how can you who are evil say anything good? For your mouth simply says what your mind is busy thinking about. 35A good person brings out good from their store of good things, and an evil person brings out evil from their store of evil things. 36I tell you, people will have to account for every careless thing they say on the Day of Judgment. 37For what you say will either vindicate you or condemn you.”
38Then some of the religious teachers and Pharisees came to him and said, “Teacher, we want you to show us a miraculous sign.”
39“An evil and adulterous generation are the ones who look for a miraculous sign. The only sign they will be given is the sign of the prophet Jonah,” Jesus told them. 40“In the same way Jonah was in the belly of a huge fish for three days and three nights, the Son of man will be in the heart of the earth for three days and three nights. 41The people of Nineveh will rise in the judgment together with this generation and they will condemn it because they repented in response to Jonah's message—and as you see, there's someone greater than Jonah here! 42The Queen of the South will be raised in the judgment together with this generation and will condemn it because she came from the ends of the earth to hear the wisdom of Solomon—and as you see, there's someone greater than Solomon here!
43When an evil spirit leaves someone, it wanders through deserted places looking for rest, and finds nowhere to stay. 44So it says, ‘I'll go back to the place I left,’ and when it returns it finds the place empty, all clean and tidy. 45Then it goes and brings back seven other spirits even more evil than it is, and it enters and lives there. So the person ends up worse than they were at the beginning. That's the way it will be with this evil generation.”
46While he was speaking to the crowds, his mother and his brothers arrived and stood outside, wanting to talk to him. 47Someone came and told him, “Look, your mother and brothers are outside, wanting to talk to you.”
48“Who is my mother? Who are my brothers?” Jesus asked. 49He pointed at his disciples, and said, “Look, they are my mother and my brothers! 50For those who do the will of my heavenly Father, they are my brother, sister, and mother!”
Currently Selected:
Matthew 12: FBV
Highlight
Share
Copy
Want to have your highlights saved across all your devices? Sign up or sign in
Dr. Jonathan Gallagher. Released under Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 Unported License. Version 4.3. For corrections send email to jonathangallagherfbv@gmail.com
Matthew 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.”
Currently Selected:
:
Highlight
Share
Copy
Want to have your highlights saved across all your devices? Sign up or sign in
The Holy Bible, New Century Version, Copyright © 2005 Thomas Nelson. All rights reserved.