Matthew 12
12
1At that time, Jesus went on the Sabbath day through the grain fields. His disciples were hungry and began to pluck heads of grain and to eat. 2But the Pharisees, when they saw it, said to him, “Behold, your disciples do what is not lawful to do on the Sabbath.”
3But he said to them, “Haven’t you read what David did when he was hungry, and those who were with him: 4how he entered into God’s house and ate the show bread, which was not lawful for him to eat, nor for those who were with him, but only for the priests?#1 Samuel 21:3-6 5Or have you not read in the law that on the Sabbath day the priests in the temple profane the Sabbath and are guiltless? 6But I tell you that one greater than the temple is here. 7But if you had known what this means, ‘I desire mercy, and not sacrifice,’#Hosea 6:6 you wouldn’t have condemned the guiltless. 8For the Son of Man is Lord of the Sabbath.”
9He departed from there and went into their synagogue. 10And behold, there was a man with a withered hand. They asked him, “Is it lawful to heal on the Sabbath day?” so that they might accuse him.
11He said to them, “What man is there among you who has one sheep, and if this one falls into a pit on the Sabbath day, won’t he grab on to it and lift it out? 12Of how much more value then is a man than a sheep! Therefore it is lawful to do good on the Sabbath day.” 13Then he told the man, “Stretch out your hand.” He stretched it out; and it was restored whole, just like the other. 14But the Pharisees went out and conspired against him, how they might destroy him.
15Jesus, perceiving that, withdrew from there. Great multitudes followed him; and he healed them all, 16and commanded them that they should not make him known, 17that it might be fulfilled which was spoken through Isaiah the prophet, saying,
18“Behold, my servant whom I have chosen,
my beloved in whom my soul is well pleased.
I will put my Spirit on him.
He will proclaim justice to the nations.
19He will not strive, nor shout,
neither will anyone hear his voice in the streets.
20He won’t break a bruised reed.
He won’t quench a smoking flax,
until he leads justice to victory.
21In his name, the nations will hope.”#Isaiah 42:1-4
22Then one possessed by a demon, blind and mute, was brought to him; and he healed him, so that the blind and mute man both spoke and saw. 23All the multitudes were amazed, and said, “Can this be the son of David?” 24But when the Pharisees heard it, they said, “This man does not cast out demons except by Beelzebul, the prince of the demons.”
25Knowing their thoughts, Jesus 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. How then will his kingdom stand? 27If I by Beelzebul cast out demons, by whom do your children cast them out? Therefore they will be your judges. 28But if I by the Spirit of God cast out demons, then God’s Kingdom has come upon you. 29Or how can one enter into the house of the strong man and plunder his goods, unless he first bind the strong man? Then he will plunder his house.
30 “He who is not with me is against me, and he who doesn’t gather with me, scatters. 31Therefore I tell you, every sin and blasphemy will be forgiven men, but the blasphemy against the Spirit will not be forgiven men. 32Whoever speaks a word against the Son of Man, it will be forgiven him; but whoever speaks against the Holy Spirit, it will not be forgiven him, either in this age, or in that which is to come.
33 “Either make the tree good and its fruit good, or make the tree corrupt and its fruit corrupt; for the tree is known by its fruit. 34You offspring of vipers, how can you, being evil, speak good things? For out of the abundance of the heart, the mouth speaks. 35The good man out of his good treasure#12:35 TR adds “of the heart” brings out good things, and the evil man out of his evil treasure brings out evil things. 36I tell you that every idle word that men speak, they will give account of it in the day of judgment. 37For by your words you will be justified, and by your words you will be condemned.”
38Then certain of the scribes and Pharisees answered, “Teacher, we want to see a sign from you.”
39But he answered them, “An evil and adulterous generation seeks after a sign, but no sign will be given to it but the sign of Jonah the prophet. 40For as Jonah was three days and three nights in the belly of the huge fish, so will the Son of Man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth. 41The men of Nineveh will stand up in the judgment with this generation and will condemn it, for they repented at the preaching of Jonah; and behold, someone greater than Jonah is here. 42The Queen of the South will rise up in 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 behold, someone greater than Solomon is here.
43 “When an unclean spirit has gone out of a man, he passes through waterless places seeking rest, and doesn’t find it. 44Then he says, ‘I will return into my house from which I came;’ and when he has come back, he finds it empty, swept, and put in order. 45Then he goes and takes with himself seven other spirits more evil than he is, and they enter in and dwell there. The last state of that man becomes worse than the first. Even so will it be also to this evil generation.”
46While he was yet speaking to the multitudes, behold, his mother and his brothers stood outside, seeking to speak to him. 47One said to him, “Behold, your mother and your brothers stand outside, seeking to speak to you.”
48But he answered him who spoke to him, “Who is my mother? Who are my brothers?” 49He stretched out his hand toward his disciples, and said, “Behold, my mother and my brothers! 50For whoever does the will of my Father who is in heaven, he is my brother, and sister, and mother.”
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Matthew 12: WEBUS
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PUBLIC DOMAIN (not copyrighted)
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.”
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The Holy Bible, New Century Version, Copyright © 2005 Thomas Nelson. All rights reserved.