Matthew 12
12
Sabbath Questions
1 # 12:1 Or On that occasion At that time Jesus went through the grainfields on the Sabbath, and His disciples became hungry and began to pick the heads of grain and eat. 2Now when the Pharisees saw this, they said to Him, “Look, Your disciples are doing what is not lawful to do on a Sabbath!” 3But He said to them, “Have you not read what David did when he became hungry, he and his companions— 4how he entered the house of God, and they ate the #12:4 Lit loaves of presentationconsecrated bread, which was not lawful for him to eat nor for those with him, but for the priests alone? 5Or have you not read in the Law that on the Sabbath the priests in the temple #12:5 Or profaneviolate the Sabbath, and yet are innocent? 6But I say to you that something greater than the temple is here. 7But if you had known what this #12:7 Lit ismeans: ‘I desire #12:7 Or mercycompassion, #12:7 Lit and notrather than sacrifice,’ you would not have condemned #12:7 Plural in the Grthe innocent.
Lord of the Sabbath
8 For the Son of Man is Lord of the Sabbath.”
9Departing from there, He went into their synagogue. 10And a man was there whose hand was withered. And they questioned #12:10 Lit HimJesus, asking, “Is it lawful to heal on the Sabbath?”—so that they might bring charges against Him. 11But He said to them, “What man #12:11 Lit will be from youis there among you who #12:11 Lit will havehas a sheep, and if it falls into a pit on the Sabbath, will he not take hold of it and lift it out? 12How much more valuable then is a person than a sheep! So then, it is lawful to do #12:12 Lit wellgood on the Sabbath.” 13Then He *said to the man, “Stretch out your hand!” He stretched it out, and it was restored to #12:13 Lit healthnormal, like the other. 14But the Pharisees went out and #12:14 Lit took counselconspired against Him, as to how they might destroy Him.
15But Jesus, #12:15 Lit knowingaware of this, withdrew from there. Many followed Him, and He healed them all, 16and warned them not to #12:16 Lit make Him knowntell who He was. 17This happened so that what was spoken through Isaiah the prophet would be fulfilled:
18“Behold, My #12:18 Lit ChildServant whom I #12:18 Lit chosehave chosen;
My Beloved in whom My soul #12:18 Or took pleasuredelights;
I will put My Spirit upon Him,
And He will proclaim #12:18 Or judgmentjustice to the #12:18 Or nationsGentiles.
19“He will not quarrel, nor cry out;
Nor will anyone hear His voice in the streets.
20“A bent reed He will not break off,
And a dimly burning wick He will not extinguish,
Until He #12:20 Or brings forthleads #12:20 Or judgmentjustice to victory.
21“And in His name the #12:21 Or nationsGentiles will hope.”
The Pharisees Rebuked
22Then a demon-possessed man who was blind and unable to speak was brought to #12:22 Lit HimJesus, and He healed him so that the man who was unable to speak talked and #12:22 Lit sawcould see. 23And all the crowds were amazed and were saying, “This man cannot be the Son of David, can he?” 24But when the Pharisees heard this, they said, “This man casts out demons only by #12:24 Or Beezebul; meaning uncertain, perhaps lord prince, referring to SatanBeelzebul the ruler of the demons.”
25And knowing their thoughts, Jesus said to them, “Every kingdom divided against itself is laid waste; and no city or house divided against itself will stand. 26And if Satan is casting out Satan, he #12:26 Lit washas become divided against himself; how then will his kingdom stand? 27And if by #12:27 See note v 24Beelzebul I cast out the demons, by whom do your sons cast them out? Therefore, they will be your judges. 28But if I cast out the demons by the Spirit of God, then the kingdom of God has come upon you. 29Or, how can anyone enter the strong man’s house and carry off his property, unless he first ties up the strong man? And then he will plunder his house.
The Unpardonable Sin
30 The one who is not with Me is against Me; and the one who does not gather with Me scatters.
31 “Therefore I say to you, every sin and blasphemy shall be forgiven people, but blasphemy against the Spirit shall not be forgiven. 32And whoever speaks a word against the Son of Man, it shall be forgiven him; but whoever speaks against the Holy Spirit, it shall not be forgiven him, either in this age or in the age to come.
Words Reveal Character
33 “Either # 12:33 Lit make assume the tree to be good as well as its fruit good, or # 12:33 Lit make assume the tree to be bad as well as its fruit bad; for the tree is known by its fruit. 34You #12:34 Or broodoffspring of vipers, how can you, being evil, express any good things? For the mouth speaks from that which fills the heart. 35The good person brings out of his good treasure good things; and the evil person brings out of his evil treasure evil things. 36But I tell you that for every #12:36 Or uselesscareless word that people #12:36 Lit will speakspeak, they will give an account of it on the day of judgment. 37For #12:37 Or in accordance withby your words you will be justified, and #12:37 Or in accordance withby your words you will be condemned.”
The Desire for Signs
38Then some of the scribes and Pharisees said to Him, “Teacher, we want to see a #12:38 I.e., confirming miraclesign from You.” 39But He answered and said to them, “An evil and adulterous generation craves a #12:39 I.e., confirming miraclesign; and so no #12:39 I.e., confirming miraclesign will be given to it except the #12:39 I.e., confirming miraclesign of Jonah the prophet; 40for just as Jonah was in the stomach of the sea monster for three days and three nights, so will the Son of Man be in the heart of the earth for three days and three nights. 41The men of Nineveh will stand up with this generation at the judgment, and will condemn it because they repented at the preaching of Jonah; and behold, something greater than Jonah is here. 42The Queen of the South will rise up with this generation at the judgment and will condemn it, because she came from the ends of the earth to hear the wisdom of Solomon; and behold, something greater than Solomon is here.
43 “Now when the unclean spirit comes out of a person, it passes through waterless places seeking rest, and does not find it. 44Then it says, ‘I will return to my house from which I came’; and when it comes, it finds it unoccupied, swept, and put in order. 45Then it goes and brings along with it seven other spirits more wicked than itself, and they come in and live there; and the last condition of that person becomes worse than the first. That is the way it will also be with this evil generation.”
Changed Relationships
46While He was still speaking to the crowds, behold, His mother and brothers were standing outside, seeking to speak to Him. 47[#12:47 This verse is not found in early mssSomeone said to Him, “Look, Your mother and Your brothers are standing outside, seeking to speak to You.”] 48But #12:48 Lit HeJesus replied to the one who was telling Him and said, “Who is My mother, and who are My brothers?” 49And extending His hand toward His disciples, He 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: NASB2020
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Matthew 12
12
A question about the Sabbath
(Mark 2.23-28; Luke 6.1-5)
1One Sabbath, Jesus and his disciples were walking through some wheat fields.#12.1 walking through some wheat fields: It was the custom to let hungry travellers pick grains of wheat. His disciples were hungry and began picking and eating grains of wheat.#Dt 23.25. 2Some Pharisees noticed this and said to Jesus, “Why are your disciples picking grain on the Sabbath? They are not supposed to do that!”
3Jesus answered:#1 S 21.1-6.
You must have read what David did when he and his followers were hungry. 4He went into the house of God, and then they ate the sacred loaves of bread that only priests are supposed to eat.#Lv 24.9. 5Haven't you read in the Law of Moses that the priests are allowed to work in the temple on the Sabbath? But no one says that they are guilty of breaking the law of the Sabbath.#Nu 28.9,10. 6I tell you that there is something here greater than the temple. 7Don't you know what the Scriptures mean when they say, “Instead of offering sacrifices to me, I want you to be merciful to others”? If you knew what this means, you would not condemn these innocent disciples of mine.#Mt 9.13; Ho 6.6. 8So the Son of Man is Lord over the Sabbath.
A man with a crippled hand
(Mark 3.1-6; Luke 6.6-11)
9Jesus left and went into one of the Jewish meeting places, 10where there was a man whose hand was crippled. Some Pharisees wanted to accuse Jesus of doing something wrong, and they asked him, “Is it right to heal someone on the Sabbath?”
11Jesus answered, “If you had a sheep that fell into a ditch on the Sabbath, wouldn't you lift it out?#Lk 14.5. 12People are worth much more than sheep, and so it is right to do good on the Sabbath.” 13Then Jesus told the man, “Hold out your hand.” The man did, and it became as healthy as the other one.
14The Pharisees left and started making plans to kill Jesus.
God's chosen servant
15When Jesus found out what was happening, he left there and large crowds followed him. He healed all their sick, 16but warned them not to tell anyone about him. 17So God's promise came true, just as Isaiah the prophet had said,
18“Here is my chosen servant!#Is 42.1-4 (LXX).
I love him,
and he pleases me.
I will give him my Spirit,
and he will bring justice
to the nations.
19He won't shout or yell
or call out in the streets.
20He won't break off a bent reed
or put out a dying flame,
but he will make sure
that justice is done.
21All nations will place
their hope in him.”
Jesus and the ruler of the demons
(Mark 3.20-30; Luke 11.14-23; 12.10)
22Some people brought to Jesus a man who was blind and could not talk because he had a demon in him. Jesus healed the man, and then he was able to talk and see. 23The crowds were so amazed that they asked, “Could Jesus be the Son of David?”#12.23 Could Jesus be the Son of David: Or “Does Jesus think he is the Son of David?” See the note at 9.27.
24When the Pharisees heard this, they said, “He forces out demons by the power of Beelzebul, the ruler of the demons!”#Mt 9.34; 10.25.
25Jesus knew what they were thinking, and he said to them:
Any kingdom where people fight each other will end up ruined. And a town or family that fights will soon destroy itself. 26So if Satan fights against himself, how can his kingdom last? 27If I use the power of Beelzebul to force out demons, whose power do your own followers use to force them out? Your followers are the ones who will judge you. 28But when I force out demons by the power of God's Spirit, it proves that God's kingdom has already come to you. 29How can anyone break into a strong man's house and steal his things, unless he first ties up the strong man? Then he can take everything.
30If you are not on my side, you are against me. If you don't gather in the harvest with me, you scatter it.#Mk 9.40. 31-32I tell you that any sinful thing you do or say can be forgiven. Even if you speak against the Son of Man, you can be forgiven. But if you speak against the Holy Spirit, you can never be forgiven, either in this life or in the life to come.#Lk 12.10.
A tree and its fruit
(Luke 6.43-45)
Jesus continued:
33A good tree produces only good fruit, and a bad tree produces bad fruit. You can tell what a tree is like by the fruit it produces.#Mt 7.20; Lk 6.44. 34You are evil snakes, so how can you say anything good? Your words show what is in your hearts.#Mt 3.7; 23.33; Lk 3.7; Mt 15.18; Lk 6.45. 35Good people bring good things out of their hearts, but evil people bring evil things out of their hearts. 36I promise you that on the day of judgment, everyone will have to account for every careless word they have spoken. 37On that day they will be told that they are either innocent or guilty because of the things they have said.
A sign from heaven
(Mark 8.11,12; Luke 11.29-32)
38Some Pharisees and teachers of the Law of Moses said, “Teacher, we want you to show us a sign from heaven.”#Mt 16.1; Mk 8.11; Lk 11.16.
39But Jesus replied:#Mt 16.4; Mk 8.12.
You want a sign because you are evil and won't believe! But the only sign you will get is the sign of the prophet Jonah. 40He was in the stomach of a big fish for three days and nights, just as the Son of Man will be deep in the earth for three days and nights.#Jon 1.17. 41On the day of judgment the people of Nineveh#12.41 Nineveh: During the time of Jonah this city was the capital of the Assyrian Empire, which was Israel's worst enemy. But Jonah was sent there to preach, so that the people would turn to the Lord and be saved. will stand there with you and condemn you. They turned to God when Jonah preached, and yet here is something far greater than Jonah.#Jon 3.5. 42The Queen of the South#12.42 Queen of the South: Sheba, probably a country in southern Arabia. will also stand there with you and condemn you. She travelled a long way to hear Solomon's wisdom, and yet here is something much greater than Solomon.#1 K 10.1-10; 2 Ch 9.1-12.
Return of an evil spirit
(Luke 11.24-26)
Jesus continued:
43When an evil spirit leaves a person, it travels through the desert, looking for a place to rest. But when the demon doesn't find a place, 44it says, “I will go back to the home I left.” When it gets there and finds the place empty, clean, and tidy, 45it goes off and finds seven other evil spirits even worse than itself. They all come and make their home there, and the person ends up in a worse state than before. That's how it will be with you evil people of today.
Jesus' mother and brothers
(Mark 3.31-35; Luke 8.19-21)
46While Jesus was still speaking to the crowds, his mother and brothers came and stood outside because they wanted to talk with him. 47Someone told Jesus, “Your mother and brothers are standing outside and want to talk with you.”#12.47 with you: Some manuscripts do not have verse 47.
48Jesus answered, “Who is my mother and who are my brothers?” 49Then he pointed to his disciples and said, “These are my mother and my brothers! 50Anyone who obeys my Father in heaven is my brother or sister or mother.”
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