Mattithyahu (Matthew) 12
12
1At that time יהושע went through the grain fields on the Sabbath. And His taught ones were hungry, and began to pluck heads of grain, to eat.
2And when the Pharisees saw it, they said to Him, “Look, Your taught ones are doing what is not right to do on the Sabbath!”
3But He said to them, “Have you not read what Dawiḏ did when he was hungry, he and those who were with him:
4how he went into the House of Elohim and ate the showbread which was not right for him to eat, nor for those who were with him, but only for the priests?
5“Or did you not read in the Torah that on the Sabbath the priests in the Set-apart Place profane the Sabbath, and are blameless?
6“But I say to you that in this place there is One greater than the Set-apart Place.
7“And if you had known what this means, ‘I desire compassion and not offering,’#Hosea 6:6 you would not have condemned the blameless.
8“For the Son of Aḏam is Master of the Sabbath.”#See also Gen. 2:2, 3
9And having left there, He went into their congregation.
10And see, there was a man having a withered hand. And they asked Him, saying, “Is it right to heal on the Sabbath?” – so as to accuse Him.
11And He said to them, “What man is there among you who has one sheep, and if it falls into a pit on the Sabbath, shall not take hold of it and lift it out?
12How much more worth is a man than a sheep! So it is right 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, as healthy as the other.
14But the Pharisees went out and took counsel against Him, so as to destroy Him.
15But יהושע, knowing it, withdrew from there. And large crowds followed Him, and He healed them all,
16and warned them not to make Him known,
17in order that what was spoken by Yeshayahu the prophet, might be filled, saying,
18“See, My Servant whom I have chosen, My Beloved in whom My being did delight. I shall put My Spirit upon Him, and He shall declare right-ruling to the nations.
19“He shall not strive nor cry out, nor shall anyone hear His voice in the streets.
20“A crushed reed He shall not break, and smoking flax He shall not quench, till He brings forth right-ruling forever.
21“And the nations shall trust in His Name.”#Isa. 42:1-4#This is according to the Shem-Toḇ Hebrew text. However, this passage is a quote from Isa. 42:1-3 where it reads right-ruling unto truth.
22Then they brought to Him one who was demon-possessed, blind and dumb. And He healed him, so that the blind and dumb man both spoke and saw.
23And all the crowds were amazed and said, “Is this the Son of Dawiḏ?”
24But when the Pharisees heard it they said, “This one does not cast out demons except by Be‛elzebul, the ruler of the demons.”
25And יהושע knew their thoughts, and said to them, “Every reign divided against itself is laid waste, and every city or house divided against itself shall not stand.
26“And if Satan casts out Satan, he is divided against himself. How then does his reign stand?
27“And if I, by Be‛elzebul, do cast out demons, by whom do your sons cast them out? Because of this they shall be your judges.
28“But if I cast out demons by the Spirit of Elohim, then the reign of Elohim has come upon you.
29“Or how is one able to enter a strong man’s house and plunder his goods, unless he first binds the strong man? And then he shall plunder his house.
30“He who is not with Me is against Me, and he who does not gather with Me scatters abroad.
31“Because of this I say to you, all sin and blasphemy shall be forgiven men, but the blasphemy against the Spirit shall not be forgiven men.
32“And whoever speaks a word against the Son of Aḏam, it shall be forgiven him, but whoever speaks against the Set-apart Spirit, it shall not be forgiven him, either in this age or in the age to come.
33“Either make the tree good and its fruit good, or else make the tree rotten and its fruit rotten, for a tree is known by its fruit.
34“Brood of adders! How are you able to speak what is good – being wicked? For the mouth speaks from the overflow of the heart.
35“The good man brings forth what is good from the good treasures of his heart, and the wicked man brings forth what is wicked from the wicked treasure.
36“And I say to you that for every idle word men speak, they shall give an account of it in the day of judgment.
37“For by your words you shall be declared righteous, and by your words you shall be declared unrighteous.”
38Then some of the scribes and Pharisees answered, saying, “Teacher, we wish to see a sign from You.”
39But He answering, said to them, “A wicked and adulterous generation seeks after a sign, and no sign shall be given to it except the sign of the prophet Yonah.
40“For as Yonah was three days and three nights in the stomach of the great fish,# Jonah 1:17 so shall the Son of Aḏam be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth.
41“Men of Ninewĕh shall stand up in the judgment with this generation and condemn it, because they repented at the preaching of Yonah, and look, a greater than Yonah is here.
42“The sovereigness of the South shall rise up in the judgment with this generation and shall condemn it, for she came from the ends of the earth to hear the wisdom of Shelomoh, and look, a greater than Shelomoh is here.
43“Now when the unclean spirit goes out of a man, he goes through dry places, seeking rest, and finds none.
44“Then it says, ‘I shall return to my house from which I came.’ And when it comes, it finds it empty, swept, and decorated.
45“Then it goes and takes with it seven other spirits more wicked than itself, and they enter and dwell there. And the last of that man is worse than the first. So shall it also be with this wicked generation.”
46And while He was still talking to the crowds, see, His mother and brothers stood outside, seeking to speak with Him.
47And one said to Him, “See, Your mother and Your brothers are standing outside, seeking to speak with You.”
48But He answering, said to the one who spoke to Him, “Who is My mother and who are My brothers?”
49And having stretched out His hand toward His taught ones, He said, “See My mother and My brothers!
50“For whoever does the desire of My Father who is in the heavens is My brother and sister and mother.”#See Luke 8:21 where the wording differs slightly.
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Mattithyahu (Matthew) 12: TS2009
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Copyright© 1993 – 2015 by the Institute for Scripture Research (ISR). All rights reserved.
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.