Matthew 12
12
1 At that time, Jesus went out through the ripe grain on the Sabbath. And his disciples, being hungry, began to separate the grain and to eat.
2 Then the Pharisees, seeing this, said to him, "Behold, your disciples are doing what is not lawful to do on the Sabbaths."
3 But he said to them: "Have you not read what David did, when he was hungry, and those who were with him:
4 how he entered the house of God and ate the bread of the Presence, which was not lawful for him to eat, nor for those who were with him, but only for the priests?
5 Or have you not read in the law, that on the Sabbaths the priests in the temple violate the Sabbath, and they are without guilt?
6 But I say to you, that something greater than the temple is here.
7 And if you knew what this means, 'I desire mercy, and not sacrifice,' you would never have condemned the innocent.
8 For the Son of man is Lord even of the Sabbath."
9 And when he had passed from there, he went into their synagogues.
10 And behold, there was a man who had a withered hand, and they questioned him, so that they might accuse him, saying, "Is it lawful to cure on the Sabbaths?"
11 But he said to them: "Who is there among you, having even one sheep, if it will have fallen into a pit on the Sabbath, would not take hold of it and lift it up?
12 How much better is a man than a sheep? And so, it is lawful to do good on the Sabbaths."
13 Then he said to the man, "Extend your hand." And he extended it, and it was restored to health, just like the other one.
14 Then the Pharisees, departing, took council against him, as to how they might destroy him.
15 But Jesus, knowing this, withdrew from there. And many followed him, and he cured them all.
16 And he instructed them, lest they make him known.
17 Then what was spoken through the prophet Isaiah was fulfilled, saying:
18 "Behold, my servant whom I have chosen, my beloved in whom my soul is well pleased. I will place my Spirit over him, and he shall announce judgment to the nations.
19 He shall not contend, nor cry out, neither shall anyone hear his voice in the streets.
20 He shall not crush the bruised reed, and he shall not extinguish the smoking wick, until he sends forth judgment unto victory.
21 And the Gentiles shall hope in his name."
22 Then one who had a demon, who was blind and mute, was brought to him. And he cured him, so that he spoke and saw.
23 And all the crowds were stupefied, and they said, "Could this be the son of David?"
24 But the Pharisees, hearing it, said, "This man does not cast out demons, except by Beelzebub, the prince of the demons."
25 But Jesus, knowing their thoughts, said to them: "Every kingdom divided against itself will become desolate. And every city or house divided against itself will not stand.
26 So if Satan casts out Satan, then he is divided against himself. How then will his kingdom stand?
27 And if I cast out demons by Beelzebub, by whom do your own sons cast them out? Therefore, they shall be your judges.
28 But if I cast out demons by the Spirit of God, then the kingdom of God has arrived among you.
29 Or how can anyone enter into the house of a strong man, and plunder his belongings, unless he first restrains the strong man? And then he will plunder his house.
30 Whoever is not with me, is against me. And whoever does not gather with me, scatters.
31 For this reason, I say to you: Every sin and blasphemy shall be forgiven men, but blasphemy against the Spirit shall not be forgiven.
32 And anyone who will have spoken a word against the Son of man shall be forgiven. But whoever will have spoken against the Holy Spirit shall not be forgiven, neither in this age, nor in the future age.
33 Either make the tree good and its fruit good, or make the tree evil and its fruit evil. For certainly a tree is known by its fruit.
34 Progeny of vipers, how are you able to speak good things while you are evil? For out of the abundance of the heart, the mouth speaks.
35 A good man offers good things from a good storehouse. And an evil man offers evil things from an evil storehouse.
36 But I say to you, that for every idle word which men will have spoken, they shall render an account in the day of judgment.
37 For by your words shall you be justified, and by your words shall you be condemned."
38 Then certain ones from the scribes and the Pharisees responded to him, saying, "Teacher, we want to see a sign from you."
39 And answering, he said to them: "An evil and adulterous generation seeks a sign. But a sign will not be given to it, except the sign of the prophet Jonah.
40 For just as Jonah was in the belly of the whale for three days and three nights, so shall the Son of man be in the heart of the earth for three days and three nights.
41 The men of Nineveh shall arise in judgment with this generation, and they shall condemn it. For, at the preaching of Jonah, they repented. And behold, there is a greater than Jonah here.
42 The Queen of the South shall arise in judgment with this generation, and she shall condemn it. For she came from the ends of the earth to hear the wisdom of Solomon. And behold, there is a greater than Solomon here.
43 Now when an unclean spirit departs from a man, he walks through dry places, seeking rest, and he does not find it.
44 Then he says, 'I will return to my house, from which I departed'. And arriving, he finds it vacant, swept clean, and decorated.
45 Then he goes and takes with him seven other spirits more wicked than himself, and they enter in and live there. And in the end, the man becomes worse than he was at first. So, too, shall it be with this most wicked generation."
46 While he was still speaking to the crowds, behold, his mother and his brothers were standing outside, seeking to speak with him.
47 And someone said to him: "Behold, your mother and your brothers are standing outside, seeking you."
48 But responding to the one speaking to him, he said, "Which one is my mother, and who are my brothers?"
49 And extending his hand to his disciples, he said: "Behold: my mother and my brothers.
50 For anyone who does the will of my Father, who is in heaven, the same is my brother, and sister, and mother."
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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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© British and Foreign Bible Society 2012