Matthew 12
12
The Disciples Pluck Grain on the Sabbath
(Mark 2.23-28; Luke 6.1-5)
1 #
Deut 23.25. At that time Jesus went on the sabbath day through the corn; and his disciples were ahungered, and began to pluck the ears of corn, and to eat. 2But when the Pharisees saw it, they said unto him, Behold, thy disciples do that which is not lawful to do upon the sabbath day. 3#1 Sam 21.1-6. But he said unto them, Have ye not read what David did, when he was ahungered, and they that were with him; 4#Lev 24.9. how he entered into the house of God, and did eat the showbread, which was not lawful for him to eat, neither for them which were with him, but only for the priests? 5#Num 28.9,10. Or have ye not read in the law, how that on the sabbath days the priests in the temple profane the sabbath, and are blameless? 6But I say unto you, That in this place is one greater than the temple. 7#Hos 6.6; Matt 9.13. But if ye had known what this meaneth, I will have mercy, and not sacrifice, ye would not have condemned the guiltless. 8For the Son of man is Lord even of the sabbath day.
The Man with a Withered Hand
(Mark 3.1-6; Luke 6.6-11)
9And when he was departed thence, he went into their synagogue: 10and, behold, there was a man which had his hand withered. And they asked him, saying, Is it lawful to heal on the sabbath days? that they might accuse him. 11#Luke 14.5. And he said unto them, What man shall there be among you, that shall have one sheep, and if it fall into a pit on the sabbath day, will he not lay hold on it, and lift it out? 12How much then is a man better than a sheep? Wherefore it is lawful to do well on the sabbath days. 13Then saith he to the man, Stretch forth thine hand. And he stretched it forth; and it was restored whole, like as the other. 14Then the Pharisees went out, and held a council against him, how they might destroy him.
The Chosen Servant
15But when Jesus knew it, he withdrew himself from thence: and great multitudes followed him, and he healed them all; 16and charged them that they should not make him known: 17that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by Isaiah the prophet, saying,
18 #
Isa 42.1-4. Behold my servant, whom I have chosen;
my beloved, in whom my soul is well pleased:
I will put my Spirit upon him,
and he shall show judgment to the Gentiles.
19He shall not strive, nor cry;
neither shall any man hear his voice in the streets.
20A bruised reed shall he not break,
and smoking flax shall he not quench,
till he send forth judgment unto victory.
21And in his name shall the Gentiles trust.
A Divided House Cannot Stand
(Mark 3.19-30; Luke 11.14-23)
22Then was brought unto him one possessed with a devil, blind, and dumb: and he healed him, insomuch that the blind and dumb both spake and saw. 23And all the people were amazed, and said, Is not this the Son of David? 24#Matt 9.34; 10.25. But when the Pharisees heard it, they said, This fellow doth not cast out devils, but by Beel´zebub the prince of the devils. 25And Jesus knew their thoughts, and said unto them, Every kingdom divided against itself is brought to desolation; and every city or house divided against itself shall not stand: 26and if Satan cast out Satan, he is divided against himself; how shall then his kingdom stand? 27And if I by Beel´zebub cast out devils, by whom do your children cast them out? therefore they shall be your judges. 28But if I cast out devils by the Spirit of God, then the kingdom of God is come unto you. 29Or else, how can one enter into a strong man's house, and spoil his goods, except he first bind the strong man? and then he will spoil his house. 30#Mark 9.40. He that is not with me is against me; and he that gathereth not with me scattereth abroad. 31Wherefore I say unto you, All manner of sin and blasphemy shall be forgiven unto men: but the blasphemy against the Holy Ghost shall not be forgiven unto men. 32#Luke 12.10. And whosoever speaketh a word against the Son of man, it shall be forgiven him: but whosoever speaketh against the Holy Ghost, it shall not be forgiven him, neither in this world, neither in the world to come.
33 #
Matt 7.20; Luke 6.44. Either make the tree good, and his fruit good; or else make the tree corrupt, and his fruit corrupt: for the tree is known by his fruit. 34#Matt 3.7; 23.33; Luke 3.7; Matt 15.18; Luke 6.45. O generation of vipers, how can ye, being evil, speak good things? for out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaketh. 35A good man out of the good treasure of the heart#12.35 of the heart not found in best early manuscripts. bringeth forth good things: and an evil man out of the evil treasure bringeth forth evil things. 36But I say unto you, That every idle word that men shall speak, they shall give account thereof in the day of judgment. 37For by thy words thou shalt be justified, and by thy words thou shalt be condemned.
An Evil Generation Seeks a Sign
(Luke 11.29-32)
38 #
Matt 16.1; Mark 8.11; Luke 11.16. Then certain of the scribes and of the Pharisees answered, saying, Master, we would see a sign from thee. 39#Matt 16.4; Mark 8.12. But he answered and said unto them, An evil and adulterous generation seeketh after a sign; and there shall no sign be given to it, but the sign of the prophet Jonah: 40#Jonah 1.17. for as Jonah was three days and three nights in the whale's belly; so shall the Son of man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth. 41#Jonah 3.5. The men of Nin´eveh shall rise in judgment with this generation, and shall condemn it: because they repented at the preaching of Jonah; and, behold, a greater than Jonah is here. 42#1 Kgs 10.1-10; 2 Chr 9.1-12. The queen of the south shall rise up in the judgment with this generation, and shall condemn it: for she came from the uttermost parts of the earth to hear the wisdom of Solomon; and, behold, a greater than Solomon is here.
The Return of the Unclean Spirit
(Luke 11.24-26)
43When the unclean spirit is gone out of a man, he walketh through dry places, seeking rest, and findeth none. 44Then he saith, I will return into my house from whence I came out; and when he is come, he findeth it empty, swept, and garnished. 45Then goeth he, and taketh with himself seven other spirits more wicked than himself, and they enter in and dwell there: and the last state of that man is worse than the first. Even so shall it be also unto this wicked generation.
Jesus' Mother and Brethren
(Mark 3.31-35; Luke 8.19-21)
46While he yet talked to the people, behold, his mother and his brethren stood without, desiring to speak with him. 47Then one said unto him, Behold, thy mother and thy brethren stand without, desiring to speak with thee. 48But he answered and said unto him that told him, Who is my mother? and who are my brethren? 49And he stretched forth his hand toward his disciples, and said, Behold my mother and my brethren! 50For whosoever shall do the will of my Father which is in heaven, the same is my brother, and sister, and mother.
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Matthew 12: KJVAE
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King James Version 1611, spelling, punctuation and text formatting modernized by ABS in 1962; typesetting © 2010 American Bible Society.
Matthew 12
12
The Question about the Sabbath
(Mk 2.23–28; Lk 6.1–5)
1 #
Deut 23.25
Not long afterwards Jesus was walking through some cornfields on the Sabbath. His disciples were hungry, so they began to pick ears of corn and eat the grain. 2When the Pharisees saw this, they said to Jesus, “Look, it is against our Law for your disciples to do this on the Sabbath!”
3 #
1 Sam 21.1–6
Jesus answered, “Have you never read what David did that time when he and his men were hungry? 4#Lev 24.9He went into the house of God, and he and his men ate the bread offered to God, even though it was against the Law for them to eat it — only the priests were allowed to eat that bread. 5#Num 28.9–10Or have you not read in the Law of Moses that every Sabbath the priests in the Temple actually break the Sabbath law, yet they are not guilty? 6I tell you that there is something here greater than the Temple. 7#Mt 9.13; Hos 6.6The scripture says, ‘It is kindness that I want, not animal sacrifices.’ If you really knew what this means, you would not condemn people who are not guilty; 8for the Son of Man is Lord of the Sabbath.”
The Man with a Paralysed Hand
(Mk 3.1–6; Lk 6.6–11)
9Jesus left that place and went to a synagogue, 10where there was a man who had a paralysed hand. Some people were there who wanted to accuse Jesus of doing wrong, so they asked him, “Is it against our Law to heal on the Sabbath?”
11 #
Lk 14.5
Jesus answered, “What if one of you has a sheep and it falls into a deep hole on the Sabbath? Will you not take hold of it and lift it out? 12And a human being is worth much more than a sheep! So then, our Law does allow us to help someone on the Sabbath.” 13Then he said to the man with the paralysed hand, “Stretch out your hand.”
He stretched it out, and it became well again, just like the other one. 14Then the Pharisees left and made plans to kill Jesus.
God's Chosen Servant
15When Jesus heard about the plot against him, he went away from that place; and large crowds followed him. He healed all those who were ill 16and gave them orders not to tell others about him. 17He did this so as to make what God had said through the prophet Isaiah come true:
18 #
Is 42.1–4 (LXX) “Here is my servant, whom I have chosen,
the one I love, and with whom I am pleased.
I will send my Spirit upon him,
and he will announce my judgement to the nations.
19He will not argue or shout,
or make loud speeches in the streets.
20He will not break off a bent reed,
or put out a flickering lamp.
He will persist until he causes justice to triumph,
21and in him all peoples will put their hope.”
Jesus and Beelzebul
(Mk 3.20–30; Lk 11.14–23)
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 was able to talk and see. 23The crowds were all amazed at what Jesus had done. “Could he be the Son of David?” they asked.
24 #
Mt 9.34; 10.25 When the Pharisees heard this, they replied, “He drives out demons only because their ruler Beelzebul gives him power to do so.”
25Jesus knew what they were thinking, so he said to them, “Any country that divides itself into groups which fight each other will not last very long. And any town or family that divides itself into groups which fight each other will fall apart. 26So if one group is fighting another in Satan's kingdom, this means that it is already divided into groups and will soon fall apart! 27You say that I drive out demons because Beelzebul gives me the power to do so. Well, then, who gives your followers the power to drive them out? What your own followers do proves that you are wrong! 28No, it is not Beelzebul, but God's Spirit, who gives me the power to drive out demons, which proves that the Kingdom of God has already come upon you.
29 “No one can break into a strong man's house and take away his belongings unless he first ties up the strong man; then he can plunder his house.
30 #
Mk 9.40
“Anyone who is not for me is really against me; anyone who does not help me gather is really scattering. 31And so I tell you that people can be forgiven any sin and any evil thing they say;#12.31 evil thing they say; or evil thing they say against God. but whoever says evil things against the Holy Spirit will not be forgiven. 32#Lk 12.10Anyone who says something against the Son of Man can be forgiven; but whoever says something against the Holy Spirit will not be forgiven — now or ever.
A Tree and its Fruit
(Lk 6.43–45)
33 #
Mt 7.20; Lk 6.44 “To have good fruit you must have a healthy tree; if you have a poor tree, you will have bad fruit. A tree is known by the kind of fruit it bears. 34#Mt 3.7; 23.33; 15.18; Lk 3.7; 6.45You snakes — how can you say good things when you are evil? For the mouth speaks what the heart is full of. 35A good person brings good things out of a treasure of good things; a bad person brings bad things out of a treasure of bad things.
36 “You can be sure that on Judgement Day everyone will have to give account of every useless word he has ever spoken. 37Your words will be used to judge you — to declare you either innocent or guilty.”
The Demand for a Miracle
(Mk 8.11–12; Lk 11.29–32)
38 #
Mt 16.1; Mk 8.11; Lk 11.16 Then some teachers of the Law and some Pharisees spoke up. “Teacher,” they said, “we want to see you perform a miracle.”
39 #
Mt 16.4; Mk 8.12 “How evil and godless are the people of this day!” Jesus exclaimed. “You ask me for a miracle? No! The only miracle you will be given is the miracle of the prophet Jonah. 40#Jon 1.17In the same way that Jonah spent three days and nights in the big fish, so will the Son of Man spend three days and nights in the depths of the earth. 41#Jon 3.5On Judgement Day the people of Nineveh will stand up and accuse you, because they turned from their sins when they heard Jonah preach; and I tell you that there is something here greater than Jonah! 42#1 Kgs 10.1–10; 2 Chr 9.1–12On Judgement Day the Queen of Sheba will stand up and accuse you, because she travelled all the way from her country to listen to King Solomon's wise teaching; and I assure you that there is something here greater than Solomon!
The Return of the Evil Spirit
(Lk 11.24–26)
43 “When an evil spirit goes out of a person, it travels over dry country looking for a place to rest. If it can't find one, 44it says to itself, ‘I will go back to my house.’ So it goes back and finds the house empty, clean, and all tidy. 45Then it goes out and brings along seven other spirits even worse than itself, and they come and live there. So when it is all over, that person is in a worse state than he was at the beginning. This is what will happen to the evil people of this day.”
Jesus' Mother and Brothers
(Mk 3.31–35; Lk 8.19–21)
46Jesus was still talking to the people when his mother and brothers arrived. They stood outside, asking to speak with him. 47So one of the people there said to him, “Look, your mother and brothers are standing outside, and they want to speak with you.”#12.47 Some manuscripts do not have verse 47.
48Jesus answered, “Who is my mother? Who are my brothers?” 49Then he pointed to his disciples and said, “Look! Here are my mother and my brothers! 50Whoever does what my Father in heaven wants him to do is my brother, my sister, and my mother.”
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Good News Bible. Scripture taken from the Good News Bible (r) (Today's English Version Second Edition, UK/British Edition). Copyright © 1992 British & Foreign Bible Society. Used by permission.