Matthew 12
12
1At that time did Jesus go on the sabbaths through the corn, and his disciples were hungry, and they began to pluck ears, and to eat,
2and the Pharisees having seen, said to him, ‘Lo, thy disciples do that which it is not lawful to do on a sabbath.’
3And he said to them, ‘Did ye not read what David did, when he was hungry, himself and those with him —
4how he went into the house of God, and the loaves of the presentation did eat, which it is not lawful to him to eat, nor to those with him, except to the priests alone?
5‘Or did ye not read in the Law, that on the sabbaths the priests in the temple do profane the sabbath, and are blameless?
6and I say to you, that a greater than the temple is here;
7and if ye had known what is: Kindness I will, and not sacrifice — ye had not condemned the blameless,
8for the son of man is lord even of the sabbath.’
9And having departed thence, he went to their synagogue,
10and lo, there was a man having the hand withered, and they questioned him, saying, ‘Is it lawful to heal on the sabbaths?’ that they might accuse him.
11And he said to them, ‘What man shall be of you, who shall have one sheep, and if this may fall on the sabbaths into a ditch, will not lay hold on it and raise [it]?
12How much better, therefore, is a man than a sheep? — so that it is lawful on the sabbaths to do good.’
13Then saith he to the man, ‘Stretch forth thy hand,’ and he stretched [it] forth, and it was restored whole as the other.
14And the Pharisees having gone forth, held a consultation against him, how they might destroy him,
15and Jesus having known, withdrew thence, and there followed him great multitudes, and he healed them all,
16and did charge them that they might not make him manifest,
17that it might be fulfilled that was spoken through Isaiah the prophet, saying,
18‘Lo, My servant, whom I did choose, My beloved, in whom My soul did delight, I will put My Spirit upon him, and judgment to the nations he shall declare,
19he shall not strive nor cry, nor shall any hear in the broad places his voice,
20a bruised reed he shall not break, and smoking flax he shall not quench, till he may put forth judgment to victory,
21and in his name shall nations hope.’
22Then was brought to him a demoniac, blind and dumb, and he healed him, so that the blind and dumb both spake and saw.
23And all the multitudes were amazed, and said, ‘Is this the Son of David?’
24but the Pharisees having heard, said, ‘This one doth not cast out demons, except by Beelzeboul, ruler of the demons.’
25And Jesus, knowing their thoughts, said to them, ‘Every kingdom having been divided against itself is desolated, and no city or house having been divided against itself, doth stand,
26and if the Adversary doth cast out the Adversary, against himself he was divided, how then doth his kingdom stand?
27‘And if I, by Beelzeboul, do cast out the demons, your sons — by whom do they cast out? because of this they — they shall be your judges.
28‘But if I, by the Spirit of God, do cast out the demons, then come already unto you did the reign of God.
29‘Or how is one able to go into the house of the strong man, and to plunder his goods, if first he may not bind the strong man? and then his house he will plunder.
30‘He who is not with me is against me, and he who is not gathering with me, doth scatter.
31Because of this I say to you, all sin and evil speaking shall be forgiven to men, but the evil speaking of the Spirit shall not be forgiven to men.
32And whoever may speak a word against the Son of Man it shall be forgiven to him, but whoever may speak against the Holy Spirit, it shall not be forgiven him, neither in this age, nor in that which is coming.
33‘Either make the tree good, and its fruit good, or make the tree bad, and its fruit bad, for from the fruit is the tree known.
34‘Brood of vipers! how are ye able to speak good things — being evil? for out of the abundance of the heart doth the mouth speak.
35The good man out of the good treasure of the heart doth put forth the good things, and the evil man out of the evil treasure doth put forth evil things.
36‘And I say to you, that every idle word that men may speak, they shall give for it a reckoning in a day of judgment;
37for from thy words thou shalt be declared righteous, and from thy words thou shalt be declared unrighteous.’
38Then answered certain of the scribes and Pharisees, saying, ‘Teacher, we will to see a sign from thee.’
39And he answering said to them, ‘A generation, evil and adulterous, doth seek a sign, and a sign shall not be given to it, except the sign of Jonah the prophet;
40for, as Jonah was in the belly of the fish three days and three nights, so shall the Son of Man be in the heart of the earth three days and three nights.
41‘Men of Nineveh shall stand up in the judgment with this generation, and shall condemn it, for they reformed at the proclamation of Jonah, and lo, a greater than Jonah here!
42‘A queen 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 Solomon, and lo, a greater than Solomon here!
43‘And, when the unclean spirit may go forth from the man, it doth walk through dry places seeking rest, and doth not find;
44then it saith, I will turn back to my house whence I came forth; and having come, it findeth [it] unoccupied, swept, and adorned:
45then doth it go, and take with itself seven other spirits more evil than itself, and having gone in they dwell there, and the last of that man doth become worse than the first; so shall it be also to this evil generation.’
46And while he was yet speaking to the multitudes, lo, his mother and brethren had stood without, seeking to speak to him,
47and one said to him, ‘Lo, thy mother and thy brethren do stand without, seeking to speak to thee.’
48And he answering said to him who spake to him, ‘Who is my mother? and who are my brethren?’
49And having stretched forth his hand toward his disciples, he said, ‘Lo, my mother and my brethren!
50for whoever may do the will of my Father who is in the heavens, he is my brother, and sister, and mother.’
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Matthew 12: YLT98
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maintained by the British and Foreign Bible Society
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.