Matthew 12
12
Jesus Is Lord of the Sabbath Day
1One Sabbath day Jesus walked through the grainfields. His disciples were hungry. So they began to break off some heads of grain and eat them. 2The Pharisees saw this. They said to Jesus, “Look! It is against the Law to do this on the Sabbath day. But your disciples are doing it anyway!”
3Jesus answered, “Haven’t you read about what David did? He and his men were hungry. 4So he entered the house of God. He and his men ate the holy bread. Only priests were allowed to eat it. 5Haven’t you read the Law? It tells how every Sabbath day the priests in the temple have to do their work on that day. But they are not considered guilty. 6I tell you that something more important than the temple is here. 7Scripture says, ‘I want mercy and not sacrifice.’ (Hosea 6:6) You don’t know what those words mean. If you did, you would not bring charges against those who are not guilty. 8The Son of Man is Lord of the Sabbath day.”
9Going on from that place, Jesus went into their synagogue. 10A man with a weak and twisted hand was there. The Pharisees were trying to accuse Jesus of a crime. So they asked him, “Does the Law allow us to heal on the Sabbath day?”
11He said to them, “What if one of your sheep falls into a pit on the Sabbath day? Won’t you take hold of it and lift it out? 12A person is worth more than sheep! So the Law allows us to do good on the Sabbath day.”
13Then Jesus said to the man, “Stretch out your hand.” So he stretched it out. It had been made as good as new. It was just as good as the other hand. 14But the Pharisees went out and planned how to kill Jesus.
God’s Chosen Servant
15Jesus knew all about the Pharisees’ plans. So he left that place. A large crowd followed him, and he healed all who were sick. 16But he warned them not to tell other people about him. 17This was to make what was spoken through the prophet Isaiah come true. It says,
18“Here is my servant. I have chosen him.
He is the one I love. I am very pleased with him.
I will put my Spirit on him.
He will announce to the nations that everything will be made right.
19He will not argue or cry out.
No one will hear his voice in the streets.
20He will not break a bent twig.
He will not put out a dimly burning flame.
He will make right win over wrong.
21The nations will put their hope in him.” (Isaiah 42:1–4)
Jesus and Beelzebul
22A man controlled by demons was brought to Jesus. The man was blind and could not speak. Jesus healed him. Then the man could speak and see. 23All the people were amazed. They said, “Could this be the Son of David?”
24The Pharisees heard this. So they said, “This fellow drives out demons by the power of Beelzebul, the prince of demons.”
25Jesus knew what they were thinking. So he said to them, “Every kingdom that fights against itself will be destroyed. Every city or family that is divided against itself will not stand. 26If Satan drives out Satan, he fights against himself. Then how can his kingdom stand? 27You say I drive out demons by the power of Beelzebul. Then by whose power do your people drive them out? So then, they will be your judges. 28But suppose I drive out demons by the Spirit of God. Then the kingdom of God has come to you.
29“Or think about this. How can you enter a strong man’s house and just take what the man owns? You must first tie him up. Then you can rob his house.
30“Anyone who is not with me is against me. Anyone who does not gather sheep with me scatters them. 31So here is what I tell you. Every kind of sin and every evil word spoken against God will be forgiven. But speaking evil things against the Holy Spirit will not be forgiven. 32Anyone who speaks a word against the Son of Man will be forgiven. But anyone who speaks against the Holy Spirit will not be forgiven. A person like that won’t be forgiven either now or in days to come.
33“If you make a tree good, its fruit will be good. If you make a tree bad, its fruit will be bad. You can tell a tree by its fruit. 34You nest of poisonous snakes! How can you who are evil say anything good? Your mouths say everything that is in your hearts. 35A good man says good things. These come from the good that is stored up inside him. An evil man says evil things. These come from the evil that is stored up inside him. 36But here is what I tell you. On judgment day, everyone will have to account for every empty word they have spoken. 37By your words you will be found guilty or not guilty.”
The Sign of Jonah
38Some of the Pharisees and the teachers of the law came to Jesus. They said, “Teacher, we want to see a sign from you.”
39He answered, “Evil and unfaithful people ask for a sign! But none will be given except the sign of the prophet Jonah. 40Jonah was in the belly of a huge fish for three days and three nights. Something like that will happen to the Son of Man. He will spend three days and three nights in the grave. 41The men of Nineveh will stand up on judgment day with the people now living. And the Ninevites will prove that these people are guilty. The men of Nineveh turned away from their sins when Jonah preached to them. And now something more important than Jonah is here. 42The Queen of the South will stand up on judgment day with the people now living. And she will prove that they are guilty. She came from very far away to listen to Solomon’s wisdom. And now something more important than Solomon is here.
43“What happens when an evil spirit comes out of a person? It goes through dry areas looking for a place to rest. But it doesn’t find it. 44Then it says, ‘I will return to the house I left.’ When it arrives there, it finds the house empty. The house has been swept clean and put in order. 45Then the evil spirit goes and takes with it seven other spirits more evil than itself. They go in and live there. That person is worse off than before. That is how it will be with the evil people of today.”
Jesus’ Mother and Brothers
46While Jesus was still talking to the crowd, his mother and brothers stood outside. They wanted to speak to him. 47Someone told him, “Your mother and brothers are standing outside. They want to speak to you.”
48Jesus replied to him, “Who is my mother? And who are my brothers?” 49Jesus pointed to his disciples. He said, “Here is my mother! Here are my brothers! 50Anyone who does what my Father in heaven wants is my brother or sister or mother.”
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Matthew 12: NIrV
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Holy Bible, New International Reader’s Version®, NIrV®
Copyright © 1995, 1996, 1998, 2014 by Biblica, Inc.®
Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.
Matthew 12
12
Jesus Is Lord of the Sabbath
1At that time Jesus was walking through some fields of grain on a Sabbath day. His followers were hungry, so they began to pick the grain and eat it. 2When the Pharisees saw this, they said to Jesus, “Look! Your followers are doing what is unlawful to do on the Sabbath day.”
3Jesus answered, “Have you not read what David did when he and the people with him were hungry? 4He went into God’s house, and he and those with him ate the holy bread, which was lawful only for priests to eat. 5And have you not read in the law of Moses that on every Sabbath day the priests in the Temple break this law about the Sabbath day? But the priests are not wrong for doing that. 6I tell you that there is something here that is greater than the Temple. 7The Scripture says, ‘I want kindness more than I want animal sacrifices.’ You don’t really know what those words mean. If you understood them, you would not judge those who have done nothing wrong.
8“So the Son of Man is Lord of the Sabbath day.”
Jesus Heals a Man’s Hand
9Jesus left there and went into their synagogue, 10where there was a man with a crippled hand. They were looking for a reason to accuse Jesus, so they asked him, “Is it right to heal on the Sabbath day?”
11Jesus answered, “If any of you has a sheep, and it falls into a ditch on the Sabbath day, you will help it out of the ditch. 12Surely a human being is more important than a sheep. So it is lawful to do good things on the Sabbath day.”
13Then Jesus said to the man with the crippled hand, “Hold out your hand.” The man held out his hand, and it became well again, like the other hand. 14But the Pharisees left and made plans to kill Jesus.
Jesus Is God’s Chosen Servant
15Jesus knew what the Pharisees were doing, so he left that place. Many people followed him, and he healed all who were sick. 16But Jesus warned the people not to tell who he was. 17He did these things to bring about what Isaiah the prophet had said:
18“Here is my servant whom I have chosen.
I love him, and I am pleased with him.
I will put my Spirit upon him,
and he will tell of my justice to all people.
19He will not argue or cry out;
no one will hear his voice in the streets.
20He will not break a crushed blade of grass
or put out even a weak flame
until he makes justice win the victory.
21In him will the non-Jewish people find hope.”#Isaiah 42:1–4
Jesus’ Power Is from God
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 could talk and see. 23All the people were amazed and said, “Perhaps this man is the Son of David!”
24When the Pharisees heard this, they said, “Jesus uses the power of Beelzebul, the ruler of demons, to force demons out of people.”
25Jesus knew what the Pharisees were thinking, so he said to them, “Every kingdom that is divided against itself will be destroyed. And any city or family that is divided against itself will not continue. 26And if Satan forces out himself, then Satan is divided against himself, and his kingdom will not continue. 27You say that I use the power of Beelzebul to force out demons. If that is true, then what power do your people use to force out demons? So they will be your judges. 28But if I use the power of God’s Spirit to force out demons, then the kingdom of God has come to you.
29“If anyone wants to enter a strong person’s house and steal his things, he must first tie up the strong person. Then he can steal the things from the house.
30“Whoever is not with me is against me. Whoever does not work with me is working against me. 31So I tell you, people can be forgiven for every sin and everything they say against God. But whoever speaks against the Holy Spirit will not be forgiven. 32Anyone who speaks against the Son of Man can be forgiven, but anyone who speaks against the Holy Spirit will not be forgiven, now or in the future.
People Know You by Your Words
33“If you want good fruit, you must make the tree good. If your tree is not good, it will have bad fruit. A tree is known by the kind of fruit it produces. 34You snakes! You are evil people, so how can you say anything good? The mouth speaks the things that are in the heart. 35Good people have good things in their hearts, and so they say good things. But evil people have evil in their hearts, so they say evil things. 36And I tell you that on the Judgment Day people will be responsible for every careless thing they have said. 37The words you have said will be used to judge you. Some of your words will prove you right, but some of your words will prove you guilty.”
The People Ask for a Miracle
38Then some of the Pharisees and teachers of the law answered Jesus, saying, “Teacher, we want to see you work a miracle as a sign.”
39Jesus answered, “Evil and sinful people are the ones who want to see a miracle for a sign. But no sign will be given to them, except the sign of the prophet Jonah. 40Jonah was in the stomach of the big fish for three days and three nights. In the same way, the Son of Man will be in the grave three days and three nights. 41On the Judgment Day the people from Nineveh will stand up with you people who live now, and they will show that you are guilty. When Jonah preached to them, they were sorry and changed their lives. And I tell you that someone greater than Jonah is here. 42On the Judgment Day, the Queen of the South will stand up with you people who live today. She will show that you are guilty, because she came from far away to listen to Solomon’s wise teaching. And I tell you that someone greater than Solomon is here.
People Today Are Full of Evil
43“When an evil spirit comes out of a person, it travels through dry places, looking for a place to rest, but it doesn’t find it. 44So the spirit says, ‘I will go back to the house I left.’ When the spirit comes back, it finds the house still empty, swept clean, and made neat. 45Then the evil spirit goes out and brings seven other spirits even more evil than it is, and they go in and live there. So the person has even more trouble than before. It is the same way with the evil people who live today.”
Jesus’ True Family
46While Jesus was talking to the people, his mother and brothers stood outside, trying to find a way to talk to him. 47Someone told Jesus, “Your mother and brothers are standing outside, and they want to talk to you.”
48He answered, “Who is my mother? Who are my brothers?” 49Then he pointed to his followers and said, “Here are my mother and my brothers. 50My true brother and sister and mother are those who do what my Father in heaven wants.”
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