Luke 6:1-26

Once, on a day of rest—a holy day, Jesus was walking through some grainfields. His disciples were picking the heads of grain, removing the husks, and eating the grain. Some of the Pharisees asked, “Why are your disciples doing something that is not right to do on the day of rest—a holy day?” Jesus answered them, “Haven’t you read what David did when he and his men were hungry? Haven’t you read how he went into the house of God, ate the bread of the presence, and gave some of it to the men who were with him? He had no right to eat those loaves. Only the priests have that right.” Then he added, “The Son of Man has authority over the day of rest—a holy day.” On another day of rest—a holy day, Jesus went into a synagogue to teach. A man whose right hand was paralyzed was there. The experts in Moses’ Teachings and the Pharisees were watching Jesus closely. They wanted to see whether he would heal the man on the day of rest—a holy day, so that they could find a way to accuse him of doing something wrong. But Jesus knew what they were thinking. So he told the man with the paralyzed hand, “Get up, and stand in the center ⌞of the synagogue⌟!” The man got up and stood there. Then Jesus said to them, “I ask you—what is the right thing to do on a day of rest—a holy day: to do good or evil, to give a person his health or to destroy it?” He looked around at all of them and then said to the man, “Hold out your hand.” The man did so, and his hand became normal again. The experts in Moses’ Teachings and Pharisees were furious and began to discuss with each other what they could do to Jesus. At that time Jesus went to a mountain to pray. He spent the whole night in prayer to God. When it was day, he called his disciples. He chose twelve of them and called them apostles. They were Simon (whom Jesus named Peter) and Simon’s brother Andrew, James, John, Philip, Bartholomew, Matthew, Thomas, James (son of Alphaeus), Simon (who was called the Zealot), Judas (son of James), and Judas Iscariot (who became a traitor). Jesus came down from the mountain with them and stood on a level place. A large crowd of his disciples and many other people were there. They had come from all over Judea, Jerusalem, and the seacoast of Tyre and Sidon. They wanted to hear him and be cured of their diseases. Those who were tormented by evil spirits were cured. The entire crowd was trying to touch him because power was coming from him and curing all of them. Jesus looked at his disciples and said, “Blessed are those who are poor. God’s kingdom is theirs. Blessed are those who are hungry. They will be satisfied. Blessed are those who are crying. They will laugh. Blessed are you when people hate you, avoid you, insult you, and slander you because you are committed to the Son of Man. Rejoice then, and be very happy! You have a great reward in heaven. That’s the way their ancestors treated the prophets. “But how horrible it will be for those who are rich. They have had their comfort. How horrible it will be for those who are well-fed. They will be hungry. How horrible it will be for those who are laughing. They will mourn and cry. How horrible it will be for you when everyone says nice things about you. That’s the way their ancestors treated the false prophets.