Jesus is Lord of the Sabbath

1Now it happened on a second-first ¹⁵⁷Sabbath that He was passing through the grain fields, and His disciples began to pick and eat the heads of grain, rubbing them in their hands.

2But some of the Pharisees said to them, ¹⁵⁸“Why are you doing that which is not lawful to do on the Sabbath?”

3So in answer to them Jesus said: “Have you not even read this, what David did when he was hungry, he and those who were with him:

4how he went into the house of God, took and ate the showbread, and even gave it to those with him—that which only the priests are allowed to eat?”

5Then He said to them, “The Son of the Man is Lord even of the Sabbath!” ¹⁵⁹

He heals on the Sabbath

6Now it happened on a different Sabbath that He entered the synagogue and began to teach. Well there was a man there whose right hand was shriveled;

7so the scribes and the Pharisees started watching, to see if He would heal on the Sabbath, so that they might find an accusation against Him.

8But He knew their thoughts and said to the man with the shriveled hand, “Get up and stand in the center.” So he got up and stood.

9Then Jesus said to them: “I will ask you something: Is it lawful on the Sabbath to do good or to do evil, to save life or to kill?” ¹⁶⁰

10And when He had looked around at them all, He said to him, “Stretch out your hand!” So he did that, and his hand was restored, as sound as the other. ¹⁶¹

The rejection

11But they were filled with rage, ¹⁶²and began to discuss with one another what they might do to Jesus.

Choosing the Twelve

12Now it happened in those days that He went out to the mountain to pray, and He continued all night in prayer to God. ¹⁶³

13When it was day He called His disciples, and from them He chose twelve, whom He also named apostles: ¹⁶⁴

14Simon (whom He also named Peter) and Andrew his brother, James and John, Phillip and Bartholomew,

15Matthew and Thomas, James (the son of Alphaeus) and Simon (the one called ‘Zealot’),

16Judas of James and Judas Iscariot (who also became ‘traitor’). ¹⁶⁵

A sermon on a level place6:17 Although similar to the ‘sermon on the mount’ recorded by Matthew, this is clearly a different time and place. During His ministry the Lord doubtless repeated His basic concepts over and over.

17Then He came down with them and stood on a level place, with a crowd of His disciples and a great multitude of people from all Judea and Jerusalem, also from the seacoast of Tyre and Sidon, who came to hear Him and to be healed of their diseases,

18as well as those who were being harassed by unclean spirits—and they were being healed!

19So the whole crowd kept trying to touch Him, because power was going out from Him and was healing all. ¹⁶⁶

Blessings

20Then He raised His eyes toward His disciples and said: “Blessed are you poor, because the Kingdom of God is yours.

21Blessed are you who hunger now, because you will be filled. Blessed are you who weep now, because you will laugh.

22Blessed are you whenever men hate you, and whenever they exclude you and heap insults on you
and trash your name as ‘malignant’, ¹⁶⁷for the Son of the Man's sake.

23Rejoice in that day and skip about! ¹⁶⁸Because your reward really is great in Heaven; for that is how their fathers treated the prophets.

Woes

24“But woe to you who are rich! because you have already received your comfort.

25Woe to you who are full! because you will go hungry. Woe to you who are presently laughing! because you will mourn and weep.

26Woe, when all men speak well of you; for that is how their fathers treated the false prophets!

Instructions

27“Further, to you who are listening ¹⁶⁹I say: Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you;

28bless those who curse you, pray for those who mistreat you. ¹⁷⁰

29To him who strikes you on the cheek, offer also the other; ¹⁷¹and from him who takes away your cloak, do not withhold the tunic as well.

30Give to everyone who asks of you; ¹⁷²and from him who takes away your things, do not demand them back.

31Yes, like you want people to treat you, that is just how you must treat them. ¹⁷³

32Also, if you love those who love you, what credit is that to you? Even ‘sinners’ love those who love them.

33And if you do good to those doing good to you, what credit is that to you? Even ‘sinners’ do the same.

34And if you lend to those from whom you expect to get it back, what credit is that to you? Even ‘sinners’ lend to ‘sinners’, to receive an equal value back.

Be compassionate

35“So, love your enemies, and do good, and lend, expecting nothing back; and your reward will be great, and you will be sons of the Most High; ¹⁷⁴because He is kind toward the ungrateful and wicked.

36So be compassionate, even as your Father is compassionate. ¹⁷⁵

We get what we give

37“Do not judge, and you will not be judged. Do not condemn, and you will not be condemned. Forgive, and you will be forgiven.

38Give and it will be given to you: a good measure—pressed down and shaken together and running over—will they deposit in your lap. ¹⁷⁶Because with the same measure that you use it will be measured back to you.”

39Then He told them a parable: “Can a blind man guide a blind man? Will they not both fall into a ditch?

40A disciple is not above his teacher, but everyone who is fully trained will be like his teacher. ¹⁷⁷

41Why do you look at the speck in your brother's eye, but do not consider the plank that is in your own eye? ¹⁷⁸

42Or how can you say to your brother, ‘Brother, let me remove the speck that is in your eye,’ when you yourself do not see the plank that is in your own eye? Hypocrite! First remove the plank from your own eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck that is in your brother's eye.

A tree is known by its fruit

43“Now no good tree produces rotten fruit, nor does a rotten tree produce good fruit

44—each tree is known by its own fruit: people do not gather figs from thorn bushes, nor do they pick a bunch of grapes from a bramble.

45The good man produces the good out of the good treasure in his heart, and the malignant man produces the malignant out of the malignant treasure in his heart; because his mouth speaks out of the abundance of the heart. ¹⁷⁹

Two foundations

46“Why do you call me, ‘Lord, Lord’, and not do what I say? ¹⁸⁰

47Everyone who comes to me and hears my words and does them—I will show you who he is like:

48he is like a man building a house, who dug down deep and laid the foundation on the bedrock. When a flood occurred, the torrent burst upon that house but could not shake it, because it was founded on the bedrock. ¹⁸¹

49But he who heard and did nothing ¹⁸²is like a man who built his house on the ground without a foundation, against which the torrent burst, and immediately it fell; and the ruin of that house was great.”