Jesus is Lord of the Sabbath

1At that time Jesus went through the grain fields on the Sabbath. ¹⁷⁸But His disciples became hungry and began to pluck heads of grain and to eat.

2And upon seeing it the Pharisees ¹⁷⁹said to Him, “Hey, your disciples are doing what is not lawful to do on a Sabbath!”

3But He said to them: “Have you not read what David did when he became hungry, he and those who were with him,

4how he entered the house of God and ate the loaves of presentation, which was not lawful for him to eat, nor for those with him, but only for the priests?

5Or have you not read in the Law that on the Sabbaths the priests in the temple profane the Sabbath and are guiltless?

6Yet I say to you that a greater than the temple is here.

7If you had but known what this means, ‘I desire mercy and not sacrifice,’ ¹⁸⁰you would not have condemned the innocent.

8Furthermore, the Son of the Man is Lord of the Sabbath!” ¹⁸¹

Jesus heals on the Sabbath

9Now moving on from there He went into their synagogue.

10And there was a man with a withered hand! And they asked Him saying, “Is it lawful to heal on the Sabbath?”—so that they might accuse Him.

11So He said to them: “What man will there be among you who has one sheep, and should this one fall into a ditch on the Sabbath, will he not lay hold of it and lift it out?

12Of how much more value then is a man than a sheep! Therefore it is lawful to do good on the Sabbath.”

13Then He says to the man, “Stretch out your hand!” And he stretched it out, and it was restored whole like the other.

14But going out the Pharisees plotted against Him, how they might destroy Him. ¹⁸²

A tactical withdrawal

15So being aware, Jesus withdrew from there. And large crowds followed Him, and He healed them all. ¹⁸³

16Yet He warned them not to make Him known,

17so that what was spoken through Isaiah the prophet might be fulfilled, namely:

18“Behold my Servant whom I chose, my Beloved in whom my soul is well pleased! I will put my Spirit upon Him, and He will declare justice to the nations.

19He will not quarrel nor cry-out, nor will anyone hear His voice in the streets.

20A bruised reed He will not break, and a smoldering wick He will not quench, until He sends justice forth to victory. ¹⁸⁴

21And in His name Gentiles will trust.”

The Pharisees blaspheme the Holy Spirit

22Then a demonized man was brought to Him, blind and mute, and He healed him, so that the A blind and B mute B spoke and A saw. ¹⁸⁵

23And all the crowds were amazed and said, “Might this not be the Christ, ¹⁸⁶the Son of David?”

24But upon hearing it the Pharisees said, “This fellow does not cast out demons except by Beelzebul, ruler of the demons.”

25But knowing their thoughts Jesus said to them: “Every kingdom divided against itself becomes desolate, and every city or house divided against itself will not stand.

26So if Satan casts out Satan he is divided against himself. How then will his kingdom stand?

27And if I cast out demons by Beelzebul, by whom do your sons cast them out? Therefore they will be your judges. ¹⁸⁷

28But if I cast out demons by the Spirit of God, then surely the kingdom of God has come upon you.

29Or how can anyone go into the house of the strong man and plunder his goods, unless he first binds the strong man? Then he can plunder the house. ¹⁸⁸

The unforgivable sin

30“He who is not with me is against me, and he who does not gather with me scatters. ¹⁸⁹

31Therefore I say to you, every sin and blasphemy will be forgiven people, but the blasphemy against the Spirit will not be forgiven people.

32And whoever speaks a word against the Son of the Man, it will be forgiven him; ¹⁹⁰but whoever speaks against the Holy Spirit, it will not be forgiven him, neither in the present age nor in the next. ¹⁹¹

Jesus denounces the Pharisees

33“Either make the tree good and its fruit good, or make the tree rotten and its fruit rotten; for the tree is known by the fruit.

34Brood of vipers! ¹⁹²How can you, being malignant, speak good things? ¹⁹³For out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks.

35The good man out of the good reservoir brings forth good things, and the malignant man out of the malignant reservoir brings forth malignant things.

36Furthermore, I say to you that for every useless word whatever that people may speak, they will give account of it in the Day of judgment.

37For by your words you will be justified, and by your words you will be condemned.” ¹⁹⁴

The sign of the prophet Jonah

38Then some of the scribes and Pharisees reacted saying, “Teacher, we want to see a sign from you.” ¹⁹⁵

39But in answer He said to them: “A malignant and adulterous generation seeks a sign, and no sign will be given to it except the sign of the prophet Jonah.

40For just as Jonah was three days and three nights in the stomach of the sea monster, so will the Son of the Man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth. ¹⁹⁶

41Ninevite men will arise with this generation at the judgment and will condemn it, because they repented at the preaching of Jonah; and really, a greater than Jonah is here.

42The queen of the South will be raised with this generation at the judgment and she will condemn it, because she came from the ends of the earth to hear the wisdom of Solomon; and really, a greater than Solomon is here. ¹⁹⁷

An empty ‘house’ is bad

43“Now when an unclean spirit [demon] goes out from a man, it goes through arid places looking for rest, but finds none.

44Then it says, ‘I will return to my house from where I came.’ And coming it finds it unoccupied, swept and put in order.

45Then it goes and takes along with itself seven different spirits, more malignant than itself, and going in it dwells there; and the last state of that man becomes worse than the first. Just so it will be for this malignant generation also.” ¹⁹⁸

New relationships

46But then, while He was still speaking to the crowds, His mother and brothers stood outside, seeking to speak with Him.

47So someone said to Him, “Look, your mother and your brothers are standing outside, seeking to speak with you.”

48But in answer He said to the one who told Him, “Who is my mother, and who are my brothers?”

49And stretching out His hand toward His disciples He said: “Here are my mother and my brothers!

50For whoever does the will of my Father in the heavens, he is my brother and sister and mother.” ¹⁹⁹