Matthew 12 - New American Standard Bible 1995 with Strong Numbers

Sabbath Questions

¹ At that timeJesuswentthroughthe grainfieldson the Sabbath,and His disciplesbecame hungryand beganto pickthe heads[of grain] and eat.

² But when the Phariseessaw[this], they saidto Him, "Look,Your disciplesdowhatis not lawfulto doon a Sabbath."

³ But He saidto them, "Have you not readwhatDaviddidwhenhe became hungry,he and his companions,

⁴ howhe enteredthe houseof God,and they atethe consecratedbread,whichwas not lawfulfor him to eatnorfor thosewith him, but for the priestsalone?

⁵ "Orhave you not readin the Law,that on the Sabbaththe priestsin the templebreakthe Sabbathand are innocent?

⁶ "But I sayto you that something greaterthan the templeis here.

⁷ "But ifyou had knownwhatthis means,I DESIRECOMPASSION,AND NOT A SACRIFICE,'you would not have condemnedthe innocent.

Lord of the Sabbath

⁸ "For the Sonof Manis Lordof the Sabbath."

⁹ Departingfrom there,He wentinto their synagogue.

¹⁰ And a man[was there] whose handwas withered.And they questionedJesus, asking,"Is it lawfulto healon the Sabbath?"--sothat they might accuseHim.

¹¹ And He saidto them, "Whatmanis there amongyou whohasa sheep,and ifit fallsinto a piton the Sabbath,will he not take holdof it and liftit out?

¹² "How muchmore valuablethenis a manthan a sheep!So then,it is lawfulto dogoodon the Sabbath."

¹³ ThenHe saidto the man,"Stretchout your hand!"He stretchedit out, and it was restoredto normal,likethe other.

¹⁴ But the Phariseeswentout and conspiredagainstHim, [as to] howthey might destroyHim.

¹⁵ But Jesus,awareof [this], withdrewfrom there.ManyfollowedHim, and He healedthem all,

¹⁶ and warnedthem not to tellwhoHe was.

¹⁷ [This was] to fulfillwhatwas spokenthroughIsaiahthe prophet:

¹⁸ "BEHOLD,MY SERVANTWHOMI HAVE CHOSEN;MY BELOVEDIN WHOMMY SOULis WELL-PLEASED;I WILL PUTMY SPIRITUPON HIM, AND HE SHALL PROCLAIMJUSTICETO THE GENTILES.

¹⁹ "HE WILL NOT QUARREL,NORCRYOUT; NORWILL ANYONEHEARHIS VOICEIN THE STREETS.

²⁰ "A BATTEREDREEDHE WILL NOT BREAKOFF, AND A SMOLDERINGWICKHE WILL NOT PUTOUT, UNTILHE LEADSJUSTICETO VICTORY.

²¹ "AND IN HIS NAMETHE GENTILESWILL HOPE."

The Pharisees Rebuked

²² Thena demon-possessedman [who was] blindand mutewas broughtto Jesus, and He healedhim, sothat the mute manspokeand saw.

²³ Allthe crowdswere amazed,and were saying,"Thisman cannotbe the Sonof David,can he?"

²⁴ But when the Phariseesheard[this], they said,"This mancastsout demonsonlyby Beelzebulthe rulerof the demons."

²⁵ And knowingtheir thoughtsJesus saidto them, "Anykingdomdividedagainstitselfis laid waste;and anycityorhousedividedagainstitselfwill not stand.

²⁶ "IfSatancastsout Satan,he is dividedagainsthimself;howthenwill his kingdomstand?

²⁷ "IfI by Beelzebulcastout demons,by whomdo your sonscast[them] out? For thisreasonthey will be your judges.

²⁸ "But ifI castout demonsby the Spiritof God,thenthe kingdomof Godhas comeupon you.

²⁹ "Orhowcananyoneenterthe strongman'shouseand carry offhis property,unlesshe firstbindsthe strong[man]? And thenhe will plunderhis house.

The Unpardonable Sin

³⁰ "He who is not with Me is againstMe; and he who does not gatherwith Me scatters.

³¹ "ThereforeI sayto you, anysinand blasphemyshall be forgivenpeople,but blasphemyagainst the Spiritshall not be forgiven.

³² "Whoeverspeaksa wordagainstthe Sonof Man,it shall be forgivenhim; but whoeverspeaksagainstthe HolySpirit,it shall not be forgivenhim, eitherin thisageorin the [age] to come.

Words Reveal Character

³³ "Eithermakethe treegoodand its fruitgood,ormakethe treebadand its fruitbad;for the treeis knownby its fruit.

³⁴ "You broodof vipers,howcanyou, beingevil,speakwhat is good?For the mouthspeaksout of that which fillsthe heart.

³⁵ "The goodmanbringsout of [his] goodtreasurewhat is good;and the evilmanbringsout of [his] eviltreasurewhat is evil.

³⁶ "But I tellyou that everycarelesswordthat peoplespeak,they shall givean accountingfor it in the dayof judgment.

³⁷ "For by your wordsyou will be justified,and by your wordsyou will be condemned."

The Desire for Signs

³⁸ Thensomeof the scribesand Phariseessaidto Him, "Teacher,we wantto seea signfrom You."

³⁹ But He answeredand saidto them, "An eviland adulterousgenerationcravesfor a sign;and [yet] nosignwill be givento it but the signof Jonahthe prophet;

⁴⁰ for justas JONAHWAS THREEDAYSAND THREENIGHTSIN THE BELLYOF THE SEA MONSTER,sowill the Sonof Manbe threedaysand threenightsin the heartof the earth.

⁴¹ "The menof Ninevehwill standup with thisgenerationat the judgment,and will condemnit becausethey repentedat the preachingof Jonah;and behold,something greaterthan Jonahis here.

⁴² "[The] Queenof [the] Southwill riseup with thisgenerationat the judgmentand will condemnit, becauseshe camefrom the endsof the earthto hearthe wisdomof Solomon;and behold,something greaterthan Solomonis here.

⁴³ "Nowwhenthe uncleanspiritgoesout of a man,it passesthroughwaterlessplacesseekingrest,and does not find[it].

⁴⁴ "Thenit says,'I will returnto my housefrom whichI came;and when it comes,it finds[it] unoccupied,swept,and put in order.

⁴⁵ "Thenit goesand takes alongwith it sevenotherspiritsmore wickedthan itself,and they goin and livethere;and the laststate of that manbecomesworsethan the first.That is the wayit will alsobe with thisevilgeneration."

Changed Relationships

⁴⁶ While He was stillspeakingto the crowds,behold,His motherand brotherswere standingoutside,seekingto speakto Him.

⁴⁷ Someonesaidto Him, "Behold,Your motherand Your brothersare standingoutsideseekingto speakto You."

⁴⁸ But Jesus answeredthe one who was telling Him and said,"Whois My motherand whoare My brothers?"

⁴⁹ And stretchingout His handtowardHis disciples,He said,"BeholdMy motherand My brothers!

⁵⁰ "For whoeverdoesthe willof My Fatherwho is in heaven,he is My brotherand sisterand mother."