1 A t that time Jesus went through the grainfields on the Sabbath, and His disciples became hungry and began to pick the heads of grain and eat.

At that time Jesus walked through the grain-fields on the Day of Rest. His followers were hungry and began to pick off grain to eat.

2 B ut when the Pharisees saw this, they said to Him, “Look, Your disciples do what is not lawful to do on a Sabbath.”

The proud religious law-keepers saw this. They said to Jesus, “See! Your followers do what the Law says not to do on the Day of Rest.”

3 B ut He said to them, “Have you not read what David did when he became hungry, he and his companions,

He said to them, “Have you not read what David did when he and his men were hungry?

4 h ow he entered the house of God, and they ate the consecrated bread, which was not lawful for him to eat nor for those with him, but for the priests alone?

He went into the house of God and ate the special bread used in worship which was against the Law for him or those with him to eat! Only the Jewish religious leaders were to eat that special bread.

5 O r have you not read in the Law, that on the Sabbath the priests in the temple break the Sabbath and are innocent?

Have you not read in the Law how the religious leaders do that which is not right to do on the Day of Rest, and yet they are not guilty?

6 B ut I say to you that something greater than the temple is here.

I tell you that Someone greater than the house of God is here.

7 B ut if you had known what this means, ‘ I desire compassion, and not a sacrifice,’ you would not have condemned the innocent. Lord of the Sabbath

If you had understood what the words mean, ‘I want loving-kindness and not a gift to be given,’ you would not say a person is guilty who has done no wrong.

8 F or the Son of Man is Lord of the Sabbath.”

For the Son of Man is Lord of the Day of Rest.” Jesus Heals on the Day of Rest

9 D eparting from there, He went into their synagogue.

From there Jesus went into their place of worship.

10 A nd a man was there whose hand was withered. And they questioned Jesus, asking, “ Is it lawful to heal on the Sabbath?”—so that they might accuse Him.

A man was there with a dried-up hand. The proud religious law-keepers asked Jesus, “Does the Law say it is right to heal on the Day of Rest?” They wanted something to say against Him.

11 A nd He said to them, “ What man is there among you who has a sheep, and if it falls into a pit on the Sabbath, will he not take hold of it and lift it out?

He said to them, “If one of you has a sheep which falls into a hole on the Day of Rest, will you not take hold of it and pull it out?

12 H ow much more valuable then is a man than a sheep! So then, it is lawful to do good on the Sabbath.”

How much better is a man than a sheep! So it is right to do good on the Day of Rest.”

13 T hen He said to the man, “Stretch out your hand!” He stretched it out, and it was restored to normal, like the other.

Then He said to the man, “Put out your hand.” He held it out and it was made as well as the other.

14 B ut the Pharisees went out and conspired against Him, as to how they might destroy Him.

The proud religious law-keepers went out and made plans against Him. They planned how they might kill Him. Jesus Heals Many People

15 B ut Jesus, aware of this, withdrew from there. Many followed Him, and He healed them all,

Jesus knew this and went away from there. Many people followed Him and He healed all of them.

16 a nd warned them not to tell who He was.

He told them to tell no one of Him.

17 T his was to fulfill what was spoken through Isaiah the prophet:

It happened as the early preacher Isaiah said it would happen, saying,

18 “ Behold, My Servant whom I have chosen; My Beloved in whom My soul is well-pleased; I will put My Spirit upon Him, And He shall proclaim justice to the Gentiles.

“See! My Servant Whom I have chosen! My much Loved, in Whom My soul is well pleased! I will put My Spirit in Him. He will say to the nations what is right from wrong.

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

He will not fight or speak with a loud voice. No man will hear His voice in the streets.

20 “ A battered reed He will not break off, And a smoldering wick He will not put out, Until He leads justice to victory.

He will not break a broken branch. He will not put out a little fire until He makes things right.

21 “ And in His name the Gentiles will hope.” The Pharisees Rebuked

In His name the nations will have hope.” A Nation That Cannot Stand

22 T hen a demon-possessed man who was blind and mute was brought to Jesus, and He healed him, so that the mute man spoke and saw.

Then they brought to Him a man who had a demon. He was blind and could not speak. Jesus healed him and he could talk and see.

23 A ll the crowds were amazed, and were saying, “This man cannot be the Son of David, can he?”

All the people were surprised and said, “Can this Man be the Son of David?”

24 B ut when the Pharisees heard this, they said, “This man casts out demons only by Beelzebul the ruler of the demons.”

But when the proud religious law-keepers heard it, they said, “This Man puts out demons only by Satan, the leader of demons.”

25 A nd knowing their thoughts Jesus said to them, “ Any kingdom divided against itself is laid waste; and any city or house divided against itself will not stand.

Jesus knew their thoughts and said to them, “Every nation divided into groups that fight each other is going to be destroyed. Every city or family divided into groups that fight each other will not stand.

26 I f Satan casts out Satan, he is divided against himself; how then will his kingdom stand?

If the devil puts out the devil, he is divided against himself. How will his nation stand?

27 I f I by Beelzebul cast out demons, by whom do your sons cast them out? For this reason they will be your judges.

If I put out demons by Satan, by whom do your followers put them out? So your followers will say if you are guilty.

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

But if I put out demons by the Spirit of God, then the holy nation of God is come to you.

29 O r how can anyone enter the strong man’s house and carry off his property, unless he first binds the strong man ? And then he will plunder his house. The Unpardonable Sin

How can anyone go into a strong man’s house and take away his things, unless he ties up the strong man first? Only then can he take things from his house. The Sin That Cannot Be Forgiven

30 H e who is not with Me is against Me; and he who does not gather with Me scatters.

“Whoever is not with Me is against Me. Whoever is not gathering with Me is sending everywhere.

31 “ Therefore I say to you, any sin and blasphemy shall be forgiven people, but blasphemy against the Spirit shall not be forgiven.

I tell you, every sin and every bad word men speak against God will be forgiven, but bad words spoken against the Holy Spirit will not be forgiven.

32 W hoever speaks a word against the Son of Man, it shall be forgiven him; but whoever speaks against the Holy Spirit, it shall not be forgiven him, either in this age or in the age to come. Words Reveal Character

Whoever speaks a word against the Son of Man will be forgiven, but whoever speaks against the Holy Spirit will not be forgiven in this life or in the life to come. The Sin of Saying Bad Things

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

“A good tree gives good fruit. A bad tree gives bad fruit. A tree is known by its fruit.

34 Y ou brood of vipers, how can you, being evil, speak what is good? For the mouth speaks out of that which fills the heart.

You family of snakes! How can you say good things when you are sinful? The mouth speaks what the heart is full of.

35 T he good man brings out of his good treasure what is good; and the evil man brings out of his evil treasure what is evil.

A good man will speak good things because of the good in him. A bad man will speak bad things because of the sin in him.

36 B ut I tell you that every careless word that people speak, they shall give an accounting for it in the day of judgment.

I say to you, on the day men stand before God, they will have to give an answer for every word they have spoken that was not important.

37 F or by your words you will be justified, and by your words you will be condemned.” The Desire for Signs

For it is by your words that you will not be guilty and it is by your words that you will be guilty.” Jesus Tells about Jonah

38 T hen some of the scribes and Pharisees said to Him, “Teacher, we want to see a sign from You.”

Then some of the teachers of the Law and the proud religious law-keepers said to Jesus, “Teacher, we would like to have you do something special for us to see.”

39 B ut He answered and said to them, “ An evil and adulterous generation craves for a sign; and yet no sign will be given to it but the sign of Jonah the prophet;

He said to them, “The sinful people of this day look for something special to see. There will be nothing special to see but the powerful works of the early preacher Jonah.

40 f or just as Jonah was three days and three nights in the belly of the sea monster, so will the Son of Man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth.

Jonah was three days and three nights in the stomach of a big fish. The Son of Man will be three days and three nights in the grave also.

41 T he men of Nineveh will stand up with this generation at the judgment, and will condemn it because they repented at the preaching of Jonah; and behold, something greater than Jonah is here.

The men of the city of Nineveh will stand up with the people of this day on the day men stand before God. Those men will say these people are guilty because the men of Nineveh were sorry for their sins and turned from them when Jonah preached. And see, Someone greater than Jonah is here!

42 T he Queen of the South will rise up with this generation at the judgment and will condemn it, because she came from the ends of the earth to hear the wisdom of Solomon; and behold, something greater than Solomon is here.

“The queen of the south will stand up with the people of this day on the day men stand before God. She will say that these people are guilty because she came from the ends of the earth to listen to the wise sayings of Solomon. And see, Someone greater than Solomon is here! A Person Filled with Bad or Good

43 “ Now when the unclean spirit goes out of a man, it passes through waterless places seeking rest, and does not find it.

“When a demon is gone out of a man, it goes through dry places to find rest. It finds none.

44 T hen it says, ‘I will return to my house from which I came’; and when it comes, it finds it unoccupied, swept, and put in order.

Then it says, ‘I will go back into my house from which I came.’ When it goes back, it sees that it is empty. But it sees that the house has been cleaned and looks good.

45 T hen it goes and takes along with it seven other spirits more wicked than itself, and they go in and live there; and the last state of that man becomes worse than the first. That is the way it will also be with this evil generation.” Changed Relationships

Then it goes out and comes back bringing with it seven demons more sinful than itself. They go in and live there. In the end that man is worse than at first. It will be like this with the sinful people of this day.” The New Kind of Family

46 W hile He was still speaking to the crowds, behold, His mother and brothers were standing outside, seeking to speak to Him.

While Jesus was still talking to the people, His mother and His brothers came and stood outside. They wanted to talk to Him.

47 S omeone said to Him, “Behold, Your mother and Your brothers are standing outside seeking to speak to You.”

Someone said to Him, “Your mother and brothers are outside and want to talk to you.”

48 B ut Jesus answered the one who was telling Him and said, “Who is My mother and who are My brothers?”

Jesus said, “Who is My mother? And who are My brothers?”

49 A nd stretching out His hand toward His disciples, He said, “Behold My mother and My brothers!

He put out His hand to His followers and said, “See, these are My mother and My brothers!

50 F or whoever does the will of My Father who is in heaven, he is My brother and sister and mother.”

Whoever does what My father in heaven wants him to do is My brother and My sister and My mother.”