Matthew 12

Sabbath Questions

11At that 2time Jesus went through the grainfields on the Sabbath, and His disciples became hungry and began to 3pick the heads of grain and eat. 2But when the Pharisees saw this, they said to Him, “Look, Your disciples do what 4is 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 his companions, 4how he entered the house of God, and 5they ate the 6consecrated bread, which was not lawful for him to eat nor for those with him, but for the priests alone? 5Or have you not read in the Law, that on the Sabbath the priests in the temple 7break the Sabbath and are innocent? 6But I say to you that something 8greater than the temple is here. 7But if you had known what this 9means, ‘10I desire 11compassion, and not a sacrifice,’ you would not have condemned the innocent.

Lord of the Sabbath

8For 12the Son of Man is Lord of the Sabbath.”

913Departing from there, He went into their synagogue. 10And a man was there whose hand was withered. And they questioned 14Jesus, asking, “15Is it lawful to heal on the Sabbath?”--so that they might accuse Him. 11And He said to them, “16What man 17is there among you who 18has a sheep, and if it falls into a pit on the Sabbath, will he not take hold of it and lift it out? 1219How much more valuable then is a man than a sheep! So then, it is lawful to do 20good on the Sabbath.” 13Then He said to the man, “Stretch out your hand!” 21He stretched it out, and it was restored to 22normal, like the other. 14But the Pharisees went out and 2324conspired against Him, as to how they might destroy Him.

15But Jesus, 25aware of this, withdrew from there. Many followed Him, and 26He healed them all, 16and 27warned them not to 28tell who He was. 17This was to fulfill what was spoken through Isaiah the prophet:18“29Behold, My 30Servant whom I 31have chosen; 32My Beloved in whom My soul 33is well-pleased; 34I will put My Spirit upon Him, 35And He shall proclaim 36justice to the 37Gentiles.1938He will not quarrel, nor cry out; Nor will anyone hear His voice in the streets.2039A battered reed He will not break off, And a smoldering wick He will not put out, Until He 40leads 41justice to victory.2142And in His name the 43Gentiles will hope.”

The Pharisees Rebuked

2244Then a 45demon-possessed man who was blind and mute was brought to 46Jesus, and He healed him, so that the mute man spoke and saw. 23All the crowds were amazed, and were saying, “This man cannot be the 47Son of David, can he?” 24But when the Pharisees heard this, they said, “This man 48casts out demons only by 49Beelzebul the ruler of the demons.”

2550And 51knowing their thoughts Jesus said to them, “52Any kingdom divided against itself is laid waste; and 53any city or house divided against itself will not stand. 26If 54Satan casts out Satan, he 55is divided against himself; how then will his kingdom stand? 27If I 56by 57Beelzebul cast out demons, 58by whom do your sons cast them out? For this reason they will be your judges. 28But 59if I cast out demons by the Spirit of God, then the kingdom of God has come upon you. 29Or 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

3060He who is not with Me is against Me; and he who does not gather with Me scatters.

31“61Therefore I say to you, any sin and blasphemy shall be forgiven people, but blasphemy against the Spirit shall not be forgiven. 3262Whoever 63speaks a word against the Son of Man, it shall be forgiven him; but whoever 64speaks against the Holy Spirit, it shall not be forgiven him, either in 65this age or in the age to come.

Words Reveal Character

33“Either make the tree good and its fruit good, or make the tree bad and its fruit bad; for 66the tree is known by its fruit. 3467You brood of vipers, how can you, being evil, speak 68what is good? 69For the mouth speaks out of that which fills the heart. 3570The good man brings out of his good treasure 71what is good; and the evil man brings out of his evil treasure 72what is evil. 36But I tell you that every 73careless word that people 74speak, they shall give an accounting for it in 75the day of judgment. 37For 76by your words you will be justified, and 77by your words you will be condemned.”

The Desire for Signs

38Then some of the scribes and Pharisees said to Him, “Teacher, 78we want to see a 79sign from You.” 39But He answered and said to them, “80An evil and adulterous generation craves for a 81sign; and yet no 82sign will be given to it but the 83sign of Jonah the prophet; 40for just as 84Jonah was three days and three nights in the belly of the sea monster, so will 85the Son of Man be 86three days and three nights in the heart of the earth. 4187The men of Nineveh will stand up with this generation at the judgment, and will condemn it because 88they repented at the preaching of Jonah; and behold, 89something greater than Jonah is here. 4290The 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, 91something greater than Solomon is here.

43“92Now when the unclean spirit goes out of a man, it passes through waterless places seeking rest, and does not find it. 44Then 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. 45Then it goes and takes along with it seven other spirits more wicked than itself, and they go in and live there; and 93the last state of that man becomes worse than the first. That is the way it will also be with this evil generation.”

Changed Relationships

4694While He was still speaking to the crowds, behold, His 95mother and 96brothers were standing outside, seeking to speak to Him. 47Someone said to Him, “Behold, Your mother and Your brothers are standing outside seeking to speak to You.”97 48But 98Jesus answered the one who was telling Him and said, “Who is My mother and who are My brothers?” 49And stretching out His hand toward His disciples, He said, “Behold My mother and My brothers! 50For whoever does the will of My Father who is in heaven, he is My brother and sister and mother.”