Matthew 12
1 At that time Jesus went through the grainfields on a Sabbath. His disciples were hungry and began to pick heads of grain and eat them.
2 When the Pharisees saw this, they said to him, “Look, your disciples are doing what is not permitted on the Sabbath.”
3 He replied, “Haven’t you read what David did when he and those with him were hungry?
4 How he entered the house of God, and they ate the bread of the Presence, which neither he nor those with him were permitted to eat, but only the priests?
5 Or haven’t you read in the Law that on the Sabbaths the priests in the temple break the Sabbath and are without blame?
6 But I tell you that something greater than the temple is here.
7 If you had known what ‘I want mercy, not sacrifice’ means, you would not have condemned the innocent.
8 For the Son of Man is Lord of the Sabbath.”
9 Leaving there, he went to their synagogue.
10 A man with a withered hand was there. To find a reason to accuse him, they asked, “Is it permitted to heal on the Sabbath?”
11 He said to them, “Which one of you, if he has a single sheep and it falls into a pit on the Sabbath, won’t grab it and lift it out?
12 How much more valuable a person is than a sheep! So it is permitted to do good on the Sabbath.”
13 Then he said to the man, “Stretch out your hand.” He stretched it out, and it was restored, healthy like the other.
14 But the Pharisees went out and plotted against him, planning to kill him.
15 Jesus learned of this and withdrew from there. Many followed him, and he healed them all.
16 He warned them not to make him known,
17 so that what had been spoken through the prophet Isaiah might be fulfilled:
18 “Here is my servant, whom I chose, my beloved, in whom I delight. I will put my Spirit on him, and he will proclaim justice to the nations.
19 He will not quarrel or shout, and no one will hear his voice in the public squares.
20 He will not break a cracked reed or put out a smoldering wick, until he leads justice to victory.
21 And the nations will put their hope in his name.”
22 Then a demon-possessed man who was blind and mute was brought to him, and he healed him, so that the mute man spoke and could see.
23 All the crowds were astonished and said, “Could this be the Son of David?”
24 But when the Pharisees heard this, they said, “This man only drives out demons by Beelzebul, the ruler of demons.”
25 Knowing their thoughts, he said to them, “Every kingdom divided against itself is laid waste, and no city or household divided against itself will stand.
26 And if Satan drives out Satan, he is divided against himself. How, then, will his kingdom stand?
27 And if I drive out demons by Beelzebul, by whom do your sons drive them out? So they will be your judges.
28 But if I drive out demons by the Spirit of God, then the kingdom of God has come upon you.
29 Or how can anyone enter a strong man’s house and carry off his possessions unless he first ties up the strong man? Only then can he plunder his house.
30 Whoever is not with me is against me, and whoever does not gather with me scatters.
31 So I tell you: every sin and blasphemy will be forgiven people, but blasphemy against the Spirit will not be forgiven.
32 Whoever speaks a word against the Son of Man will be forgiven, but whoever speaks against the Holy Spirit will not be forgiven, either in this age or in the one to come.”
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.
34 You brood of vipers! How can you speak good things when you are evil? For the mouth speaks from the overflow of the heart.
35 A good person brings good things out of his good treasure, and an evil person brings evil things out of his evil treasure.
36 But I tell you that on the day of judgment people will give an account for every careless word they speak,
37 for by your words you will be declared righteous, and by your words you will be condemned.”
38 Then some scribes and Pharisees said to him, “Teacher, we want to see a sign from you.”
39 He replied, “An evil and adulterous generation looks for a sign, but no sign will be given to it except the sign of the prophet Jonah.
40 For just as Jonah was in the belly of the great fish for three days and three nights, so the Son of Man will be in the heart of the earth for three days and three nights.
41 The men of Nineveh will rise up at the judgment with this generation and condemn it, because they repented at Jonah’s preaching. And look, something greater than Jonah is here.
42 The Queen of the South will rise up at the judgment with this generation and condemn it, because she came from the ends of the earth to hear Solomon’s wisdom. And look, something greater than Solomon is here.
43 When an unclean spirit leaves a person, it passes through waterless places looking for rest, but finds none.
44 Then it says, ‘I will return to my house, which I left.’ When it arrives, it finds the house empty, swept clean, and put in order.
45 Then it goes and brings with it seven other spirits more evil than itself, and they enter and settle there. The final state of that person is worse than the first. That is how it will be with this evil generation too.”
46 While he was still speaking to the crowds, his mother and brothers were standing outside, wanting to speak with him.
47 Someone said to him, “Look, your mother and your brothers are standing outside, wanting to speak with you.”
48 He replied to the one speaking to him, “Who is my mother, and who are my brothers?”
49 He stretched out his hand toward his disciples and said, “Here are my mother and my brothers.
50 For whoever does the will of my Father in heaven is my brother, sister, and mother.”
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