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Lord of the Sabbath

¹ At that time Jesus passed through the grainfields on the Sabbath.^(C1) His disciples^(C2) were hungry and began to pick and eat some heads of grain. ² When the Pharisees saw this, they said to him, “See, your disciples are doing what is not lawful^(C1) to do on the Sabbath.”

³ He said to them, “Haven’t you read what David did when he and those who were with him were hungry:⁴ how he entered the house of God, and they ate⁵ Or haven’t you read in the law that on Sabbath days the priests in the temple violate the Sabbath and are innocent?⁶ I tell you that something greater than the temple is here.⁷ If you had known what this means, I desire mercy and not sacrifice,⁸ For the Son of Man is Lord of the Sabbath.”

The Man with the Shriveled Hand

⁹ Moving on from there, he entered their synagogue.^{(C1) 10} There he saw a man who had a shriveled hand, and in order to accuse him they asked him, “Is it lawful to heal on the Sabbath?” ^(C1)

¹¹ He replied to them, “Who among you, if he had a sheep that fell into a pit on the Sabbath, wouldn’t take hold of it and lift it out?¹² A person is worth far more than a sheep;

¹³ Then he told the man, “Stretch out your hand.”¹⁴ But the Pharisees went out and plotted against him, how they might kill him.^(C1)

The Servant of the Lord

¹⁵ Jesus was aware of this and withdrew. Large crowds^(F1) followed him, and he healed them all.^{(C1) 16} He warned them not to make him known,^{(C1) 17} so that what was spoken through the prophet Isaiah might be fulfilled:

A House Divided

²² Then a demon-possessed man^(C1) who was blind and unable to speak was brought to him. He healed him, so that the man^(F1) could both speak and see.^{(C2) 23} All the crowds were astounded and said, “Could this be the Son of David?” ^(C1)

²⁴ When the Pharisees heard this, they said, “This man drives out demons only by Beelzebul, the ruler of the demons.”^(C1)

²⁵ Knowing their thoughts,^(C1) he told them: “Every kingdom divided against itself is headed for destruction, and no city or house divided against itself will stand.²⁶ If Satan²⁷ And if I drive out demons by Beelzebul, by whom do your sons drive them out? For this reason they will be your judges.²⁸ If I drive out demons by the Spirit of God, then the kingdom of God has come upon you.²⁹ How can someone enter a strong man’s house and steal his possessions unless he first ties up³⁰ Anyone who is not with me is against me,³¹ Therefore,³² Whoever speaks a word against the Son of Man,

A Tree and Its Fruit

³³ “Either make the tree good and its fruit will be good, or make the tree bad³⁴ Brood of vipers! How can you speak good things when you are evil? For the mouth speaks from the overflow³⁵ A good person produces good things from his storeroom of good, and an evil person produces evil things from his storeroom of evil.³⁶ I tell you that on the day of judgment³⁷ For by your words you will be acquitted, and by your words you will be condemned.”

The Sign of Jonah

³⁸ Then some of the scribes and Pharisees said to him, “Teacher, we want to see a sign from you.”^(C1)

³⁹ He answered them,^(C1) “An evil and adulterous generation demands a sign, but no sign will be given to it except the sign of the prophet Jonah.⁴⁰ For as Jonah was in the belly of the huge fish⁴¹ The men of Nineveh will stand up at the judgment with this generation and condemn it,⁴² The queen of the south

An Unclean Spirit’s Return

⁴³ “When an unclean spirit comes out of a person, it roams through waterless places looking for rest but doesn’t find any.⁴⁴ Then it says, ‘I’ll go back to my house that I came from.’ Returning, it finds the house vacant, swept, and put in order.⁴⁵ Then it goes and brings with it seven other spirits more evil than itself, and they enter and settle down there. As a result, that person’s last condition is worse than the first.

True Relationships

⁴⁶ While he^(C1) was still speaking with the crowds, his mother and brothers were standing outside wanting to speak to him.^{(C2) 47} Someone told him, “Look, your mother and your brothers are standing outside, wanting to speak to you.”^(F1)

⁴⁸ He replied to the one who was speaking to him, “Who is my mother and who are my brothers?”⁴⁹ Stretching out his hand toward his disciples,^(C1) he said, “Here are my mother and my brothers!⁵⁰ For whoever does the will of my Father in heaven is my brother and sister and mother.”