Study Desk

how he went into 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 only?

"And if you had only known what this statement means, 'I DESIRE COMPASSION [for those in distress], AND NOT [animal] SACRIFICE,' you would not have condemned the innocent.

"For the Son of Man is Lord of the Sabbath."

"If I cast out the demons by [the help of] Beelzebul (Satan), by whom do your sons drive them out? For this reason they will be your judges.

"He who is not with Me [once and for all on My side] is against Me; and he who does not [unequivocally] gather with Me scatters.

"Either make the tree good and its fruit good, or make the tree bad and its fruit bad; for the tree is recognized and judged by its fruit.

"You brood of vipers, how can you speak good things when you are evil? For the mouth speaks out of that which fills the heart.

"But I tell you, on the day of judgment people will have to give an accounting for every careless or useless word they speak.

"For by your words [reflecting your spiritual condition] you will be justified and acquitted of the guilt of sin; and by your words [rejecting Me] you will be condemned and sentenced."

for 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.

"For whoever does the will of My Father who is in heaven [by believing in Me, and following Me] is My brother and sister and mother."

"For whoever has [spiritual wisdom because he is receptive to God's word], to him more will be given, and he will be richly and abundantly supplied; but whoever does not have [spiritual wisdom because he has devalued God's word], even what he has will be taken away from him.

FOR THIS NATION'S HEART HAS GROWN HARD, AND WITH THEIR EARS THEY HARDLY HEAR, AND THEY HAVE [tightly] CLOSED THEIR EYES, OTHERWISE THEY WOULD SEE WITH THEIR EYES, AND HEAR WITH THEIR EARS, AND UNDERSTAND WITH THEIR HEART, AND TURN [to Me] AND I WOULD HEAL THEM [spiritually].'

and the field is the world; and [as for] the good seed, these are the sons of the kingdom; and the weeds are the sons of the evil one;

"The kingdom of heaven is like a [very precious] treasure hidden in a field, which a man found and hid again; then in his joy he goes and sells all he has and buys that field [securing the treasure for himself].

For Herod had John arrested and bound him and put him in prison [at the fortress of Machaerus, east of the Jordan, to keep him away] because of Herodias, the wife of his brother Philip,

for John had said to him, "It is not lawful (morally right) for you to have her [living with you as your wife]."

Although Herod wished to have him put to death, he feared the people, for they regarded John as a prophet.

When He went ashore, He saw a large crowd, and felt [profound] compassion for them and healed their sick.

When evening came, the disciples came to Him and said, "This is an isolated place and the hour is already late; send the crowds away so that they may go into the villages and buy food for themselves."