Matthew 12:1-31

Sabbath Questions

¹At 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. ²Now when the Pharisees saw this, they said to Him, “Look, Your disciples are doing what is 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 they ate the consecrated 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 violate the Sabbath, and yet are innocent? ⁶But I say to you that something greater than the temple is here. ⁷But if you had known what this means: ‘I desire compassion, rather than sacrifice,’ you would not have condemned the innocent.

Lord of the Sabbath

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

⁹Departing from there, He went into their synagogue. ¹⁰And 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 bring charges against Him. ¹¹But 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? ¹²How much more valuable then is a person than a sheep! So then, it is lawful to do good on the Sabbath.” ¹³Then He *said to the man, “Stretch out your hand!” He stretched it out, and it was restored to normal, like the other. ¹⁴But the Pharisees went out and conspired against Him, as to how they might destroy Him.

¹⁵But Jesus, aware of this, withdrew from there. Many followed Him, and He healed them all, ¹⁶and warned them not to tell who He was. ¹⁷This happened so that what was spoken through Isaiah the prophet would be fulfilled:

18“Behold, My Servant whom I have chosen;

My Beloved in whom My soul delights;

I will put My Spirit upon Him,

And He will proclaim justice to the Gentiles.

19“He will not quarrel, nor cry out;

Nor will anyone hear His voice in the streets.

20“A bent reed He will not break off,

And a dimly burning wick He will not extinguish,

Until He leads justice to victory.

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

The Pharisees Rebuked

²²Then a demon-possessed man who was blind and unable to speak was brought to Jesus, and He healed him so that the man who was unable to speak talked and could see. ²³And all the crowds were amazed and were saying, “This man cannot be the Son of David, can he?” ²⁴But when the Pharisees heard this, they said, “This man casts out demons only by Beelzebul the ruler of the demons.”

²⁵And knowing their thoughts, Jesus said to them, “Every kingdom divided against itself is laid waste; and no city or house divided against itself will stand. ²⁶And if Satan is casting out Satan, he has become divided against himself; how then will his kingdom stand? ²⁷And if by Beelzebul I cast out the demons, by whom do your sons cast them out? Therefore, they will be your judges. ²⁸But if I cast out the 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 ties up the strong man? And then he will plunder his house.

The Unpardonable Sin

³⁰The one who is not with Me is against Me; and the one who does not gather with Me scatters.

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

Words Reveal Character

The Desire for Signs

Changed Relationships