Chapter 12

Sabbath Questions

1 aAt that 1time Jesus went through the grainfields on the Sabbath, and His disciples became hungry and began to bpick the heads of grain and eat.

2 But when the Pharisees saw this, they said to Him, “Look, Your disciples do what ais not lawful to do on a Sabbath.”

3 But He said to them, “Have you not read what David did when he became hungry, he and his companions,

4 how he entered the house of God, and athey ate the 1consecrated bread, which was not lawful for him to eat nor for those with him, but for the priests alone?

5 “Or have you not read in the Law, that on the Sabbath the priests in the temple 1break the Sabbath and are innocent?

6 “But I say to you that something agreater than the temple is here.

7 “But if you had known what this 1means, ‘aI desire 2compassion, and not a sacrifice,’ you would not have condemned the innocent.

Lord of the Sabbath

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

9 aDeparting from there, He went into their synagogue.

10 And a man was there whose hand was withered. And they questioned 1Jesus, asking, “aIs it lawful to heal on the Sabbath?”—so that they might accuse Him.

11 And He said to them, “aWhat man 1is there among you who 2has a sheep, and if it falls into a pit on the Sabbath, will he not take hold of it and lift it out?

12 “aHow much more valuable then is a man than a sheep! So then, it is lawful to do 1good on the Sabbath.”

13 Then He * said to the man, “Stretch out your hand!” aHe stretched it out, and it was restored to 1normal, like the other.

14 But the Pharisees went out and 1aconspired against Him, as to how they might destroy Him.

15 But Jesus, 1aware of this, withdrew from there. Many followed Him, and aHe healed them all,

16 and awarned them not to 1tell who He was.

17 This was to fulfill what was spoken through Isaiah the prophet:

18 “aBehold, My 1Servant whom I 2have chosen;

bMy Beloved in whom My soul 3is well-pleased;

cI will put My Spirit upon Him,

aAnd He shall proclaim 4justice to the 5Gentiles.

19 “aHe will not quarrel, nor cry out;

Nor will anyone hear His voice in the streets.

20 “aA battered reed He will not break off,

And a smoldering wick He will not put out,

Until He 1leads 2justice to victory.

21 “aAnd in His name the 1Gentiles will hope.”

The Pharisees Rebuked

22 aThen a bdemon-possessed man who was blind and mute was brought to 1Jesus, and He healed him, so that the mute man spoke and saw.

23 All the crowds were amazed, and were saying, “This man cannot be the aSon of David, can he?”

24 But when the Pharisees heard this, they said, “This man acasts out demons only by 1Beelzebul the ruler of the demons.”

25 aAnd bknowing their thoughts Jesus said to them, “1Any kingdom divided against itself is laid waste; and 1any city or house divided against itself will not stand.

26 “If aSatan casts out Satan, he 1is divided against himself; how then will his kingdom stand?

27 “If I aby 1Beelzebul cast out demons, bby whom do your sons cast them out? For this reason they will be your judges.

28 “But aif I cast out demons by the Spirit of God, then the kingdom of God has come upon you.

29 “Or 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

30 “aHe who is not with Me is against Me; and he who does not gather with Me scatters.

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

32 “aWhoever 1speaks a word against the Son of Man, it shall be forgiven him; but whoever 1speaks against the Holy Spirit, it shall not be forgiven him, either in bthis 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 athe tree is known by its fruit.

34 “aYou brood of vipers, how can you, being evil, speak 1what is good? bFor the mouth speaks out of that which fills the heart.

35 “aThe good man brings out of his good treasure 1what is good; and the evil man brings out of his evil treasure 2what is evil.

36 “But I tell you that every 1careless word that people 2speak, they shall give an accounting for it in athe day of judgment.

37 “For 1by your words you will be justified, and 1by your words you will be condemned.”

The Desire for Signs

38 Then some of the scribes and Pharisees said to Him, “Teacher, awe want to see a 1sign from You.”

39 But He answered and said to them, “aAn evil and adulterous generation craves for a 1sign; and yet no 1sign will be given to it but the 1sign of Jonah the prophet;

40 for just as aJonah was three days and three nights in the belly of the sea monster, so will bthe Son of Man be cthree days and three nights in the heart of the earth.

41 “aThe men of Nineveh will stand up with this generation at the judgment, and will condemn it because bthey repented at the preaching of Jonah; and behold, csomething greater than Jonah is here.

42 “aThe 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, bsomething greater than Solomon is here.

43 “aNow when the unclean spirit goes out of a man, it passes through waterless places seeking rest, and does not find it.

44 “Then 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.

45 “Then it goes and takes along with it seven other spirits more wicked than itself, and they go in and live there; and athe last state of that man becomes worse than the first. That is the way it will also be with this evil generation.”

Changed Relationships

46 aWhile He was still speaking to the crowds, behold, His bmother and cbrothers were standing outside, seeking to speak to Him.

47 Someone said to Him, “Behold, Your mother and Your brothers are standing outside seeking to speak to You.”1

48 But 1Jesus answered the one who was telling Him and said, “Who is My mother and who are My brothers?”

49 And stretching out His hand toward His disciples, He said, “Behold My mother and My brothers!

50 “For whoever does the will of My Father who is in heaven, he is My brother and sister and mother.”

Chapter 13

Jesus Teaches in Parables

1 That day Jesus went out of athe house and was sitting bby the sea.

2 And 1large crowds gathered to Him, so aHe got into a boat and sat down, and the whole crowd was standing on the beach.

3 And He spoke many things to them in aparables, saying, “Behold, the sower went out to sow;

4 and as he sowed, some seeds fell beside the road, and the birds came and ate them up.

5 “Others fell on the rocky places, where they did not have much soil; and immediately they sprang up, because they had no depth of soil.

6 “But when the sun had risen, they were scorched; and because they had no root, they withered away.

7 “Others fell 1among the thorns, and the thorns came up and choked them out.

8 “And others fell on the good soil and * yielded a crop, some a ahundredfold, some sixty, and some thirty.

9 “aHe who has ears, 1let him hear.”

An Explanation

10 And the disciples came and said to Him, “Why do You speak to them in parables?”

11 1Jesus answered them, “aTo you it has been granted to know the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven, but to them it has not been granted.

12 “aFor whoever has, to him more shall be given, and he will have an abundance; but whoever does not have, even what he has shall be taken away from him.

13 “Therefore I speak to them in parables; because while aseeing they do not see, and while hearing they do not hear, nor do they understand.

14 “1In their case the prophecy of Isaiah is being fulfilled, which says,

‘2aYou will keep on hearing, 3but will not understand;

4You will keep on seeing, but will not perceive;

15 aFor the heart of this people has become dull,

With their ears they scarcely hear,

And they have closed their eyes,

Otherwise they would see with their eyes,

Hear with their ears,

And understand with their heart and return,

And I would heal them.’

16 “aBut blessed are your eyes, because they see; and your ears, because they hear.

17 “For truly I say to you that amany prophets and righteous men desired to see what you see, and did not see it, and to hear what you hear, and did not hear it.

The Sower Explained

18 “aHear then the parable of the sower.

19 “When anyone hears athe 1word of the kingdom and does not understand it, bthe evil one comes and snatches away what has been sown in his heart. This is the one on whom seed was sown beside the road.

20 “The one on whom seed was sown on the rocky places, this is the man who hears the word and immediately receives it with joy;

21 yet he has no firm root in himself, but is only temporary, and when affliction or persecution arises because of the 1word, immediately he 2afalls away.

22 “And the one on whom seed was sown among the thorns, this is the man who hears the word, and the worry of athe 1world and the bdeceitfulness of wealth choke the word, and it becomes unfruitful.

23 “And the one on whom seed was sown on the good soil, this is the man who hears the word and understands it; who indeed bears fruit and brings forth, some aa hundredfold, some sixty, and some thirty.”

Tares among Wheat

24 Jesus presented another parable to them, saying, “aThe kingdom of heaven 1may be compared to a man who sowed good seed in his field.

25 “But while his men were sleeping, his enemy came and sowed 1tares among the wheat, and went away.

26 “But when the 1wheat sprouted and bore grain, then the tares became evident also.

27 “The slaves of the landowner came and said to him, ‘Sir, did you not sow good seed in your field? 1How then does it have tares?’

28 “And he said to them, ‘An 1enemy has done this!’ The slaves * said to him, ‘Do you want us, then, to go and gather them up?’

29 “But he * said, ‘No; for while you are gathering up the tares, you may uproot the wheat with them.

30 ‘Allow both to grow together until the harvest; and in the time of the harvest I will say to the reapers, “First gather up the tares and bind them in bundles to burn them up; but agather the wheat into my barn.” ’ ”

The Mustard Seed

31 He presented another parable to them, saying, “aThe kingdom of heaven is like ba mustard seed, which a man took and sowed in his field;

32 and this is smaller than all other seeds, but when it is full grown, it is larger than the garden plants and becomes a tree, so that athe birds of the 1air come and nest in its branches.”

The Leaven

33 He spoke another parable to them, “aThe kingdom of heaven is like leaven, which a woman took and hid in bthree 1pecks of flour until it was all leavened.”

34 All these things Jesus spoke to the crowds in parables, and He did not speak to them awithout a parable.

35 This was to fulfill what was spoken through the prophet:

“aI will open My mouth in parables;

I will utter things hidden since the foundation of the world.”

The Tares Explained

36 Then He left the crowds and went into athe house. And His disciples came to Him and said, “bExplain to us the parable of the 1tares of the field.”

37 And He said, “The one who sows the good seed is athe Son of Man,

38 and the field is the world; and as for the good seed, these are athe sons of the kingdom; and the tares are bthe sons of cthe evil one;

39 and the enemy who sowed them is the devil, and the harvest is athe 1end of the age; and the reapers are angels.

40 “So just as the tares are gathered up and burned with fire, so shall it be at athe 1end of the age.

41 “aThe Son of Man bwill send forth His angels, and they will gather out of His kingdom 1all cstumbling blocks, and those who commit lawlessness,

42 and awill throw them into the furnace of fire; in that place bthere will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.

43 “aThen the righteous will shine forth as the sun in the kingdom of their Father. bHe who has ears, 1let him hear.

Hidden Treasure

44 “aThe kingdom of heaven is like a treasure hidden in the field, which a man found and hid again; and from joy over it he goes and bsells all that he has and buys that field.

A Costly Pearl

45 “Again, athe kingdom of heaven is like a merchant seeking fine pearls,

46 and upon finding one pearl of great value, he went and sold all that he had and bought it.

A Dragnet

47 “Again, athe kingdom of heaven is like a dragnet cast into the sea, and gathering fish of every kind;

48 and when it was filled, they drew it up on the beach; and they sat down and gathered the good fish into containers, but the bad they threw away.

49 “So it will be at athe 1end of the age; the angels will come forth and 2take out the wicked from among the righteous,

50 and awill throw them into the furnace of fire; in that place bthere will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.

51 “Have you understood all these things?” They * said to Him, “Yes.”

52 And 1Jesus said to them, “Therefore every scribe who has become a disciple of the kingdom of heaven is like a head of a household, who brings out of his treasure things new and old.”

Jesus Revisits Nazareth

53 aWhen Jesus had finished these parables, He departed from there.

54 aHe came to 1His hometown and bbegan teaching them in their synagogue, so that cthey were astonished, and said, “Where did this man get this wisdom and these 2miraculous powers?

55 “Is not this the carpenter’s son? Is not aHis mother called Mary, and His abrothers, James and Joseph and Simon and Judas?

56 “And aHis sisters, are they not all with us? Where then did this man get all these things?”

57 And they took aoffense at Him. But Jesus said to them, “bA prophet is not without honor except in his 1hometown and in his own household.”

58 And He did not do many 1miracles there because of their unbelief.

Chapter 14

John the Baptist Beheaded

1 aAt that 1time bHerod the tetrarch heard the news about Jesus,

2 and said to his servants, “aThis is John the Baptist; 1he has risen from the dead, and that is why miraculous powers are at work in him.”

3 For when aHerod had John arrested, he bound him and put him bin prison because of cHerodias, the wife of his brother Philip.

4 For John had been saying to him, “aIt is not lawful for you to have her.”

5 Although Herod wanted to put him to death, he feared the crowd, because they regarded 1John as aa prophet.

6 But when Herod’s birthday came, the daughter of aHerodias danced 1before them and pleased bHerod,

7 so much that he promised with an oath to give her whatever she asked.

8 Having been prompted by her mother, she * said, “Give me here on a platter the head of John the Baptist.”

9 Although he was grieved, the king commanded it to be given because of his oaths, and because of 1his dinner guests.

10 He sent and had John beheaded in the prison.

11 And his head was brought on a platter and given to the girl, and she brought it to her mother.

12 His disciples came and took away the body and buried 1it; and they went and reported to Jesus.

Five Thousand Fed

13 aNow when Jesus heard about John, He withdrew from there in a boat to a secluded place by Himself; and when the 1people heard of this, they followed Him on foot from the cities.

14 When He went 1ashore, He asaw a large crowd, and felt compassion for them and bhealed their sick.

15 When it was evening, the disciples came to Him and said, “This place is desolate and the hour is already 1late; so send the crowds away, that they may go into the villages and buy food for themselves.”

16 But Jesus said to them, “They do not need to go away; you give them something to eat!”

17 They * said to Him, “We have here only afive loaves and two fish.”

18 And He said, “Bring them here to Me.”

19 Ordering the 1people to 2sit down on the grass, He took the five loaves and the two fish, and looking up toward heaven, He ablessed the food, and breaking the loaves He gave them to the disciples, and the disciples gave them to the crowds,

20 and they all ate and were satisfied. They picked up what was left over of the broken pieces, twelve full abaskets.

21 There were about five thousand men who ate, besides women and children.

Jesus Walks on the Water

22 aImmediately He 1made the disciples get into the boat and go ahead of Him to the other side, while He sent the crowds away.

23 After He had sent the crowds away, aHe went up on the mountain by Himself to pray; and when it was evening, He was there alone.

24 But the boat was already 1a long distance from the land, 2battered by the waves; for the wind was 3acontrary.

25 And in athe 1fourth watch of the night He came to them, walking on the sea.

26 When the disciples saw Him walking on the sea, they were terrified, and said, “It is aa ghost!” And they cried out 1in fear.

27 But immediately Jesus spoke to them, saying, “aTake courage, it is I; bdo not be afraid.”

28 Peter said to Him, “Lord, if it is You, command me to come to You on the water.”

29 And He said, “Come!” And Peter got out of the boat, and walked on the water and came toward Jesus.

30 But seeing the wind, he became frightened, and beginning to sink, he cried out, “Lord, save me!”

31 Immediately Jesus stretched out His hand and took hold of him, and * said to him, “aYou of little faith, why did you doubt?”

32 When they got into the boat, the wind stopped.

33 And those who were in the boat worshiped Him, saying, “You are certainly aGod’s Son!”

34 aWhen they had crossed over, they came to land at bGennesaret.

35 And when the men of that place 1recognized Him, they sent word into all that surrounding district and brought to Him all who were sick;

36 and they implored Him that they might just touch athe fringe of His cloak; and as many as btouched it were cured.