Matt 12:1At 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.
Matt 12:2But when the Pharisees saw this, they said to Him, "Look, Your disciples do what is not lawful to do on a Sabbath."
Matt 12:3But He said to them, "Have you not read what David did when he became hungry, he and his companions,
Matt 12:4how 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?
Matt 12:5"Or have you not read in the Law, that on the Sabbath the priests in the temple break the Sabbath and are innocent?
Matt 12:6"But I say to you that something greater than the temple is here.
Matt 12:7"But if you had known what this means, 'I DESIRE COMPASSION, AND NOT A SACRIFICE,' you would not have condemned the innocent.
Matt 12:8"For the Son of Man is Lord of the Sabbath."
Matt 12:9¶ Departing from there, He went into their synagogue.
Matt 12:10And 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 accuse Him.
Matt 12:11And 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?
Matt 12:12"How much more valuable then is a man than a sheep! So then, it is lawful to do good on the Sabbath."
Matt 12:13Then He *said to the man, "Stretch out your hand!" He stretched it out, and it was restored to normal, like the other.
Matt 12:14But the Pharisees went out and conspired against Him, as to how they might destroy Him.
Matt 12:15¶ But Jesus, aware of this, withdrew from there. Many followed Him, and He healed them all,
Matt 12:16and warned them not to tell who He was.
Matt 12:17This was to fulfill what was spoken through Isaiah the prophet:
Matt 12:18"BEHOLD, MY SERVANT WHOM I HAVE CHOSEN; MY BELOVED IN WHOM MY SOUL is WELL-PLEASED; I WILL PUT MY SPIRIT UPON HIM, AND HE SHALL PROCLAIM JUSTICE TO THE GENTILES.
Matt 12:19"HE WILL NOT QUARREL, NOR CRY OUT; NOR WILL ANYONE HEAR HIS VOICE IN THE STREETS.
Matt 12:20"A BATTERED REED HE WILL NOT BREAK OFF, AND A SMOLDERING WICK HE WILL NOT PUT OUT, UNTIL HE LEADS JUSTICE TO VICTORY.
Matt 12:21"AND IN HIS NAME THE GENTILES WILL HOPE."
Matt 12:22¶ Then a demon-possessed man who was blind and mute was brought to Jesus, and He healed him, so that the mute man spoke and saw.
Matt 12:23All the crowds were amazed, and were saying, "This man cannot be the Son of David, can he?"
Matt 12:24But when the Pharisees heard this, they said, "This man casts out demons only by Beelzebul the ruler of the demons."
Matt 12:25¶ And knowing their thoughts Jesus said to them, "Any kingdom divided against itself is laid waste; and any city or house divided against itself will not stand.
Matt 12:26"If Satan casts out Satan, he is divided against himself; how then will his kingdom stand?
Matt 12:27"If I by Beelzebul cast out demons, by whom do your sons cast them out? For this reason they will be your judges.
Matt 12:28"But if I cast out demons by the Spirit of God, then the kingdom of God has come upon you.
Matt 12:29"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.
Matt 12:30"He who is not with Me is against Me; and he who does not gather with Me scatters.
Matt 12:31¶ "Therefore I say to you, any sin and blasphemy shall be forgiven people, but blasphemy against the Spirit shall not be forgiven.
Matt 12:32"Whoever speaks a word against the Son of Man, it shall be forgiven him; but whoever speaks against the Holy Spirit, it shall not be forgiven him, either in this age or in the age to come.
Matt 12:33¶ "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.
Matt 12:34"You brood of vipers, how can you, being evil, speak what is good? For the mouth speaks out of that which fills the heart.
Matt 12:35"The good man brings out of his good treasure what is good; and the evil man brings out of his evil treasure what is evil.
Matt 12:36"But I tell you that every careless word that people speak, they shall give an accounting for it in the day of judgment.
Matt 12:37"For by your words you will be justified, and by your words you will be condemned."
Matt 12:38¶ Then some of the scribes and Pharisees said to Him, "Teacher, we want to see a sign from You."
Matt 12:39But He answered and said to them, "An evil and adulterous generation craves for a sign; and yet no sign will be given to it but the sign of Jonah the prophet;
Matt 12:40for 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.
Matt 12:41"The men of Nineveh will stand up with this generation at the judgment, and will condemn it because they repented at the preaching of Jonah; and behold, something greater than Jonah is here.
Matt 12:42"The 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, something greater than Solomon is here.
Matt 12:43¶ "Now when the unclean spirit goes out of a man, it passes through waterless places seeking rest, and does not find it.
Matt 12:44"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.
Matt 12:45"Then it goes and takes along with it seven other spirits more wicked than itself, and they go in and live there; and the last state of that man becomes worse than the first. That is the way it will also be with this evil generation."
Matt 12:46¶ While He was still speaking to the crowds, behold, His mother and brothers were standing outside, seeking to speak to Him.
Matt 12:47Someone said to Him, "Behold, Your mother and Your brothers are standing outside seeking to speak to You."
Matt 12:48But Jesus answered the one who was telling Him and said, "Who is My mother and who are My brothers?"
Matt 12:49And stretching out His hand toward His disciples, He said, "Behold My mother and My brothers!
Matt 12:50"For whoever does the will of My Father who is in heaven, he is My brother and sister and mother."