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Jesus Is Lord of the Sabbath
1 At that time Jesus went through the grainfields on
the Sabbath. His disciples were hungry and began to pick
some heads of grain and eat them. 2 When the Pharisees saw
this, they said to him, “Look! Your disciples are doing what
is unlawful on the Sabbath.”
3 He answered, “Haven’t you read what David did when
he and his companions were hungry? 4 He entered the house of
God, and he and his companions ate the consecrated
bread—which was not lawful for them to do, but only for the
priests. 5 Or haven’t you read in the Law that the priests
on Sabbath duty in the temple desecrate the Sabbath and yet
are innocent? 6 I tell you that one greater than the temple
is here. 7 If you had known what these words mean, ‘I desire
mercy, not sacrifice,’ you would not have condemned the
innocent. 8 For the Son of Man is Lord of the Sabbath.”
9 Going on from that place, he went into their
synagogue, 10 and a man with a shriveled hand was there.
Looking for a reason to accuse Jesus, they asked him, “Is it
lawful to heal on the Sabbath?”
11 He said to them, “If any of you has a sheep and it
falls into a pit on the Sabbath, will you not take hold of
it and lift it out? 12 How much more valuable is a human
being than a sheep! Therefore it is lawful to do good on the
Sabbath.”
13 Then he said to the man, “Stretch out your hand.”
So he stretched it out and it was completely restored, just
as sound as the other. 14 But the Pharisees went out and
plotted how they might kill Jesus.
God’s Chosen Servant
15 Aware of this, Jesus withdrew from that place. A
large crowd followed him, and he healed all who were ill. 16
He warned them not to tell others about him. 17 This was to fulfill what was spoken through the prophet Isaiah:
18 “Here is my servant whom I have chosen, the one I
love, in whom I delight; I will put my Spirit on him, and he
will proclaim justice to the nations.
19 He will not quarrel or cry out; no one will hear
his voice in the streets.
20 A bruised reed he will not break, and a smoldering
wick he will not snuff out, till he leads justice to
victory.
21 In his name the nations will put their hope.”
Jesus and Beelzebul
22 Then they brought him a demon-possessed man who was
blind and mute, and Jesus healed him, so that he could both
talk and see. 23 All the people were astonished and said,
“Could this be the Son of David?”
24 But when the Pharisees heard this, they said, “It
is only by Beelzebul, the prince of demons, that this fellow
drives out demons.”
25 Jesus knew their thoughts and said to them, “Every
kingdom divided against itself will be ruined, and every
city or household divided against itself will not stand. 26
If Satan drives out Satan, he is divided against himself.
How then can his kingdom stand? 27 And if I drive out demons
by Beelzebul, by whom do your people drive them out? So
then, they will be your judges. 28 But if it is by the
Spirit of God that I drive out demons, then the kingdom of
God has come upon you.
29 “Or again, how can anyone enter a strong man’s
house and carry off his possessions without first tying up
the strong man? Then his house can be plundered.
30 “Whoever is not with me is against me, and whoever
does not gather with me scatters. 31 And so I tell you,
people will be forgiven every sin and blasphemy. But
blasphemy against the Spirit will not be forgiven. 32 Anyone
who speaks a word against the Son of Man will be forgiven,
but anyone who speaks against the Holy Spirit will not be
forgiven, either in this age or in the age to come.
33 “Make a tree good and its fruit will be good, or
make a tree bad and its fruit will be bad, for a tree is
recognized by its fruit. 34 You brood of vipers, how can you
who are evil say anything good? For out of the overflow of
the heart the mouth speaks. 35 Good people bring good things
out of the good stored up in them, and evil people bring
evil things out of the evil stored up in them. 36 But I tell
you that people will have to give account on the day of
judgment for every empty word they have spoken. 37 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 Pharisees and teachers of the law
said to him, “Teacher, we want to see a sign from you.”
39 He answered, “A wicked and adulterous generation
asks for a sign! But none will be given it except the sign
of the prophet Jonah. 40 For as Jonah was three days and
three nights in the belly of a huge fish, so the Son of Man
will be three days and three nights in the heart of the
earth. 41 The people of Nineveh will stand up at the
judgment with this generation and condemn it; for they
repented at the preaching of Jonah, and now one greater than
Jonah is here. 42 The Queen of the South will rise at the
judgment with this generation and condemn it; for she came
from the ends of the earth to listen to Solomon’s wisdom,
and now one greater than Solomon is here.
43 “When an evil spirit comes out of anyone, it goes
through arid places seeking rest and does not find it. 44
Then it says, ‘I will return to the house I left.’ When it
arrives, it finds the house unoccupied, swept clean and put
in order. 45 Then it goes and takes with it seven other
spirits more wicked than itself, and they go in and live
there. And the final condition of that person is worse than
the first. That is how it will be with this wicked
generation.”
Jesus’ Mother and Brothers
46 While Jesus was still talking to the crowd, his
mother and brothers stood outside, wanting to speak to him.
47 Someone told him, “Your mother and brothers are standing
outside, wanting to speak to you.”
48 He replied to him, “Who is my mother, and who are
my brothers?” 49 Pointing to his disciples, 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.”
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Cults 
Why Did God Permit Sin?
