Matthew 11:22-12:28

Common English Bible

²² But I say to you that Tyre and Sidon will be better off on Judgment Day than you. ²³ And you, Capernaum, will you be honored by being raised up to heaven? No, you will be thrown down to the place of the dead. After all, if the miracles that were done among you had been done in Sodom, it would still be here today. ²⁴ But I say to you that it will be better for the land of Sodom on the Judgment Day than it will be for you.”

The Father and the Son

²⁵ At that time Jesus said, “I praise you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, because you’ve hidden these things from the wise and intelligent and have shown them to babies. ²⁶ Indeed, Father, this brings you happiness.

²⁷ “My Father has handed all things over to me. No one knows the Son except the Father. And nobody knows the Father except the Son and anyone to whom the Son wants to reveal him.

²⁸ “Come to me, all you who are struggling hard and carrying heavy loads, and I will give you rest. ²⁹ Put on my yoke, and learn from me. I’m gentle and humble. And you will find rest for yourselves. ³⁰ My yoke is easy to bear, and my burden is light.”

Working on the Sabbath

12 At that time Jesus went through the wheat fields on the Sabbath. His disciples were hungry so they were picking heads of wheat and eating them. ² When the Pharisees saw this, they said to him, “Look, your disciples are breaking the Sabbath law.”

³ But he said to them, “Haven’t you read what David did when he and those with him were hungry? ⁴ He went into God’s house and broke the law by eating the bread of the presence, which only the priests were allowed to eat. ⁵ Or haven’t you read in the Law that on the Sabbath the priests in the temple treat the Sabbath as any other day and are still innocent? ⁶ But I tell you that something greater than the temple is here. ⁷ If you had known what this means, I want mercy and not sacrifice,^[a] you wouldn’t have condemned the innocent. ⁸ The Human One^[b] is Lord of the Sabbath.”

Healing on the Sabbath

⁹ Jesus left that place and went into their synagogue. ¹⁰ A man with a withered hand was there. Wanting to bring charges against Jesus, they asked, “Does the Law allow a person to heal on the Sabbath?”

¹¹ Jesus replied, “Who among you has a sheep that falls into a pit on the Sabbath and will not take hold of it and pull it out? ¹² How much more valuable is a person than a sheep! So the Law allows a person to do what is good on the Sabbath.” ¹³ Then Jesus said to the man, “Stretch out your hand.” So he did and it was made healthy, just like the other one. ¹⁴ The Pharisees went out and met in order to find a way to destroy Jesus.

Healing the crowd

¹⁵ Jesus knew what they intended to do, so he went away from there. Large crowds followed him, and he healed them all. ¹⁶ But he ordered them not to spread the word about him, ¹⁷ so that what was spoken through Isaiah the prophet might be fulfilled:

²² They brought to Jesus a demon-possessed man who was blind and unable to speak. Jesus healed him so that he could both speak and see. ²³ All the crowds were amazed and said, “This man couldn’t be the Son of David, could he?”

²⁴ When the Pharisees heard, they said, “This man throws out demons only by the authority of Beelzebul, the ruler of the demons.”

²⁵ Because Jesus knew what they were thinking, he replied, “Every kingdom involved in civil war becomes a wasteland. Every city or house torn apart by divisions will collapse. ²⁶ If Satan throws out Satan, he is at war with himself. How then can his kingdom endure? ²⁷ And if I throw out demons by the authority of Beelzebul, then by whose authority do your followers throw them out? Therefore, they will be your judges. ²⁸ But if I throw out demons by the power of God’s Spirit, then God’s kingdom has already overtaken you.