Matthew, Chapters 11-12: BIBLE, New American Standard Bible == BIBLE-CENTER

Matthew, Chapter 11

¹ When Jesus had finished^agiving instructions to His twelve disciples, He departed from there to teach and^bpreach in their cities.

² Now when John,^cwhile imprisoned, heard of the works of Christ, he sent word by his disciples ³ and said to Him, “Are You the^dExpected One, or shall we look for someone else?” ⁴ Jesus answered and said to them, “Go and report to John what you hear and see: ⁵ the BLIND RECEIVE SIGHT and the lame walk, the lepers are cleansed and the deaf hear, the dead are raised up, and the POOR HAVE THE^eGOSPEL PREACHED TO THEM. ⁶ And blessed is he^fwho does not^gtake offense at Me.”

⁷ As these men were going away, Jesus began to speak to the crowds about John, “What did you go out into the wilderness to see? A reed shaken by the wind? ⁸ ^hBut what did you go out to see? A man dressed in soft clothing? Those who wear soft clothing are in kings’ⁱpalaces! ⁹ ^jBut what did you go out to see? A prophet? Yes, I tell you, and one who is more than a prophet. ¹⁰ This is the one about whom it^kis written,‘BEHOLD, I SEND MY MESSENGER^lAHEAD OF YOU,
WHO WILL PREPARE YOUR WAY BEFORE YOU.’

¹¹ Truly I say to you, among those born of women there has not arisen anyone greater than John the Baptist! Yet the one who is^mleast in the kingdom of heaven is greater than he. ¹² From the days of John the Baptist until now the kingdom of heavenⁿsuffers violence, and violent men^otake it by force. ¹³ For all the prophets and the Law prophesied until John. ¹⁴ And if you are willing to accept it, John himself is Elijah who^pwas to come. ¹⁵ He who has ears to hear,^qlet him hear.

¹⁶ “But to what shall I compare this generation? It is like children sitting in the market places, who call out to the other children, ¹⁷ and say, ‘We played the flute for you, and you did not dance; we sang a dirge, and you did not^rmourn.’ ¹⁸ For John came neither eating nor drinking, and they say, ‘He has a demon!’ ¹⁹ The Son of Man came eating and drinking, and they say, ‘Behold, a gluttonous man and a^sdrunkard, a friend of tax collectors and^tsinners!’ Yet wisdom is vindicated by her deeds.”

²⁰ Then He began to denounce the cities in which most of His^umiracles were done, because they did not repent. ²¹ “Woe to you, Chorazin! Woe to you, Bethsaida! For if the^vmiracles had occurred in Tyre and Sidon which occurred in you, they would have repented long ago in^wsackcloth and ashes. ²² Nevertheless I say to you, it will be more tolerable for Tyre and Sidon in the day of judgment than for you. ²³ And you, Capernaum, will not be exalted to heaven, will you? You will descend to Hades; for if the^xmiracles had occurred in Sodom which occurred in you, it would have remained to this day. ²⁴ Nevertheless I say to you that it will be more tolerable for the land of Sodom in the day of judgment, than for you.”

²⁵ At that^ytime Jesus said, “I praise You, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, that You have hidden these things from the wise and intelligent and have revealed them to infants. ²⁶ Yes, Father, for this way was well-pleasing in Your sight. ²⁷ All things have been handed over to Me by My Father; and no one knows the Son except the Father; nor does anyone know the Father except the Son, and anyone to whom the Son wills to reveal Him.

²⁸ “Come to Me, all^zwho are weary and heavy-laden, and I will give you rest. ²⁹ Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and YOU WILL FIND REST FOR YOUR SOULS. ³⁰ For My yoke is^aaeasy and My burden is light.”

Matthew, Chapter 12

¹ At that^atime Jesus went through the grainfields on the Sabbath, and His disciples became hungry and began to pick the heads of grain and eat. ² But when the Pharisees saw this, they said to Him, “Look, Your disciples do what is 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 they ate the^bconsecrated 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^cbreak the Sabbath and are innocent? ⁶ But I say to you that something greater than the temple is here. ⁷ But if you had known what this^dmeans, ‘I DESIRE^eCOMPASSION, AND NOT A SACRIFICE,’ you would not have condemned the innocent.

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

⁹ Departing from there, He went into their synagogue. ¹⁰ And a man was there whose hand was withered. And they questioned^fJesus, asking, “Is it lawful to heal on the Sabbath?”—so that they might accuse Him. ¹¹ And He said to them, “What man^gis there among you who^hhas a sheep, and if it falls into a pit on the Sabbath, will he not take hold of it and lift it out? ¹² How much more valuable then is a man than a sheep! So then, it is lawful to doⁱgood on the Sabbath.” ¹³ Then He *said to the man, “Stretch out your hand!” He stretched it out, and it was restored to^jnormal, like the other. ¹⁴ But the Pharisees went out and^kconspired against Him, as to how they might destroy Him.

¹⁵ But Jesus,^laware of this, withdrew from there. Many followed Him, and He healed them all, ¹⁶ and warned them not to^mtell who He was. ¹⁷ This was to fulfill what was spoken through Isaiah the prophet:

¹⁸

“BEHOLD, MYⁿSERVANT WHOM I^oHAVE CHOSEN;
MY BELOVED IN WHOM MY SOUL^pis WELL-PLEASED;
I WILL PUT MY SPIRIT UPON HIM,
AND HE SHALL PROCLAIM^qJUSTICE TO THE^rGENTILES.

¹⁹

“HE WILL NOT QUARREL, NOR CRY OUT;
NOR WILL ANYONE HEAR HIS VOICE IN THE STREETS.

²⁰

“A BATTERED REED HE WILL NOT BREAK OFF,
AND A SMOLDERING WICK HE WILL NOT PUT OUT,
UNTIL HE^sLEADS^tJUSTICE TO VICTORY.

²¹

“AND IN HIS NAME THE^uGENTILES WILL HOPE.”

²² Then a demon-possessed man who was blind and mute was brought to^vJesus, 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 Son of David, can he?” ²⁴ But when the Pharisees heard this, they said, “This man casts out demons only by^wBeelzebul the ruler of the demons.”

²⁵ And knowing their thoughts Jesus said to them, “^xAny kingdom divided against itself is laid waste; and^yany city or house divided against itself will not stand. ²⁶ If Satan casts out Satan, he^zis divided against himself; how then will his kingdom stand? ²⁷ If I by^aaBeelzebul cast out demons, by whom do your sons cast them out? For this reason they will be your judges. ²⁸ But if 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.

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

³¹ “Therefore I say to you, any sin and blasphemy shall be forgiven people, but blasphemy against the Spirit shall not be forgiven. ³² Whoever^abspeaks a word against the Son of Man, it shall be forgiven him; but whoever^acspeaks against the Holy Spirit, it shall not be forgiven him, either in this age or in the age to come.

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. ³⁴ You brood of vipers, how can you, being evil, speak^adwhat is good? For the mouth speaks out of that which fills the heart. ³⁵ The good man brings out of his good treasure^aewhat is good; and the evil man brings out of his evil treasure^afwhat is evil. ³⁶ But I tell you that every^agcareless word that people^ahspeak, they shall give an accounting for it in the day of judgment. ³⁷ For^aiby your words you will be justified, and^ajby your words you will be condemned.”

³⁸ Then some of the scribes and Pharisees said to Him, “Teacher, we want to see a^aksign from You.” ³⁹ But He answered and said to them, “An evil and adulterous generation craves for a^alsign; and yet no^amsign will be given to it but the^ansign of Jonah the prophet; ⁴⁰ for 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. 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. 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.

⁴³ “Now 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 the last state of that man becomes worse than the first. That is the way it will also be with this evil generation.”

⁴⁶ While He was still speaking to the crowds, behold, His mother and brothers 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.”^ao ⁴⁸ But^apJesus 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.”


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