Matthew 11–12

Messengers from John the Baptist

11When Jesus had finished instructing his twelve disciples, he went on from there to teach and preach in their cities.

^2eNow when John heard ^fin prison about the deeds of ^gthe Christ, he sent word by ^hhis disciples ³and said to him, “Are you ⁱthe one who is to come, or shall we ^jlook for another?” ⁴And Jesus answered them, “Go and tell John what you hear and see: ^5kthe blind receive their sight and the lame walk, lepers¹ are cleansed and the deaf hear, and the dead are raised up, and ^lthe poor have good news preached to them. ⁶And blessed is the one who ^mis not offended by me.”

⁷As they went away, Jesus began to speak to the crowds concerning John: “What did you go out ⁿinto the wilderness to see? ^oA reed shaken by the wind? ⁸What then did you go out to see? A man² dressed in soft clothing? Behold, those who wear soft clothing are in kings’ houses. ⁹What then did you go out to see? ^pA prophet?³ Yes, I tell you, and more than a prophet. ¹⁰This is he of whom it is written,

^q“ ‘Behold, I send my messenger before your face,

who will prepare your way before you.’

¹¹Truly, I say to you, among those born of women there has arisen no one greater than John the Baptist. Yet the one who is least in the kingdom of heaven is greater than he. ^12rFrom the days of John the Baptist until now the kingdom of heaven has suffered violence,⁴ and the violent take it by force. ^13rFor all the Prophets and the Law prophesied until John, ¹⁴and if you are willing to accept it, he is ^sElijah who is to come. ^15tHe who has ears to hear,⁵ let him hear.

¹⁶“But to what shall I compare this generation? It is like children sitting in the marketplaces and calling to their playmates,

¹⁷“ ‘We played the flute for you, and you did not dance;

we sang a dirge, and you did not mourn.’

¹⁸For John came ^uneither eating ^vnor drinking, and they say, ‘He has a demon.’ ¹⁹The Son of Man came ^weating and drinking, and they say, ‘Look at him! A glutton and a drunkard, ^xa friend of ^ytax collectors and sinners!’ Yet wisdom is justified by her deeds.”⁶

Woe to Unrepentant Cities

^20zThen he began to denounce the cities where most of his mighty works had been done, because they did not repent. ^21a“Woe to you, Chorazin! Woe to you, Bethsaida! For if the mighty works done in you had been done in ^bTyre and Sidon, they would have repented long ago in sackcloth and ashes. ^22cBut I tell you, it will be more bearable on ^dthe day of judgment for ^bTyre and Sidon than for you. ²³And you, ^eCapernaum, will you be exalted to heaven? You will be brought down to ^fHades. For if the mighty works done in you had been done in Sodom, it would have remained until this day. ^24cBut I tell you that ^git will be more tolerable on ^dthe day of judgment for the land of Sodom than for you.”

Come to Me, and I Will Give You Rest

^25hAt that time Jesus declared, “I thank you, Father, ⁱLord of heaven and earth, that ^jyou have hidden these things from the wise and understanding and ^krevealed them to little children; ²⁶yes, Father, for such was your ^lgracious will.^{7 27m}All things have been handed over to me by my Father, and no one knows the Son ⁿexcept the Father, and no one knows the Father except the Son and anyone ^oto whom the Son chooses to reveal him. ^28pCome to ^qme, all who labor and are ^rheavy laden, and I will give you rest. ²⁹Take my yoke upon you, and ^slearn from me, for I am ^tgentle and lowly in heart, and ^uyou will find rest for your souls. ³⁰For ^vmy yoke is easy, and my burden is light.”

Jesus Is Lord of the Sabbath

12At that time ^wJesus went through the grainfields on the Sabbath. His disciples were hungry, and ^xthey began to pluck heads of grain and to eat. ²But when the Pharisees saw it, they said to him, ^y“Look, your disciples are doing ^zwhat is not lawful to do on the Sabbath.” ³He said to them, ^a“Have you not read what David did when he was hungry, and those who were with him: ⁴how he entered the house of God and ate ^bthe bread of the Presence, which it was not lawful for him to eat nor for those who were with him, but only for the priests? ⁵Or have you not read ^cin the Law how on the Sabbath the priests in the temple profane the Sabbath and are guiltless? ⁶I tell you, ^dsomething greater than the temple is here. ⁷And if you had known ^ewhat this means, ^f‘I desire mercy, and not sacrifice,’ you would not have condemned the guiltless. ⁸For ^gthe Son of Man is lord of the Sabbath.”

A Man with a Withered Hand

⁹He went on from there and ^hentered their synagogue. ¹⁰And a man was there with a withered hand. And they asked him, ⁱ“Is it lawful to heal on the Sabbath?”—^jso that they might accuse him. ¹¹He said to them, “Which one of you who has a sheep, ^kif it falls into a pit on the Sabbath, will not take hold of it and lift it out? ^12lOf how much more value is a man than a sheep! So ^mit is lawful to do good on the Sabbath.” ¹³Then he said to the man, “Stretch out your hand.” And ⁿthe man stretched it out, and it was restored, healthy like the other. ¹⁴But the Pharisees went out and conspired against him, how to destroy him.

God’s Chosen Servant

¹⁵Jesus, aware of this, ^owithdrew from there. And ^pmany followed him, and he healed them all ¹⁶and ^qordered them not to make him known. ^17rThis was to fulfill what was spoken by the prophet Isaiah:

^18s“Behold, my ^tservant whom I have chosen,

my beloved with whom my soul is well pleased.

^uI will put my Spirit upon him,

and he will proclaim justice to the Gentiles.

¹⁹He will not quarrel or cry aloud,

nor will anyone hear his voice in the streets;

²⁰a bruised reed he will not break,

and a smoldering wick he will not quench,

until he brings justice to victory;

^21vand in his name the Gentiles will hope.”

Blasphemy Against the Holy Spirit

^22wThen a demon-oppressed man who was blind and mute was brought to him, and he healed him, so that the man spoke and saw. ^23xAnd all the people were amazed, and said, ^x“Can this be the Son of David?” ²⁴But when the Pharisees heard it, they said, ^y“It is only by Beelzebul, the prince of demons, that this man casts out demons.” ^25zKnowing their thoughts, ^ahe said to them, “Every kingdom divided against itself is laid waste, and no city or house divided against itself will stand. ²⁶And if Satan casts out Satan, he is divided against himself. How then will his kingdom stand? ²⁷And if I cast out demons by Beelzebul, ^bby whom do ^cyour sons cast them out? Therefore they will be your judges. ²⁸But if it is ^dby the Spirit of God that I cast out demons, then ^ethe kingdom of God has come upon you. ²⁹Or ^fhow can someone enter a strong man’s house and plunder his goods, unless he first binds the strong man? Then indeed ^ghe may plunder his house. ^30hWhoever is not with me is against me, and whoever does not gather with me scatters. ³¹ⁱTherefore I tell you, every sin and blasphemy will be forgiven people, but ^jthe blasphemy against the Spirit will not be forgiven. ³²And whoever speaks a word ^kagainst the Son of Man ^lwill be forgiven, but ^jwhoever speaks against the Holy Spirit will not be forgiven, either in ^mthis age or in the age to come.

A Tree Is Known by Its Fruit

³³ⁿ“Either make the tree good and its fruit good, or make the tree bad and its fruit bad, ^ofor the tree is known by its fruit. ^34pYou brood of vipers! How can you speak good, ^qwhen you are evil? ^rFor out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks. ^35rThe good person out of his good treasure brings forth good, and the evil person out of his evil treasure brings forth evil. ³⁶I tell you, ^son the day of judgment ^tpeople will give account for ^uevery careless word they speak, ³⁷for ^vby your words you will be justified, and by your words you will be condemned.”

The Sign of Jonah

³⁸Then some of the scribes and Pharisees answered him, saying, “Teacher, ^wwe wish to see a sign from you.” ³⁹But he answered them, ^x“An evil and ^yadulterous generation seeks for a sign, but no sign will be given to it except the sign of the prophet Jonah. ⁴⁰For ^zjust as Jonah was three days and three nights in the belly of the great fish, ^aso will the Son of Man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth. ^41bThe men of Nineveh will rise up at the judgment with this generation and ^ccondemn it, for ^dthey repented at the preaching of Jonah, and behold, ^esomething greater than Jonah is here. ^42fThe queen of the South will rise up at the judgment with this generation and condemn it, for she came from the ends of the earth to hear the wisdom of Solomon, and behold, ^esomething greater than Solomon is here.

Return of an Unclean Spirit

⁴³“When ^gthe unclean spirit has gone out of a person, it passes through ^hwaterless places seeking rest, but finds none. ⁴⁴Then it says, ‘I will return to my house from which I came.’ And when it comes, it finds the house empty, swept, and put in order. ⁴⁵Then it goes and brings with it seven other spirits more evil than itself, and they enter and dwell there, and ⁱthe last state of that person is worse than the first. So also will it be with this ^jevil generation.”

Jesus’ Mother and Brothers

⁴⁶While he was still speaking to the people, behold, ^khis mother and his ^lbrothers¹ stood outside, asking to speak to him.^{2 48}But he replied to the man who told him, “Who is my mother, and who are my brothers?” ⁴⁹And stretching out his hand toward his disciples, he said, “Here are my mother and my brothers! ⁵⁰For ^mwhoever ⁿdoes the will of my Father in heaven is my brother and sister and mother.”