Matthew 12:1–14

Jesus Has Authority over the Day of Rest—a Holy Day—Mark 2:23–28; Luke 6:1–5

¹Then on a day of rest—a holy day, Jesus walked through the grainfields. His disciples were hungry and began to pick the heads of grain to eat. 

²When the Pharisees saw this, they said to him, “Look! Your disciples are doing something that is not right to do on the day of rest—a holy day.” 

³Jesus asked them, “Haven’t you read what David did when he and his men were hungry? ⁴Haven’t you read how he went into the house of God and ate^athe bread of the presence? He and his men had no right to eat those loaves. Only the priests have that right. ⁵Or haven’t you read in Moses’ Teachings that on the day of rest—a holy day, the priests in the temple do things they shouldn’t on the day of rest yet remain innocent? ⁶I can guarantee that something^bgreater than the temple is here. ⁷If you had known what ‘I want mercy, not sacrifices’ means, you would not have condemned innocent people. 

⁸“The Son of Man has authority over the day of rest—a holy day.” 

Jesus Heals on the Day of Rest—a Holy Day—Mark 3:1–6; Luke 6:6–11

⁹Jesus moved on from there and went into a synagogue. ¹⁰A man with a paralyzed hand was there. The people asked Jesus whether it was right to heal on a day of rest—a holy day, so that they could accuse him of doing something wrong. 

¹¹Jesus said to them, “Suppose one of you has a sheep. If it falls into a pit on a day of rest—a holy day, wouldn’t you take hold of it and lift it out? ¹²Certainly, a human is more valuable than a sheep! So it is right to do good on the day of rest—a holy day.” 

¹³Then he said to the man, “Hold out your hand.” The man held it out, and it became normal again, as healthy as the other. 

¹⁴The Pharisees left and plotted to kill Jesus.