Matthew 12:18–50

¹⁸“Behold my servant whom I have chosen,

my beloved in whom my soul is well pleased.

I will put my Spirit on him,

and he will proclaim justice to the Gentiles.

¹⁹He will not quarrel or cry out,

nor will anyone hear his voice in the streets.

²⁰A crushed reed he will not break,

and a smoldering wick he will not extinguish,

until he brings justice to victory.

²¹And in his name the Gentiles^e will hope.^f

A House Divided Cannot Stand

²²Then a demon-possessed man who was blind and mute was brought to him. And he healed him so that the man who was mute could speak and see. ²³And all the crowds were amazed and began saying, “Perhaps this one is the Son of David!” ²⁴But the Pharisees, when they^* heard it,^* said, “This man does not expel demons except by Beelzebul the ruler of demons!” ²⁵But knowing their thoughts, he said to them, “Every kingdom divided against itself is laid waste, and every city or household divided against itself will not stand. ²⁶And if Satan expels Satan, he is divided against himself. How then will his kingdom stand? ²⁷And if I expel demons by Beelzebul, by whom do your sons expel them?^* For this reason they will be your judges! ²⁸But if I expel demons by the Spirit of God, then the kingdom of God has come upon you! ²⁹Or how can someone enter into the house of a strong man and steal his property, unless he first ties up the strong man? And then he can thoroughly plunder his house. ³⁰The one who is not with me is against me, and the one who does not gather with me scatters. ³¹For this reason I tell you, every sin and blasphemy will be forgiven people, but the blasphemy against the Spirit will not be forgiven! ³²And whoever speaks a word against the Son of Man, it will be forgiven him. But whoever speaks against the Holy Spirit, it will not be forgiven him either in this age or in the coming one!

Good Trees and Good Fruit or Bad Trees and Bad Fruit

³³“Either make the tree good and its fruit is good, or make the tree bad and its fruit is bad, for the tree is known by its fruit. ³⁴Offspring of vipers! How are you able to say good things when you^* are evil? For from the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks. ³⁵The good person from his^g good treasury brings out good things, and the evil person from his^h evil treasury brings out evil things. ³⁶But I tell you that every worthless word that they speak, people will give an account for it on the day of judgment! ³⁷For by your words you will be vindicated, and by your words you will be condemned.”

The Sign of Jonah

³⁸Then some of the scribes and Pharisees answered him saying, “Teacher, we want to see a sign from you!” ³⁹But he answered and^* said to them, “An evil and adulterous generation desires a sign, and no sign will be given to it except the sign of the prophet Jonah! ⁴⁰For just as Jonah was in the belly of the huge fish three days and three nights, so the Son of Man will be in the heart of the earth three days and three nights. ⁴¹The people of Nineveh will stand up at the judgment with this generation and condemn it, because they repented at the proclamation of Jonah, and behold, something^* greater than Jonah is here! ⁴²The queen of the south will rise up at the judgment with this generation and 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!

An Unclean Spirit Returns

⁴³“Now whenever an unclean spirit has gone out of a person, it travels through waterless places searching for rest, and does not find it.^{* 44}Then it says, ‘I will return to my house from which I came out.’ And when it^* arrives it finds the house^* unoccupied and swept and put in order. ⁴⁵Then it goes and brings along with itself seven other spirits more evil than itself, and they go in and^* live there. And the last state of that person becomes worse than the first. So it will be for this evil generation also!”

Jesus’ Mother and Brothers

⁴⁶Andⁱ while^* he was still speaking to the crowds, behold, his mother and brothers were standing there outside, desiring to speak to him. ⁴⁷And someone told him, “Behold, your mother and your brothers are standing there outside desiring to speak to you.” ⁴⁸But he answered and^* said to the one who told him, “Who is my mother, and who are my brothers?” ⁴⁹And stretching out his hand toward his disciples, he said, “Behold my mother and my brothers! ⁵⁰For whoever does the will of my Father who is in heaven, he is my brother and sister and mother.”