Matthew 11–12

11Now it came to pass, when Jesus finished commanding His twelve disciples, that He departed from there to ^ateach and to preach in their cities.

Rejection of John the Baptist

Luke 7:19–30

^2bAnd when John had heard ^cin prison about the works of Christ, he ¹sent two of his disciples ³and said to Him, “Are You ^dthe Coming One, or do we look for another?”

⁴Jesus answered and said to them, “Go and tell John the things which you hear and see: ^5eThe blind see and the lame walk; the lepers are cleansed and the deaf hear; the dead are raised up and ^fthe poor have the gospel preached to them. ⁶And blessed is he who is not ^goffended because of Me.”

^7hAs they departed, Jesus began to say to the multitudes concerning John: “What did you go out into the wilderness to see? ⁱA reed shaken by the wind? ⁸But what did you go out to see? A man clothed in soft garments? Indeed, those who wear soft clothing are in kings’ houses. ⁹But what did you go out to see? A prophet? Yes, I say to you, ^jand more than a prophet. ¹⁰For this is he of whom it is written:

^k‘Behold, I send My messenger before Your face,

Who will prepare Your way before You.’

¹¹“Assuredly, I say to you, among those born of women there has not risen one greater than John the Baptist; but he who is least in the kingdom of heaven is greater than he. ^12lAnd from the days of John the Baptist until now the kingdom of heaven suffers violence, and the violent take it by force. ^13mFor all the prophets and the law prophesied until John. ¹⁴And if you are willing to receive it, he is ⁿElijah who is to come. ^15oHe who has ears to hear, let him hear!

Rejection by Jesus’ Generation

Luke 7:31–35

^16p“But to what shall I liken this generation? It is like children sitting in the marketplaces and calling to their companions, ¹⁷and saying:

‘We played the flute for you,

And you did not dance;

We mourned to you,

And you did not ²lament.’

¹⁸For John came neither eating nor drinking, and they say, ‘He has a demon.’ ¹⁹The Son of Man came eating and drinking, and they say, ‘Look, a glutton and a ³winebibber, ^qa friend of tax collectors and sinners!’ ^rBut wisdom is justified by her ⁴children.”

Rejection of Chorazin, Bethsaida, and Capernaum

Luke 10:12–15

^20sThen He began to rebuke the cities in which most of His mighty works had been done, because they did not repent: ²¹“Woe to you, Chorazin! Woe to you, Bethsaida! For if the mighty works which were done in you had been done in Tyre and Sidon, they would have repented long ago ^tin sackcloth and ashes. ²²But I say to you, ^uit will be more tolerable for Tyre and Sidon in the day of judgment than for you. ²³And you, Capernaum, ^vwho ⁵are exalted to heaven, will be brought down to Hades; for if the mighty works which were done in you had been done in Sodom, it would have remained until this day. ²⁴But I say to you ^wthat it shall be more tolerable for the land of Sodom in the day of judgment than for you.”

Invitation to Come to Jesus

^25xAt that time Jesus answered and said, “I thank You, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, that ^yYou have hidden these things from the wise and prudent ^zand have revealed them to babes. ²⁶Even so, Father, for so it seemed good in Your sight. ^27aAll things have been delivered to Me by My Father, and no one knows the Son except the Father. ^bNor does anyone know the Father except the Son, and the one to whom the Son wills to reveal Him. ²⁸Come to ^cMe, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. ²⁹Take My yoke upon you ^dand learn from Me, for I am ⁶gentle and ^elowly in heart, ^fand you will find rest for your souls. ^30gFor My yoke is easy and My burden is light.”

Controversy Over Sabbath-Labor

Mark 2:23–28; Luke 6:1–5

12At that time ^aJesus went through the grainfields on the Sabbath. And His disciples were hungry, and began to ^bpluck heads of grain and to eat. ²And when the Pharisees saw it, they said to Him, “Look, Your disciples are doing what is not lawful to do on the Sabbath!”

³But He said to them, “Have you not read ^cwhat David did when he was hungry, he and those who were with him: ⁴how he entered the house of God and ate ^dthe showbread which was not lawful for him to eat, nor for those who were with him, ^ebut only for the priests? ⁵Or have you not read in the ^flaw that on the Sabbath the priests in the temple ¹profane the Sabbath, and are blameless? ⁶Yet I say to you that in this place there is ^gOne greater than the temple. ⁷But if you had known what this means, ^h‘I desire mercy and not sacrifice,’ you would not have condemned the guiltless. ⁸For the Son of Man is Lord ²even of the Sabbath.”

Controversy Over Sabbath-Healing

Mark 3:1–5; Luke 6:6–10

⁹ⁱNow when He had departed from there, He went into their synagogue. ¹⁰And behold, there was a man who had a withered hand. And they asked Him, saying, ^j“Is it lawful to heal on the Sabbath?”—that they might accuse Him.

¹¹Then He said to them, “What man is there among you who has one sheep, and if it falls into a pit on the Sabbath, will not lay hold of it and lift it out? ¹²Of how much more value then is a man than a sheep? Therefore it is lawful to do good on the Sabbath.” ¹³Then He said to the man, “Stretch out your hand.” And he stretched it out, and it was restored as whole as the other.

Pharisees Plan to Destroy Christ

Mark 3:6–12; Luke 6:11

¹⁴Then ^kthe Pharisees went out and plotted against Him, how they might destroy Him.

¹⁵But when Jesus knew it, ^lHe withdrew from there. ^mAnd great ³multitudes followed Him, and He healed them all. ¹⁶Yet He ⁿwarned them not to make Him known, ¹⁷that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by Isaiah the prophet, saying:

¹⁸“Behold! ^oMy Servant whom I have chosen,

My Beloved ^pin whom My soul is well pleased!

I will put My Spirit upon Him,

And He will declare justice to the Gentiles.

¹⁹He will not quarrel nor cry out,

Nor will anyone hear His voice in the streets.

²⁰A bruised reed He will not break,

And smoking flax He will not quench,

Till He sends forth justice to victory;

²¹And in His name Gentiles will trust.”

Pharisees Blaspheme the Holy Spirit

Mark 3:22–27; Luke 11:17–23

^22qThen one was brought to Him who was demon-possessed, blind and mute; and He healed him, so that the ⁴blind and mute man both spoke and saw. ²³And all the multitudes were amazed and said, “Could this be the ^rSon of David?”

^24sNow when the Pharisees heard it they said, “This fellow does not cast out demons except by ⁵Beelzebub, the ruler of the demons.”

²⁵But Jesus ^tknew their thoughts, and said to them: “Every kingdom divided against itself is brought to desolation, and every city or house divided against itself will not stand. ²⁶If Satan casts out Satan, he is divided against himself. How then will his kingdom stand? ²⁷And if I cast out demons by Beelzebub, by whom do your sons cast them out? Therefore they shall be your judges. ²⁸But if I cast out demons by the Spirit of God, ^usurely the kingdom of God has come upon you. ^29vOr how can one enter a strong man’s house and plunder his goods, unless he first binds the strong man? And then he will plunder his house. ³⁰He who is not with Me is against Me, and he who does not gather with Me scatters abroad.

Pharisees Commit the Unpardonable Sin

Mark 3:28, 29

³¹“Therefore I say to you, ^wevery sin and blasphemy will be forgiven men, ^xbut the blasphemy against the Spirit will not be forgiven men. ³²Anyone who ^yspeaks a word against the Son of Man, ^zit will be forgiven him; but whoever speaks against the Holy Spirit, it will not be forgiven him, either in this age or in the age to come.

³³“Either make the tree good and ^aits fruit good, or else make the tree bad and its fruit bad; for a tree is known by its fruit. ^34bBrood ⁶of vipers! How can you, being evil, speak good things? ^cFor out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks. ³⁵A good man out of the good treasure ⁷of his heart brings forth good things, and an evil man out of the evil treasure brings forth evil things. ³⁶But I say to you that for every idle word men may speak, they will give account of it in the day of judgment. ³⁷For by your words you will be justified, and by your words you will be condemned.”

Pharisees Demand a Sign

Luke 11:24–26, 29–32

^38dThen some of the scribes and Pharisees answered, saying, “Teacher, we want to see a sign from You.”

³⁹But He answered and said to them, “An evil and ^eadulterous generation seeks after a sign, and no sign will be given to it except the sign of the prophet Jonah. ^40fFor as Jonah was three days and three nights in the belly of the great fish, so will the Son of Man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth. ^41gThe men of Nineveh will rise up in the judgment with this generation and ^hcondemn it, ⁱbecause they repented at the preaching of Jonah; and indeed a greater than Jonah is here. ^42jThe queen of the South will rise up in the judgment with this generation and condemn it, for she came from the ends of the earth to hear the wisdom of Solomon; and indeed a greater than Solomon is here.

^43k“When an unclean spirit goes out of a man, ^lhe goes through dry places, seeking rest, and finds none. ⁴⁴Then he says, ‘I will return to my house from which I came.’ And when he comes, he finds it empty, swept, and put in order. ⁴⁵Then he goes and takes with him seven other spirits more wicked than himself, and they enter and dwell there; ^mand the last state of that man is worse than the first. So shall it also be with this wicked generation.”

Jesus and the True Brethren

Mark 3:31–35

⁴⁶While He was still talking to the multitudes, ⁿbehold, His mother and ^obrothers stood outside, seeking to speak with Him. ⁴⁷Then one said to Him, “Look, ^pYour mother and Your brothers are standing outside, seeking to speak with You.”

⁴⁸But He answered and said to the one who told Him, “Who is My mother and who are My brothers?” ⁴⁹And He stretched out His hand toward His disciples and said, “Here are My mother and My ^qbrothers! ⁵⁰For ^rwhoever does the will of My Father in heaven is My brother and sister…