The Lord of the Sabbath
(1 Samuel 21:1-9; Mark 2:23-28; Luke 6:1-5)

1At that time Jesus went through the grainfields on the Sabbaths, and His disciples were hungry, and they began to pluck the heads of grain and to eat them. 2And the Pharisees, having seen, said to Him, “Behold, Your disciples are doing what it is not lawful to do on Sabbath.”

3And He said to them, “Have you not read what David did when he was hungry, and those with him— 4how he entered into the house of God, and they ate the loaves of the presentation, which it was not lawful for him nor for those with him to eat, but only for the priests?

5Or have you not read in the law that on the Sabbath the priests in the temple profane the Sabbath, and are guiltless? 6But I say to you that a greater than the temple is here.

7But if you had known what this is, ‘I desire mercy and not sacrifice,’a then you would not have condemned the guiltless. 8For the Son of Man is Lord of the Sabbath.”

Jesus Heals on the Sabbath
(Mark 3:1-6; Luke 6:6-11)

9And having departed from there, He went into their synagogue. 10And behold, a man having a withered hand, and they asked Him saying, “Is it lawful to heal on the Sabbaths?”—so that they might accuse Him.

11And He said to them, “What man will there be among you, who will have one sheep, and if it falls into a pit on the Sabbaths, will not take hold of it and will raise it up? 12How much more valuable therefore is a man than a sheep! Therefore it is lawful to do good on the Sabbaths.”

13Then He says to the man, “Stretch out your hand.” And he stretched it out, and it was restored, as sound as the other. 14And the Pharisees having gone out, held a counsel against Him, how they might destroy Him.

God's Chosen Servant
(Isaiah 42:1-9)

15And Jesus having known, withdrew from there. And great multitudes followed Him, and He healed them all, 16and He warned them that they should not make Him known— 17so that it might be fulfilled that having been spoken by the prophet Isaiah, saying:

18“Behold My servant,

whom I have chosen,

My beloved,

in whom My soul has found delight.

I will put My Spirit upon Him,

and He will proclaim justice to the Gentiles.

19He will not quarrel nor will he cry out;

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 leads justice to victory.

21And in His name the Gentiles will hope.”b

A House Divided
(Mark 3:20-27; Luke 11:14-23)

22Then was brought to Him one possessed by a demon, blind and mute, and He healed him, in order for the mute man to speak and to see. 23And all the crowds were amazed, and were saying, “Could this be the Son of David?”

24And the Pharisees having heard, said, “This man casts out the demons only by Beelzebul, the prince of the demons.”

25And having known their thoughts, He said to them, “Every kingdom having been divided against itself is brought to desolation, and every city or house having been divided against itself will not 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, by whom do your sons cast them out? On account of this, they will be your judges. 28But if I cast out demons by the Spirit of God, then the kingdom of God has come upon you.

29Or how is anyone able to enter into the house of the strong man, and to plunder his goods, unless first he binds the strong man? And then he will plunder his house.

30The one not being with Me is against Me, and the one not gathering with Me scatters.

The Unpardonable Sin
(Mark 3:28-30)

31Because of this I say to you, every sin and blasphemy will be forgiven men; but blasphemy against the Spirit will not be forgiven. 32And if anyone speaks a word against the Son of Man, it will be forgiven him; but if anyone speaks against the Holy Spirit, it will not be forgiven him, neither in this age nor in the coming one.

Good and Bad Fruit
(Matthew 7:15-23; Luke 6:43-45)

33Either make the tree good and its fruit good, or make the tree bad and its fruit bad. For the tree is known by the fruit. 34Offspring of vipers, how are you able to speak good things, being evil? For out of the abundance of the heart, the mouth speaks. 35The good man out of his good treasure puts forth good things, and the evil man out of his evil treasure puts forth evil things. 36And I say to you that every careless word that they will speak, men will give an account of it in day of judgment. 37For by your words you will be justified, and by your words you will be condemned.”

The Sign of Jonah
(Luke 11:29-32)

38Then some of the scribes and Pharisees answered him, saying “Teacher, we wish to see a sign from You.”

39And answering He said to them, “An evil and adulterous generation seeks for a sign, and no sign will be given to it, except the sign of Jonah the prophet. 40For just as Jonah was in the belly of the great 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 men of Nineveh will stand up in the judgment with this generation and will condemn it. For they repented at the preaching of Jonah, and behold, a greater than Jonah is here. 42The queen of the south will rise up in the judgment with this the generation and will condemn it. For she came from the ends of the earth to hear the wisdom of Solomon, and behold, a greater than Solomon is here.

An Unclean Spirit Returns
(Luke 11:24-26)

43Now when the unclean spirit is gone out from the man, it passes through waterless places seeking rest, and does not find it. 44Then it says, ‘I will return to my house from where I came out.’ And having come, it finds it being unoccupied, and swept, and put in order. 45Then it goes and takes with itself seven other spirits more evil than itself; and having entered in, they dwell there, and the last of that the man becomes worse than the first. So also will it be unto this evil generation.”

Jesus' Mother and Brothers
(Mark 3:31-35; Luke 8:19-21)

46Now while He was speaking to the crowds, behold, His mother and brothers were standing outside, seeking to speak to Him.c 47Then someone said to Him, “Behold, Your mother and Your brothers are standing outside, seeking to speak to You.”

48And answering, He said to the one telling Him, “Who is My mother, and who are My brothers?” 49And having stretched out His hand to His disciples, He said, “Behold, My mother and My brothers. 50For whoever shall do the will of My Father who is in the heavens, he is My brother and sister and mother.”