Matthew 11:22-12:28

New American Standard Bible

²² Nevertheless I say to you, ^(A)it will be more tolerable for Tyre and Sidon on ^(B)the day of judgment than for you. ²³ And you, ^(C)Capernaum, will not be exalted to heaven, will you? You will be ^(D)brought down to ^(E)Hades! For if the ^[a]miracles that occurred in you had occurred in ^(F)Sodom, it would have remained to this day. ²⁴ Nevertheless I say to you that ^(G)it will be more tolerable for the land of ^(H)Sodom on the day of judgment, than for you.”

Come to Me

^25 [b](I)At that time Jesus said, “I praise You, ^(J)Father, Lord of heaven and earth, that ^(K)You have hidden these things from the wise and intelligent, and have revealed them to infants. ²⁶ Yes, ^(L)Father, for this way was well pleasing in Your sight. ^27 (M)All things have been handed over to Me by My Father; and no one knows the Son except the Father; nor does anyone know the Father ^(N)except the Son, and anyone to whom the Son determines to reveal Him.

²⁸ “^(O)Come to Me, all ^[c]who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. ²⁹ Take My yoke upon you and ^(P)learn from Me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and ^(Q)you will find ^[d]rest for your souls. ³⁰ For ^(R)My yoke is comfortable, and My burden is light.”

Sabbath Questions

12 ^[e](S)At that time Jesus went through the grainfields on the Sabbath, and His disciples became hungry and began to ^(T)pick the heads of grain and eat. ² Now when the Pharisees saw this, they said to Him, “Look, Your disciples are doing what ^(U)is not lawful to do on a Sabbath!” ³ But He said to them, “Have you not read what David did when he became hungry, he and his companions— ⁴ how he entered the house of God, and ^(V)they ate the ^[f]consecrated bread, which was not lawful for him to eat nor for those with him, but for the priests alone? ⁵ Or have you not read in the Law that on the Sabbath the priests in the temple ^[g]violate the Sabbath, and yet are innocent? ⁶ But I say to you that something ^(W)greater than the temple is here. ⁷ But if you had known what this ^[h]means: ‘^(X)I desire ^[i]compassion, ^[j]rather than sacrifice,’ you would not have condemned ^[k]the innocent.

Lord of the Sabbath

⁸ For ^(Y)the Son of Man is Lord of the Sabbath.”

^9 (Z)Departing from there, He went into their synagogue. ¹⁰ And a man was there whose hand was withered. And they questioned ^[l]Jesus, asking, “^(AA)Is it lawful to heal on the Sabbath?”—so that they might bring charges against Him. ¹¹ But He said to them, “^(AB)What man ^[m]is there among you who ^[n]has a sheep, and if it falls into a pit on the Sabbath, will he not take hold of it and lift it out? ^12 (AC)How much more valuable then is a person than a sheep! So then, it is lawful to do ^[o]good on the Sabbath.” ¹³ Then He *said to the man, “Stretch out your hand!” ^(AD)He stretched it out, and it was restored to ^[p]normal, like the other. ¹⁴ But the Pharisees went out and ^[q](AE)conspired against Him, as to how they might destroy Him.

¹⁵ But Jesus, ^[r]aware of this, withdrew from there. Many followed Him, and ^(AF)He healed them all, ¹⁶ and ^(AG)warned them not to ^[s]tell who He was. ¹⁷ This happened so that what was spoken through Isaiah the prophet would be fulfilled:

The Pharisees Rebuked

^22 (AO)Then a ^(AP)demon-possessed man who was blind and unable to speak was brought to ^[ab]Jesus, and He healed him so that the man who was unable to speak talked and ^[ac]could see. ²³ And all the crowds were amazed and were saying, “This man cannot be the ^(AQ)Son of David, can he?” ²⁴ But when the Pharisees heard this, they said, “This man ^(AR)casts out demons only by ^[ad]Beelzebul the ruler of the demons.”

^25 (AS)And ^(AT)knowing their thoughts, Jesus said to them, “Every kingdom divided against itself is laid waste; and no city or house divided against itself will stand. ²⁶ And if ^(AU)Satan is casting out Satan, he ^[ae]has become divided against himself; how then will his kingdom stand? ²⁷ And if ^(AV)by ^[af]Beelzebul I cast out the demons, ^(AW)by whom do your sons cast them out? Therefore, they will be your judges. ²⁸ But ^(AX)if I cast out the demons by the Spirit of God, then the kingdom of God has come upon you.