Lord of the Sabbath
aNow it happened that on a Sabbath He was passing through some grainfields, and His disciples bwere picking and eating the heads of grain, rubbing them in their hands. 2 But some of the Pharisees said, “Why do you do what ais not lawful on the Sabbath?” 3 And Jesus answered and said to them, “Have you never read awhat David did when he was hungry, he and those who were with him, 4 how he entered the house of God, and took and ate the consecrated bread which ais not lawful for any to eat except the priests alone, and gave it to his companions?” 5 And He was saying to them, “The Son of Man is Lord of the Sabbath.”
Jesus Heals a Man on the Sabbath
6 aNow it happened that on another Sabbath He entered bthe synagogue and was teaching; and there was a man there whose right hand was withered. 7 And the scribes and the Pharisees awere watching Him closely to see if He heals on the Sabbath, so that they might find reason to accuse Him. 8 But He aknew what they were thinking, and He said to the man with the withered hand, “Get up and come forward!” And he stood up and came forward. 9 And Jesus said to them, “I ask you, is it lawful to do good or to do harm on the Sabbath, to save a life or to destroy it?” 10 And after alooking around at them all, He said to him, “Stretch out your hand!” And he did so, and his hand was restored. 11 But they themselves were filled with rage, and were discussing together what they might do to Jesus.
Jesus Appoints the Twelve
12 Now it happened that at this time He went off to athe mountain to bpray, and He was spending the whole night in prayer to God. 13 And when day came, aHe called His disciples to Him and chose twelve of them, whom He also named as bapostles: 14 Simon, whom He also named Peter, and Andrew his brother; and James and John; and Philip and Bartholomew; 15 and aMatthew and Thomas; James the son of Alphaeus, and Simon who was called the Zealot; 16 Judas the son of James, and Judas Iscariot, who became a traitor.
17 And Jesus acame down with them and stood on a level place; and there was ba large crowd of His disciples, and a great multitude of people from all Judea and Jerusalem and the coastal region of cTyre and Sidon, 18 who had come to hear Him and to be healed of their diseases; and those who were troubled with unclean spirits were being cured. 19 And all the crowd was trying to atouch Him, for bpower was coming from Him and healing them all.
The Beatitudes
20 And turning His gaze toward His disciples, He began to say, “aBlessed are the poor, for byours is the kingdom of God.
21 Blessed are those who hunger now, for you shall be satisfied.
Blessed are those who cry now, for you shall laugh.
22 aBlessed are you when men hate you, and bexclude you, and insult you, and scorn your name as evil, for the sake of the Son of Man.
23 Be glad in that day and aleap for joy, for behold, your reward is great in heaven. For btheir fathers were doing the same things to the prophets.
Jesus Pronounces Woes
24 But woe to ayou who are rich, for byou are receiving your comfort in full.
25 Woe to you who are well-fed now, for you shall be hungry.
Woe to you who laugh now, for you shall mourn and cry.
26 Woe to you when all men speak well of you, for their fathers were doing the same things to the afalse prophets.
Love Your Enemies
27 “But I say to you who hear, alove your enemies, do good to those who hate you, 28 bless those who curse you, apray for those who disparage you. 29 aWhoever hits you on the cheek, offer him the other also; and whoever takes away your garment, do not withhold your tunic from him either. 30 Give to everyone who asks of you, and whoever takes away what is yours, do not demand it back. 31 And atreat others the same way you want them to treat you. 32 aAnd if you love those who love you, what credit is that to you? For even sinners love those who love them. 33 And if you do good to those who do good to you, what credit is that to you? For even sinners do the same. 34 aAnd if you lend to those from whom you expect to receive, what credit is that to you? Even sinners lend to sinners in order to receive back the same amount. 35 But alove your enemies, and do good, and lend, expecting nothing in return; and your reward will be great, and you will be bsons of cthe Most High; for He Himself is kind to the ungrateful and evil. 36 Be merciful, just as your Father is merciful.
Do Not Judge
37 “aAnd do not judge, and you will not be judged; and do not condemn, and you will not be condemned; bpardon, and you will be pardoned. 38 Give, and it will be given to you. They will pour ainto your lap a bgood measure—pressed down, shaken together, running over. For by your standard of measure it will be measured to you in return.”
39 And He also spoke a parable to them: “aCan a blind man guide a blind man? Will they not both fall into a pit? 40 aA student is not above his teacher; but everyone, after he has been fully trained, will be like his teacher. 41 And why do you look at the speck that is in your brother’s eye, but do not notice the log that is in your own eye? 42 How can you say to your brother, ‘Brother, let me take out the speck that is in your eye,’ when you yourself do not see the log that is in your own eye? You hypocrite, first take the log out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to take out the speck that is in your brother’s eye. 43 aFor there is no good tree which produces bad fruit, nor, on the other hand, a bad tree which produces good fruit. 44 aFor each tree is known by its own fruit. For men do not gather figs from thorns, nor do they pick grapes from a bramble bush. 45 aThe good man out of the good treasure of his heart brings forth what is good; and the evil man out of the evil treasure brings forth what is evil. bFor his mouth speaks from the abundance of his heart.
Build Your House on the Rock
46 “aNow why do you call Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ and do not do what I say? 47 aEveryone who comes to Me and hears My words and does them, I will show you whom he is like: 48 he is like a man building a house, who dug and went deep, and laid a foundation on the rock; and when a flood occurred, the river burst against that house and could not shake it, because it had been well built. 49 But the one who heard and did not do accordingly, is like a man who built a house on the ground without any foundation; and the river burst against it and immediately it collapsed, and the ruin of that house was great.”