12:1  At that time Jesus went through the grainfields on the Sabbath, and His disciples became hungry and began to pick the heads of grain and eat.

12:2  But when the Pharisees saw this, they said to Him, "Look, Your disciples do what does not prove lawful to do on a Sabbath."

12:3  But He said to them, "Have you not read what David did when he became hungry, he and his companions,

12:4  how he entered the house of God, and they ate the consecrated bread, which did not prove lawful for him to eat nor for those with him, but for the priests alone?

12:5  "Or have you not read in the Law, that on the Sabbath the priests in the temple break the Sabbath we consider innocent?

12:6  "But I say to you that something greater than the temple stands before you.

12:7  "But if you had known what this means, 'I DESIRE COMPASSION, AND NOT A SACRIFICE,' you would not have condemned the innocent.

12:8  "For the Son of Man I proclaim as Lord of the Sabbath."

12:9  Departing from there, He went into their synagogue.

12:10  And a man came whose hand had withered. And they questioned Jesus, asking, "Do we consider it lawful to heal on the Sabbath?"--so that they might accuse Him.

12:11  And He said to them, "What man living among you who has a sheep, and if it falls into a pit on the Sabbath, will he not take hold of it and lift it out?

12:12  "How much more valuable then do we consider a man than a sheep! So then, it proves lawful to do good on the Sabbath."

12:13  Then He said to the man, "Stretch out your hand!" He stretched it out, and it became restored to normal, like the other.

12:14  But the Pharisees went out and conspired against Him, as to how they might destroy Him.

12:15  But Jesus, aware of this, withdrew from there. Many followed Him, and He healed them all,

12:16  and warned them not to reveal His identity.

12:17  This was to fulfill what Isaiah the prophet spoke:

12:18  "BEHOLD, MY SERVANT WHOM I HAVE CHOSEN; MY BELOVED IN WHOM MY SOUL feels WELL-PLEASED; I WILL PUT MY SPIRIT UPON HIM, AND HE SHALL PROCLAIM JUSTICE TO THE GENTILES.

12:19  "HE WILL NOT QUARREL, NOR CRY OUT; NOR WILL ANYONE HEAR HIS VOICE IN THE STREETS.

12:20  "A BATTERED REED HE WILL NOT BREAK OFF, AND A SMOLDERING WICK HE WILL NOT PUT OUT, UNTIL HE LEADS JUSTICE TO VICTORY.

12:21  "AND IN HIS NAME THE GENTILES WILL HOPE."

12:22  Then people brought to Jesus a demon-possessed man who had lived in blindness and mute, and He healed him, so that the mute man spoke and saw.

12:23  All the crowds felt amazed, and said, "This man cannot call himself the Son of David, can he?"

12:24  But when the Pharisees heard this, they said, "This man casts out demons only by Beelzebul the ruler of the demons."

12:25  And knowing their thoughts Jesus said to them, "Any kingdom divided against itself suffers ruin; and any city or house divided against itself will not stand.

12:26  "If Satan casts out Satan, he divides himself against himself; how then will his kingdom stand?

12:27  "If I by Beelzebul cast out demons, by whom do your sons cast them out? For this reason they will judge you.

12:28  "But if I cast out demons by the Spirit of God, then the kingdom of God has come upon you.

12:29  "Or how can anyone enter the strong man's house and carry off his property, unless he first binds the strong man? And then he will plunder his house.

12:30  "He who does not support Me places himself against Me; and he who does not gather with Me scatters.

12:31  "Therefore I say to you, any sin and blasphemy shall receive forgiveness, but blasphemy against the Spirit shall not receive forgiveness.

12:32  "Whoever speaks a word against the Son of Man, shall receive forgiveness; but whoever speaks against the Holy Spirit shall not receive forgiveness, either in this age or in the age to come.

12:33  "Either make the tree good and its fruit good, or make the tree bad and its fruit bad; for the tree we know by its fruit.

12:34  "You brood of vipers, how can you, having evil, speak good? For the mouth speaks out of that which fills the heart.

12:35  "The good man brings out of his good treasure that which we know as good; and the evil man brings out of his evil treasure what we know as evil.

12:36  "But I tell you that every careless word that people speak, they shall give an accounting for it in the day of judgment.

12:37  "For by your words you will receive justification, and by your words you will receive condemnation."

12:38  Then some of the scribes and Pharisees said to Him, "Teacher, we want to see a sign from You."

12:39  But He answered and said to them, "An evil and adulterous generation craves for a sign; and yet no sign will come to you but the sign of Jonah the prophet;

12:40  for just as JONAH SPENT THREE DAYS AND THREE NIGHTS IN THE BELLY OF THE SEA MONSTER, so will the Son of Man remain three days and three nights in the heart of the earth.

12:41  "The men of Nineveh will stand up with this generation at the judgment, and will condemn it because they repented at the preaching of Jonah; and behold, something greater than Jonah stands before you.

12:42  "The Queen of the South will rise up with this generation at the judgment and will condemn it, because she came from the ends of the earth to hear the wisdom of Solomon; and behold, something greater than Solomon stands before you.

12:43  "Now when the unclean spirit goes out of a man, it passes through waterless places seeking rest, and does not find it.

12:44  "Then it says, 'I will return to my house from which I came'; and when it comes, it finds it unoccupied, swept, and put in order.

12:45  "Then it goes and takes along with it seven other spirits more wicked than itself, and they go in and live there; and the last state of that man becomes worse than the first. This evil generation will also go that way."

12:46  While He was still spoke to the crowds, behold, His mother and brothers stood outside, seeking to speak to Him.

12:47  Someone said to Him, "Behold, Your mother and Your brothers stand outside seeking to speak to You."

12:48  But Jesus answered the one who told Him and said, "Who do I identify as My mother and who do I identify as My brothers?"

12:49  And stretching out His hand toward His disciples, He said, "Behold My mother and My brothers!

12:50  "For whoever does the will of My Father who lives in heaven, he consists of My brother and sister and mother."