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¹At about that time Jesus was walking through some grainfields on the Sabbath. His disciples were hungry, so they began breaking off some heads of grain and eating them.

²But some Pharisees saw them do it and protested, “Look, your disciples are breaking the law by harvesting grain on the Sabbath.”

³Jesus said to them, “Haven’t you read in the Scriptures what David did when he and his companions were hungry?

⁴He went into the house of God, and he and his companions broke the law by eating the sacred loaves of bread that only the priests are allowed to eat.

⁵And haven’t you read in the law of Moses that the priests on duty in the Temple may work on the Sabbath?

⁶I tell you, there is one here who is even greater than the Temple!

⁷But you would not have condemned my innocent disciples if you knew the meaning of this Scripture: ‘I want you to show mercy, not offer sacrifices.’

⁸For the Son of Man is Lord, even over the Sabbath!”

⁹Then Jesus went over to their synagogue,

¹⁰where he noticed a man with a deformed hand. The Pharisees asked Jesus, “Does the law permit a person to work by healing on the Sabbath?” (They were hoping he would say yes, so they could bring charges against him.)

¹¹And he answered, “If you had a sheep that fell into a well on the Sabbath, wouldn’t you work to pull it out? Of course you would.

¹²And how much more valuable is a person than a sheep! Yes, the law permits a person to do good on the Sabbath.”

¹³Then he said to the man, “Hold out your hand.” So the man held out his hand, and it was restored, just like the other one!

¹⁴Then the Pharisees called a meeting to plot how to kill Jesus.

¹⁵But Jesus knew what they were planning. So he left that area, and many people followed him. He healed all the sick among them,

¹⁶but he warned them not to reveal who he was.

¹⁷This fulfilled the prophecy of Isaiah concerning him:

¹⁸“Look at my Servant, whom I have chosen. He is my Beloved, who pleases me. I will put my Spirit upon him, and he will proclaim justice to the nations.

¹⁹He will not fight or shout or raise his voice in public.

²⁰He will not crush the weakest reed or put out a flickering candle. Finally he will cause justice to be victorious.

²¹And his name will be the hope of all the world.”

²²Then a demon-possessed man, who was blind and couldn’t speak, was brought to Jesus. He healed the man so that he could both speak and see.

²³The crowd was amazed and asked, “Could it be that Jesus is the Son of David, the Messiah?”

²⁴But when the Pharisees heard about the miracle, they said, “No wonder he can cast out demons. He gets his power from Satan, the prince of demons.”

²⁵Jesus knew their thoughts and replied, “Any kingdom divided by civil war is doomed. A town or family splintered by feuding will fall apart.

²⁶And if Satan is casting out Satan, he is divided and fighting against himself. His own kingdom will not survive.

²⁷And if I am empowered by Satan, what about your own exorcists? They cast out demons, too, so they will condemn you for what you have said.

²⁸But if I am casting out demons by the Spirit of God, then the Kingdom of God has arrived among you.

²⁹For who is powerful enough to enter the house of a strong man and plunder his goods? Only someone even stronger — someone who could tie him up and then plunder his house.

³⁰“Anyone who isn’t with me opposes me, and anyone who isn’t working with me is actually working against me.

³¹“So I tell you, every sin and blasphemy can be forgiven — except blasphemy against the Holy Spirit, which will never be forgiven.

³²Anyone who speaks against the Son of Man can be forgiven, but anyone who speaks against the Holy Spirit will never be forgiven, either in this world or in the world to come.

³³“A tree is identified by its fruit. If a tree is good, its fruit will be good. If a tree is bad, its fruit will be bad.

³⁴You brood of snakes! How could evil men like you speak what is good and right? For whatever is in your heart determines what you say.

³⁵A good person produces good things from the treasury of a good heart, and an evil person produces evil things from the treasury of an evil heart.

³⁶And I tell you this, you must give an account on judgment day for every idle word you speak.

³⁷The words you say will either acquit you or condemn you.”

³⁸One day some teachers of religious law and Pharisees came to Jesus and said, “Teacher, we want you to show us a miraculous sign to prove your authority.”

³⁹But Jesus replied, “Only an evil, adulterous generation would demand a miraculous sign; but the only sign I will give them is the sign of the prophet Jonah.

⁴⁰For as Jonah was in the belly of the great fish for three days and three nights, so will the Son of Man be in the heart of the earth for three days and three nights.

⁴¹“The people of Nineveh will stand up against this generation on judgment day and condemn it, for they repented of their sins at the preaching of Jonah. Now someone greater than Jonah is here — but you refuse to repent.

⁴²The queen of Sheba will also stand up against this generation on judgment day and condemn it, for she came from a distant land to hear the wisdom of Solomon. Now someone greater than Solomon is here — but you refuse to listen.

⁴³“When an evil spirit leaves a person, it goes into the desert, seeking rest but finding none.

⁴⁴Then it says, ‘I will return to the person I came from.’ So it returns and finds its former home empty, swept, and in order.

⁴⁵Then the spirit finds seven other spirits more evil than itself, and they all enter the person and live there. And so that person is worse off than before. That will be the experience of this evil generation.”

⁴⁶As Jesus was speaking to the crowd, his mother and brothers stood outside, asking to speak to him.

⁴⁷Someone told Jesus, “Your mother and your brothers are standing outside, and they want to speak to you.”

⁴⁸Jesus asked, “Who is my mother? Who are my brothers?”

⁴⁹Then he pointed to his disciples and said, “Look, these are my mother and brothers.

⁵⁰Anyone who does the will of my Father in heaven is my brother and sister and mother!”

¹Later that same day Jesus left the house and sat beside the lake.

²A large crowd soon gathered around him, so he got into a boat. Then he sat there and taught as the people stood on the shore.

³He told many stories in the form of parables, such as this one: “Listen! A farmer went out to plant some seeds.

⁴As he scattered them across his field, some seeds fell on a footpath, and the birds came and ate them.

⁵Other seeds fell on shallow soil with underlying rock. The seeds sprouted quickly because the soil was shallow.

⁶But the plants soon wilted under the hot sun, and since they didn’t have deep roots, they died.

⁷Other seeds fell among thorns that grew up and choked out the tender plants.

⁸Still other seeds fell on fertile soil, and they produced a crop that was thirty, sixty, and even a hundred times as much as had been planted!

⁹Anyone with ears to hear should listen and understand.”

¹⁰His disciples came and asked him, “Why do you use parables when you talk to the people?”

¹¹He replied, “You are permitted to understand the secrets of the Kingdom of Heaven, but others are not.

¹²To those who listen to my teaching, more understanding will be given, and they will have an abundance of knowledge. But for those who are not listening, even what little understanding they have will be taken away from them.

¹³That is why I use these parables, For they look, but they don’t really see. They hear, but they don’t really listen or understand.

¹⁴This fulfills the prophecy of Isaiah that says, ‘When you hear what I say, you will not understand. When you see what I do, you will not comprehend.

¹⁵For the hearts of these people are hardened, and their ears cannot hear, and they have closed their eyes — so their eyes cannot see, and their ears cannot hear, and their hearts cannot understand, and they cannot turn to me and let me heal them.’

¹⁶“But blessed are your eyes, because they see; and your ears, because they hear.

¹⁷I tell you the truth, many prophets and righteous people longed to see what you see, but they didn’t see it. And they longed to hear what you hear, but they didn’t hear it.

¹⁸“Now listen to the explanation of the parable about the farmer planting seeds:

¹⁹The seed that fell on the footpath represents those who hear the message about the Kingdom and don’t understand it. Then the evil one comes and snatches away the seed that was planted in their hearts.

²⁰The seed on the rocky soil represents those who hear the message and immediately receive it with joy.

²¹But since they don’t have deep roots, they don’t last long. They fall away as soon as they have problems or are persecuted for believing God’s word.

²²The seed that fell among the thorns represents those who hear God’s word, but all too quickly the message is crowded out by the worries of this life and the lure of wealth, so no fruit is produced.

²³The seed that fell on good soil represents those who truly hear and understand God’s word and produce a harvest of thirty, sixty, or even a hundred times as much as had been planted!”

²⁴Here is another story Jesus told: “The Kingdom of Heaven is like a farmer who planted good seed in his field.

²⁵But that night as the workers slept, his enemy came and planted weeds among the wheat, then slipped away.

²⁶When the crop began to grow and produce grain, the weeds also grew.

²⁷“The farmer’s workers went to him and said, ‘Sir, the field where you planted that good seed is full of weeds! Where did they come from?’

²⁸“‘An enemy has done this!’ the farmer exclaimed. “‘Should we pull out the weeds?’ they asked.

²⁹“‘No,’ he replied, ‘you’ll uproot the wheat if you do.

³⁰Let both grow together until the harvest. Then I will tell the harvesters to sort out the weeds, tie them into bundles, and burn them, and to put the wheat in the barn.’”

³¹Here is another illustration Jesus used: “The Kingdom of Heaven is like a mustard seed planted in a field.

³²It is the smallest of all seeds, but it becomes the largest of garden plants; it grows into a tree, and birds come and make nests in its branches.”

³³Jesus also used this illustration: “The Kingdom of Heaven is like the yeast a woman used in making bread. Even though she put only a little yeast in three measures of flour, it permeated every part of the dough.”

³⁴Jesus always used stories and illustrations like these when speaking to the crowds. In fact, he never spoke to them without using such parables.

³⁵This fulfilled what God had spoken through the prophet: “I will speak to you in parables. I will explain things hidden since the creation of the world. ”

³⁶Then, leaving the crowds outside, Jesus went into the house. His disciples said, “Please explain to us the story of the weeds in the field.”

³⁷Jesus replied, “The Son of Man is the farmer who plants the good seed.

³⁸The field is the world, and the good seed represents the people of the Kingdom. The weeds are the people who belong to the evil one.

³⁹The enemy who planted the weeds among the wheat is the devil. The harvest is the end of the world, and the harvesters are the angels.

⁴⁰“Just as the weeds are sorted out and burned in the fire, so it will be at the end of the world.

⁴¹The Son of Man will send his angels, and they will remove from his Kingdom everything that causes sin and all who do evil.

⁴²And the angels will throw them into the fiery furnace, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.

⁴³Then the righteous will shine like the sun in their Father’s Kingdom. Anyone with ears to hear should listen and understand!

⁴⁴“The Kingdom of Heaven is like a treasure that a man discovered hidden in a field. In his excitement, he hid it again and sold everything he owned to get enough money to buy the field.

⁴⁵“Again, the Kingdom of Heaven is like a merchant on the lookout for choice pearls.

⁴⁶When he discovered a pearl of great value, he sold everything he owned and bought it!

⁴⁷“Again, the Kingdom of Heaven is like a fishing net that was thrown into the water and caught fish of every kind.

⁴⁸When the net was full, they dragged it up onto the shore, sat down, and sorted the good fish into crates, but threw the bad ones away.

⁴⁹That is the way it will be at the end of the world. The angels will come and separate the wicked people from the righteous,

⁵⁰throwing the wicked into the fiery furnace, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.

⁵¹Do you understand all these things?” “Yes,” they said, “we do.”

⁵²Then he added, “Every teacher of religious law who becomes a disciple in the Kingdom of Heaven is like a homeowner who brings from his storeroom new gems of truth as well as old.”

⁵³When Jesus had finished telling these stories and illustrations, he left that part of the country.

⁵⁴He returned to Nazareth, his hometown. When he taught there in the synagogue, everyone was amazed and said, “Where does he get this wisdom and the power to do miracles?”

⁵⁵Then they scoffed, “He’s just the carpenter’s son, and we know Mary, his mother, and his brothers — James, Joseph, Simon, and Judas.

⁵⁶All his sisters live right here among us. Where did he learn all these things?”

⁵⁷And they were deeply offended and refused to believe in him. Then Jesus told them, “A prophet is honored everywhere except in his own hometown and among his own family.”

⁵⁸And so he did only a few miracles there because of their unbelief.