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12:1  At that time, Jesus was walking through a field of grain on the Sabbath. His disciples were hungry, and they began to pick some heads of grain and eat them.
12:2  When the Pharisees saw this, they said to him, “Look at your disciples. They are doing what is forbidden on the Sabbath.”
12:3  He answered, “Have you not read what David did when he and his companions were hungry?
12:4  He entered the house of God and they ate the consecrated bread, which neither he nor his companions but only the priests were permitted to eat.
12:5  Or have you not read in the Law that on the Sabbath the priests in the temple violate the Sabbath, but they are considered to be without guilt?
12:6  I tell you, one greater than the temple is here.
12:7  If you had truly understood what is meant by the words, ‘I desire mercy and not sacrifice,’ you would not have condemned these men who are without guilt.
12:8  For the Son of Man is Lord of the Sabbath.”
12:9  Moving on from that place, Jesus entered their synagogue.
12:10  A man was there who had a withered hand, and hoping to find some reason to accuse Jesus they asked him, “Is it lawful to heal on the Sabbath?”
12:11  He said to them, “Suppose you had only one sheep and it fell into a pit on the Sabbath. Would you not lay hold of it and lift it out?
12:12  How much more valuable a man is than a sheep! Therefore, it is 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 was restored, so that it was as sound as the other one.
12:14  But the Pharisees went out and began to plot how they might put him to death.
12:15  When Jesus became aware of this, he departed from that place. Many people followed him, and he healed all who were ill,
12:16  but he warned them not to make him known.
12:17  This was to fulfill what had been spoken through the prophet Isaiah:
12:18  “Behold, my servant, whom I have chosen, my beloved in whom I delight. I will place my spirit upon him, and he will proclaim justice to the Gentiles.
12:19  He will not cry out or shout, nor will anyone hear his voice in the streets.
12:20  A bruised reed he will not break, nor will he snuff out a smoldering wick, until he establishes justice as victorious;
12:21  and in his name the Gentiles will place their hope.”
12:22  Then they brought to him a man who was unable to either see or speak and who was possessed by a demon. He cured him, so that the man who was mute both spoke and saw.
12:23  All the people were astonished, and they said, “Is this not the Son of David?”
12:24  But when the Pharisees heard this, they said, “It is only by Beelzebul, the prince of demons, that this man casts out demons.”
12:25  He knew what they were thinking, and he said to them, “Every kingdom divided against itself is laid waste, and every city or household divided against itself cannot survive.
12:26  If Satan drives out Satan, he is divided against himself. How then can his kingdom survive?
12:27  If it is by Beelzebul that I cast out demons, by whom do your own children cast them out? Therefore, they will be your judges.
12:28  But if it is by the Spirit of God that I cast out demons, then the kingdom of God has come to you.
12:29  “Or again, how can anyone break into a strong man’s house and steal his possessions unless he first ties up the strong man? Then indeed he can ransack the house.
12:30  “Whoever is not with me is against me, and whoever does not gather with me scatters.
12:31  Therefore, I tell you that every sin and blasphemy will be forgiven but blasphemy against the Spirit will not be forgiven.
12:32  Whoever speaks a word against the Son of Man will be forgiven, but whoever speaks against the Holy Spirit will not be forgiven, either in this age or in the age to come.
12:33  “Make a tree good and its fruit will be good, or make a tree bad and its fruit will be bad. For a tree is known by its fruit.
12:34  You brood of vipers! How can your speech be virtuous when you yourselves are evil? For the mouth speaks from the abundance of the heart.
12:35  A good man brings forth good things from the good stored up within him, but an evil man brings forth evil things from his store of evil.
12:36  I tell you that on the day of judgment people will have to render an account for every careless word they utter.
12:37  For by your words you will be justified, and by your words you will be condemned.”
12:38  Then some of the scribes and Pharisees said to him, “Teacher, we would like you to show us a sign.”
12:39  He replied, “An evil and adulterous generation asks for a sign, but the only sign it will be given is the sign of the prophet Jonah.
12:40  For just as Jonah spent three days and three nights in the belly of the whale, so will the Son of Man be in the heart of the earth for three days and three nights.
12:41  “On the day of judgment the inhabitants of Nineveh will rise up with this generation and condemn it, for they repented at the preaching of Jonah, and now one greater than Jonah is here.
12:42  On the day of judgment the queen of the south will rise up with this generation and condemn it, because she came from the farthest reaches of the earth to hear the wisdom of Solomon, and now one greater than Solomon is here.
12:43  “When an unclean spirit goes out of a person, it wanders through waterless regions seeking a place to rest, but it finds none.
12:44  Then it says, ‘I will return to the home from which I departed.’And when it returns, it finds that home empty, swept clean, and put in order.
12:45  Then it goes off and brings back with it seven other spirits more wicked than itself, and they enter and settle there. As a result, the plight of that person is worse than before. So it will also be with this evil generation.”
12:46  While he was still speaking to the crowds, his mother and his brethren appeared. They were standing outside, wishing to speak with him. [
12:47  Someone told him, “Behold, your mother and your brothers are standing outside. They want to speak with you.”]
12:48  But Jesus replied to that man, “Who is my mother? Who are my brethren?”
12:49  Then, pointing to his disciples, he said, “Behold, my mother and my brethren.
12:50  Whoever does the will of my heavenly Father is my brother and sister and mother.”