Matthew 12:22-50; Luke 11:1-54 (New
International Version)
22 Then they brought him a demon-possessed man who was blind and mute,
and Jesus healed him, so that he could both talk and see. 23 All the people were astonished
and said, "Could this be the Son of David?" 24 But when the Pharisees heard
this, they said, "It is only by Beelzebub, the prince of demons, that this
fellow drives out demons." 25 Jesus
knew their thoughts and said to them,"Every kingdom divided against itself
will be ruined, and every city or household divided against itself will not
stand. 26 If Satan
drives out Satan, he is divided against himself. How then can his kingdom
stand? 27 And if I
drive out demons by Beelzebub, by whom do your people drive them out? So then,
they will be your judges. 28 But
if I drive out demons by the Spirit of God, then the kingdom of God has come
upon you. 29 "Or
again, how can anyone enter a strong man's house and carry off his possessions
unless he first ties up the strong man? Then he can rob his house. 30 "He who is not with me is
against me, and he who does not gather with me scatters. 31 And so I tell you, every sin
and blasphemy will be forgiven men, but the blasphemy against the Spirit will
not be forgiven. 32Anyone
who speaks a word against the Son of Man will be forgiven, but anyone who
speaks against the Holy Spirit will not be forgiven, either in this age or in
the age to come. 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 recognized by its fruit. 34You brood of vipers, how can you who are evil say anything good?
For out of the overflow of the heart the mouth speaks. 35 The good man brings good
things out of the good stored up in him, and the evil man brings evil things
out of the evil stored up in him. 36 But
I tell you that men will have to give account on the day of judgment for every
careless word they have spoken. 37 For
by your words you will be acquitted, and by your words you will be
condemned."
38 Then some of the Pharisees and teachers of the law said to him,
"Teacher, we want to see a miraculous sign from you." 39 He answered, "A
wicked and adulterous generation asks for a miraculous sign! But none will be
given it except the sign of the prophet Jonah. 40 For as Jonah was three days and three nights in the belly
of a huge fish, so the Son of Man will be three days and three nights in the
heart of the earth. 41 The
men of Nineveh will stand up at the judgment with this generation and condemn
it; for they repented at the preaching of Jonah, and now one greater than Jonah
is here. 42 The Queen
of the South will rise at the judgment with this generation and condemn it; for
she came from the ends of the earth to listen to Solomon's wisdom, and now one
greater than Solomon is here. 43 "When
an evil spirit comes out of a man, it goes through arid places seeking rest and
does not find it. 44 Then
it says, 'I will return to the house I left.' When it arrives, it finds the
house unoccupied, swept clean and put in order. 45 Then it goes and takes with it seven other spirits more
wicked than itself, and they go in and live there. And the final condition of
that man is worse than the first. That is how it will be with this wicked
generation."
46 While Jesus was still talking to the crowd, his mother and brothers
stood outside, wanting to speak to him. 47 Someone told him, "Your mother and brothers are
standing outside, wanting to speak to you." 48 He replied to him, "Who is my mother, and who
are my brothers?" 49 Pointing
to his disciples, he said, "Here are my mother and my brothers. 50 For whoever does the will of
my Father in heaven is my brother and sister and mother."
1 One day Jesus was praying in a certain place. When he finished, one
of his disciples said to him, "Lord, teach us to pray, just as John taught
his disciples." 2 He
said to them, "When you pray, say: " 'Father, hallowed be your
name, your kingdom come. 3 Give
us each day our daily bread. 4 Forgive
us our sins, for we also forgive everyone who sins against us. And lead us not
into temptation. ' " 5Then
he said to them, "Suppose one of you has a friend, and he goes to him
at midnight and says, 'Friend, lend me three loaves of bread, 6 because a friend of mine on a
journey has come to me, and I have nothing to set before him.' 7 "Then the one inside
answers, 'Don't bother me. The door is already locked, and my children are with
me in bed. I can't get up and give you anything.' 8 I tell you, though he will not get up and give him the
bread because he is his friend, yet because of the man's boldness he will get
up and give him as much as he needs. 9 "So I say to you: Ask and it will be given to you;
seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. 10 For everyone who asks
receives; he who seeks finds; and to him who knocks, the door will be opened. 11 "Which of you fathers, if
your son asks for a fish, will give him a snake instead? 12 Or if he asks for an egg, will
give him a scorpion? 13 If
you then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children,
how much more will your Father in heaven give the Holy Spirit to those who ask
him!"
14 Jesus was driving out a demon that was mute. When the demon left,
the man who had been mute spoke, and the crowd was amazed. 15 But some of them said,
"By Beelzebub, the prince of demons, he is driving out demons." 16 Others tested him by asking
for a sign from heaven. 17 Jesus
knew their thoughts and said to them: "Any kingdom divided against
itself will be ruined, and a house divided against itself will fall. 18 If Satan is divided against
himself, how can his kingdom stand? I say this because you claim that I drive
out demons by Beelzebub. 19 Now
if I drive out demons by Beelzebub, by whom do your followers drive them out?
So then, they will be your judges. 20 But
if I drive out demons by the finger of God, then the kingdom of God has come to
you. 21 "When a
strong man, fully armed, guards his own house, his possessions are safe. 22 But when someone stronger
attacks and overpowers him, he takes away the armor in which the man trusted
and divides up the spoils. 23 "He
who is not with me is against me, and he who does not gather with me, scatters. 24"When an evil spirit comes out
of a man, it goes through arid places seeking rest and does not find it. Then
it says, 'I will return to the house I left.' 25 When it arrives, it finds the house swept clean and put in
order. 26 Then it goes
and takes seven other spirits more wicked than itself, and they go in and live
there. And the final condition of that man is worse than the first." 27 As Jesus was saying these
things, a woman in the crowd called out, "Blessed is the mother who gave
you birth and nursed you." 28 He
replied, "Blessed rather are those who hear the word of God and obey
it."
29 As the crowds increased, Jesus said, "This is a wicked
generation. It asks for a miraculous sign, but none will be given it except the
sign of Jonah. 30 For
as Jonah was a sign to the Ninevites, so also will the Son of Man be to this
generation. 31 The
Queen of the South will rise at the judgment with the men of this generation
and condemn them; for she came from the ends of the earth to listen to Solomon's
wisdom, and now one greater than Solomon is here. 32 The men of Nineveh will stand up at the judgment with this
generation and condemn it; for they repented at the preaching of Jonah, and now
one greater than Jonah is here.
33 "No one lights a lamp and puts it in a place where it will be
hidden, or under a bowl. Instead he puts it on its stand, so that those who
come in may see the light. 34 Your
eye is the lamp of your body. When your eyes are good, your whole body also is
full of light. But when they are bad, your body also is full of darkness. 35 See to it, then, that the
light within you is not darkness. 36Therefore,
if your whole body is full of light, and no part of it dark, it will be
completely lighted, as when the light of a lamp shines on you."
37 When Jesus had finished speaking, a Pharisee invited him to eat
with him; so he went in and reclined at the table. 38 But the Pharisee, noticing that Jesus did not first wash
before the meal, was surprised. 39 Then
the Lord said to him, "Now then, you Pharisees clean the outside of
the cup and dish, but inside you are full of greed and wickedness. 40 You foolish people! Did not
the one who made the outside make the inside also? 41 But give what is inside [the dish] to the poor, and
everything will be clean for you. 42 "Woe
to you Pharisees, because you give God a tenth of your mint, rue and all other
kinds of garden herbs, but you neglect justice and the love of God. You should
have practiced the latter without leaving the former undone. 43 "Woe to you Pharisees,
because you love the most important seats in the synagogues and greetings in
the marketplaces. 44 "Woe
to you, because you are like unmarked graves, which men walk over without
knowing it." 45 One
of the experts in the law answered him, "Teacher, when you say these
things, you insult us also." 46 Jesus
replied, "And you experts in the law, woe to you, because you load
people down with burdens they can hardly carry, and you yourselves will not
lift one finger to help them. 47 "Woe
to you, because you build tombs for the prophets, and it was your forefathers
who killed them. 48 So
you testify that you approve of what your forefathers did; they killed the
prophets, and you build their tombs. 49Because of this, God in his wisdom said, 'I will send them
prophets and apostles, some of whom they will kill and others they will
persecute.' 50 Therefore
this generation will be held responsible for the blood of all the prophets that
has been shed since the beginning of the world, 51 from the blood of Abel to the blood of Zechariah, who was
killed between the altar and the sanctuary. Yes, I tell you, this generation
will be held responsible for it all. 52 "Woe to you experts in the law, because you have
taken away the key to knowledge. You yourselves have not entered, and you have
hindered those who were entering." 53 When Jesus left there, the Pharisees and the teachers of
the law began to oppose him fiercely and to besiege him with questions, 54 waiting to catch him in
something he might say.
