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Shabbat in the Grain Fields

Now during Shabbat, Yeshua was passing through grain fields; and His disciples were picking and eating heads of grain, rubbing them in their hands. But some of the Pharisees said, “Why are you doing what is not permitted on Shabbat?”

Then answering them, Yeshua said, “Haven’t you read what David did when he was hungry, and those with him? How he entered into the house of God, took and ate the showbread which only the kohanim are permitted to eat, and even gave it to those with him?” [a] He said to them, “The Son of Man is Lord of Shabbat.”

Shabbat Controversy at the Synagogue

On a different Shabbat, Yeshua entered the synagogue and was teaching. A man was there, whose right hand was paralyzed. But closely watching Him were the Torah scholars and Pharisees, to see if He heals on Shabbat, so that they might find grounds to accuse Him. But He knew their opinions and said to the man with the paralyzed hand, “Get up and stand in our midst.” And getting up, the man stood.

Yeshua said to them, “I ask you, is it permitted on Shabbat to do good or to do evil, to save or to destroy a life?” 10 Then looking around at everyone, He said to the man, “Stretch out your hand.” The man did, and his hand was restored. 11 But they were filled with fury and discussed among themselves what they might do to Yeshua.

Appointing the Twelve

12 And it was during these days that Yeshua went out to the mountain to pray, and He spent all night in prayer to God. 13 When day came, He called His disciples, choosing from among them twelve whom He also named emissaries— 14 Simon, whom He also named Peter, and Andrew his brother; and Jacob and John; and Philip and Bartholomew; 15 and Matthew and Thomas; Jacob the son of Alphaeus; Simon who was called the Zealot; 16 Judah the son of Jacob; and Judah from Kriot, who became a traitor.

The Sermon on the Plain

17 Then Yeshua came down with them and stood on a level place. A large crowd of His disciples and a multitude of people, from all Judea, Jerusalem, and the coastal region of Tyre and Sidon, 18 had come to hear Him and to be healed of their diseases. Even those disturbed by defiling spirits were being healed. 19 Everyone in the crowd was trying to touch Him, because power flowed from Him and He was healing them all.

20 And looking up at His disciples, He said,

“Blessed are you who are poor,
    for yours is the kingdom of God.
21 Blessed are you who hunger now,
    for you shall be satisfied.
Blessed are you who weep now,
    for you shall laugh.
22 Blessed are you when people hate you,
    and when they exclude you, and revile you,
and spurn your name as evil on account
    of the Son of Man.

23 Rejoice in that day and jump for joy! For behold, your reward is great in heaven! For their fathers used to treat the prophets the same way.”[b]

24 But woe to you who are rich,
for you are receiving your comfort in full.
25 Woe to you who are full,
    for you shall be hungry.
Woe to you who are laughing now,
    for you shall mourn and weep.
26 Woe to you when all men speak well of you,
for their fathers used to treat the false prophets the same way.”[c]

27 “But I say to you who are listening: Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, 28 bless those who curse you, pray for the ones who mistreat you. 29 To the one who strikes you on the cheek, offer the other also. And from the one who takes your cloak, do not hold back your shirt. 30 Give to every one who asks you; and whoever takes something of yours, make no demands upon him.

31 “Do to others as you would have them do to you. 32 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 are doing good to you, what credit is that to you? Even sinners do this. 34 And if you lend to those from whom you expect to take, what credit is that to you? Even sinners lend to sinners in order to receive back the same.

35 “But love your enemies, and do good, and lend, expecting nothing in return.[d] Then your reward will be great and you will be sons of Elyon, for He is kind to the ungrateful and evil ones. 36 Be compassionate, just as your Father is compassionate to you.”

37 Do not judge, and you will not be judged. Do not condemn, and you will not be condemned. Pardon, and you will be pardoned. 38 Give, and it will be given to you—a good measure, pressed down, shaken together, overflowing, will be given into your lap. For whatever measure you measure out will be measured back to you.”

39 He also spoke this parable to them: “The blind cannot show the way to the blind, can he? Won’t they both fall into a pit? 40 A disciple is not above his teacher, but everyone who is fully trained will be like his teacher.

41 “Why do you look at the speck in your brother’s eye, but do not notice the beam in your own eye? 42 How can you say to your brother, ‘Brother, let me take out the speck in your eye,’ when you yourself do not see the beam in your own eye? You hypocrite! First take the beam out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly the speck in your brother’s eye, to take it out.”

43 “For there is no good tree that produces rotten fruit, nor again does a rotten tree produce good fruit. 44 Each tree comes to be known by its own fruit. For figs are not gleaned out of briars; neither are bunches of grapes gathered from thorn bushes.

45 “Out of the good treasure of his heart the good man brings forth good, and out of evil the evil man brings forth evil. For from the overflow of the heart his mouth speaks.”

46 “Why do you call Me ‘Master, Master’ and do not do what I say? 47 Everyone who comes to Me and hears My words and does them, I will show you what he is like. 48 He is like a man building a house, who dug deep and laid a foundation on the rock. And when a flood came, the torrent burst against that house but could not shake it, because it had been well built.

49 “But the one who hears yet does not do is like a man who built a house upon land without a foundation. When the torrent burst against it, immediately it collapsed—and the destruction of that house was great!”

Jesus Is Lord of the Sabbath(A)

One Sabbath Jesus was going through the grainfields, and his disciples began to pick some heads of grain, rub them in their hands and eat the kernels.(B) Some of the Pharisees asked, “Why are you doing what is unlawful on the Sabbath?”(C)

Jesus answered them, “Have you never read what David did when he and his companions were hungry?(D) He entered the house of God, and taking the consecrated bread, he ate what is lawful only for priests to eat.(E) And he also gave some to his companions.” Then Jesus said to them, “The Son of Man(F) is Lord of the Sabbath.”

On another Sabbath(G) he went into the synagogue and was teaching, and a man was there whose right hand was shriveled. The Pharisees and the teachers of the law were looking for a reason to accuse Jesus, so they watched him closely(H) to see if he would heal on the Sabbath.(I) But Jesus knew what they were thinking(J) and said to the man with the shriveled hand, “Get up and stand in front of everyone.” So he got up and stood there.

Then Jesus said to them, “I ask you, which is lawful on the Sabbath: to do good or to do evil, to save life or to destroy it?”

10 He looked around at them all, and then said to the man, “Stretch out your hand.” He did so, and his hand was completely restored. 11 But the Pharisees and the teachers of the law were furious(K) and began to discuss with one another what they might do to Jesus.

The Twelve Apostles(L)

12 One of those days Jesus went out to a mountainside to pray, and spent the night praying to God.(M) 13 When morning came, he called his disciples to him and chose twelve of them, whom he also designated apostles:(N) 14 Simon (whom he named Peter), his brother Andrew, James, John, Philip, Bartholomew, 15 Matthew,(O) Thomas, James son of Alphaeus, Simon who was called the Zealot, 16 Judas son of James, and Judas Iscariot, who became a traitor.

Blessings and Woes(P)

17 He went down with them and stood on a level place. A large crowd of his disciples was there and a great number of people from all over Judea, from Jerusalem, and from the coastal region around Tyre and Sidon,(Q) 18 who had come to hear him and to be healed of their diseases. Those troubled by impure spirits were cured, 19 and the people all tried to touch him,(R) because power was coming from him and healing them all.(S)

20 Looking at his disciples, he said:

“Blessed are you who are poor,
    for yours is the kingdom of God.(T)
21 Blessed are you who hunger now,
    for you will be satisfied.(U)
Blessed are you who weep now,
    for you will laugh.(V)
22 Blessed are you when people hate you,
    when they exclude you(W) and insult you(X)
    and reject your name as evil,
        because of the Son of Man.(Y)

23 “Rejoice in that day and leap for joy,(Z) because great is your reward in heaven. For that is how their ancestors treated the prophets.(AA)

24 “But woe to you who are rich,(AB)
    for you have already received your comfort.(AC)
25 Woe to you who are well fed now,
    for you will go hungry.(AD)
Woe to you who laugh now,
    for you will mourn and weep.(AE)
26 Woe to you when everyone speaks well of you,
    for that is how their ancestors treated the false prophets.(AF)

Love for Enemies(AG)

27 “But to you who are listening I say: Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you,(AH) 28 bless those who curse you, pray for those who mistreat you.(AI) 29 If someone slaps you on one cheek, turn to them the other also. If someone takes your coat, do not withhold your shirt from them. 30 Give to everyone who asks you, and if anyone takes what belongs to you, do not demand it back.(AJ) 31 Do to others as you would have them do to you.(AK)

32 “If you love those who love you, what credit is that to you?(AL) Even sinners love those who love them. 33 And if you do good to those who are good to you, what credit is that to you? Even sinners do that. 34 And if you lend to those from whom you expect repayment, what credit is that to you?(AM) Even sinners lend to sinners, expecting to be repaid in full. 35 But love your enemies, do good to them,(AN) and lend to them without expecting to get anything back. Then your reward will be great, and you will be children(AO) of the Most High,(AP) because he is kind to the ungrateful and wicked. 36 Be merciful,(AQ) just as your Father(AR) is merciful.

Judging Others(AS)

37 “Do not judge, and you will not be judged.(AT) Do not condemn, and you will not be condemned. Forgive, and you will be forgiven.(AU) 38 Give, and it will be given to you. A good measure, pressed down, shaken together and running over, will be poured into your lap.(AV) For with the measure you use, it will be measured to you.”(AW)

39 He also told them this parable: “Can the blind lead the blind? Will they not both fall into a pit?(AX) 40 The student is not above the teacher, but everyone who is fully trained will be like their teacher.(AY)

41 “Why do you look at the speck of sawdust in your brother’s eye and pay no attention to the plank in your own eye? 42 How can you say to your brother, ‘Brother, let me take the speck out of your eye,’ when you yourself fail to see the plank in your own eye? You hypocrite, first take the plank out of your eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother’s eye.

A Tree and Its Fruit(AZ)

43 “No good tree bears bad fruit, nor does a bad tree bear good fruit. 44 Each tree is recognized by its own fruit.(BA) People do not pick figs from thornbushes, or grapes from briers. 45 A good man brings good things out of the good stored up in his heart, and an evil man brings evil things out of the evil stored up in his heart. For the mouth speaks what the heart is full of.(BB)

The Wise and Foolish Builders(BC)

46 “Why do you call me, ‘Lord, Lord,’(BD) and do not do what I say?(BE) 47 As for everyone who comes to me and hears my words and puts them into practice,(BF) I will show you what they are like. 48 They are like a man building a house, who dug down deep and laid the foundation on rock. When a flood came, the torrent struck that house but could not shake it, because it was well built. 49 But the one who hears my words and does not put them into practice is like a man who built a house on the ground without a foundation. The moment the torrent struck that house, it collapsed and its destruction was complete.”