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Matthew 12

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📖 Matthew introduction

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1At that time, Jesus went on the Sabbath day through the grain fields. His disciples were hungry and began to pluck heads of grain and to eat. ✦ 2But the Pharisees, when they saw it, said to him, “Behold, your disciples do what is not lawful to do on the Sabbath.” ✦ 3But he said to them, “Haven’t you read what David did, when he was hungry, and those who were with him; ✦ 4how he entered into God’s house, and ate the show bread, which was not lawful for him to eat, neither for those who were with him, but only for the priests? ✦ 5Or have you not read in the law, that on the Sabbath day, the priests in the temple profane the Sabbath, and are guiltless? ✦ 6But I tell you that one greater than the temple is here. ✦ 7But if you had known what this means, ‘I desire mercy, and not sacrifice,’ you would not have condemned the guiltless. ✦ 8For the Son of Man is Lord of the Sabbath.” ✦ 9He departed there, and went into their synagogue. ✦ 10And behold there was a man with a withered hand. They asked him, “Is it lawful to heal on the Sabbath day?” that they might accuse him. ✦ 11He said to them, “What man is there among you, who has one sheep, and if this one falls into a pit on the Sabbath day, won’t he grab on to it, and lift it out? ✦ 12Of how much more value then is a man than a sheep! Therefore it is lawful to do good on the Sabbath day.” ✦ 13Then he told the man, “Stretch out your hand.” He stretched it out; and it was restored whole, just like the other. ✦ 14But the Pharisees went out, and conspired against him, how they might destroy him. ✦ 15Jesus, perceiving that, withdrew from there. Great multitudes followed him; and he healed them all, ✦ 16and commanded them that they should not make him known: ✦ 17that it might be fulfilled which was spoken through Isaiah the prophet, saying, ✦ 18“Behold, my servant whom I have chosen; my beloved in whom my soul is well pleased: I will put my Spirit on him. He will proclaim justice to the nations. ✦ 19He will not strive, nor shout; neither will anyone hear his voice in the streets. ✦ 20He won’t break a bruised reed. He won’t quench a smoking flax, until he leads justice to victory. ✦ 21In his name, the nations will hope.” ✦ 22Then one possessed by a demon, blind and mute, was brought to him and he healed him, so that the blind and mute man both spoke and saw. ✦ 23All the multitudes were amazed, and said, “Can this be the son of David?” ✦ 24But when the Pharisees heard it, they said, “This man does not cast out demons, except by Beelzebul, the prince of the demons.” ✦ 25Knowing their thoughts, Jesus said to them, “Every kingdom divided against itself is brought to desolation, and every city or house divided against itself will not stand. ✦ 26If Satan casts out Satan, he is divided against himself. How then will his kingdom stand? ✦ 27If I by Beelzebul cast out demons, by whom do your children cast them out? Therefore they will be your judges. ✦ 28But if I by the Spirit of God cast out demons, then God’s Kingdom has come upon you. ✦ 29Or how can one enter into the house of the strong man, and plunder his goods, unless he first bind the strong man? Then he will plunder his house. ✦ 30“He who is not with me is against me, and he who doesn’t gather with me, scatters. ✦ 31Therefore I tell you, every sin and blasphemy will be forgiven men, but the blasphemy against the Spirit will not be forgiven men. ✦ 32Whoever speaks a word against the Son of Man, it will be forgiven him; but whoever speaks against the Holy Spirit, it will not be forgiven him, neither in this age, nor in that which is to come. ✦ 33“Either make the tree good, and its fruit good, or make the tree corrupt, and its fruit corrupt; for the tree is known by its fruit. ✦ 34You offspring of vipers, how can you, being evil, speak good things? For out of the abundance of the heart, the mouth speaks. ✦ 35The good man out of his good treasure brings out good things, and the evil man out of his evil treasure brings out evil things. ✦ 36I tell you that every idle word that men speak, they will give account of it in the day of judgment. ✦ 37For by your words you will be justified, and by your words you will be condemned.” ✦ 38Then certain of the scribes and Pharisees answered, “Teacher, we want to see a sign from you.” ✦ 39But he answered them, “An evil and adulterous generation seeks after a sign, but no sign will be given to it but the sign of Jonah the prophet. ✦ 40For as Jonah was three days and three nights in the belly of the whale, so will the Son of Man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth. ✦ 41The men of Nineveh will stand up in the judgment with this generation, and will condemn it, for they repented at the preaching of Jonah; and behold, someone greater than Jonah is here. ✦ 42The queen of the south will rise up in the judgment with this generation, and will condemn it, for she came from the ends of the earth to hear the wisdom of Solomon; and behold, someone greater than Solomon is here. ✦ 43When an unclean spirit has gone out of a man, he passes through waterless places, seeking rest, and doesn’t find it. ✦ 44Then he says, ‘I will return into my house from which I came out,’ and when he has come back, he finds it empty, swept, and put in order. ✦ 45Then he goes, and takes with himself seven other spirits more evil than he is, and they enter in and dwell there. The last state of that man becomes worse than the first. Even so will it be also to this evil generation.” ✦ 46While he was yet speaking to the multitudes, behold, his mother and his brothers stood outside, seeking to speak to him. ✦ 47One said to him, “Behold, your mother and your brothers stand outside, seeking to speak to you.” 48But he answered him who spoke to him, “Who is my mother? Who are my brothers?” ✦ 49He stretched out his hand towards his disciples, and said, “Behold, my mother and my brothers! ✦ 50For whoever does the will of my Father who is in heaven, he is my brother, and sister, and mother.” ✦

Tap any verse for its study page. Underlined terms mark a concept, person, or place; ✦ marks verses with cross-references.

Where this chapter connects

Luke 11 ·19Matt 12 ·17Mark 3 ·15Luke 6 ·12John 7 ·10Matt 9 ·8John 2 ·8Matt 23 ·7

Christ at the center

Matthew presents Jesus as the promised King — son of David, son of Abraham — the new Moses and true Israel in whom every prophecy reaches 'that it might be fulfilled.'

How Matthew 12 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.

Resources, by level

Lay

  • ★ Start hereDocumentaryFollowing the MessiahAppian Media · Free · evangelical

    A free, beautifully shot 10-part series walking the lands of Jesus' life — Bethlehem, Galilee, Jerusalem, and more.

  • ★ Start hereVideoBibleProject — video overviews & word studiesBibleProject · 5–10 min · Free · evangelical

    Free animated overviews of every book of the Bible, plus themes and Hebrew/Greek word studies — the best visual on-ramp to any book. (Biblical-theology, broadly evangelical, not distinctly Reformed.)

  • ★ Start hereAudioThrough the WordThrough the Word · ~10 min/chapter · Free · evangelical

    A clear ~10-minute audio teaching for every one of the Bible's 1,189 chapters — the most systematic free way to study chapter by chapter.

  • DocumentaryHolyLandSiteHolyLandSite · Free · evangelical

    Free on-location videos tying biblical events to the actual sites in Israel — the Temple Mount, Galilee, Capernaum, and more.

  • ApologeticsCold-Case Christianity (J. Warner Wallace)J. Warner Wallace · Free · evangelical

    A cold-case homicide detective examines the Gospels' reliability — forensic faith for skeptics and seekers.

Pastoral

  • SermonGrace to You — John MacArthurJohn MacArthur · Free · reformed

    Decades of careful verse-by-verse expository sermons, especially through the New Testament. (MacArthur, d. 2025; archive remains free.)

  • DocumentaryThat the World May KnowRay Vander Laan · Paid · evangelical

    Ray Vander Laan's on-location series immersing you in the Bible's historical and cultural world. (Mostly paid via Focus on the Family; some free clips.)

  • SermonChuck Smith — C2000 SeriesChuck Smith · Free · evangelical

    Free verse-by-verse audio through the entire Bible from the founder of Calvary Chapel.

Commentaries & study tools

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