Chapter 6

O¹ne Sabbath Jesus was passing through the grainfields, and His disciples began to pick the heads of grain, rub them in their hands, and eat them. ²But some of the Pharisees asked, “Why are you doing what is unlawful on the Sabbath?” ³Jesus replied, “Have you not read what David did when he and his companions were hungry? ⁴He entered the house of God, took the consecrated bread and gave it to his companions, and ate what is lawful only for the priests to eat.”

⁵Then Jesus declared, “The Son of Man is Lord of the Sabbath.”

O⁶n another Sabbath Jesus entered the synagogue and was teaching, and a man was there whose right hand was withered. ⁷Looking for a reason to accuse Jesus, the scribes and Pharisees were watching Him closely to see if He would heal on the Sabbath. ⁸But Jesus knew their thoughts and said to the man with the withered hand, “Get up and stand among us.” So he got up and stood there.

⁹Then 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?” ¹⁰And after looking around at all of them, He said to the man, “Stretch out your hand.” He did so, and it was restored. ¹¹But the scribes and Pharisees were filled with rage and began to discuss with one another what they might do to Jesus.

I¹²n those days Jesus went out to the mountain to pray, and He spent the night in prayer to God. ¹³When daylight came, He called His disciples to Him and chose twelve of them, whom He also designated as apostles:

¹⁴Simon, whom He named Peter, and his brother Andrew; James and John; Philip and Bartholomew; ¹⁵Matthew and Thomas; James son of Alphaeus and Simon called the Zealot; ¹⁶Judas son of James, and Judas Iscariot, who became a traitor.

T¹⁷hen Jesus came down with them and stood on a level place. A large crowd of His disciples was there, along with a great number of people from all over Judea, Jerusalem, and the seacoast of Tyre and Sidon. ¹⁸They had come to hear Him and to be healed of their diseases, and those troubled by unclean spirits were healed. ¹⁹The entire crowd was trying to touch Him, because power was coming from Him and healing them all.

L²⁰ooking up at His disciples, Jesus said: ²¹Blessed are you who hunger now, ²²Blessed are you when people hate you, and when they exclude you and insult you and reject your name as evil because of the Son of Man. ²³Rejoice in that day and leap for joy, because great is your reward in heaven. For their fathers treated the prophets in the same way.

B²⁴ut woe to you who are rich, ²⁵Woe to you who are well fed now, ²⁶Woe to you when all men speak well of you,

B²⁷ut to those of you who will listen, I say: Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, ²⁸bless those who curse you, pray for those who mistreat you. ²⁹If someone strikes you on one cheek, turn to him the other also. And if someone takes your cloak, do not withhold your tunic as well. ³⁰Give to everyone who asks you, and if anyone takes what is yours, do not demand it back. ³¹Do to others as you would have them do to you.

³²If you love those who love you, what credit is that to you? Even sinners love those who love them. ³³If you do good to those who do good to you, what credit is that to you? Even sinners do the same. ³⁴And if you lend to those from whom you expect repayment, what credit is that to you? Even sinners lend to sinners, expecting to be repaid in full. ³⁵But love your enemies, do good to them, and lend to them, expecting nothing in return. Then your reward will be great, and you will be sons of the Most High; for He is kind to the ungrateful and wicked. ³⁶Be merciful, just as your Father is merciful.

D³⁷o not judge, and you will not be judged. Do not condemn, and you will not be condemned. Forgive, and you will be forgiven. ³⁸Give, and it will be given to you. A good measure, pressed down, shaken together, and running over will be poured into your lap. For with the measure you use, it will be measured back to you.”

³⁹Jesus also told them a parable: “Can a blind man lead a blind man? Will they not both fall into a pit? ⁴⁰A disciple is not above his teacher, but everyone who is fully trained will be like his teacher. ⁴¹Why do you look at the speck in your brother’s eye but fail to notice the beam in your own eye? ⁴²How can you say, ‘Brother, let me take the speck out of your eye,’ while you yourself fail to see the beam in your own eye? You hypocrite! First take the beam out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother’s eye.

N⁴³o good tree bears bad fruit, nor does a bad tree bear good fruit. ⁴⁴For each tree is known by its own fruit. Indeed, figs are not gathered from thornbushes, nor grapes from brambles. ⁴⁵The good man brings good things out of the good treasure of his heart, and the evil man brings evil things out of the evil treasure of his heart. For out of the overflow of the heart the mouth speaks.

W⁴⁶hy do you call Me ‘Lord, Lord,’ but do not do what I say? ⁴⁷I will show you what he is like who comes to Me and hears My words and acts on them:

⁴⁸He is like a man building a house, who dug down deep and laid his foundation on the rock. When the flood came, the torrent crashed against that house but could not shake it, because it was well built. ⁴⁹But the one who hears My words and does not act on them is like a man who built his house on ground without a foundation. The torrent crashed against that house, and immediately it fell — and great was its destruction!”