The Pharisees said to Him, “Look, why are they doing what is unlawful on the Sabbath?”

how he went into the house of God in the time of Abiathar the high priest, and ate the sacred bread, which is not lawful for anyone but the priests to eat, and how he also gave it to the men who were with him?”

So the Son of Man is Lord even of the Sabbath [and He has authority over it].”

He asked them, “Is it lawful on the Sabbath to do good or to do evil, to save a life or to kill?” But they kept silent.

Whenever the unclean spirits saw Him, they fell down before Him and screamed out, “You are the Son of God!”

And He appointed twelve [disciples], so that they would be with Him [for instruction] and so that He could send them out to preach [the gospel as apostles—that is, as His special messengers, personally chosen representatives],

and James, the son of Zebedee, and John the brother of James (to them He gave the name Boanerges, that is, “Sons of Thunder”);

and Judas Iscariot, who betrayed Him.

When His own family heard this they went to take custody of Him; for they were saying, “He is out of His mind.”

The scribes who came down from Jerusalem were saying, “He is possessed by Beelzebul (Satan),” and “He is driving out the demons by the [power of the] ruler of the demons.”

If a kingdom is divided [split into factions and rebelling] against itself, that kingdom cannot stand.

And if a house is divided against itself, that house cannot stand.

And if Satan has risen up against himself and is divided, he cannot stand, but is coming to an end.

but whoever blasphemes against the Holy Spirit and His power [by attributing the miracles done by Me to Satan] never has forgiveness, but is guilty of an everlasting sin [a sin which is unforgivable in this present age as well as in the age to come]”—

[Jesus said this] because the scribes and Pharisees were [attributing His miracles to Satan by] saying, “He has an unclean spirit.”

For whoever does the will of God [by believing in Me, and following Me], he is My brother and sister and mother.”

He said to them, “The mystery of the kingdom of God has been given to you [who have teachable hearts], but those who are outside [the unbelievers, the spiritually blind] get everything in parables,

The sower sows the word [of God, the good news regarding the way of salvation].

These [in the first group] are the ones along the road where the word is sown; but when they hear, Satan immediately comes and takes away the word which has been sown in them.

And those [in the last group] are the ones on whom seed was sown on the good soil; and they hear the word [of God, the good news regarding the way of salvation] and accept it and bear fruit—thirty, sixty, and a hundred times as much [as was sown].”

He said to them, “A lamp is not brought in to be put under a basket or under a bed, is it? Is it not [brought in] to be put on the lampstand?

For nothing is hidden, except to be revealed; nor has anything been kept secret, but that it would come to light [that is, things are hidden only temporarily, until the appropriate time comes for them to be known].

Then He said to them, “Pay attention to what you hear. By your own standard of measurement [that is, to the extent that you study spiritual truth and apply godly wisdom] it will be measured to you [and you will be given even greater ability to respond]—and more will be given to you besides.

Parable of the Seed

Then He said, “The kingdom of God is like a man who throws seed on the ground;

Parable of the Mustard Seed

And He said, “How shall we picture the kingdom of God, or what parable shall we use to illustrate and explain it?