It’s Okay to Enjoy the Sabbath
1Jesus and his disciples took a walk through grainfields one Sabbath Saturday. [1] As they walked, his disciples picked a snack of grain kernels. They plucked a few grain heads off the stalks. Then, in the palms of their hands, they rubbed off the outside chaff. They ate the grain kernels left behind. 2Pharisees asked, “Why are you doing this when you know you are breaking the Sabbath law?” [2]3Jesus said, “Haven’t you read in your own Bible what David did when he and the people with him were hungry? 4He went right into the sanctuary of the worship center and took the holy bread [3] that only priests are allowed to eat. He and his men ate it.” 5Then Jesus told them, “The Son of Humans [4] is the boss of the Sabbath.”
6On another Sabbath day, Jesus went into the synagogue to teach. He noticed a man whose right hand was withered and useless. [5] 7Jewish scholars and Pharisees watched him closely to see if he would practice medicine on the Sabbath. [6] If he did, they intended to call him on it. 8Jesus knew what they were thinking. He told the man with the withered hand, “Come up here and stand in front of the people.”
9Jesus said to everyone in the synagogue, “I have a question for you. What does the Jewish law say about the Sabbath? Is it a day to help people or to hurt people, to save people or to kill people?” 10Jesus looked around the room at all the people. Then he told the man, “Stick out your hand.” The man did and his hand suddenly became perfectly normal. 11Jewish leaders got crazy mad and started jabbering with each other about what they could do to put Jesus in his place.
Picking a Dozen Disciples
12It was around this time that Jesus went off by himself to spend the whole night praying to God on the mountain. 13After daylight, Jesus met on the mountain with the group of people who had become his devoted followers. He picked 12 of them as his closest disciples. He called them “apostles.” [7]14Simon, who Jesus renamed Peter,
Andrew, Peter’s brother,
James,
John,
Philip,
Bartholomew,
15Matthew,
Thomas,
James the son of Alpheus,
Simon, people called a Zealot,
16Judas, the son of James,
Judas Iscariot, the traitor.
17Jesus and his followers walked down to a level field where a large crowd of his followers had gathered. The crowd also included a lot of people from all over the region, from as far south as the territory of Judea and the city of Jerusalem, and as far north as the Mediterranean coastal cities of Tyre and Sidon. [8] 18They came for different reasons. Some came to hear what he had to say. Others came to get healed of their diseases. Some came for exorcism, for release from unholy spirits that tormented them.
19The crowd jostled around him with everyone trying to touch him. That’s because they realized healing power was coming out of him and that whenever sick people touched him they were healed.
When to Consider Yourself Fortunate
20Jesus looked at the crowd of his followers and he started talking to them. [9]“Consider yourself fortunate if you’re poor,
because God’s kingdom belongs to you.
for you are going to be completely satisfied with what you’re going to get.
Consider yourself fortunate if you are crying now,
for you will be laughing soon enough.
22Consider yourself fortunate if people hate you, ignore you, insult you, and refuse to speak your name because of me, the Son of Humans.
23Throw yourself a party when that happens.
Jump for joy because you are in for one whopper of a bonus in heaven.
People who treat you like this have a long history of doing it.
Their ancestors treated the prophets like this.
24But how tragic it will be for those of you who are rich.
You have already enjoyed all the comfort you will ever get.
25How tragic it will be for those of you who have stuffed yourself full.
You are going to wind up hungry.
How tragic it will be for those of you laughing now.
You’re going to end up depressed and crying.
26How tragic it will be when people do nothing but feed you compliments.
That’s what their ancestors did to the fake prophets.
Treat Your Enemies Kindly
27“If you’re listening to me, I want you to hear this. It’s important. Love your enemies. Be kind to people who hate you. 28When someone says bad things about you, say good things about them. Pray for people who insult you.29“To the person who slaps you up the side of your face, turn your head and offer the other side as well. And to the one who confiscates your coat, let that person also have the shirt off your back if they want it. 30When someone asks you to give them something, give it to them. And when they take something from you, don’t bother trying to get it back.
31“Whatever you wish other people would do for you, do it for them. 32If you love people who love you, do you really think that makes you a loving person? Even the low-down sinners love people who love them. 33And if you are good to people who love you, do you really think that makes you a good person? Even the sinners do that. 34And if you loan to people who will return what they borrowed, do you think that makes you a generous person? Even sinners loan to sinners when they expect to get their stuff back.
35“People, love your enemies, do good, and loan what you have, expecting nothing back. When you can start living like that, you can expect a great reward, and you will be considered one of the children of the Most High God. For he is kind to people who are unkind and no good. 36Be compassionate, like your Father is.
Show Compassion, like Your Father
37“Don’t judge people and you won’t be judged. Don’t condemn and you won’t be condemned. Forgive and you’ll be forgiven. 38Give and you’ll receive. What you get back will be like a big basket fully loaded, pushed down, and shaken to make room for more. And it will be like a bucket so full that it runs over the top and spills into your lap. However much you decide to give, that same level of generosity or stinginess will determine what you get.”39Jesus told them a parable. “Can the blind lead the blind? Won’t they both end up in a ditch somewhere? 40A student is not someone who knows more than his teacher. But when the student is fully educated, he will be very much like his teacher.
41“How is it you can notice the tiniest speck in your brother’s eye, but you miss that beam of timber in your own? 42Where do you get the chutzpah to say to your brother, ‘Hey, brother, let me take that speck out of your eyeball?’ Come on. How can you possibly do that when you can’t see past that plank in your own eyeball? Can you spell ‘hypocrite’? First get that plank out of your own eye and then maybe you’ll be able to see clearly enough to get the speck out of your brother’s eye.
