221Then a 2demon-possessed man who was blind and mute was brought to Jesus, and He healed him, so that the mutemanspoke and saw.
23
All the crowds were amazed, and were saying, "This man cannot be the 3Son of David, can he?"
24
But when the Phariseesheard this, they said, "Thisman4casts out demonsonly** by Beelzebul the ruler of the demons."
25
5And 6knowing their thoughts Jesus said to them, "Anykingdomdividedagainstitself is laidwaste; and anycityorhousedividedagainstitself will not stand.
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"If7Satancasts out Satan, he is dividedagainsthimself; howthen will his kingdomstand?
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"If I 8by Beelzebulcast out demons, 9by whom do your sonscast them out? For this*reason* they will be your judges.
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"But 10if I cast out demons by the Spirit of God, then the kingdom of God has come upon you.
29
"Orhowcananyoneenter the strongman'shouse and carryoff his property, unless* he firstbinds the strong man? And then he will plunder his house.
The Unpardonable Sin
30"11He who is not with Me is against Me; and he who does not gather with Me scatters.
31
"12Therefore* I say to you, anysin and blasphemy shall be forgivenpeople, but blasphemy against the Spirit shall not be forgiven.
32
"13Whoever*speaks a wordagainst the Son of Man, it shall be forgiven him; but whoever*speaksagainst the HolySpirit, it shall not be forgiven him, either in 14thisageor in the age to come.
Words Reveal Character
33"Eithermake the treegood and its fruitgood, ormake the treebad and its fruitbad; for 15the tree is known by its fruit.
34
"16You brood of vipers, howcan you, beingevil, speak what is good? 17For the mouthspeaks out of that whichfills the heart.
35
"18The goodmanbrings out of his goodtreasure what is good; and the evilmanbrings out of his eviltreasure what is evil.
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"But I tell you that everycarelessword that peoplespeak, they shall give an accounting for it in 19the day of judgment.
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"For by your words you will be justified, and by your words you will be condemned."
The Desire for Signs
38Thensome of the scribes and Phariseessaid to Him, "Teacher, 20we want to see a sign from You."
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But He answered and said to them, "21An evil and adulterousgenerationcraves for a sign; and yet nosign will be given to it but the sign of Jonah the prophet;
40
for just as 22JONAH WAS THREEDAYS AND THREENIGHTS IN THE BELLY OF THE SEAMONSTER, so will 23the Son of Man be 24threedays and threenights in the heart of the earth.
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"25The men of Nineveh will stand up with thisgeneration at the judgment, and will condemn it because26they repented at the preaching of Jonah; and behold, 27something greater than Jonah is here.
42
"28The Queen of the South will rise up with thisgeneration at the judgment and will condemn it, because she came from the ends of the earth to hear the wisdom of Solomon; and behold, 29something greater than Solomon is here.
43
"30Nowwhen the uncleanspiritgoes out of a man, it passesthroughwaterlessplacesseekingrest, and does not find it.
44
"Then it says, 'I will return to my house from which I came '; and when it comes, it finds it unoccupied, swept, and put in order.
45
"Then it goes and takesalong with it sevenotherspiritsmorewicked than itself, and they go in and livethere; and 31the last state of that manbecomesworse than the first. That is the way it will also be with thisevilgeneration."
Changed Relationships
4632While He was stillspeaking to the crowds, behold, His 33mother and 34brothers were standingoutside, seeking to speak to Him.
47
Someonesaid to Him, "Behold, Your mother and Your brothers are standingoutsideseeking to speak to You."
48
But Jesus answered the one who was telling Him and said, "Who is My mother and who are My brothers?"
49
And stretching out His handtoward His disciples, He said, "Behold My mother and My brothers!
50
"For whoever*does the will of My Father who is in heaven, he is My brother and sister and mother."