1. One Sabbath, Jesus and his disciples were walking through some wheat fields. His disciples were hungry and began picking and eating grains of wheat.
2. Some Pharisees noticed this and said to Jesus, “Why are your disciples picking grain on the Sabbath? They are not supposed to do that!”
3. Jesus answered:You must have read what David did when he and his followers were hungry.
4. He went into the house of God, and then they ate the sacred loaves of bread that only priests are supposed to eat.
5. Haven't you read in the Law of Moses that the priests are allowed to work in the temple on the Sabbath? But no one says that they are guilty of breaking the law of the Sabbath.
6. I tell you that there is something here greater than the temple.
7. Don't you know what the Scriptures mean when they say, “Instead of offering sacrifices to me, I want you to be merciful to others”? If you knew what this means, you would not condemn these innocent disciples of mine.
8. So the Son of Man is Lord over the Sabbath.
9. Jesus left and went into one of the Jewish meeting places,
31-32. I tell you that any sinful thing you do or say can be forgiven. Even if you speak against the Son of Man, you can be forgiven. But if you speak against the Holy Spirit, you can never be forgiven, either in this life or in the life to come.