Jesus Prays in a Solitary Place^(A)

³⁵ Very early in the morning, while it was still dark, Jesus got up, left the house and went off to a solitary place, where he prayed.^{(B) 36} Simon and his companions went to look for him, ³⁷ and when they found him, they exclaimed: “Everyone is looking for you!”

³⁸ Jesus replied, “Let us go somewhere else—to the nearby villages—so I can preach there also. That is why I have come.”^(C)

Jesus Heals the Sick

²³ Jesus went throughout Galilee,^(A) teaching in their synagogues,^(B) proclaiming the good news^(C) of the kingdom,^(D) and healing every disease and sickness among the people.^{(E) 24} News about him spread all over Syria,^(F) and people brought to him all who were ill with various diseases, those suffering severe pain, the demon-possessed,^(G) those having seizures,^(H) and the paralyzed;^(I) and he healed them. ²⁵ Large crowds from Galilee, the Decapolis,^[a] Jerusalem, Judea and the region across the Jordan followed him.^(J)

Jesus Heals a Man With Leprosy^(A)

¹² While Jesus was in one of the towns, a man came along who was covered with leprosy.^[a](B) When he saw Jesus, he fell with his face to the ground and begged him, “Lord, if you are willing, you can make me clean.”

⁴¹ Jesus was indignant.^[a] He reached out his hand and touched the man. “I am willing,” he said. “Be clean!” ⁴² Immediately the leprosy left him and he was cleansed.

⁴³ Jesus sent him away at once with a strong warning: ⁴⁴ “See that you don’t tell this to anyone.^(A) But go, show yourself to the priest^(B) and offer the sacrifices that Moses commanded for your cleansing,^(C) as a testimony to them.” ⁴⁵ Instead he went out and began to talk freely, spreading the news. As a result, Jesus could no longer enter a town openly but stayed outside in lonely places.^(D) Yet the people still came to him from everywhere.^(E)

¹⁵ Yet the news about him spread all the more,^(A) so that crowds of people came to hear him and to be healed of their sicknesses. ¹⁶ But Jesus often withdrew to lonely places and prayed.^(B)