John the Baptist Prepares the Way

1 The beginning of the gospel of Jesus Christ, ^(A)the Son of God.^[a]

^2 (B)As it is written in Isaiah the prophet,^[b]

^4 (F)John appeared, baptizing in ^(G)the wilderness and proclaiming ^(H)a baptism of ^(I)repentance ^(J)for the forgiveness of sins. ⁵ And all the country of Judea and all Jerusalem were going out to him and were being baptized by him in the river Jordan, ^(K)confessing their sins. ⁶ Now John was ^(L)clothed with camel's hair and ^(M)wore a leather belt around his waist and ate ^(N)locusts and ^(O)wild honey. ⁷ And he preached, saying, ^(P)“After me comes he who is mightier than I, the strap of whose sandals I am not worthy to stoop down and untie. ^8 (Q)I have baptized you with water, but ^(R)he will baptize you with the Holy Spirit.”

The Baptism of Jesus

^9 (S)In those days Jesus ^(T)came from Nazareth of Galilee and was baptized by John in the Jordan. ¹⁰ And when he came up out of the water, immediately he ^(U)saw ^(V)the heavens being torn open ^(W)and the Spirit descending on him like a dove. ¹¹ And ^(X)a voice came from heaven, ^(Y)“You are my beloved Son;^[d] with you I am well pleased.”

The Temptation of Jesus

^12 (Z)The Spirit immediately drove him out into the wilderness. ^13 (AA)And he was in the wilderness forty days, being ^(AB)tempted by ^(AC)Satan. And he was with the wild animals, and ^(AD)the angels were ministering to him.

Jesus Begins His Ministry

^14 (AE)Now after John was arrested, Jesus ^(AF)came into Galilee, proclaiming the gospel of God, ¹⁵ and saying, ^(AG)“The time is fulfilled, and ^(AH)the kingdom of God is at hand;^{[e] (AI)}repent and believe in the gospel.”

Jesus Calls the First Disciples

^16 (AJ)Passing alongside the Sea of Galilee, he saw Simon and Andrew the brother of Simon casting a net into the sea, for they were fishermen. ¹⁷ And Jesus said to them, “Follow me, and I will make you become ^(AK)fishers of men.”^{[f] 18} And immediately they left their nets and followed him. ¹⁹ And going on a little farther, he saw James the son of Zebedee and John his brother, who were in their boat mending the nets. ²⁰ And immediately he called them, and they left their father Zebedee in the boat with the hired servants and followed him.

Jesus Heals a Man with an Unclean Spirit

^21 (AL)And they went into Capernaum, and immediately ^(AM)on the Sabbath ^(AN)he entered the synagogue and was teaching. ²² And ^(AO)they were astonished at his teaching, ^(AP)for he taught them as one who had authority, and not as the scribes. ²³ And immediately there was in their synagogue a man with an unclean spirit. And he cried out, ^24 (AQ)“What have you to do with us, Jesus of Nazareth? Have you come to destroy us? ^(AR)I know who you are—^(AS)the Holy One of God.” ²⁵ But Jesus ^(AT)rebuked him, saying, “Be silent, and come out of him!” ²⁶ And the unclean spirit, ^(AU)convulsing him and ^(AV)crying out with a loud voice, came out of him. ²⁷ And they were all ^(AW)amazed, so that they questioned among themselves, saying, “What is this? ^(AX)A new teaching with authority! He commands even the unclean spirits, and they obey him.” ²⁸ And at once his fame spread everywhere throughout all the surrounding region of Galilee.