The preaching of John the Baptist

1 This is where the good news starts—the good news of Jesus the Messiah, God’s son.

² Isaiah the prophet put it like this (“Look! I am sending my messenger ahead of me; he will clear the way for you!”):

³ “A shout goes up in the desert: Make way for the Lord! Clear a straight path for him!”

⁴ John the Baptizer appeared in the desert. He was announcing a baptism of repentance, to forgive sins. ⁵ The whole of Judaea, and everyone who lived in Jerusalem, went out to him; they confessed their sins and were baptized by him in the river Jordan. ⁶ John wore camel-hair clothes, with a leather belt round his waist. He used to eat locusts and wild honey.

⁷ “Someone a lot stronger than me is coming close behind,” John used to tell them. “I don’t deserve to squat down and undo his sandals. ⁸ I’ve plunged you in the water; he’s going to plunge you in the holy spirit.”

Jesus’ baptism

⁹ This is how it happened. Around that time, Jesus came from Nazareth in Galilee, and was baptized by John in the river Jordan. ¹⁰ That very moment, as he was coming out of the water, he saw the heavens open, and the spirit coming down like a dove onto him. ¹¹ Then there came a voice out of the heavens: “You are my son! You are the one I love! You make me very glad.”

¹² All at once the spirit pushed him out into the desert. ¹³ He was in the desert forty days, and the satan tested him there. He was with the wild beasts, and angels waited on him.

The calling of the disciples

¹⁴ After John’s arrest, Jesus came into Galilee, announcing God’s good news.

¹⁵ “The time is fulfilled!” he said; “God’s kingdom is arriving! Turn back, and believe the good news!”

¹⁶ As he went along beside the sea of Galilee he saw Simon and his brother Andrew. They were fishermen, and were casting nets into the sea.

¹⁷ “Follow me!” said Jesus to them. “I’ll have you fishing for people!”

¹⁸ Straight away they left their nets and followed him. ¹⁹ He went on a bit, and saw James, Zebedee’s son, and John his brother. They were in the boat mending their nets, ²⁰ and he called them then and there. They left their father Zebedee in the boat with the hired servants, and went off after him.

Exorcism and healings

²¹ They went to Capernaum. At once, on the sabbath, Jesus went into the synagogue and taught. ²² They were astonished at his teaching. He wasn’t like the legal teachers; he said things on his own authority.

²³ All at once, in their synagogue, there was a man with an unclean spirit.

²⁴ “What business have you got with us, Jesus of Nazareth?” he yelled. “Have you come to destroy us? I know who you are: you’re God’s Holy One!”

²⁵ “Be quiet!” ordered Jesus. “And come out of him!”

²⁶ The unclean spirit convulsed the man, gave a great shout, and came out of him. ²⁷ Everyone was astonished.

“What’s this?” they started to say to each other. “New teaching—with real authority! He even tells the unclean spirits what to do, and they do it!”

²⁸ Word about Jesus spread at once, all over the surrounding district of Galilee.

²⁹ They came out of the synagogue, and went at once (with James and John) into Simon and Andrew’s house. ³⁰ Simon’s mother-in-law was in bed with a fever, and they told Jesus about her right away. ³¹ He went in, took her by the hand, and raised her up. The fever left her, and she waited on them.

³² When the sun went down and evening came, they brought to Jesus everyone who was ill, including the demon-possessed. ³³ The whole town was gathered around the door. ³⁴ Jesus healed many people suffering from all kinds of diseases, and cast out many demons. He didn’t allow the demons to speak, because they knew him.

The healing of a man with a skin disease

³⁵ Very early—in the middle of the night, actually—Jesus got up and went out, off to a lonely place, and prayed. ³⁶ Simon, and those with him, followed. ³⁷ When they found him, they said, “Everyone is looking for you!”

³⁸ “Let’s go off to the other towns around here,” Jesus replied, “so that I can tell the news to people there too. That’s why I came out.”

³⁹ So he went into their synagogues, throughout the whole of Galilee, telling the news and casting out demons.

⁴⁰ A man with a virulent skin disease came up to him. He knelt down and begged him, “If you want to, you can make me clean!”

⁴¹ Jesus was deeply moved. He reached out his hand and touched him, and said to him, “I do want to: be clean!” ⁴² The disease left him at once, and he was clean.

⁴³ Jesus sent him away at once, with this stern warning: ⁴⁴ “Mind you don’t say anything to anyone! Just go and show yourself to the priest, and make the offering Moses commanded, to purify yourself and to give them a sign.”

⁴⁵ But the man went out and began to spread the news far and wide. He did this so effectively that Jesus couldn’t any longer go publicly into a town. He stayed out in the open country, and people came to him from all around.