John Prepares for Jesus^(A)

1 This is the beginning of the ·Good News [Gospel] ·about [of] Jesus Christ, the Son of God,^{[a] 2} as the prophet Isaiah wrote:

⁴ John [^Cthe Baptist] was baptizing people in the ·desert [wilderness] and preaching a baptism of ·changed hearts and lives [turning from sin; repentance] for the ·forgiveness [remission] of sins. ⁵ All the people from Judea and Jerusalem were going out to him. They confessed their sins and were baptized by him in the Jordan River. ⁶ John wore clothes made from camel’s hair, had a leather belt around his waist [^Creminiscent of the prophet Elijah; 2 Kin. 1:8], and ate locusts and wild honey [^Csignifies living off the land]. ⁷ This is what John preached to the people: “There is one coming after me who is ·greater [mightier; more powerful] than I; I am not ·good enough [fit; qualified] even to kneel down and untie [^Lthe thong/strap of] his sandals [^Ca task of a servant or slave]. ⁸ I baptize you with water, but he will baptize you with the Holy Spirit.”

Jesus Is Baptized and Tested^(B)

⁹ ·At that time [In those days] Jesus came from the town of Nazareth in Galilee and was baptized by John in the Jordan River. ¹⁰ Immediately, as Jesus was coming up out of the water, he saw ·heaven [the sky] ·open [split open]. The ·Holy Spirit [^LSpirit] ·came down [descended] on him like a dove [^Ceither in the form of a dove, or in bird-like descent], ¹¹ and a voice came from heaven: “You are my ·Son, whom I love [dearly beloved Son; Ps. 2:7; Gen. 22:2], ·and I am very pleased with you [in whom I take great delight; Is. 42:1].”

¹² ·Then [Immediately] the Spirit ·sent [drove; compelled] Jesus into the ·desert [wilderness]. ¹³ He was in the ·desert [wilderness] forty days [^Canalogous to Israel’s forty years] and was ·tempted [or tested] by Satan [^Cas both Adam and Eve and the nation Israel in the wilderness were tempted, but failed]. He was with the wild animals [^Cdangerous or perhaps Eden-like conditions], and the angels came and ·took care of [served; ministered to] him.

Jesus Announces the Good News^(C)

¹⁴ After John was put in prison [^Cby Herod Antipas; cf. 6:14–29], Jesus went into Galilee, preaching the ·Good News [Gospel] ·from [about] God. ¹⁵ He said, “The ·right time has come [^Ltime is fulfilled]. ·The kingdom of God [God’s sovereign rule] is ·near [at hand]. ·Change your hearts and lives [Turn from your sins; Repent] and believe the ·Good News [Gospel]!”

Jesus Chooses His First Followers^(D)

¹⁶ When Jesus was walking by ·Lake Galilee [^Tthe Sea of Galilee], he saw Simon [^CPeter; cf. 3:16] and his brother Andrew ·throwing [casting] a net into the lake because they were fishermen. ¹⁷ Jesus said to them, “Come ·follow me [be my disciples], and I will ·make you [teach you how to] fish for people.” ¹⁸ So Simon and Andrew immediately left their nets and followed him.

¹⁹ Going a little farther, Jesus saw two more brothers, ·James and John, the sons of Zebedee [^LJames the son of Zebedee, and his brother John]. They were in a boat, ·mending [preparing] their nets. ²⁰ Jesus immediately called them, and they left their father Zebedee in the boat with the hired workers and followed Jesus.

Jesus Forces Out an Evil Spirit^(E)

²¹ Jesus and his ·followers [disciples] went to Capernaum [^Ca town on the northwest shore of Lake Galilee; it became Jesus’ home base]. On the Sabbath day he went to the synagogue and began to teach. ²² The people were amazed at his teaching, because he taught ·like [as] a person who had authority, not ·like [as] ·their teachers of the law [the scribes; ^Cexperts in the law of Moses]. ²³ Just then, a man was there in the synagogue who had an ·evil [defiling; ^Lunclean] spirit in him. [^CDemons were viewed as “unclean” or defiling spirit-beings.] He shouted, ²⁴ “Jesus ·of Nazareth [the Nazarene]! ·What do you want with us? [Let us alone!; What business do we have with each other? ^LWhat to us and to you?] Did you come to destroy us? I know who you are—God’s Holy One!”

²⁵ Jesus ·commanded [reprimanded; rebuked] the evil spirit, “Be quiet! Come out of the man!” ²⁶ The ·evil [defiling; ^Lunclean] spirit ·shook the man violently [threw him into convulsions], gave a ·loud cry [shriek], and then came out of him.

²⁷ The people were [^Lall] so amazed they asked each other, “What is happening here? This man is teaching something new, and with authority. He even gives ·commands [orders] to ·evil [defiling; ^Lunclean; v. 23] spirits, and they obey him.” ²⁸ And the ·news [report; fame] about Jesus spread quickly everywhere in the area of Galilee.

Jesus Heals Many People^(F)

²⁹ As soon as Jesus and his ·followers [disciples] left the synagogue, they went to the home of Simon [^CPeter; 3:16] and Andrew, together with James and John. ³⁰ Simon’s mother-in-law was sick in bed with a fever, and ·the people [^Lthey; ^Ceither the people or the disciples] told Jesus about her. ³¹ So Jesus went to her bed, took her hand, and ·helped [raised] her up. The fever left her, and she began ·serving them [waiting on them; ^Cpresumably meal preparation].

³² That evening, after the sun went down, the people brought to Jesus all who were sick and ·had demons in them [were demon-possessed]. ³³ The whole town gathered at the door. ³⁴ Jesus healed many who had different kinds of sicknesses, and he ·forced many demons to leave people [^Ldrove/cast out many demons]. But he would not allow the demons to speak, because they knew who he was. [^CThey knew he was the Messiah; Jesus wanted to avoid premature publicity.]

³⁵ [Very] Early the next morning, while it was still dark, Jesus ·woke [got up] and left the house. He went to a ·lonely [isolated; deserted] place, where he prayed. ³⁶ Simon and his ·friends [companions] went to look for Jesus. ³⁷ When they found him, they said, “Everyone is looking for you!”

³⁸ Jesus answered, “·We should [Let us] go to other towns around here so I can preach there too. That is the reason I came.” ³⁹ So he went everywhere in Galilee, preaching in the synagogues and ·forcing [driving; casting] out demons.

Jesus Heals a Sick Man^(G)

⁴⁰ A man with ·a skin disease [^Tleprosy; ^Cthe term does not refer to modern leprosy (Hansen’s disease), but to various skin disorders; Lev. 14] came to Jesus. He fell to his knees and begged Jesus, “You can ·heal me [^Lmake me clean; ^Cleprosy rendered a person ceremonially defiled (“unclean”), and so unable to participate in Israel’s religious life] if you ·will [are willing; want to].”

⁴¹ Jesus felt ·sorry^[b] [compassion] for the man, so he reached out his hand and touched him and said, “I ·will [am willing; want to]. Be ·healed [^Lcleansed]!” ⁴² Immediately the ·disease [^Tleprosy] left the man, and he was ·healed [^Lcleansed].

⁴³ Jesus told the man to go away at once, but he warned him strongly, ⁴⁴ “Don’t tell anyone about this. But go and show yourself to the priest. And offer the ·gift [offering; sacrifices] Moses commanded for ·people who are made well [^Lyour cleansing; Lev. 14:1–32]. This will ·show the people [be a public testimony to; be evidence for] what I have done.” ⁴⁵ The man left there, but he began to tell everyone that Jesus had healed him, and so he spread ·the news about Jesus [^Lthe message/word]. As a result, Jesus could not enter a town ·if people saw him [publicly]. He stayed in ·places where nobody lived [secluded/deserted places], but people ·came [kept coming] to him from everywhere.