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The Preaching of John the Baptist

The beginning of the gospel of Jesus Christ, (A)the Son of God.

(B)As it is written in Isaiah the prophet:

(C)Behold, I send My messenger [a]ahead of You,
Who will prepare Your way;
(D)The voice of one crying in the wilderness,
Make ready the way of the [b]Lord,
Make His paths straight.’”

[c]John the Baptist appeared in the wilderness [d](E)preaching a baptism of repentance for the (F)forgiveness of sins. And all the region of Judea was going out to him, and all the people of Jerusalem; and they were being baptized by him in the Jordan River, confessing their sins. And John was clothed with camel’s hair and wore (G)a leather belt around his waist and was eating locusts and wild honey. And he was [e]preaching, saying, “After me One is coming who is mightier than I, and I am not fit to stoop down and untie the strap of His sandals. I baptized you with water; but He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit.”

The Baptism of Jesus

[f](H)Now it happened that in those days Jesus (I)came from Nazareth in Galilee and was baptized by John in the Jordan. 10 And immediately coming up out of the water, He saw the heavens [g]opening, and the Spirit like a dove descending upon Him; 11 and a voice came out of the heavens: “(J)You are My beloved Son, in You I am well-pleased.”

12 (K)And immediately the Spirit *drove Him to go out into the wilderness. 13 And He was in the wilderness forty days being tempted by (L)Satan; and He was with the wild beasts, and the angels were ministering to Him.

Jesus Preaches in Galilee

14 (M)Now after John had been delivered up into custody, Jesus came into Galilee, [h](N)preaching the gospel of God, 15 and saying, (O)The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God [i]is at hand; (P)repent and [j]believe in the gospel.”

16 (Q)As He was going along by the Sea of Galilee, He saw Simon and Andrew, the brother of Simon, casting a net in the sea; for they were fishermen. 17 And Jesus said to them, “Follow Me, and I will make you become fishers of men.” 18 And immediately they left their nets and followed Him. 19 And going on a little farther, He saw [k]James the son of Zebedee, and John his brother, who were also in the boat mending the nets. 20 And immediately He called them; and they left their father Zebedee in the boat with the hired servants, and went away [l]to follow Him.

21 (R)And they *went into Capernaum; and immediately on the Sabbath (S)He entered the synagogue and began to teach. 22 (T)And they were astonished at His teaching; for He was teaching them as one having authority, and not as the scribes. 23 And immediately there was a man in their synagogue with an unclean spirit; and he cried out, 24 saying, “(U)What [m]do we have to do with You, Jesus the (V)Nazarene? Have You come to destroy us? I know who You are—(W)the Holy One of God!” 25 And Jesus rebuked him, saying, “Be quiet, and come out of him!” 26 And throwing him into convulsions, the unclean spirit cried out with a loud voice and came out of him. 27 And they were all (X)amazed, so that they were arguing among themselves, saying, “What is this? A new teaching with authority! He commands even the unclean spirits, and they obey Him.” 28 And immediately the news about Him spread everywhere into all the surrounding district of Galilee.

Simon’s Mother-in-Law and Many Others Healed

29 (Y)And immediately after they came (Z)out of the synagogue, they came into the house of Simon and Andrew, with James and John. 30 Now Simon’s mother-in-law was lying sick with a fever; and immediately they *spoke to [n]Jesus about her. 31 And He came to her and raised her up, taking her by the hand, and the fever left her, and she [o]began waiting on them.

32 (AA)Now when evening came, (AB)after the sun had set, they began bringing to Him all who were ill and those who were (AC)demon-possessed. 33 And the whole (AD)city had gathered at the door. 34 And He (AE)healed many who were ill with various diseases, and cast out many demons; and He was not permitting the demons to speak, because they knew who He was.

35 (AF)And in the early morning, while it was still dark, Jesus rose up, went out of the house, and went away to a desolate place, and (AG)was praying there. 36 And Simon and his companions searched for Him; 37 and they found Him, and *said to Him, “Everyone is looking for You.” 38 And He *said to them, “Let us go elsewhere, to the towns nearby, so that I may [p]preach there also; for that is what I came out for.” 39 (AH)And He went, [q]preaching in their synagogues throughout all Galilee and casting out the demons.

40 (AI)And a leper *came to [r]Jesus, pleading with Him and (AJ)falling on his knees before Him, and saying, “If You are willing, You can make me clean.” 41 And moved with compassion, He stretched out His hand and touched him, and *said to him, “I am willing; be cleansed.” 42 And immediately the leprosy left him and he was cleansed. 43 And He sternly warned him and immediately sent him away, 44 and He *said to him, (AK)See that you say nothing to anyone; but (AL)go, show yourself to the priest and (AM)offer for your cleansing what Moses commanded, as a testimony to them.” 45 But he went out and began to (AN)proclaim it freely and to (AO)spread the news around, to such an extent that [s]Jesus could no longer publicly enter a city, but [t]stayed out in desolate areas; and (AP)they were coming to Him from everywhere.

Footnotes

  1. Mark 1:2 Lit before your face
  2. Mark 1:3 In OT, Yahweh, cf. Is 40:3
  3. Mark 1:4 Gr Joannes, Heb Johanan; so in Mark
  4. Mark 1:4 Or proclaiming
  5. Mark 1:7 Or proclaiming
  6. Mark 1:9 Lit And
  7. Mark 1:10 Or being parted, being torn apart, cf. 15:38
  8. Mark 1:14 Or proclaiming
  9. Mark 1:15 Lit has come near
  10. Mark 1:15 Or put your trust in
  11. Mark 1:19 Or Jacob; James is the Eng form of Jacob; so in Mark
  12. Mark 1:20 Lit after Him
  13. Mark 1:24 Lit What to us and to You (a Heb idiom)
  14. Mark 1:30 Lit Him
  15. Mark 1:31 Or served
  16. Mark 1:38 Or proclaim
  17. Mark 1:39 Or proclaiming
  18. Mark 1:40 Lit Him
  19. Mark 1:45 Lit He
  20. Mark 1:45 Lit was

John the Baptist Prepares the Way

This is the Good News about Jesus the Messiah, the Son of God.[a] It began just as the prophet Isaiah had written:

“Look, I am sending my messenger ahead of you,
    and he will prepare your way.[b]
He is a voice shouting in the wilderness,
‘Prepare the way for the Lord’s coming!
    Clear the road for him!’[c]

This messenger was John the Baptist. He was in the wilderness and preached that people should be baptized to show that they had repented of their sins and turned to God to be forgiven. All of Judea, including all the people of Jerusalem, went out to see and hear John. And when they confessed their sins, he baptized them in the Jordan River. His clothes were woven from coarse camel hair, and he wore a leather belt around his waist. For food he ate locusts and wild honey.

John announced: “Someone is coming soon who is greater than I am—so much greater that I’m not even worthy to stoop down like a slave and untie the straps of his sandals. I baptize you with[d] water, but he will baptize you with the Holy Spirit!”

The Baptism and Temptation of Jesus

One day Jesus came from Nazareth in Galilee, and John baptized him in the Jordan River. 10 As Jesus came up out of the water, he saw the heavens splitting apart and the Holy Spirit descending on him[e] like a dove. 11 And a voice from heaven said, “You are my dearly loved Son, and you bring me great joy.”

12 The Spirit then compelled Jesus to go into the wilderness, 13 where he was tempted by Satan for forty days. He was out among the wild animals, and angels took care of him.

14 Later on, after John was arrested, Jesus went into Galilee, where he preached God’s Good News.[f] 15 “The time promised by God has come at last!” he announced. “The Kingdom of God is near! Repent of your sins and believe the Good News!”

The First Disciples

16 One day as Jesus was walking along the shore of the Sea of Galilee, he saw Simon[g] and his brother Andrew throwing a net into the water, for they fished for a living. 17 Jesus called out to them, “Come, follow me, and I will show you how to fish for people!” 18 And they left their nets at once and followed him.

19 A little farther up the shore Jesus saw Zebedee’s sons, James and John, in a boat repairing their nets. 20 He called them at once, and they also followed him, leaving their father, Zebedee, in the boat with the hired men.

Jesus Casts Out an Evil Spirit

21 Jesus and his companions went to the town of Capernaum. When the Sabbath day came, he went into the synagogue and began to teach. 22 The people were amazed at his teaching, for he taught with real authority—quite unlike the teachers of religious law.

23 Suddenly, a man in the synagogue who was possessed by an evil[h] spirit cried out, 24 “Why are you interfering with us, Jesus of Nazareth? Have you come to destroy us? I know who you are—the Holy One of God!”

25 But Jesus reprimanded him. “Be quiet! Come out of the man,” he ordered. 26 At that, the evil spirit screamed, threw the man into a convulsion, and then came out of him.

27 Amazement gripped the audience, and they began to discuss what had happened. “What sort of new teaching is this?” they asked excitedly. “It has such authority! Even evil spirits obey his orders!” 28 The news about Jesus spread quickly throughout the entire region of Galilee.

Jesus Heals Many People

29 After Jesus left the synagogue with James and John, they went to Simon and Andrew’s home. 30 Now Simon’s mother-in-law was sick in bed with a high fever. They told Jesus about her right away. 31 So he went to her bedside, took her by the hand, and helped her sit up. Then the fever left her, and she prepared a meal for them.

32 That evening after sunset, many sick and demon-possessed people were brought to Jesus. 33 The whole town gathered at the door to watch. 34 So Jesus healed many people who were sick with various diseases, and he cast out many demons. But because the demons knew who he was, he did not allow them to speak.

Jesus Preaches in Galilee

35 Before daybreak the next morning, Jesus got up and went out to an isolated place to pray. 36 Later Simon and the others went out to find him. 37 When they found him, they said, “Everyone is looking for you.”

38 But Jesus replied, “We must go on to other towns as well, and I will preach to them, too. That is why I came.” 39 So he traveled throughout the region of Galilee, preaching in the synagogues and casting out demons.

Jesus Heals a Man with Leprosy

40 A man with leprosy came and knelt in front of Jesus, begging to be healed. “If you are willing, you can heal me and make me clean,” he said.

41 Moved with compassion,[i] Jesus reached out and touched him. “I am willing,” he said. “Be healed!” 42 Instantly the leprosy disappeared, and the man was healed. 43 Then Jesus sent him on his way with a stern warning: 44 “Don’t tell anyone about this. Instead, go to the priest and let him examine you. Take along the offering required in the law of Moses for those who have been healed of leprosy.[j] This will be a public testimony that you have been cleansed.”

45 But the man went and spread the word, proclaiming to everyone what had happened. As a result, large crowds soon surrounded Jesus, and he couldn’t publicly enter a town anywhere. He had to stay out in the secluded places, but people from everywhere kept coming to him.

Footnotes

  1. 1:1 Some manuscripts do not include the Son of God.
  2. 1:2 Mal 3:1.
  3. 1:3 Isa 40:3 (Greek version).
  4. 1:8 Or in; also in 1:8b.
  5. 1:10 Or toward him, or into him.
  6. 1:14 Some manuscripts read the Good News of the Kingdom of God.
  7. 1:16 Simon is called “Peter” in 3:16 and thereafter.
  8. 1:23 Greek unclean; also in 1:26, 27.
  9. 1:41 Some manuscripts read Moved with anger.
  10. 1:44 See Lev 14:2-32.