Overcoming Temptation with God’s Word

4 Then Yeshua was led by the Ruach into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil. ² After He had fasted for forty days and forty nights, He was hungry. ³ And when the tempter came to Him, he said, “If You are Ben-Elohim, tell these stones to become bread.”

⁴ But He replied, “It is written, ‘Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God.’”^[a]

⁵ Then the devil took Him into the holy city and placed Him on the highest point of the Temple. ⁶ “If You are Ben-Elohim,” he said, “throw Yourself down. For it is written,

⁷ Yeshua said to him, “Again it is written, ‘You shall not put Adonai your God to the test.’”^[d]

⁸ Again, the devil takes Him to a very high mountain and shows Him all the kingdoms of the world and their glory. ⁹ And he said to Him, “All these things I will give You, if You fall down and worship me.”

¹⁰ Then Yeshua says to him, “Go away, satan! For it is written, ‘You shall worship Adonai your God, and Him only shall you serve.’” ^{[e] 11} Then the devil leaves Him. And behold, angels came and began to take care of Him.

Yeshua Withdraws to Seek God

¹² Now when Yeshua heard that John had been handed over, He withdrew to the Galilee. ¹³ Leaving Natzeret, He came and settled in Capernaum, which is by the sea in the regions of Zebulun and Naphtali. ¹⁴ This was to fulfill what was spoken through Isaiah the prophet, saying,

¹⁷ From then on, Yeshua began to proclaim, “Turn away from your sins, for the kingdom of heaven is near.”

Raising Up Fishers of Men

¹⁸ Now as Yeshua was walking by the Sea of Galilee, He saw two brothers, Simon who was called Peter and Andrew his brother. They were casting a net into the sea, for they were fishermen. ¹⁹ And He said to them, “Follow Me, and I will make you fishers of men.” ²⁰ Immediately they left their nets and followed Him.

²¹ Going on from there, He saw two other brothers, Jacob the son of Zebedee and John his brother. They were in the boat with Zebedee their father, mending their nets, and He called them. ²² Immediately they left the boat and their father and followed Him.

²³ Yeshua was going throughout all the Galilee, teaching in their synagogues and proclaiming the Good News of the kingdom, and healing every kind of disease and sickness among the people. ²⁴ News about Him spread throughout all Syria. And they brought to Him all the sick—those tormented by various diseases and afflictions, those plagued by demons, the epileptics, the paralyzed—and He healed them. ²⁵ And large crowds followed Him from the Galilee, the Decapolis, Jerusalem, Judea, and beyond the Jordan.

Temptation in the Wilderness

4 Yeshua, now filled with the Ruach ha-Kodesh, returned from the Jordan. He was led by the Ruach in the wilderness ² for forty days, being tested by the devil. Now He ate nothing during those days, and when they had ended, He was hungry.

³ The devil said to Him, “If You are Ben-Elohim, tell this stone to become bread.”

⁴ Yeshua answered him, “It is written, ‘Man shall not live by bread alone.’”^[a]

⁵ And leading Him up, the devil showed Him all the kingdoms of the world in an instant. ⁶ And the devil said to Him, “I’ll give to You all this authority along with its glory, because it has been handed over to me and I can give it to anyone I wish. ⁷ Therefore, if you will worship before me, all this shall be Yours.”

⁸ But answering, Yeshua told him, “It is written, ‘You shall worship Adonai your God, and Him only shall you serve.’”^[b]

⁹ Then he brought Yeshua to Jerusalem and placed Him on the highest point of the Temple. He said to Him, “If You are Ben-Elohim, throw Yourself down from here. ¹⁰ For it is written,

¹² But answering, Yeshua said to him, “It is said, ‘You shall not put Adonai your God to the test.’” ^{[e] 13} And when the devil had completed every test, he departed from Him until another occasion.

Isaiah’s Prophecy Fulfilled in Natzeret

¹⁴ Yeshua returned in the power of the Ruach to the Galilee, and news about Him went out through all the surrounding region. ¹⁵ He taught in their synagogues, and everyone was praising Him. ¹⁶ And He came to Natzeret, where He had been raised. As was His custom, He went into the synagogue on Shabbat, and He got up to read. ¹⁷ When the scroll of the prophet Isaiah was handed to Him, He unrolled the scroll and found the place where it was written,

²⁰ He closed the scroll, gave it back to the attendant, and sat down. All eyes in the synagogue were focused on Him. ²¹ Then He began to tell them, “Today this Scripture has been fulfilled in your ears.”

²² All were speaking well of Him and marveling at the gracious words coming out of His mouth. And they were saying, “Isn’t this the son of Joseph?”

²³ But He said to them, “Doubtless you will say to Me this proverb, ‘Doctor, heal yourself!’ and ‘What we have heard was done at Capernaum, do as much here also in your hometown.’”

²⁴ But He said, “Truly, I tell you, ‘No prophet is accepted in his own hometown.’ ²⁵ But with all truthfulness I say to you, that there were many widows in Israel in the days of Elijah, when heaven was closed for three and a half years and there came a great famine over all the land. ²⁶ Elijah was not sent to any of them, but only to Zarephath in the land of Sidon, to a widowed woman. ^{[h] 27} There were many with tzara’at in Israel in the time of Elisha the prophet, and none of them were purified apart from Naaman the Syrian.”^[i]

²⁸ Now all in the synagogue were filled with rage upon hearing these things. ²⁹ Rising up, they drove Him out of the town and brought Him as far as the edge of the mountain on which their city had been built, in order to throw Him off the cliff. ³⁰ But passing through the middle of them, He went on His way.

Healing and Deliverance in Capernaum and Beyond

³¹ Yeshua came down to Capernaum, a town in the Galilee. He was teaching them on Shabbat, ³² and they were astounded at His teaching because His message had authority. ³³ In the synagogue was a man who had an unclean demonic spirit, and he cried out with a loud voice, ³⁴ “Ah! What have we to do with You, Yeshua of Natzeret? Have You come to destroy us? I know who You are! You are the Holy One of God!”

³⁵ Yeshua rebuked him, saying, “Quiet! Come out of him!” And when the demon threw him down in their midst, it came out without hurting him.

³⁶ They were all amazed, and they spoke to one another, saying, “What is this message? For with authority and power He commands the unclean spirits, and they come out.” ³⁷ So His reputation grew, spreading to every place in that region.

³⁸ After He left the synagogue, Yeshua entered Simon’s home. Simon’s mother-in-law was suffering from a high fever, and they petitioned Him concerning her. ³⁹ Then standing over her, He rebuked the fever and it left her. Immediately she arose to wait on them.

⁴⁰ When the sun was setting, they brought to Yeshua all who were sick with various diseases. And He was laying hands on each one and healing them. ⁴¹ Even demons were coming out from many, shouting out and saying, “You are Ben-Elohim!”^[j] But He was rebuking them and not permitting them to speak, because they knew Him to be the Messiah.

⁴² Now when it was day, He left and went to a desert place. The crowds were searching for Him, and they came to Him and were trying to keep Him from leaving them. ⁴³ But He said to them, “I must proclaim the Good News of the kingdom of God^[k] to the other towns also. It was for this purpose I was sent.” ⁴⁴ So He kept preaching in the synagogues of Judea.

The Kingdom Is Coming Now

1 The beginning of the Good News of Yeshua ha-Mashiach, Ben-Elohim. ² As Isaiah the prophet has written,

⁴ John appeared, immersing in the wilderness, proclaiming an immersion involving repentance for the removal of sins. ⁵ All the Judean countryside was going out to him, and all the Jerusalemites. As they confessed their sins, they were being immersed by him in the Jordan River.

⁶ John wore clothes made from camel’s hair, with a leather belt around his waist, and he ate locusts and wild honey. ⁷ “After me comes One who is mightier than I am,” he proclaimed. “I’m not worthy to stoop down and untie the strap of His sandals! ⁸ I immersed you with water, but He will immerse you in the Ruach ha-Kodesh.”^[c]

The Spirit Rests on Yeshua

⁹ In those days, Yeshua came from Natzeret in the Galilee and was immersed by John in the Jordan. ¹⁰ Just as He was coming up out of the water, He saw the heavens ripping open and the Ruach as a dove coming down upon Him. ¹¹ And there came a voice from the heavens: “You are My Son, whom I love; with You I am well pleased!”^[d]

¹² That instant, the Ruach drives Him into the wilderness. ¹³ He was in the wilderness forty days, being tempted by satan. And He was with the wild beasts, and the angels were taking care of Him.

Fishermen Follow Him

¹⁴ Now after John was put in jail, Yeshua came into the Galilee, proclaiming the Good News of God. ¹⁵ “Now is the fullness of time,” He said, “and the kingdom of God is near! Turn away from your sins, and believe in the Good News!”

¹⁶ Passing along by the Sea of Galilee, He saw Simon and Simon’s brother Andrew casting a net in the sea, for they were fishermen. ¹⁷ And Yeshua said to them, “Follow Me, and I will make you become fishers of men.” ¹⁸ Immediately they left their nets and followed Him.

¹⁹ Going a little farther, He saw Jacob the son of Zebedee and John his brother, who were in their boat mending the nets. ²⁰ Immediately He called them, and they left their father Zebedee in the boat with the hired hands and followed Him.

Demons Flee at His Command

²¹ And they went into Capernaum. Right away, on Shabbat, He entered the synagogue and began to teach. ²² And they were astounded at His teaching, for He was teaching them as one having authority^[e] and not as the Torah scholars.

²³ Just then there was a man in their synagogue with an unclean spirit. And he cried out, ²⁴ “What have we to do with You, Yeshua of Natzeret? Have You come to destroy us? I know who You are! You’re the Holy One of God!”

²⁵ Yeshua rebuked him, saying, “Quiet! Come out of him!” ²⁶ And the unclean spirit, after throwing the man into convulsions and crying out with a loud voice, came out of him.

²⁷ They were all so amazed that they asked among themselves, “What is this? A new teaching with authority! He commands even the unclean spirits, and they obey Him!” ²⁸ And immediately news about Him spread throughout the region surrounding Galilee.

The Hurting Become Whole

²⁹ As soon as they left the synagogue, they went with Jacob and John to the house of Simon and Andrew. ³⁰ Now Simon’s mother-in-law was lying sick with a fever. Right away, they told Yeshua about her. ³¹ He came and raised her up by taking her hand. The fever left her, and she began to take care of them.

³² When evening came, at sunset, the people brought to Him all the sick and those who were afflicted by demons. ³³ The whole town gathered together at the door. ³⁴ He healed many who were sick with various diseases and drove out many demons. And He would not allow the demons to speak, because they knew who He was.

³⁵ Very early, while it was still night, Yeshua got up, left, and went away to a place in the wilderness; and there He was praying. ³⁶ Then Simon and those with him hunted for Yeshua. ³⁷ And when they found Him, they said to Him, “Everybody’s looking for You.”

³⁸ He said to them, “Let’s go somewhere else, to the neighboring towns, so that I may proclaim the message there also—this is what I came for.” ³⁹ And He went throughout all the Galilee, proclaiming the message in their synagogues and driving out demons.

⁴⁰ A man with tzara’at comes to Him, begging Him and falling on his knees, saying, “If You are willing, You can make me clean.”

⁴¹ Moved with compassion, Yeshua stretched out His hand and touched him. He said, “I am willing. Be cleansed.” ⁴² Immediately, the tzara’at left him, and he was cleansed.

⁴³ Yeshua sent him away at once, sternly warning him. ⁴⁴ He said to him, “See that you say nothing to anyone, but go show yourself to the kohen.^[f] Then, for your cleansing, offer what Moses commanded, as a testimony to them.” ⁴⁵ But he went out and began to proclaim and spread the word, so much that Yeshua could no longer enter a town openly but had to stay out in wilderness areas. Still, they kept on coming to Him from everywhere.