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.

Jesus Heals Many

^29 (AY)And immediately he^{[g] (AZ)}left the synagogue and entered the house of Simon and Andrew, with James and John. ³⁰ Now ^(BA)Simon's mother-in-law lay ill with a fever, and immediately they told him about her. ³¹ And he came and ^(BB)took her by the hand and lifted her up, and the fever left her, and she began to serve them.

³² That evening at sundown they brought to him all who were sick or ^(BC)oppressed by demons. ³³ And the whole city was gathered together at the door. ^34 (BD)And he healed many who were sick with various diseases, and cast out many demons. And ^(BE)he would not permit the demons to speak, because they knew him.

Jesus Preaches in Galilee

^35 (BF)And rising very early in the morning, while it was still dark, he departed and went out to a desolate place, and ^(BG)there he prayed. ³⁶ And Simon and those who were with him searched for him, ³⁷ and they found him and said to him, ^(BH)“Everyone is looking for you.” ³⁸ And he said to them, “Let us go on to the next towns, that I may preach there also, for ^(BI)that is why I came out.” ^39 (BJ)And ^(BK)he went throughout all Galilee, preaching in their synagogues and casting out demons.

Jesus Cleanses a Leper

^40 (BL)And a leper^[h] came to him, imploring him, and ^(BM)kneeling said to him, ^(BN)“If you will, you can make me clean.” ⁴¹ Moved with pity, he stretched out his hand and touched him and said to him, “I will; be clean.” ⁴² And immediately the leprosy left him, and he was made clean. ⁴³ And ^(BO)Jesus^[i] sternly charged him and sent him away at once, ⁴⁴ and said to him, ^(BP)“See that you say nothing to anyone, but go, ^(BQ)show yourself to the priest and ^(BR)offer for your cleansing what Moses commanded, ^(BS)for a proof to them.” ^45 (BT)But he went out and began to talk freely about it, and to spread the news, so that Jesus could no longer openly enter ^(BU)a town, but was out in ^(BV)desolate places, and ^(BW)people were coming to him from every quarter.

The Temptation of Jesus

4 ^(A)Then Jesus was led up by the Spirit into the wilderness ^(B)to be tempted by the devil. ² And after fasting ^(C)forty days and forty nights, he ^(D)was hungry. ³ And ^(E)the tempter came and said to him, “If you are ^(F)the Son of God, command ^(G)these stones to become loaves of bread.” ⁴ But he answered, ^(H)“It is written,

^5 (J)Then the devil took him to ^(K)the holy city and set him on the pinnacle of the temple ⁶ and said to him, “If you are the Son of God, throw yourself down, for it is written,

and

⁷ Jesus said to him, “Again ^(M)it is written, ^(N)‘You shall not ^(O)put the Lord your God to the test.’” ^8 (P)Again, the devil took him to a very high mountain and showed him all the kingdoms of the world and their glory. ⁹ And he said to him, “All these I will give you, if you will fall down and worship me.” ¹⁰ Then Jesus said to him, “Be gone, ^(Q)Satan! For ^(R)it is written,

¹¹ Then the devil left him, and behold, ^(U)angels came and were ministering to him.

Jesus Begins His Ministry

¹² Now when he heard that ^(V)John had been arrested, ^(W)he withdrew into Galilee. ¹³ And leaving ^(X)Nazareth he went and lived in ^(Y)Capernaum by ^(Z)the sea, in the territory of ^(AA)Zebulun and Naphtali, ^14 (AB)so that what was spoken by the prophet Isaiah might be fulfilled:

^17 (AF)From that time Jesus began to preach, saying, ^(AG)“Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.”^[a]

Jesus Calls the First Disciples

^18 (AH)While walking by ^(AI)the Sea of Galilee, he saw two brothers, Simon (who is called Peter) and Andrew his brother, casting a net into the sea, for they were fishermen. ¹⁹ And he said to them, “Follow me, and I will make you ^(AJ)fishers of men.”^{[b] 20} Immediately they left their nets and followed him. ²¹ And going on from there he saw two other brothers, James the son of Zebedee and John his brother, 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.

Jesus Ministers to Great Crowds

^23 (AK)And he went throughout all Galilee, ^(AL)teaching in their synagogues and ^(AM)proclaiming the gospel of the kingdom and ^(AN)healing every disease and every affliction among the people. ²⁴ So his fame spread throughout all ^(AO)Syria, and ^(AP)they brought him all the sick, those afflicted with various diseases and ^(AQ)pains, ^(AR)those oppressed by demons, ^(AS)those having seizures, and ^(AT)paralytics, and he healed them. ^25 (AU)And great crowds followed him from Galilee and the ^(AV)Decapolis, and from Jerusalem and Judea, and from beyond the Jordan.

The Temptation of Jesus

4 ^(A)And Jesus, ^(B)full of the Holy Spirit, ^(C)returned from the Jordan and was led ^(D)by the Spirit in the wilderness ² for ^(E)forty days, ^(F)being tempted by the devil. ^(G)And he ate nothing during those days. And when they were ended, ^(H)he was hungry. ³ The devil said to him, “If you are ^(I)the Son of God, command ^(J)this stone to become bread.” ⁴ And Jesus answered him, ^(K)“It is written, ^(L)‘Man shall not live by bread alone.’” ^5 (M)And the devil took him up and showed him all the kingdoms of the world in a moment of time, ⁶ and said to him, “To you ^(N)I will give all this authority and their glory, ^(O)for it has been delivered to me, and I give it to whom I will. ⁷ If you, then, will worship me, it will all be yours.” ⁸ And Jesus answered him, ^(P)“It is written,

^9 (S)And he took him to Jerusalem and set him on the pinnacle of the temple and said to him, “If you are ^(T)the Son of God, throw yourself down from here, ¹⁰ for it is written,

¹¹ and

¹² And Jesus answered him, “It is said, ^(W)‘You shall not ^(X)put the Lord your God to the test.’” ¹³ And when the devil had ended every temptation, he departed from him ^(Y)until an opportune time.

Jesus Begins His Ministry

^14 (Z)And Jesus returned ^(AA)in the power of the Spirit to Galilee, and ^(AB)a report about him went out through all the surrounding country. ¹⁵ And ^(AC)he taught in their synagogues, being glorified by all.

Jesus Rejected at Nazareth

^16 (AD)And he came to ^(AE)Nazareth, where he had been brought up. And ^(AF)as was his custom, ^(AG)he went to the synagogue on the Sabbath day, and he stood up ^(AH)to read. ¹⁷ And ^(AI)the scroll of the prophet Isaiah was given to him. He unrolled the scroll and found the place where it was written,

²⁰ And he rolled up the scroll and gave it back to the attendant and ^(AQ)sat down. And the eyes of all in the synagogue were ^(AR)fixed on him. ²¹ And he began to say to them, “Today ^(AS)this Scripture ^(AT)has been fulfilled in your hearing.” ²² And all spoke well of him and marveled at ^(AU)the gracious words that were coming from his mouth. And they said, ^(AV)“Is not this ^(AW)Joseph's son?” ²³ And he said to them, “Doubtless you will quote to me this proverb, ^(AX)‘“Physician, heal yourself.” What we have heard you did ^(AY)at Capernaum, do here in your hometown as well.’” ²⁴ And he said, “Truly, I say to you, ^(AZ)no prophet is acceptable in his hometown. ²⁵ But in truth, I tell you, there were many widows in Israel in the days of Elijah, when ^(BA)the heavens were shut up three years and six months, and a great famine came over all the land, ²⁶ and Elijah was sent to none of them ^(BB)but only to Zarephath, in the land of Sidon, to a woman who was a widow. ²⁷ And ^(BC)there were many lepers^[a] in Israel in the time of the prophet Elisha, and none of them was cleansed, ^(BD)but only Naaman the Syrian.” ²⁸ When they heard these things, all in the synagogue were filled with wrath. ²⁹ And they rose up and ^(BE)drove him out of the town and brought him to the brow of the hill on which their town was built, so that they could throw him down the cliff. ³⁰ But ^(BF)passing through their midst, he went away.

Jesus Heals a Man with an Unclean Demon

^31 (BG)And he ^(BH)went down to Capernaum, a city of Galilee. And ^(BI)he was teaching them ^(BJ)on the Sabbath, ³² and ^(BK)they were astonished at his teaching, ^(BL)for his word possessed authority. ³³ And ^(BM)in the synagogue there was a man who had the spirit of an unclean demon, and he cried out with a loud voice, ³⁴ “Ha!^{[b] (BN)}What have you to do with us, Jesus of Nazareth? Have you come to destroy us? ^(BO)I know who you are—^(BP)the Holy One of God.” ³⁵ But Jesus ^(BQ)rebuked him, saying, “Be silent and come out of him!” And when the demon had thrown him down in their midst, he came out of him, having done him no harm. ³⁶ And ^(BR)they were all amazed and said to one another, “What is this word? ^(BS)For with authority and power he commands the unclean spirits, and they come out!” ³⁷ And ^(BT)reports about him went out into every place in the surrounding region.

Jesus Heals Many

^38 (BU)And he arose and left the synagogue and entered Simon's house. Now ^(BV)Simon's mother-in-law was ill with a high fever, and they appealed to him on her behalf. ³⁹ And he stood over her and ^(BW)rebuked the fever, and it left her, and immediately she rose and began to serve them.

⁴⁰ Now when the sun was setting, all those who had any who were sick with various diseases brought them to him, and ^(BX)he laid his hands on every one of them and healed them. ^41 (BY)And demons also came out of many, ^(BZ)crying, “You are ^(CA)the Son of God!” But he rebuked them and ^(CB)would not allow them to speak, because they knew that he was ^(CC)the Christ.

Jesus Preaches in Synagogues

^42 (CD)And when it was day, he departed and went ^(CE)into a desolate place. And ^(CF)the people sought him and came to him, and would have kept him from leaving them, ⁴³ but he said to them, ^(CG)“I must ^(CH)preach the good news of the kingdom of God to the other towns as well; for I was sent for this purpose.” ⁴⁴ And he was preaching ^(CI)in the synagogues of Judea.^[c]