Chronological

John the Baptist Makes the Way Ready for Jesus ^(A)

3 In those days John the Baptist came preaching in the desert in the country of Judea. ² He said, “Be sorry for your sins and turn from them! The holy nation of heaven is near.” ³ The early preacher Isaiah spoke of this man. He said, “Listen! His voice calls out in the desert! ‘Make the way ready for the Lord. Make the road straight for Him!’” ^(B)

⁴ John wore clothes made of hair from camels. He had a leather belt around him. His food was locusts and wild honey.

⁵ Then the people of Jerusalem and of all the country of Judea and those from near the Jordan River went to him. ⁶ Those who told of their sins were baptized by him in the Jordan River. ⁷ He saw many proud religious law-keepers and other people of the religious group who believe no one will be raised from the dead. They were coming to him to be baptized. He said to them, “You family of snakes! Who told you how to keep from God’s anger that is coming? ⁸ Do something to show me that your hearts are changed. ⁹ Do not think you can say to yourselves, ‘We have Abraham as our father.’ For I tell you, God can make children for Abraham out of these stones.

¹⁰ “Even now the ax is on the root of the trees. Every tree that does not give good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. ¹¹ For sure, I baptize with water those who are sorry for their sins and turn from them. The One Who comes after me will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and with fire. He is greater than I. I am not good enough to take off His shoes. ¹² He comes ready to clean the grain. He will gather the grain in and clean it all. The clean grain He will put into a building. He will burn that which is no good with a fire that cannot be put out.”

The Baptism of Jesus ^(C)

¹³ Jesus came from Galilee. He went to John at the Jordan River to be baptized by him. ¹⁴ John tried to stop Him. He said, “I need to be baptized by You. Do You come to me?” ¹⁵ Jesus said to him, “Let it be done now. We should do what is right.” John agreed and baptized Jesus. ¹⁶ When Jesus came up out of the water, the heavens opened. He saw the Spirit of God coming down and resting on Jesus like a dove. ¹⁷ A voice was heard from heaven. It said, “This is My much-loved Son. I am very happy with Him.”

John the Baptist Makes the Way Ready for the Coming of Jesus ^(A)

1 The Good News of Jesus Christ, the Son of God, ² begins with the words of the early preachers: “Listen! I will send My helper to carry the news ahead of you. He will make the way ready. ³ His voice calls out in the desert, ‘Make the way ready for the Lord. Make the road straight for Him!’” ^(B)

⁴ John the Baptist preached in the desert. He preached that people should be baptized because they were sorry for their sins and had turned from them. And they would be forgiven. ⁵ People from over all the country of Judea and from Jerusalem came to him. They told of their sins and were baptized by John in the Jordan River.

⁶ John wore clothes made of hair from camels. He had a leather belt around him. His food was locusts and wild honey. ⁷ He preached, saying, “One is coming after me Who is greater than I. I am not good enough to get down and help Him take off His shoes. ⁸ I have baptized you with water. But He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit.”

The Baptism of Jesus ^(C)

⁹ Jesus came to the Jordan River from the town of Nazareth in the country of Galilee. He was baptized by John. ¹⁰ As soon as Jesus came up out of the water, He saw heaven open up. The Holy Spirit came down on Him like a dove. ¹¹ A voice came from heaven and said, “You are My much-loved Son. I am very happy with You.”

Jesus Was Tempted ^(D)

¹² At once the Holy Spirit sent Jesus to a desert. ¹³ He was tempted by Satan for forty days there. He was with wild animals but angels took care of Him.

Jesus Preaches in Galilee ^(E)

¹⁴ After John the Baptist was put in prison, Jesus came to the country of Galilee. He preached the Good News of God. ¹⁵ He said, “The time has come. The holy nation of God is near. Be sorry for your sins, turn from them, and believe the Good News.”

Jesus Calls Simon and Andrew ^(F)

¹⁶ Jesus was walking by the Sea of Galilee. He saw Simon and his brother Andrew putting a net into the sea. They were fishermen. ¹⁷ Jesus said to them, “Follow Me. I will make you fish for men!” ¹⁸ At once they left their nets and followed Him.

Jesus Calls James and John

¹⁹ Jesus went on a little farther. He saw James and his brother John who were sons of Zebedee. They were in a boat mending their nets. ²⁰ Jesus called them and they left their father Zebedee. He was in the boat with men who were working for him.

Jesus Heals a Man with a Demon ^(G)

²¹ Jesus and His followers went to the city of Capernaum on the Day of Rest. They went to the Jewish place of worship where Jesus taught the people. ²² The people were surprised and wondered about His teaching. He taught them as One Who had the right and the power to teach and not as the teachers of the Law.

²³ There was a man in the Jewish place of worship who had a demon. The demon cried out, ²⁴ “What do You want of us, Jesus of Nazareth? Have You come to destroy us? I know Who You are. You are the Holy One of God.” ²⁵ Jesus spoke sharp words to the demon and said, “Do not talk! Come out of the man!” ²⁶ The demon threw the man down and gave a loud cry. Then he came out of him. ²⁷ The people were all surprised and wondered. They asked each other, “What is this? Is this a new teaching? He speaks with power even to the demons and they obey Him!” ²⁸ At once the news about Jesus went through all the country around Galilee.

Peter’s Mother-In-law Healed ^(H)

²⁹ Jesus and His followers came out of the Jewish place of worship. Then they went to the house of Simon and Andrew. James and John went with them. ³⁰ They told Jesus about Simon’s mother-in-law who was in bed, very sick. ³¹ He went and took her by the hand and raised her up. At once her sickness was gone. She got up and cared for them.

Jesus Heals in Galilee ^(I)

³² In the evening as the sun went down, the people took all who were sick to Jesus. They took those who had demons to Him. ³³ All the town gathered at the door. ³⁴ Jesus healed those who were sick of many kinds of diseases. He put out many demons. Jesus would not allow the demons to speak because they knew Who He was.

Jesus Keeps On Preaching in Galilee ^(J)

³⁵ In the morning before the sun was up, Jesus went to a place where He could be alone. He prayed there. ³⁶ Simon and the others looked for Jesus. ³⁷ They found Him and said, “All the people are looking for You.” ³⁸ Jesus said to the followers, “Let us go to the towns near here so I can preach there also. That is why I came.” ³⁹ He went through Galilee. He preached in their places of worship and put out demons.

Jesus Heals a Man with a Bad Skin Disease ^(K)

⁴⁰ A man came to Jesus with a bad skin disease. This man got down on his knees and begged Jesus, saying, “If You want to, You can heal me.” ⁴¹ Jesus put His hand on him with loving-pity. He said, “I want to. Be healed.” ⁴² At once the disease was gone and the man was healed. ⁴³ Jesus spoke strong words to the man before He sent him away. ⁴⁴ He said to him, “Tell no one about this. Go and let the religious leader of the Jews see you. Give the gifts Moses has told you to give when a man is healed of a disease. Let the leaders know you have been healed.” ⁴⁵ But the man went out and talked about it everywhere. After this Jesus could not go to any town if people knew He was there. He had to stay in the desert. People came to Him from everywhere.

John the Baptist Makes the Way Ready for Jesus ^(A)

3 Tiberius Caesar had been ruler for fifteen years. Pontius Pilate was ruler of the country of Judea. Herod was the ruler of the country of Galilee. His brother Philip was the ruler of the countries of Ituraea and Trachonitis. Lysanias was the ruler of the country of Abilene. ² Annas and Caiaphas were the head religious leaders.

The Word of God came to John the Baptist, the son of Zacharias. John was in the desert. ³ He went into all the country around the Jordan River. He preached that people should be baptized because they were sorry for their sins and had turned from them, and they would be forgiven. ⁴ The early preacher Isaiah wrote these words: “His voice calls out in the desert. ‘Make the way ready for the Lord. Make the road straight for Him! ⁵ Every valley will be filled and every mountain and hill will be brought down. The turns in the road will be made straight and the rough places will be made smooth. ⁶ And all men will see God saving people from the punishment of their sins.’” ^(B)

⁷ John said to the people who came to be baptized by him, “You family of snakes! Who told you how to keep from the anger of God that is coming? ⁸ Do something to let me see that you have turned from your sins. Do not begin to say to yourselves, ‘We have Abraham as our father.’ I tell you, God can make children for Abraham out of these stones. ⁹ Even now the ax is on the root of the trees. Every tree that does not give good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire.” ¹⁰ The people asked him, “Then what should we do?” ¹¹ He answered them, “If you have two coats, give one to him who has none. If you have food, you must share some.” ¹² Tax-gatherers came to be baptized also. They asked him, “Teacher, what are we to do?” ¹³ He said to them, “Do not take more money from people than you should.” ¹⁴ Also soldiers asked him, “What are we to do?” He answered them, “Take no money from anyone by using your own strength. Do not lie about anyone. Be happy with the pay you get.”

¹⁵ The people were looking for something to happen. They were thinking in their hearts about John the Baptist. They wondered if he might be the Christ. ¹⁶ But John said to all of them, “I baptize you with water. There is One coming Who is greater than I. I am not good enough to get down and help Him take off His shoes. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and with fire. ¹⁷ He comes ready to clean the grain. He will gather the grain and clean it all. He will put the clean grain into a building. But He will burn that which is no good with a fire that cannot be put out.”

John the Baptist Is Put in Prison ^(C)

¹⁸ John spoke much more as he preached the Good News to the people. ¹⁹ He had also spoken sharp words to Herod the ruler because of Herodias. She was his brother Philip’s wife. And John spoke to Herod about all the wrongs he had done. ²⁰ To all these, Herod added another sin by putting John in prison.

The Baptism of Jesus ^(D)

²¹ When all the people were being baptized, Jesus was baptized also. As He prayed, the heaven opened. ²² The Holy Spirit came down on Him in a body like a dove. A voice came from heaven and said, “You are My much-loved Son. I am very happy with You.”

The Family of Jesus through Mary ^(E)

²³ Jesus was about thirty years old when He began His work. People thought Jesus was the son of Joseph, the son of Heli. ²⁴ Heli was the son of Matthat. Matthat was the son of Levi. Levi was the son of Melchi. Melchi was the son of Jannai. Jannai was the son of Joseph. ²⁵ Joseph was the son of Mattathias. Mattathias was the son of Amos. Amos was the son of Nahum. Nahum was the son of Esli. Esli was the son of Naggai. ²⁶ Naggai was the son of Maath. Maath was the son of Mattathias. Mattathias was the son of Semein. Semein was the son of Josech. Josech was the son of Juda. ²⁷ Juda was the son of Johanan. Johanan was the son of Rhesa. Rhesa was the son of Zerubbabel. Zerubbabel was the son of Salathiel. Salathiel was the son of Neri. ²⁸ Neri was the son of Melchi. Melchi was the son of Addi. Addi was the son of Cosam. Cosam was the son of Elmadam. Elmadam was the son of Er. ²⁹ Er was the son of Joshua. Joshua was the son of Eliezer. Eliezer was the son of Jorim. Jorim was the son of Matthat. Matthat was the son of Levi. ³⁰ Levi was the son of Simeon. Simeon was the son of Judah. Judah was the son of Joseph. Joseph was the son of Janam. Janam was the son of Eliakim. ³¹ Eliakim was the son of Melea. Melea was the son of Menna. Menna was the son of Mattatha. Mattatha was the son of Nathan. Nathan was the son of David. ³² David was the son of Jesse. Jesse was the son of Obed. Obed was the son of Boaz. Boaz was the son of Salmon. Salmon was the son of Nahshon. ³³ Nahshon was the son of Amminadab. Amminadab was the son of Admin. Admin was the son of Ram. Ram was the son of Hezron. Hezron was the son of Perez. Perez was the son of Judah. ³⁴ Judah was the son of Jacob. Jacob was the son of Isaac. Isaac was the son of Abraham. Abraham was the son of Terah. Terah was the son of Nahor. ³⁵ Nahor was the son of Serug. Serug was the son of Ragau. Ragau was the son of Peleg. Peleg was the son of Eber. Eber was the son of Shelah. ³⁶ Shelah was the son of Cainan. Cainan was the son of Arphaxad. Arphaxad was the son of Shem. Shem was the son of Noah. Noah was the son of Lamech. ³⁷ Lamech was the son of Methuselah. Methuselah was the son of Enoch. Enoch was the son of Jared. Jared was the son of Mahalaleel. Mahaleel was the son of Cainan. ³⁸ Cainan was the son of Enos. Enos was the son of Seth. Seth was the son of Adam. Adam was the son of God.