Chronological

John the Baptist Prepares the Way^(A)

3 About this time,^[a] John the Baptist appeared, preaching in the Judean wilderness, ² “Repent, because the kingdom from^[b] heaven is near!” ³ He was the one the prophet Isaiah was referring to when he said,

⁴ John had clothing made of camel’s hair and wore^[e] a leather belt around his waist. His diet consisted of grasshoppers^[f] and wild honey.

⁵ Then the people of^[g] Jerusalem, all Judea, and the entire region along the Jordan began flocking to him, ⁶ being baptized by him in the Jordan River while they confessed their sins.

⁷ But when John^[h] saw many Pharisees and Sadducees coming to where he was baptizing,^[i] he told them, “You children of serpents! Who warned you to flee from the coming wrath? ⁸ Produce fruit that is consistent with repentance! ⁹ Don’t think you can say to yourselves, ‘We have father Abraham!’ because I tell you that God can raise up descendants for Abraham from these stones! ¹⁰ The ax already lies against the roots of the trees. So every tree that isn’t producing good fruit will be cut down and thrown into the fire. ¹¹ I am baptizing you with^[j] water as evidence of repentance,^[k] but the one who is coming after me is stronger than I am, and I am not worthy to carry his sandals. It is he who will baptize you with^[l] the Holy Spirit and fire. ¹² His winnowing fork is in his hand. He will clean up his threshing floor and gather his grain into the barn, but he will burn the chaff with inextinguishable fire.”

Jesus is Baptized^(B)

¹³ Then Jesus came from Galilee to the Jordan to be baptized by John. ¹⁴ But John tried to stop him, saying, “I need to be baptized by you, and are you coming to me?”

¹⁵ But Jesus answered him, “Let it be this way for now, because this is the proper way for us to fulfill all righteousness.”^[m]

At this, he permitted him to be baptized.^{[n] 16} When Jesus had been baptized, he immediately came up out of the water. Suddenly, the heavens opened up for him, and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and coming to rest on him. ¹⁷ Then a voice from heaven said, “This is my Son, whom I love. I am pleased with him!”

John the Baptist Prepares the Way for Jesus^(A)

1 This is^[a] the beginning of the gospel of Jesus the Messiah,^[b] the Son of God.^{[c] 2} As it is written in the prophet Isaiah,

⁴ John was baptizing in the wilderness, proclaiming a baptism about repentance for the forgiveness of sins. ⁵ People from^[g] the whole Judean countryside and all the people of Jerusalem were flocking to him, being baptized by him while they confessed their sins. ⁶ Now John was dressed in camel’s hair with^[h] a leather belt around his waist. He ate grasshoppers^[i] and wild honey. ⁷ He kept proclaiming, “The one who is coming after me is stronger than I am, and I am not worthy to bend down and untie his sandal straps. ⁸ I baptized you with^[j] water, but it is he who will baptize you with^[k] the Holy Spirit.”

Jesus is Baptized^(B)

⁹ In those days Jesus came from Nazareth in Galilee and was baptized by John in the Jordan. ¹⁰ Just as he was coming up out of the water, he saw the heavens split open and the Spirit descending on him like a dove. ¹¹ Then a voice came from heaven: “You are my Son, whom I love. I am pleased with you!”

Jesus is Tempted by Satan^(C)

¹² At once the Spirit drove him into the wilderness. ¹³ He was in the wilderness for 40 days being tempted by Satan. He was among wild animals, and angels were ministering to him.

Jesus Begins His Ministry in Galilee^(D)

¹⁴ Now after John had been arrested, Jesus went to Galilee and proclaimed the gospel about the kingdom^[l] of God. ¹⁵ He said, “The time is now! The kingdom of God is near! Repent, and keep believing the gospel!”

Jesus Calls His First Disciples^(E)

¹⁶ While Jesus^[m] was walking beside the Sea of Galilee, he saw Simon and his brother Andrew. They were throwing a net into the sea because they were fishermen. ¹⁷ Jesus told them, “Follow me, and I’ll make you fishers of people!” ¹⁸ So immediately they left their nets and followed him. ¹⁹ Going on a little farther, he saw James, the son of Zebedee, and his brother John. They were in a boat repairing their nets. ²⁰ He immediately called them, and they left their father Zebedee in the boat with the hired men and followed him.

Jesus Heals a Man with an Unclean Spirit^(F)

²¹ Then they went to Capernaum. As soon as it was the Sabbaths, Jesus^[n] went into the synagogue and began to teach. ²² The people^[o] were utterly amazed at his teaching, because he was teaching them like one with authority, and not like their scribes. ²³ All of a sudden,^[p] there was a man in their synagogue who had an unclean spirit! He screamed, ²⁴ “What do you want with us, Jesus of Nazareth? Have you come to destroy us? I know who you are—the Holy One of God!”

²⁵ But Jesus rebuked him. “Be quiet,” he ordered, “and come out of him!” ²⁶ At this, the unclean spirit shook the man,^[q] cried out with a loud voice, and came out of him.

²⁷ All the people were so stunned that they kept saying to each other, “What is this? A new teaching with authority! He tells even the unclean spirits what to do, and they obey him!” ²⁸ At once his fame began to spread throughout the surrounding region of Galilee.

Jesus Heals Many People^(G)

²⁹ After they left the synagogue, they went directly to the house of Simon and Andrew, along with James and John. ³⁰ Now Simon’s mother-in-law was lying in bed, sick with a fever, so they promptly told Jesus^[r] about her. ³¹ He went up to her, took her by the hand, and helped her up. The fever left her, and she began serving them. ³² When evening came, after the sun had set, people^[s] started bringing to him everyone who was sick or possessed by demons. ³³ In fact, the whole city gathered at the door. ³⁴ He healed many who were sick with various diseases and drove out many demons. However, he wouldn’t allow the demons to speak because they knew who he was.

Jesus Goes on a Preaching Tour^(H)

³⁵ In the morning, while it was still very dark, Jesus^[t] got up and went to a deserted place and prayed there. ³⁶ Simon and his companions searched frantically for him. ³⁷ When they found him, they told him, “Everyone’s looking for you.”

³⁸ “Let’s go to the neighboring town,” he replied, “so I can preach there, too, because that’s why I came.” ³⁹ So he went throughout Galilee, preaching in their synagogues and driving out demons.

Jesus Cleanses a Leper^(I)

⁴⁰ Then a leper^[u] came to Jesus^[v] and began pleading with him. He fell on his knees and told him, “If you want to, you can make me clean.”

⁴¹ Moved with compassion, Jesus^[w] reached out his hand, touched him, and told him, “I do want to. Be made clean!” ⁴² Instantly the leprosy left him, and he was clean.

⁴³ Then Jesus^[x] sternly warned him and encouraged him to go at once. ⁴⁴ He told the man, “Be sure that you don’t tell anyone. Instead, go and show yourself to the priest, and then offer for your cleansing what Moses commanded as proof to the authorities.”^{[y] 45} But when the man^[z] left, he began to proclaim it freely. He spread the news so widely that Jesus^[aa] could no longer enter a town openly, but had to stay out in deserted places. Still, people^[ab] kept coming to him from everywhere.

John the Baptist Prepares the Way for Jesus^(A)

3 Now in the fifteenth year of the reign of Caesar Tiberius, when Pontius Pilate was governor of Judea, Herod tetrarch of Galilee, his brother Philip tetrarch of the region of Ituraea and Trachonitis, Lysanias tetrarch of Abilene, ² and Annas and Caiaphas high priests, a message from God came to John, the son of Zechariah, in the wilderness. ³ John^[a] went throughout the entire Jordan region, proclaiming a baptism about repentance for the forgiveness of sins, ⁴ as it is written in the book of the words of the prophet Isaiah,

⁷ John would say to the crowds that were coming out to be baptized by him, “You children of serpents! Who warned you to flee from the coming wrath? ⁸ Produce fruit that is consistent with repentance! Don’t begin to say to yourselves, ‘We have father Abraham!’ because I tell you that God can raise up descendants for Abraham from these stones! ⁹ The ax already lies against the roots of the trees. So every tree not producing good fruit will be cut down and thrown into a fire.”

¹⁰ The crowds kept asking him, “What, then, should we do?”

¹¹ He answered them, “The person who has two coats must share with the one who doesn’t have any, and the person who has food must do the same.”

¹² Even some tax collectors came to be baptized. They asked him, “Teacher, what should we do?”

¹³ He told them, “Stop collecting more money than the amount you are told to collect.”

¹⁴ Even some soldiers were asking him, “And what should we do?”

He told them, “Never extort money from anyone by threats or blackmail, and be satisfied with your pay.”

¹⁵ Now the people were filled with expectation, and all of them were wondering if John was perhaps the Messiah.^{[e] 16} John replied to all of them, “I’m baptizing you with^[f] water, but one is coming who is more powerful than I, and I’m not worthy to untie his sandal straps. It is he who will baptize you with^[g] the Holy Spirit and fire. ¹⁷ His winnowing fork is in his hand to clean up his threshing floor. He’ll gather the grain into his barn, but he’ll burn the chaff with inextinguishable fire.”

¹⁸ With many other exhortations John^[h] continued to proclaim the good news to the people. ¹⁹ Now Herod the tetrarch had been rebuked by John^[i] because he had married^[j] his brother’s wife Herodias and because of all of the other evil things Herod had done. ²⁰ Added to all this, Herod^[k] locked John up in prison.

Jesus is Baptized^(B)

²¹ When all the people had been baptized, Jesus, too, was baptized. While he was praying, heaven opened, ²² and the Holy Spirit descended on him, appearing in the form of a dove. Then a voice came from heaven, saying,^[l] “You are my Son, whom I love. I am pleased with you!”^[m]

The Ancestry of Jesus^(C)

²³ Jesus himself was about 30 years old when he began his ministry.^[n] He was (as legally calculated)^[o] the son of Joseph, the son of Heli, ²⁴ the son of Matthat, the son of Levi, the son of Melchi, the son of Jannai, the son of Joseph, ²⁵ the son of Mattathias, the son of Amos, the son of Nahum, the son of Esli, the son of Naggai, ²⁶ the son of Maath, the son of Mattathias, the son of Semein, the son of Josech, the son of Joda, ²⁷ the son of Joanan, the son of Rhesa, the son of Zerubbabel, the son of Shealtiel,^[p] the son of Neri, ²⁸ the son of Melchi, the son of Addi, the son of Cosam, the son of Elmadam, the son of Er, ²⁹ the son of Joshua, the son of Eliezer, the son of Jorim, the son of Matthat, the son of Levi, ³⁰ the son of Simeon, the son of Judah, the son of Joseph, the son of Jonam, the son of Eliakim, ³¹ the son of Melea, the son of Menna, the son of Mattatha, the son of Nathan, the son of David, ³² the son of Jesse, the son of Obed, the son of Boaz, the son of Salmon,^[q] the son of Nahshon, ³³ the son of Amminadab, the son of Admin, the son of Arni, the son of Hezron, the son of Perez, the son of Judah, ³⁴ the son of Jacob, the son of Isaac, the son of Abraham, the son of Terah, the son of Nahor, ³⁵ the son of Serug, the son of Reu, the son of Peleg, the son of Eber, the son of Shelah, ³⁶ the son of Cainan,^[r] the son of Arphaxad, the son of Shem, the son of Noah, the son of Lamech, ³⁷ the son of Methuselah, the son of Enoch, the son of Jared, the son of Mahalaleel, the son of Cainan, ³⁸ the son of Enos, the son of Seth, the son of Adam, the son of God.