Chronological
John Prepares the Way for Jesus(A)
3 When it was the right time, John the Baptizer began telling people a message from God. This was out in the desert area of Judea. 2 John said, “Change your hearts and lives, because God’s kingdom is now very near.[a]” 3 John is the one Isaiah the prophet was talking about when he said,
“There is someone shouting in the desert:
‘Prepare the way for the Lord.
Make the road straight for him.’” (B)
4 John’s clothes were made from camel’s hair, and he had a leather belt around his waist. For food, he ate locusts and wild honey. 5 People came to John from Jerusalem and the rest of Judea and from all the areas along the Jordan River. 6 They confessed the bad things they had done, and John baptized them in the Jordan.
7 Many Pharisees and Sadducees came to where John was baptizing people. When John saw them, he said, “You are all snakes! Who warned you to run from God’s judgment that is coming? 8 Change your hearts! And show by the way you live that you have changed. 9 I know what you are thinking. You want to say, ‘but Abraham is our father!’ That means nothing. I tell you, God could make children for Abraham from these rocks. 10 The ax is now ready to cut down the trees.[b] Every tree that does not produce good fruit will be cut down and thrown into the fire.
11 “I baptize you with water to show that you have changed your hearts and lives. But there is someone coming later who is able to do more than I can. I am not good enough to be the slave who takes off his sandals. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and with fire. 12 He will come ready to clean the grain.[c] He will separate the good grain from the straw, and he will put the good part into his barn. Then he will burn the useless part with a fire that cannot be stopped.”
Jesus Is Baptized by John(C)
13 Then Jesus came from Galilee to the Jordan River. He came to John, wanting John to baptize him. 14 But John tried to stop him. John said, “Why do you come to me to be baptized? I should be baptized by you!”
15 Jesus answered, “Let it be this way for now. We should do whatever God says is right.” Then John agreed.
16 So Jesus was baptized. As soon as he came up out of the water, the sky opened, and he saw God’s Spirit coming down on him like a dove. 17 A voice from heaven said, “This is my Son, the one I love. I am very pleased with him.”
John Prepares the Way for Jesus(A)
1 The Good News about Jesus the Messiah, the Son of God,[a] begins 2 with what the prophet Isaiah said would happen. He wrote:
“Listen! I will send my messenger ahead of you.
He will prepare the way for you.” (B)
3 “There is someone shouting in the desert:
‘Prepare the way for the Lord.
Make the road straight for him.’” (C)
4 So John the Baptizer came and was baptizing people in the desert area. He told them to be baptized to show that they wanted to change their lives, and then their sins would be forgiven. 5 All the people from Judea, including everyone from Jerusalem, came out to John. They confessed the bad things they had done, and he baptized them in the Jordan River.
6 John wore clothes made from camel’s hair and a leather belt around his waist. He ate locusts and wild honey.
7 This is what John told the people: “There is someone coming later who is able to do more than I can. I am not good enough to be the slave who stoops down to untie his sandals. 8 I baptize you with water, but the one who is coming will baptize you with the Holy Spirit.”
Jesus Is Baptized by John(D)
9 About that time Jesus came from the town of Nazareth in Galilee to the place where John was. John baptized Jesus in the Jordan River. 10 As Jesus was coming up out of the water, he saw the sky torn open. The Spirit came down on him like a dove. 11 A voice came from heaven and said, “You are my Son, the one I love. I am very pleased with you.”
Jesus Goes Away to Be Tempted(E)
12 Then the Spirit sent Jesus into the desert alone. 13 He was there for 40 days, being tempted by Satan. During this time he was out among the wild animals. Then angels came and helped him.
Jesus Begins His Work in Galilee(F)
14 After John was put in prison, Jesus went into Galilee and told people the Good News from God. 15 He said, “The right time is now here. God’s kingdom is very near.[b] Change your hearts and lives, and believe the Good News!”
Jesus Chooses Some Followers(G)
16 Jesus was walking by Lake Galilee. He saw Simon[c] and his brother Andrew. These two men were fishermen, and they were throwing a net into the lake to catch fish. 17 Jesus said to them, “Come, follow me, and I will make you a different kind of fishermen. You will bring in people, not fish.” 18 So they immediately left their nets and followed Jesus.
19 Jesus continued walking by Lake Galilee. He saw two more brothers, James and John, the sons of Zebedee. They were in their boat, preparing their nets to catch fish. 20 Their father Zebedee and the men who worked for him were in the boat with the brothers. When Jesus saw the brothers, he told them to come. They left their father and followed Jesus.
Jesus Frees a Man From an Evil Spirit(H)
21 Jesus and his followers went to Capernaum. On the Sabbath day, Jesus went into the synagogue and taught the people. 22 They were amazed at his teaching. He did not teach like their teachers of the law. He taught like someone with authority. 23 While Jesus was in the synagogue, a man was there who had an evil spirit inside him. The man shouted, 24 “Jesus of Nazareth! What do you want with us? Did you come to destroy us? I know who you are—God’s Holy One!”
25 Jesus, his voice full of warning, said, “Be quiet, and come out of him!” 26 The evil spirit made the man shake. Then the spirit made a loud noise and came out of him.
27 The people were amazed. They asked each other, “What is happening here? This man is teaching something new, and he teaches with authority! He even commands evil spirits, and they obey him.” 28 So the news about Jesus spread quickly everywhere in the area of Galilee.
Jesus Heals Many People(I)
29 Jesus and the followers left the synagogue. They all went with James and John to the home of Simon and Andrew. 30 Simon’s mother-in-law was very sick. She was in bed and had a fever. The people there told Jesus about her. 31 So he went to her bed. Jesus held her hand and helped her stand up. The fever left her, and she was healed. Then she began serving them.
32 That night, after the sun went down, the people brought to Jesus many who were sick. They also brought those who had demons inside them. 33 Everyone in the town gathered at the door of that house. 34 Jesus healed many of those who had different kinds of sicknesses. He also forced many demons out of people. But he would not allow the demons to speak, because they knew who he was.[d]
Jesus Goes to Other Towns(J)
35 The next morning Jesus woke up very early. He left the house while it was still dark and went to a place where he could be alone and pray. 36 Later, Simon and his friends went to look for Jesus. 37 They found him and said, “Everyone is looking for you!”
38 Jesus answered, “We should go to another place. We can go to other towns around here, and I can tell God’s message to those people too. That is why I came.” 39 So Jesus traveled everywhere in Galilee. He spoke in the synagogues, and he forced demons out of people.
Jesus Heals a Sick Man(K)
40 A man who had leprosy came to Jesus. The man bowed on his knees and begged him, “You have the power to heal me if you want.”
41 These last words made Jesus angry.[e] But he touched him and said, “I want to heal you. Be healed!” 42 Immediately the leprosy disappeared, and the man was healed.
43 Jesus told the man to go, but he gave him a strong warning: 44 “Don’t tell anyone about what I did for you. But go and let the priest look at you.[f] And offer a gift to God because you have been healed. Offer the gift that Moses commanded.[g] This will show everyone that you are healed.” 45 The man left there and told everyone he saw that Jesus had healed him. So the news about Jesus spread. And that is why he could not enter a town if people saw him. He stayed in places where people did not live. But people came from all the towns to the places where he was.
John Prepares the Way for Jesus(A)
3 It was the 15th year of the rule of Tiberius Caesar. These men were under Caesar:
Pontius Pilate, the governor of Judea;
Herod, the ruler of Galilee;
Philip, Herod’s brother, the ruler of Iturea and Trachonitis;
Lysanias, the ruler of Abilene.
2 Annas and Caiaphas were the high priests. During this time, John, the son of Zechariah, was living in the desert, and he received a message from God. 3 So he went through the whole area around the Jordan River and told the people God’s message. He told them to be baptized to show that they wanted to change their lives, and then their sins would be forgiven. 4 This is like the words written in the book of Isaiah the prophet:
“There is someone shouting in the desert:
‘Prepare the way for the Lord.
Make the road straight for him.
5 Every valley will be filled,
and every mountain and hill will be made flat.
Crooked roads will be made straight,
and rough roads will be made smooth.
6 Then everyone will see
how God will save his people!’” (B)
7 Crowds of people came to be baptized by John. But he said to them, “You are all snakes! Who warned you to run from God’s judgment that is coming? 8 Change your hearts! And show by your lives that you have changed. I know what you are about to say—‘but Abraham is our father!’ That means nothing. I tell you that God can make children for Abraham from these rocks! 9 The ax is now ready to cut down the trees.[a] Every tree that does not produce good fruit will be cut down and thrown into the fire.”
10 The people asked John, “What should we do?”
11 He answered, “If you have two shirts, share with someone who does not have one. If you have food, share that too.”
12 Even the tax collectors came to John. They wanted to be baptized. They said to him, “Teacher, what should we do?”
13 He told them, “Don’t take more taxes from people than you have been ordered to collect.”
14 The soldiers asked him, “What about us? What should we do?”
He said to them, “Don’t use force or lies to make people give you money. Be happy with the pay you get.”
15 Everyone was hoping for the Messiah to come, and they wondered about John. They thought, “Maybe he is the Messiah.”
16 John’s answer to this was, “I baptize you in water, but there is someone coming later who is able to do more than I can. I am not good enough to be the slave who unties his sandals. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and with fire. 17 He will come ready to clean the grain.[b] He will separate the good grain from the straw, and he will put the good part into his barn. Then he will burn the useless part with a fire that cannot be stopped.” 18 John said many other things like this to encourage the people to change, and he told them the Good News.
How John’s Work Later Ended
19 John criticized Herod the ruler for what he had done with Herodias, the wife of Herod’s brother, as well as for all the other bad things he had done. 20 So Herod added another bad thing to all his other wrongs: He put John in jail.
Jesus Is Baptized by John(C)
21 When all the people were being baptized, Jesus came and was baptized too. And while he was praying, the sky opened, 22 and the Holy Spirit came down on him. The Spirit looked like a real dove. Then a voice came from heaven and said, “You are my Son, the one I love. I am very pleased with you.”
The Family History of Joseph(D)
23 When Jesus began to teach, he was about 30 years old. People thought that Jesus was Joseph’s son.
Joseph was the son of Eli.
24 Eli 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 Joda.
27 Joda was the son of Joanan.
Joanan was the son of Rhesa.
Rhesa was the son of Zerubbabel.
Zerubbabel was the son of Shealtiel.
Shealtiel 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 Jonam.
Jonam 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 Arni.
Arni 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 Reu.
Reu 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.
Mahalaleel 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.
Copyright © 2006 by Bible League International