Read the Gospels in 40 Days
The Devil Tempts Jesus(A)
4 Yeshua was filled with the Holy Spirit as he left the Jordan River. The Spirit led him while he was in the desert, 2 where he was tempted by the devil for 40 days. During those days Yeshua ate nothing, so when they were over, he was hungry.
3 The devil said to him, “If you are the Son of God, tell this stone to become a loaf of bread.”
4 Yeshua answered him, “Scripture says, ‘A person cannot live on bread alone.’”[a]
5 The devil took him to a high place and showed him all the kingdoms of the world in an instant. 6 The devil said to him, “I will give you all the power and glory of these kingdoms. All of it has been given to me, and I give it to anyone I please. 7 So if you will worship me, all this will be yours.”
8 Yeshua answered him, “Scripture says, ‘Worship the Lord your God and serve only him.’”
9 Then the devil took him into Jerusalem and had him stand on the highest part of the temple. He said to Yeshua, “If you are the Son of God, jump from here! 10 Scripture says, ‘He will put his angels in charge of you to watch over you carefully. 11 They will carry you in their hands so that you never hit your foot against a rock.’”
12 Yeshua answered him, “It has been said, ‘Never tempt the Lord your God.’”[b]
13 After the devil had finished tempting Yeshua in every possible way, the devil left him until another time.
Nazareth Rejects Jesus(B)
14 Yeshua returned to Galilee. The power of the Spirit was with him, and the news about him spread throughout the surrounding country. 15 He taught in the synagogues, and everyone praised him.
16 Then Yeshua came to Nazareth, where he had been brought up. As usual he went into the synagogue on the day of worship. He stood up to read the lesson. 17 The attendant gave him the book of the prophet Isaiah. He opened it and found the place where it read:
18 “The Spirit of the Lord is with me.
He has anointed me
to tell the Good News to the poor.
He has sent me[c]
to announce forgiveness to the prisoners of sin
and the restoring of sight to the blind,
to forgive those who have been shattered by sin,
19 to announce the year of the Lord’s favor.”
20 Yeshua closed the book, gave it back to the attendant, and sat down. Everyone in the synagogue watched him closely. 21 Then he said to them, “This passage came true today when you heard me read it.”
22 All the people spoke well of him. They were amazed to hear the gracious words flowing from his lips. They said, “Isn’t this Joseph’s son?”
23 So he said to them, “You’ll probably quote this proverb to me, ‘Doctor, cure yourself!’ and then say to me, ‘Do all the things in your hometown that we’ve heard you’ve done in Capernaum.’” 24 Then Yeshua added, “I can guarantee this truth: A prophet isn’t accepted in his hometown.
25 “I can guarantee this truth: There were many widows in Israel in Elijah’s time. It had not rained for three-and-a-half years, and the famine was severe everywhere in the country. 26 But God didn’t send Elijah to anyone except a widow at Zarephath in the territory of Sidon. 27 There were also many people with skin diseases in Israel in the prophet Elisha’s time. But God cured no one except Naaman from Syria.”
28 Everyone in the synagogue became furious when they heard this. 29 Their city was built on a hill with a cliff. So they got up, forced Yeshua out of the city, and led him to the cliff. They intended to throw him off of it. 30 But Yeshua walked right by them and went away.
Jesus Forces an Evil Spirit out of a Man(C)
31 Yeshua went to Capernaum, a city in Galilee, and taught them on a day of worship. 32 The people were amazed at his teachings because he spoke with authority.
33 In the synagogue was a man possessed by a spirit, an evil demon. He shouted very loudly, 34 “Oh, no! What do you want with us, Yeshua from Nazareth? Have you come to destroy us? I know who you are—the Holy One of God!”
35 Yeshua ordered the spirit, “Keep quiet, and come out of him!” The demon threw the man down in the middle of the synagogue and came out without hurting him.
36 Everyone was stunned. They said to one another, “What kind of command is this? With authority and power he gives orders to evil spirits, and they come out.”
37 So news about him spread to every place throughout the surrounding region.
Jesus Cures Simon’s Mother-in-Law and Many Others(D)
38 Yeshua left the synagogue and went to Simon’s house. Simon’s mother-in-law was sick with a high fever. They asked Yeshua to help her. 39 He bent over her, ordered the fever to leave, and it went away. She got up immediately and prepared a meal for them.
40 When the sun was setting, everyone who had friends suffering from various diseases brought them to him. He placed his hands on each of them and cured them. 41 Demons came out of many people, shouting, “You are the Son of God!” But Yeshua ordered them not to speak. After all, they knew he was the Messiah.
Spreading the Good News(E)
42 In the morning he went to a place where he could be alone. The crowds searched for him. When they came to him, they tried to keep him from leaving. 43 But he said to them, “I have to tell the Good News about the kingdom of God in other cities also. That’s what I was sent to do.”
44 So he spread his message in the synagogues of Judea.[d]
Calling of the First Disciples(F)
5 One day Yeshua was standing by the Sea of Galilee. The people crowded around him as they listened to God’s word. 2 Yeshua saw two boats on the shore. The fishermen had stepped out of them and were washing their nets. 3 So Yeshua got into the boat that belonged to Simon and asked him to push off a little from the shore. Then Yeshua sat down and taught the crowd from the boat.
4 When he finished speaking, he told Simon, “Take the boat into deep water, and lower your nets to catch some fish.”
5 Simon answered, “Teacher, we worked hard all night and caught nothing. But if you say so, I’ll lower the nets.”
6 After the men had done this, they caught such a large number of fish that their nets began to tear. 7 So they signaled to their partners in the other boat to come and help them. Their partners came and filled both boats until the boats nearly sank.
8 When Simon Peter saw this, he knelt in front of Yeshua and said, “Leave me, Lord! I’m a sinful person!” 9 Simon and everyone who was with him were amazed to see the large number of fish they had caught. 10 James and John, who were Zebedee’s sons and Simon’s partners, were also amazed.
Yeshua told Simon, “Don’t be afraid. From now on you will catch people instead of fish.”
11 Simon and his partners brought the boats to shore, left everything, and followed Yeshua.
Jesus Cures a Man with a Skin Disease(G)
12 One day Yeshua was in a city where there was a man covered with a serious skin disease. When the man saw Yeshua, he bowed with his face to the ground. He begged Yeshua, “Sir, if you want to, you can make me clean.”[e]
13 Yeshua reached out, touched him, and said, “I want to. So be clean!” Immediately, his skin disease went away.
14 Yeshua ordered him, “Don’t tell anyone. Instead, show yourself to the priest. Then offer the sacrifice as Moses commanded as proof to people that you are clean.”
15 The news about Yeshua spread even more. Large crowds gathered to hear him and have their diseases cured. 16 But he would go away to places where he could be alone for prayer.
Jesus Forgives Sins(H)
17 One day when Yeshua was teaching, some Pharisees and experts in Moses’ Teachings were present. They had come from every village in Galilee and Judea and from Jerusalem. Yeshua had the power of the Lord to heal.
18 Some men brought a paralyzed man on a stretcher. They tried to take him into the house and put him in front of Yeshua. 19 But they could not find a way to get him into the house because of the crowd. So they went up on the roof. They made an opening in the tiles and let the man down on his stretcher among the people. (They lowered him in front of Yeshua.)
20 When Yeshua saw their faith, he said, “Sir, your sins are forgiven.” 21 The experts in Moses’ Teachings and the Pharisees thought, “Who is this man? He’s dishonoring God! Who besides God can forgive sins?”
22 Yeshua knew what they were thinking. So he said to them, “What are you thinking? 23 Is it easier to say, ‘Your sins are forgiven,’ or to say, ‘Get up and walk’? 24 I want you to know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins.” Then he said to the paralyzed man, “Get up, pick up your stretcher, and go home.”
25 The man immediately stood up in front of them and picked up the stretcher he had been lying on. Praising God, he went home.
26 Everyone was amazed and praised God. They were filled with awe and said, “We’ve seen things today we can hardly believe!”
Jesus Chooses Levi [Matthew] to Be a Disciple(I)
27 After that, Yeshua left. He saw a tax collector named Levi sitting in a tax office. Yeshua said to him, “Follow me!” 28 So Levi got up, left everything, and followed him.
29 Levi held a large reception at his home for Yeshua. A huge crowd of tax collectors and others were eating with them.
30 The Pharisees and their experts in Moses’ Teachings complained to Yeshua’s disciples. They asked, “Why do you eat and drink with tax collectors and sinners?”
31 Yeshua answered them, “Healthy people don’t need a doctor; those who are sick do. 32 I’ve come to call sinners to change the way they think and act, not to call people who think they have God’s approval.”
Jesus Is Questioned about Fasting(J)
33 They said to him, “John’s disciples frequently fast and say prayers, and so do the disciples of the Pharisees. But your disciples eat and drink.”
34 Yeshua asked them, “Can you force wedding guests to fast while the groom is still with them? 35 The time will come when the groom will be taken away from them. At that time they will fast.”
36 He also used these illustrations: “No one tears a piece of cloth from a new coat to patch an old coat. Otherwise, the new cloth will tear the old. Besides, the patch from the new will not match the old. 37 People don’t pour new wine into old wineskins. If they do, the new wine will make the skins burst. The wine will run out, and the skins will be ruined. 38 Rather, new wine is to be poured into fresh skins.
39 “No one who has been drinking old wine wants new wine. He says, ‘The old wine is better!’”
Jesus Has Authority over the Day of Worship(K)
6 Once, on a day of worship, Yeshua was walking through some grainfields. His disciples were picking the heads of grain, removing the husks, and eating the grain.
2 Some of the Pharisees asked, “Why are your disciples doing something that is not right to do on the day of worship?”
3 Yeshua answered them, “Haven’t you read what David did when he and his men were hungry? 4 Haven’t you read how he went into the house of God, ate the bread of the presence, and gave some of it to the men who were with him? He had no right to eat those loaves. Only the priests have that right.”
5 Then he added, “The Son of Man has authority over the day of worship.”
Jesus Heals on the Day of Worship(L)
6 On another day of worship, Yeshua went into a synagogue to teach. A man whose right hand was paralyzed was there. 7 The experts in Moses’ Teachings and the Pharisees were watching Yeshua closely. They wanted to see whether he would heal the man on the day of worship so that they could find a way to accuse him of doing something wrong.
8 But Yeshua knew what they were thinking. So he told the man with the paralyzed hand, “Get up, and stand in the center of the synagogue!” The man got up and stood there. 9 Then Yeshua said to them, “I ask you—what is the right thing to do on a day of worship: to do good or evil, to give a person his health or to destroy it?” 10 He looked around at all of them and then said to the man, “Hold out your hand.” The man did so, and his hand became normal again.
11 The experts in Moses’ Teachings and Pharisees were furious and began to discuss with each other what they could do to Yeshua.
Jesus Appoints Twelve Apostles(M)
12 At that time Yeshua went to a mountain to pray. He spent the whole night in prayer to God.
13 When it was day, he called his disciples. He chose twelve of them and called them apostles. 14 They were Simon (whom Yeshua named Peter) and Simon’s brother Andrew, James, John, Philip, Bartholomew, 15 Matthew, Thomas, James (son of Alphaeus), Simon (who was called the Zealot), 16 Judas (son of James), and Judas Iscariot (who became a traitor).
Many People Are Cured(N)
17 Yeshua came down from the mountain with them and stood on a level place. A large crowd of his disciples and many other people were there. They had come from all over Judea, Jerusalem, and the seacoast of Tyre and Sidon. 18 They wanted to hear him and be cured of their diseases. Those who were tormented by evil spirits were cured. 19 The entire crowd was trying to touch him because power was coming from him and curing all of them.
Jesus Teaches His Disciples
20 Yeshua looked at his disciples and said,
“Blessed are those who are poor.
The kingdom of God is theirs.
21 Blessed are those who are hungry.
They will be satisfied.
Blessed are those who are crying.
They will laugh.
22 Blessed are you when people hate you, avoid you,
insult you, and slander you
because you are committed to the Son of Man.
23 Rejoice then, and be very happy!
You have a great reward in heaven.
That’s the way their ancestors treated the prophets.
24 “But how horrible it will be for those who are rich.
They have had their comfort.
25 How horrible it will be for those who are well-fed.
They will be hungry.
How horrible it will be for those who are laughing.
They will mourn and cry.
26 How horrible it will be for you
when everyone says nice things about you.
That’s the way their ancestors treated the false prophets.
Love Your Enemies(O)
27 “But I tell everyone who is listening: Love your enemies. Be kind to those who hate you. 28 Bless those who curse you. Pray for those who insult you. 29 If someone strikes you on the cheek, offer the other cheek as well. If someone takes your coat, don’t stop him from taking your shirt. 30 Give to everyone who asks you for something. If someone takes what is yours, don’t insist on getting it back.
31 “Do for other people everything you want them to do for you.
32 “If you love those who love you, do you deserve any thanks for that? Even sinners love those who love them. 33 If you help those who help you, do you deserve any thanks for that? Sinners do that too. 34 If you lend anything to those from whom you expect to get something back, do you deserve any thanks for that? Sinners also lend to sinners to get back what they lend. 35 Rather, love your enemies, help them, and lend to them without expecting to get anything back. Then you will have a great reward. You will be the children of the Most High God. After all, he is kind to unthankful and evil people. 36 Be merciful as your Father is merciful.
Stop Judging(P)
37 “Stop judging, and you will never be judged. Stop condemning, and you will never be condemned. Forgive, and you will be forgiven. 38 Give, and you will receive. A large quantity, pressed together, shaken down, and running over will be put into your pocket. The standards you use for others will be applied to you.”
39 Yeshua also gave them this illustration: “Can one blind person lead another? Won’t both fall into the same pit? 40 A student is no better than his teacher. But everyone who is well-trained will be like his teacher.
41 “Why do you see the piece of sawdust in another believer’s eye and not notice the wooden beam in your own eye? 42 How can you say to another believer, ‘Friend, let me take the piece of sawdust out of your eye,’ when you don’t see the beam in your own eye? You hypocrite! First remove the beam from your own eye. Then you will see clearly to remove the piece of sawdust from another believer’s eye.
Evil People(Q)
43 “A good tree doesn’t produce rotten fruit, and a rotten tree doesn’t produce good fruit. 44 Each tree is known by its fruit. You don’t pick figs from thorny plants or grapes from a thornbush. 45 Good people do the good that is in them. But evil people do the evil that is in them. The things people say come from inside them.
Build on the Rock(R)
46 “Why do you call me Lord but don’t do what I tell you?
47 “I will show you what everyone who comes to me, hears what I say, and obeys it is like. 48 He is like a person who dug down to bedrock to lay the foundation of his home. When a flood came, the floodwaters pushed against that house. But the house couldn’t be washed away because it had a good foundation. 49 The person who hears what I say but doesn’t obey it is like someone who built a house on the ground without any foundation. The floodwaters pushed against it, and that house quickly collapsed and was destroyed.”
The Names of God Bible (without notes) © 2011 by Baker Publishing Group.