Read the Gospels in 40 Days

Temptation in the Wilderness

4 Yeshua, now filled with the Ruach ha-Kodesh, returned from the Jordan. He was led by the Ruach in the wilderness ² for forty days, being tested by the devil. Now He ate nothing during those days, and when they had ended, He was hungry.

³ The devil said to Him, “If You are Ben-Elohim, tell this stone to become bread.”

⁴ Yeshua answered him, “It is written, ‘Man shall not live by bread alone.’”^[a]

⁵ And leading Him up, the devil showed Him all the kingdoms of the world in an instant. ⁶ And the devil said to Him, “I’ll give to You all this authority along with its glory, because it has been handed over to me and I can give it to anyone I wish. ⁷ Therefore, if you will worship before me, all this shall be Yours.”

⁸ But answering, Yeshua told him, “It is written, ‘You shall worship Adonai your God, and Him only shall you serve.’”^[b]

⁹ Then he brought Yeshua to Jerusalem and placed Him on the highest point of the Temple. He said to Him, “If You are Ben-Elohim, throw Yourself down from here. ¹⁰ For it is written,

¹² But answering, Yeshua said to him, “It is said, ‘You shall not put Adonai your God to the test.’” ^{[e] 13} And when the devil had completed every test, he departed from Him until another occasion.

Isaiah’s Prophecy Fulfilled in Natzeret

¹⁴ Yeshua returned in the power of the Ruach to the Galilee, and news about Him went out through all the surrounding region. ¹⁵ He taught in their synagogues, and everyone was praising Him. ¹⁶ And He came to Natzeret, where He had been raised. As was His custom, He went into the synagogue on Shabbat, and He got up to read. ¹⁷ When the scroll of the prophet Isaiah was handed to Him, He unrolled the scroll and found the place where it was written,

²⁰ He closed the scroll, gave it back to the attendant, and sat down. All eyes in the synagogue were focused on Him. ²¹ Then He began to tell them, “Today this Scripture has been fulfilled in your ears.”

²² All were speaking well of Him and marveling at the gracious words coming out of His mouth. And they were saying, “Isn’t this the son of Joseph?”

²³ But He said to them, “Doubtless you will say to Me this proverb, ‘Doctor, heal yourself!’ and ‘What we have heard was done at Capernaum, do as much here also in your hometown.’”

²⁴ But He said, “Truly, I tell you, ‘No prophet is accepted in his own hometown.’ ²⁵ But with all truthfulness I say to you, that there were many widows in Israel in the days of Elijah, when heaven was closed for three and a half years and there came a great famine over all the land. ²⁶ Elijah was not sent to any of them, but only to Zarephath in the land of Sidon, to a widowed woman. ^{[h] 27} There were many with tzara’at in Israel in the time of Elisha the prophet, and none of them were purified apart from Naaman the Syrian.”^[i]

²⁸ Now all in the synagogue were filled with rage upon hearing these things. ²⁹ Rising up, they drove Him out of the town and brought Him as far as the edge of the mountain on which their city had been built, in order to throw Him off the cliff. ³⁰ But passing through the middle of them, He went on His way.

Healing and Deliverance in Capernaum and Beyond

³¹ Yeshua came down to Capernaum, a town in the Galilee. He was teaching them on Shabbat, ³² and they were astounded at His teaching because His message had authority. ³³ In the synagogue was a man who had an unclean demonic spirit, and he cried out with a loud voice, ³⁴ “Ah! What have we to do with You, Yeshua of Natzeret? Have You come to destroy us? I know who You are! You are the Holy One of God!”

³⁵ Yeshua rebuked him, saying, “Quiet! Come out of him!” And when the demon threw him down in their midst, it came out without hurting him.

³⁶ They were all amazed, and they spoke to one another, saying, “What is this message? For with authority and power He commands the unclean spirits, and they come out.” ³⁷ So His reputation grew, spreading to every place in that region.

³⁸ After He left the synagogue, Yeshua entered Simon’s home. Simon’s mother-in-law was suffering from a high fever, and they petitioned Him concerning her. ³⁹ Then standing over her, He rebuked the fever and it left her. Immediately she arose to wait on them.

⁴⁰ When the sun was setting, they brought to Yeshua all who were sick with various diseases. And He was laying hands on each one and healing them. ⁴¹ Even demons were coming out from many, shouting out and saying, “You are Ben-Elohim!”^[j] But He was rebuking them and not permitting them to speak, because they knew Him to be the Messiah.

⁴² Now when it was day, He left and went to a desert place. The crowds were searching for Him, and they came to Him and were trying to keep Him from leaving them. ⁴³ But He said to them, “I must proclaim the Good News of the kingdom of God^[k] to the other towns also. It was for this purpose I was sent.” ⁴⁴ So He kept preaching in the synagogues of Judea.

Calling Fishermen at the Kinneret

5 It happened that the crowds were pressing upon Yeshua to hear the word of God as He was standing by the Lake of Kinneret, ² when He saw two boats standing beside the lake. Now the fishermen had left them and were washing the nets. ³ Getting into one of the boats, Simon’s boat, Yeshua asked him to push out a ways from the land. Then sitting down, He taught the crowds from the boat.

⁴ When He had finished speaking, He said to Simon, “Go out into the deep water, and let down your nets for a catch.”

⁵ Simon replied, “Master, we’ve worked hard all night and caught nothing. But at Your word I will let down the nets.” ⁶ When they had done this, they caught so many fish that their nets began to break. ⁷ So they signaled to their partners in the other boat to come and help them. They came and filled both boats so full that they began to sink. ⁸ But when Simon Peter saw this, he fell down at Yeshua’s knees, saying, “Go away from me, Master, for I am a sinful man!” ⁹ For amazement had gripped him and all who were with him, over the catch of fish they had netted; ¹⁰ so also Jacob and John, Zebedee’s sons, who were partners with Simon.

But Yeshua said to Simon, “Do not be afraid. From now on, you will be catching men.” ¹¹ So when they had brought the boats to the landing, they left everything and followed Him.

Yeshua Heals and News Spreads

¹² Now while Yeshua was in one of the towns, a man covered with tzara’at appeared. And when he saw Yeshua, he fell on his face and begged Him, saying, “Master, if You are willing, You can make me clean.”

¹³ Yeshua stretched out His hand and touched him, saying, “I am willing. Be cleansed!” Immediately, the tzara’at left him. ¹⁴ Yeshua ordered him to tell no one, but commanded him, “Go and show yourself to the kohen.^[l] Then bring an offering for your cleansing, just as Moses commanded, as a testimony to them.”

¹⁵ But the news about Yeshua was spreading all the more, and many crowds were coming together to hear and to be healed of their diseases. ¹⁶ Yet He would often slip away into the wilderness and pray.

Crowds Gather from the Galilee, Judea, and Jerusalem

¹⁷ Now on one of those days, Yeshua was teaching. Pharisees and Torah scholars were sitting there, who had come from every village of the Galilee and Judea, as well as from Jerusalem. And Adonai’s power to heal was in Him. ¹⁸ And behold, men were carrying a paralyzed man on a stretcher, trying to bring him in and place him before Yeshua. ¹⁹ But when they found no way to bring him in because of the crowd, they went up on the roof and let him down with his stretcher through the tiles, right in the middle before Yeshua. ²⁰ When He saw their faith, He said, “Man, your sins are forgiven.”

²¹ Then the Torah scholars and the Pharisees began to question, saying, “Who is this fellow speaking blasphemies? Who can pardon sins but God alone?”

²² Yeshua, knowing their thoughts, replied to them, “Why are you raising questions in your hearts? ²³ Which is easier, to say, ‘Your sins are forgiven you,’ or to say, ‘Get up and walk’? ²⁴ But so you may know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to pardon sins. . . .” He said to the paralyzed one, “I tell you, get up and take your cot, and go home!”

²⁵ Immediately he got up before them, picked up what he had been lying on, and went home, glorifying God. ²⁶ Astonishment took hold of them, and they glorified God and all were filled with awe, saying, “We’ve seen incredible things today!”

The Banquet at Levi’s House

²⁷ After these things, Yeshua went out and observed a tax collector named Levi, sitting at the tax booth. He said to him, “Follow Me.” ²⁸ And leaving everything, he got up and followed Him.

²⁹ Levi made a great banquet for Yeshua at his house, and there was a large crowd of tax collectors and others who were reclining with them. ³⁰ The Pharisees and their Torah scholars began murmuring to His disciples, saying, “Why do you eat and drink with tax collectors and sinners?”

³¹ And Yeshua answered and said to them, “Those who are healthy have no need for a doctor, but those who are sick do. ³² I did not come to call the righteous, but the sinful to repentance.”

³³ But they said to Him, “John’s disciples often fast and offer prayers, as do the disciples of the Pharisees. But Your disciples are eating and drinking.”

³⁴ But Yeshua said to them, “You cannot make the guests of the bridegroom fast while the bridegroom is with them, can you? ³⁵ But the days will come; and when the bridegroom is taken away from them, then they will fast in those days.”

³⁶ Now he was also telling them a parable. “No one tears a patch from a new garment to use it on an old garment. Otherwise he will rip the new, and the patch from the new will not match the old. ³⁷ And no one puts new wine into old wineskins. Otherwise, the new wine will burst the skins, it will be spilled out, and the skins will be destroyed. ³⁸ But new wine must be put into fresh wineskins. ³⁹ No man who drinks old wine wants new, because he says, ‘The old is fine.’”

Shabbat in the Grain Fields

6 Now during Shabbat, Yeshua was passing through grain fields; and His disciples were picking and eating heads of grain, rubbing them in their hands. ² But some of the Pharisees said, “Why are you doing what is not permitted on Shabbat?”

³ Then answering them, Yeshua said, “Haven’t you read what David did when he was hungry, and those with him? ⁴ How he entered into the house of God, took and ate the showbread which only the kohanim are permitted to eat, and even gave it to those with him?” ^{[m] 5} He said to them, “The Son of Man is Lord of Shabbat.”

Shabbat Controversy at the Synagogue

⁶ On a different Shabbat, Yeshua entered the synagogue and was teaching. A man was there, whose right hand was paralyzed. ⁷ But closely watching Him were the Torah scholars and Pharisees, to see if He heals on Shabbat, so that they might find grounds to accuse Him. ⁸ But He knew their opinions and said to the man with the paralyzed hand, “Get up and stand in our midst.” And getting up, the man stood.

⁹ Yeshua said to them, “I ask you, is it permitted on Shabbat to do good or to do evil, to save or to destroy a life?” ¹⁰ Then looking around at everyone, He said to the man, “Stretch out your hand.” The man did, and his hand was restored. ¹¹ But they were filled with fury and discussed among themselves what they might do to Yeshua.

Appointing the Twelve

¹² And it was during these days that Yeshua went out to the mountain to pray, and He spent all night in prayer to God. ¹³ When day came, He called His disciples, choosing from among them twelve whom He also named emissaries— ¹⁴ Simon, whom He also named Peter, and Andrew his brother; and Jacob and John; and Philip and Bartholomew; ¹⁵ and Matthew and Thomas; Jacob the son of Alphaeus; Simon who was called the Zealot; ¹⁶ Judah the son of Jacob; and Judah from Kriot, who became a traitor.

The Sermon on the Plain

¹⁷ Then Yeshua came down with them and stood on a level place. A large crowd of His disciples and a multitude of people, from all Judea, Jerusalem, and the coastal region of Tyre and Sidon, ¹⁸ had come to hear Him and to be healed of their diseases. Even those disturbed by defiling spirits were being healed. ¹⁹ Everyone in the crowd was trying to touch Him, because power flowed from Him and He was healing them all.

²⁰ And looking up at His disciples, He said,

²³ Rejoice in that day and jump for joy! For behold, your reward is great in heaven! For their fathers used to treat the prophets the same way.”^[n]

²⁷ “But I say to you who are listening: Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, ²⁸ bless those who curse you, pray for the ones who mistreat you. ²⁹ To the one who strikes you on the cheek, offer the other also. And from the one who takes your cloak, do not hold back your shirt. ³⁰ Give to every one who asks you; and whoever takes something of yours, make no demands upon him.

³¹ “Do to others as you would have them do to you. ³² If you love those who love you, what credit is that to you? For even sinners love those who love them. ³³ And if you do good to those who are doing good to you, what credit is that to you? Even sinners do this. ³⁴ And if you lend to those from whom you expect to take, what credit is that to you? Even sinners lend to sinners in order to receive back the same.

³⁵ “But love your enemies, and do good, and lend, expecting nothing in return.^[p] Then your reward will be great and you will be sons of Elyon, for He is kind to the ungrateful and evil ones. ³⁶ Be compassionate, just as your Father is compassionate to you.”

³⁷ Do not judge, and you will not be judged. Do not condemn, and you will not be condemned. Pardon, and you will be pardoned. ³⁸ Give, and it will be given to you—a good measure, pressed down, shaken together, overflowing, will be given into your lap. For whatever measure you measure out will be measured back to you.”

³⁹ He also spoke this parable to them: “The blind cannot show the way to the blind, can he? Won’t they both fall into a pit? ⁴⁰ A disciple is not above his teacher, but everyone who is fully trained will be like his teacher.

⁴¹ “Why do you look at the speck in your brother’s eye, but do not notice the beam in your own eye? ⁴² How can you say to your brother, ‘Brother, let me take out the speck in your eye,’ when you yourself do not see the beam in your own eye? You hypocrite! First take the beam out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly the speck in your brother’s eye, to take it out.”

⁴³ “For there is no good tree that produces rotten fruit, nor again does a rotten tree produce good fruit. ⁴⁴ Each tree comes to be known by its own fruit. For figs are not gleaned out of briars; neither are bunches of grapes gathered from thorn bushes.

⁴⁵ “Out of the good treasure of his heart the good man brings forth good, and out of evil the evil man brings forth evil. For from the overflow of the heart his mouth speaks.”

⁴⁶ “Why do you call Me ‘Master, Master’ and do not do what I say? ⁴⁷ Everyone who comes to Me and hears My words and does them, I will show you what he is like. ⁴⁸ He is like a man building a house, who dug deep and laid a foundation on the rock. And when a flood came, the torrent burst against that house but could not shake it, because it had been well built.

⁴⁹ “But the one who hears yet does not do is like a man who built a house upon land without a foundation. When the torrent burst against it, immediately it collapsed—and the destruction of that house was great!”