Read the Gospels in 40 Days

4 Jesus, full of the Holy Spirit, returned from the Jordan and was led by the Spirit into the wilderness ² for forty days, being tempted by the devil. He ate nothing in those days. Afterward, when they were completed, he was hungry.

³ The devil said to him, “If you are the Son of God, command this stone to become bread.”

⁴ Jesus answered him, saying, “It is written, ‘Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word of God.’”^(A)

⁵ The devil, leading him up on a high mountain, showed him all the kingdoms of the world in a moment of time. ⁶ The devil said to him, “I will give you all this authority and their glory, for it has been delivered to me, and I give it to whomever I want. ⁷ If you therefore will worship before me, it will all be yours.”

⁸ Jesus answered him, “Get behind me, Satan! For it is written, ‘You shall worship the Lord your God, and you shall serve him only.’”^(B)

⁹ He led him to Jerusalem and set him on the pinnacle of the temple, and said to him, “If you are the Son of God, cast yourself down from here, ¹⁰ for it is written,

¹¹ and,

¹² Jesus answering, said to him, “It has been said, ‘You shall not tempt the Lord your God.’”^(D)

¹³ When the devil had completed every temptation, he departed from him until another time.

¹⁴ Jesus returned in the power of the Spirit into Galilee, and news about him spread through all the surrounding area. ¹⁵ He taught in their synagogues, being glorified by all.

¹⁶ He came to Nazareth, where he had been brought up. He entered, as was his custom, into the synagogue on the Sabbath day, and stood up to read. ¹⁷ The book of the prophet Isaiah was handed to him. He opened the book, and found the place where it was written,

²⁰ He closed the book, gave it back to the attendant, and sat down. The eyes of all in the synagogue were fastened on him. ²¹ He began to tell them, “Today, this Scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing.”

²² All testified about him and wondered at the gracious words which proceeded out of his mouth; and they said, “Isn’t this Joseph’s son?”

²³ He said to them, “Doubtless you will tell me this proverb, ‘Physician, heal yourself! Whatever we have heard done at Capernaum, do also here in your hometown.’” ²⁴ He said, “Most certainly I tell you, no prophet is acceptable in his hometown. ²⁵ But truly I tell you, there were many widows in Israel in the days of Elijah, when the sky was shut up three years and six months, when a great famine came over all the land. ²⁶ Elijah was sent to none of them, except to Zarephath, in the land of Sidon, to a woman who was a widow. ²⁷ There were many lepers in Israel in the time of Elisha the prophet, yet not one of them was cleansed, except Naaman, the Syrian.”

²⁸ They were all filled with wrath in the synagogue as they heard these things. ²⁹ They rose up, threw him out of the city, and led him to the brow of the hill that their city was built on, that they might throw him off the cliff. ³⁰ But he, passing through the middle of them, went his way.

³¹ He came down to Capernaum, a city of Galilee. He was teaching them on the Sabbath day, ³² and they were astonished at his teaching, for his word was with authority. ³³ In the synagogue there was a man who had a spirit of an unclean demon; and he cried out with a loud voice, ³⁴ saying, “Ah! what have we to do with you, Jesus of Nazareth? Have you come to destroy us? I know who you are: the Holy One of God!”

³⁵ Jesus rebuked him, saying, “Be silent and come out of him!” When the demon had thrown him down in the middle of them, he came out of him, having done him no harm.

³⁶ Amazement came on all and they spoke together, one with another, saying, “What is this word? For with authority and power he commands the unclean spirits, and they come out!” ³⁷ News about him went out into every place of the surrounding region.

³⁸ He rose up from the synagogue and entered into Simon’s house. Simon’s mother-in-law was afflicted with a great fever, and they begged him to help her. ³⁹ He stood over her and rebuked the fever, and it left her. Immediately she rose up and served them. ⁴⁰ When the sun was setting, all those who had any sick with various diseases brought them to him; and he laid his hands on every one of them, and healed them. ⁴¹ Demons also came out of many, crying out and saying, “You are the Christ, the Son of God!” Rebuking them, he didn’t allow them to speak, because they knew that he was the Christ.

⁴² When it was day, he departed and went into an uninhabited place and the multitudes looked for him, and came to him, and held on to him, so that he wouldn’t go away from them. ⁴³ But he said to them, “I must preach the good news of God’s Kingdom to the other cities also. For this reason I have been sent.” ⁴⁴ He was preaching in the synagogues of Galilee.

5 Now while the multitude pressed on him and heard the word of God, he was standing by the lake of Gennesaret. ² He saw two boats standing by the lake, but the fishermen had gone out of them and were washing their nets. ³ He entered into one of the boats, which was Simon’s, and asked him to put out a little from the land. He sat down and taught the multitudes from the boat.

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

⁵ Simon answered him, “Master, we worked all night and caught nothing; but at your word I will let down the net.” ⁶ When they had done this, they caught a great multitude of fish, and their net was breaking. ⁷ They beckoned to their partners in the other boat, that they should come and help them. They came and filled both boats, so that they began to sink. ⁸ But Simon Peter, when he saw it, fell down at Jesus’ knees, saying, “Depart from me, for I am a sinful man, Lord.” ⁹ For he was amazed, and all who were with him, at the catch of fish which they had caught; ¹⁰ and so also were James and John, sons of Zebedee, who were partners with Simon.

Jesus said to Simon, “Don’t be afraid. From now on you will be catching people alive.”

¹¹ When they had brought their boats to land, they left everything, and followed him.

¹² While he was in one of the cities, behold, there was a man full of leprosy. When he saw Jesus, he fell on his face and begged him, saying, “Lord, if you want to, you can make me clean.”

¹³ He stretched out his hand and touched him, saying, “I want to. Be made clean.”

Immediately the leprosy left him. ¹⁴ He commanded him to tell no one, “But go your way and show yourself to the priest, and offer for your cleansing according to what Moses commanded, for a testimony to them.”

¹⁵ But the report concerning him spread much more, and great multitudes came together to hear and to be healed by him of their infirmities. ¹⁶ But he withdrew himself into the desert and prayed.

¹⁷ On one of those days, he was teaching; and there were Pharisees and teachers of the law sitting by who had come out of every village of Galilee, Judea, and Jerusalem. The power of the Lord was with him to heal them. ¹⁸ Behold, men brought a paralyzed man on a cot, and they sought to bring him in to lay before Jesus. ¹⁹ Not finding a way to bring him in because of the multitude, they went up to the housetop and let him down through the tiles with his cot into the middle before Jesus. ²⁰ Seeing their faith, he said to him, “Man, your sins are forgiven you.”

²¹ The scribes and the Pharisees began to reason, saying, “Who is this who speaks blasphemies? Who can forgive sins, but God alone?”

²² But Jesus, perceiving their thoughts, answered them, “Why are you reasoning so in your hearts? ²³ Which is easier to say, ‘Your sins are forgiven you,’ or to say, ‘Arise and walk’? ²⁴ But that you may know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins,” he said to the paralyzed man, “I tell you, arise, take up your cot, and go to your house.”

²⁵ Immediately he rose up before them, and took up that which he was laying on, and departed to his house, glorifying God. ²⁶ Amazement took hold on all, and they glorified God. They were filled with fear, saying, “We have seen strange things today.”

²⁷ After these things he went out and saw a tax collector named Levi sitting at the tax office, and said to him, “Follow me!”

²⁸ He left everything, and rose up and followed him. ²⁹ Levi made a great feast for him in his house. There was a great crowd of tax collectors and others who were reclining with them. ³⁰ Their scribes and the Pharisees murmured against his disciples, saying, “Why do you eat and drink with the tax collectors and sinners?”

³¹ Jesus answered them, “Those who are healthy have no need for a physician, but those who are sick do. ³² I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners, to repentance.”

³³ They said to him, “Why do John’s disciples often fast and pray, likewise also the disciples of the Pharisees, but yours eat and drink?”

³⁴ He said to them, “Can you make the friends of the bridegroom fast while the bridegroom is with them? ³⁵ But the days will come when the bridegroom will be taken away from them. Then they will fast in those days.”

³⁶ He also told a parable to them. “No one puts a piece from a new garment on an old garment, or else he will tear the new, and also the piece from the new will not match the old. ³⁷ No one puts new wine into old wineskins, or else the new wine will burst the skins, and it will be spilled and the skins will be destroyed. ³⁸ But new wine must be put into fresh wineskins, and both are preserved. ³⁹ No man having drunk old wine immediately desires new, for he says, ‘The old is better.’”

6 Now on the second Sabbath after the first, he was going through the grain fields. His disciples plucked the heads of grain and ate, rubbing them in their hands. ² But some of the Pharisees said to them, “Why do you do that which is not lawful to do on the Sabbath day?”

³ Jesus, answering them, said, “Haven’t you read what David did when he was hungry, he and those who were with him, ⁴ how he entered into God’s house, and took and ate the show bread, and gave also to those who were with him, which is not lawful to eat except for the priests alone?” ⁵ He said to them, “The Son of Man is lord of the Sabbath.”

⁶ It also happened on another Sabbath that he entered into the synagogue and taught. There was a man there, and his right hand was withered. ⁷ The scribes and the Pharisees watched him, to see whether he would heal on the Sabbath, that they might find an accusation against him. ⁸ But he knew their thoughts; and he said to the man who had the withered hand, “Rise up and stand in the middle.” He arose and stood. ⁹ Then Jesus said to them, “I will ask you something: Is it lawful on the Sabbath to do good, or to do harm? To save a life, or to kill?” ¹⁰ He looked around at them all, and said to the man, “Stretch out your hand.” He did, and his hand was restored as sound as the other. ¹¹ But they were filled with rage, and talked with one another about what they might do to Jesus.

¹² In these days, he went out to the mountain to pray, and he continued all night in prayer to God. ¹³ When it was day, he called his disciples, and from them he chose twelve, whom he also named apostles: ¹⁴ Simon, whom he also named Peter; Andrew, his brother; James; John; Philip; Bartholomew; ¹⁵ Matthew; Thomas; James the son of Alphaeus; Simon who was called the Zealot; ¹⁶ Judas the son of James; and Judas Iscariot, who also became a traitor.

¹⁷ He came down with them and stood on a level place, with a crowd of his disciples and a great number of the people from all Judea and Jerusalem and the sea coast of Tyre and Sidon, who came to hear him and to be healed of their diseases, ¹⁸ as well as those who were troubled by unclean spirits; and they were being healed. ¹⁹ All the multitude sought to touch him, for power came out of him and healed them all.

²⁰ He lifted up his eyes to his disciples, and said:

²⁷ “But I tell you who hear: love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, ²⁸ bless those who curse you, and pray for those who mistreat you. ²⁹ To him who strikes you on the cheek, offer also the other; and from him who takes away your cloak, don’t withhold your coat also. ³⁰ Give to everyone who asks you, and don’t ask him who takes away your goods to give them back again.

³¹ “As you would like people to do to you, do exactly so to them.

³² “If you love those who love you, what credit is that to you? For even sinners love those who love them. ³³ If you do good to those who do good to you, what credit is that to you? For even sinners do the same. ³⁴ If you lend to those from whom you hope to receive, what credit is that to you? Even sinners lend to sinners, to receive back as much. ³⁵ But love your enemies, and do good, and lend, expecting nothing back; and your reward will be great, and you will be children of the Most High; for he is kind toward the unthankful and evil.

³⁸ “Give, and it will be given to you: good measure, pressed down, shaken together, and running over, will be given to you.^[d] For with the same measure you measure it will be measured back to you.”

³⁹ He spoke a parable to them. “Can the blind guide the blind? Won’t they both fall into a pit? ⁴⁰ A disciple is not above his teacher, but everyone when he is fully trained will be like his teacher. ⁴¹ Why do you see the speck of chaff that is in your brother’s eye, but don’t consider the beam that is in your own eye? ⁴² Or how can you tell your brother, ‘Brother, let me remove the speck of chaff that is in your eye,’ when you yourself don’t see the beam that is in your own eye? You hypocrite! First remove the beam from your own eye, and then you can see clearly to remove the speck of chaff that is in your brother’s eye.

⁴³ “For there is no good tree that produces rotten fruit, nor again a rotten tree that produces good fruit. ⁴⁴ For each tree is known by its own fruit. For people don’t gather figs from thorns, nor do they gather grapes from a bramble bush. ⁴⁵ The good man out of the good treasure of his heart brings out that which is good, and the evil man out of the evil treasure of his heart brings out that which is evil, for out of the abundance of the heart, his mouth speaks.

⁴⁶ “Why do you call me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ and don’t do the things which I say? ⁴⁷ Everyone who comes to me, and hears my words and does them, I will show you who he is like. ⁴⁸ He is like a man building a house, who dug and went deep and laid a foundation on the rock. When a flood arose, the stream broke against that house, and could not shake it, because it was founded on the rock. ⁴⁹ But he who hears and doesn’t do, is like a man who built a house on the earth without a foundation, against which the stream broke, and immediately it fell; and the ruin of that house was great.”