Read the New Testament in 24 Weeks

John the Baptist Prepares the Way

3 In those days John the Baptist came and preached in the Desert of Judea. ² He said, “Turn away from your sins! The kingdom of heaven has come near.” ³ John is the one Isaiah the prophet had spoken about. He had said,

⁴ John’s clothes were made out of camel’s hair. He had a leather belt around his waist. His food was locusts and wild honey. ⁵ People went out to him from Jerusalem and all Judea. They also came from the whole area around the Jordan River. ⁶ When they confessed their sins, John baptized them in the Jordan.

⁷ John saw many Pharisees and Sadducees coming to where he was baptizing. He said to them, “You are like a nest of poisonous snakes! Who warned you to escape the coming of God’s anger? ⁸ Live in a way that shows you have turned away from your sins. ⁹ Don’t think you can say to yourselves, ‘Abraham is our father.’ I tell you, God can raise up children for Abraham even from these stones. ¹⁰ The ax is ready to cut the roots of the trees. All the trees that don’t produce good fruit will be cut down. They will be thrown into the fire.

¹¹ “I baptize you with water, calling you to turn away from your sins. But after me, someone is coming who is more powerful than I am. I’m not worthy to carry his sandals. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire. ¹² His pitchfork is in his hand to clear the straw from his threshing floor. He will gather his wheat into the storeroom. But he will burn up the husks with fire that can’t be put out.”

Jesus Is Baptized

¹³ Jesus came from Galilee to the Jordan River. He wanted to be baptized by John. ¹⁴ But John tried to stop him. So he told Jesus, “I need to be baptized by you. So why do you come to me?”

¹⁵ Jesus replied, “Let it be this way for now. It is right for us to do this. It carries out God’s holy plan.” Then John agreed.

¹⁶ As soon as Jesus was baptized, he came up out of the water. At that moment heaven was opened. Jesus saw the Spirit of God coming down on him like a dove. ¹⁷ A voice from heaven said, “This is my Son, and I love him. I am very pleased with him.”

Jesus Is Tempted in the Desert

4 The Holy Spirit led Jesus into the desert. There the devil tempted him. ² After 40 days and 40 nights of going without eating, Jesus was hungry. ³ The tempter came to him. He said, “If you are the Son of God, tell these stones to become bread.”

⁴ Jesus answered, “It is written, ‘Man must not live only on bread. He must also live on every word that comes from the mouth of God.’ ” (Deuteronomy 8:3)

⁵ Then the devil took Jesus to the holy city. He had him stand on the highest point of the temple. ⁶ “If you are the Son of God,” he said, “throw yourself down. It is written,

⁷ Jesus answered him, “It is also written, ‘Do not test the Lord your God.’ ” (Deuteronomy 6:16)

⁸ Finally, the devil took Jesus to a very high mountain. He showed him all the kingdoms of the world and their glory. ⁹ “If you bow down and worship me,” he said, “I will give you all this.”

¹⁰ Jesus said to him, “Get away from me, Satan! It is written, ‘Worship the Lord your God. He is the only one you should serve.’ ” (Deuteronomy 6:13)

¹¹ Then the devil left Jesus. Angels came and took care of him.

Jesus Begins to Preach

¹² John had been put in prison. When Jesus heard about this, he returned to Galilee. ¹³ Jesus left Nazareth and went to live in the city of Capernaum. It was by the lake in the area of Zebulun and Naphtali. ¹⁴ In that way, what the prophet Isaiah had said came true. He had said,

¹⁷ From that time on Jesus began to preach. “Turn away from your sins!” he said. “The kingdom of heaven has come near.”

Jesus Chooses His First Disciples

¹⁸ One day Jesus was walking beside the Sea of Galilee. There he saw two brothers, Simon Peter and his brother Andrew. They were throwing a net into the lake, because they were fishermen. ¹⁹ “Come and follow me,” Jesus said. “I will send you out to fish for people.” ²⁰ At once they left their nets and followed him.

²¹ Going on from there, he saw two other brothers. They were James, son of Zebedee, and his brother John. They were in a boat with their father Zebedee. As they were preparing their nets, Jesus called out to them. ²² Right away they left the boat and their father and followed Jesus.

Jesus Heals Sick People

²³ Jesus went all over Galilee. There he taught in the synagogues. He preached the good news of God’s kingdom. He healed every illness and sickness the people had. ²⁴ News about him spread all over Syria. People brought to him all who were ill with different kinds of sicknesses. Some were suffering great pain. Others were controlled by demons. Some were shaking wildly. Others couldn’t move at all. And Jesus healed all of them. ²⁵ Large crowds followed him. People came from Galilee, from the area known as the Ten Cities, and from Jerusalem and Judea. Others came from the area across the Jordan River.