Read the New Testament in 24 Weeks
John the Baptist Begins His Ministry
3 Now in those days John the Baptist came preaching in the Judean wilderness 2 and saying, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven has come near!” 3 For this is the one who was spoken about by the prophet Isaiah, saying,
“The voice of one crying out in the wilderness,
‘Prepare the way of the Lord,
make his paths straight.’”[a]
4 Now John himself had his clothing made from camel’s hair and a belt made of leather around his waist, and his food was locusts and wild honey. 5 Then Jerusalem and all Judea and all the district around the Jordan were going out to him, 6 and they were being baptized by him in the Jordan River as they[b] confessed their sins.
7 But when he[c] saw many of the Pharisees and Sadducees coming to his baptism, he said to them, “Offspring of vipers! Who warned you to flee from the coming wrath? 8 Therefore produce fruit worthy of repentance! 9 And do not think to say to yourselves, ‘We have Abraham as father.’ For I say to you that God is able to raise up children for Abraham from these stones! 10 Already now the ax is positioned at the root of the trees; therefore every tree not producing good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. 11 I baptize you with water for repentance, but the one who comes after me is more powerful than I am, whose sandals I am not worthy to carry. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire. 12 His winnowing shovel is in his hand, and he will clean out his threshing floor and will gather his wheat into the storehouse, but he will burn up the chaff with unquenchable fire.”
The Baptism of Jesus
13 Then Jesus came from Galilee to the Jordan to John in order to be baptized by him. 14 But John tried to prevent[d] him, saying, “I need[e] to be baptized by you, and do you come to me?” 15 But Jesus answered and[f] said to him, “Permit it now, for in this way it is right for us to fulfill all righteousness.” Then he permitted him. 16 Now after he[g] was baptized, Jesus immediately went up from the water, and behold, the heavens opened[h] and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove coming[i] upon him. 17 And behold, there was[j] a voice from heaven saying, “This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased.”
The Temptation of Jesus
4 Then Jesus was led up into the wilderness by the Spirit to be tempted by the devil, 2 and after he[k] had fasted forty days and forty nights, then he was hungry. 3 And the tempter approached and[l] said to him, “If you are the Son of God, order that these stones become bread.” 4 But he answered and[m] said, “It is written, ‘Man will not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes out of the mouth of God.”[n]
5 Then the devil took him to the holy city[o] and placed him on the highest point of the temple 6 and said to him, “If you are the Son of God, throw yourself down! For it is written,
‘He will command his angels concerning you,’[p]
and
‘On their hands they will lift you up,
lest you strike your foot against a stone.’”[q]
7 Jesus said to him, “On the other hand it is written, ‘You are not to put the Lord your God to the test.’”[r]
8 Again the devil took him to a very high mountain and showed him all the kingdoms of the world and their glory, 9 and he said to him, “I will give to you all these things, if you will fall down and[s] worship me.” 10 Then Jesus said to him, “Go away, Satan, for it is written, ‘You shall worship the Lord your God and serve only him.’”[t] 11 Then the devil left him, and behold, angels came and began ministering to him.
Public Ministry in Galilee
12 Now when he[u] heard that John had been arrested,[v] he withdrew into Galilee. 13 And leaving Nazareth, he went and[w] lived in Capernaum by the sea, in the region of Zebulun and Naphtali, 14 in order that what was spoken by the prophet Isaiah would be fulfilled, who said,
15 “Land of Zebulun and land of Naphtali,
toward the sea,[x] on the other side of the Jordan,
Galilee of the Gentiles[y]—
16 the people who sit in darkness
have seen a great light,
and the ones who sit in the land and shadow of death,
a light has dawned on them.”[z]
17 From that time on, Jesus began to preach and to say, “Repent, because the kingdom of heaven is near.”
Jesus Calls His First Disciples
18 Now as he[aa] was walking beside the Sea of Galilee, he saw two brothers, Simon called Peter and his brother Andrew, throwing a casting net into the sea (for they were fishermen). 19 And he said to them, “Follow me[ab] and I will make you fishers of people.” 20 And immediately they left their nets and[ac] followed him. 21 And going on from there, he saw two other brothers, James the son of Zebedee and his brother John, in the boat with their father Zebedee, mending their nets, and he called them. 22 And immediately they left the boat and their father and[ad] followed him.
Teaching, Preaching, and Healing throughout Galilee
23 And he went around through all of Galilee, teaching in their synagogues and proclaiming the good news of the kingdom and healing every disease and every sickness among the people. 24 And a report about him went out throughout[ae] Syria, and they brought to him all those who were sick[af] with various diseases and afflicted by torments, demon-possessed[ag] and epileptics and paralytics, and he healed them. 25 And large crowds followed him from Galilee, Decapolis, Jerusalem, Judea, and from the other side of the Jordan.
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