Old/New Testament
23 All at once, in their synagogue, there was a man with an unclean spirit.
24 “What business have you got with us, Jesus of Nazareth?” he yelled. “Have you come to destroy us? I know who you are: you’re God’s Holy One!”
25 “Be quiet!” ordered Jesus. “And come out of him!”
26 The unclean spirit convulsed the man, gave a great shout, and came out of him. 27 Everyone was astonished.
“What’s this?” they started to say to each other. “New teaching—with real authority! He even tells the unclean spirits what to do, and they do it!”
28 Word about Jesus spread at once, all over the surrounding district of Galilee.
29 They came out of the synagogue, and went at once (with James and John) into Simon and Andrew’s house. 30 Simon’s mother-in-law was in bed with a fever, and they told Jesus about her right away. 31 He went in, took her by the hand, and raised her up. The fever left her, and she waited on them.
32 When the sun went down and evening came, they brought to Jesus everyone who was ill, including the demon-possessed. 33 The whole town was gathered around the door. 34 Jesus healed many people suffering from all kinds of diseases, and cast out many demons. He didn’t allow the demons to speak, because they knew him.
The healing of a man with a skin disease
35 Very early—in the middle of the night, actually—Jesus got up and went out, off to a lonely place, and prayed. 36 Simon, and those with him, followed. 37 When they found him, they said, “Everyone is looking for you!”
38 “Let’s go off to the other towns around here,” Jesus replied, “so that I can tell the news to people there too. That’s why I came out.”
39 So he went into their synagogues, throughout the whole of Galilee, telling the news and casting out demons.
40 A man with a virulent skin disease came up to him. He knelt down and begged him, “If you want to, you can make me clean!”
41 Jesus was deeply moved. He reached out his hand and touched him, and said to him, “I do want to: be clean!” 42 The disease left him at once, and he was clean.
43 Jesus sent him away at once, with this stern warning: 44 “Mind you don’t say anything to anyone! Just go and show yourself to the priest, and make the offering Moses commanded, to purify yourself and to give them a sign.”
45 But the man went out and began to spread the news far and wide. He did this so effectively that Jesus couldn’t any longer go publicly into a town. He stayed out in the open country, and people came to him from all around.
Scripture quotations from The New Testament for Everyone are copyright © Nicholas Thomas Wright 2011, 2018, 2019.