John the Baptist Prepares the Way
1 The beginning of the gospel of Jesus Christ,
1the Son of God.
2
2As it is written in Isaiah the prophet,
3"Behold, I send my messenger before your face, who will prepare your way,
3
4the voice of one crying in the wilderness:
5'Prepare the way of the Lord, make his paths straight,'"
4
6John appeared, baptizing in
7the wilderness and proclaiming
8a baptism of
9repentance
10for the forgiveness of sins.
5
And all the country of Judea and all Jerusalem were going out to him and were being baptized by him in the river Jordan,
11confessing their sins.
6
Now John was
12clothed with camel's hair and
13wore a leather belt around his waist and ate
14locusts and
15wild honey.
7
And he preached, saying,
16"After me comes he who is mightier than I, the strap of whose sandals I am not worthy to stoop down and untie.
8
17I have baptized you with water, but
18he will baptize you with the Holy Spirit."
The Baptism of Jesus
9 19In those days Jesus
20came from Nazareth of Galilee and was baptized by John in the Jordan.
10
And when he came up out of the water, immediately he
21saw
22the heavens being torn open
23and the Spirit descending on him like a dove.
11
And
24a voice came from heaven,
25"You are my beloved Son; with you I am well pleased."
The Temptation of Jesus
12 26The Spirit immediately drove him out into the wilderness.
13
27And he was in the wilderness forty days, being
28tempted by
29Satan. And he was with the wild animals, and
30the angels were ministering to him.
Jesus Begins His Ministry
14 31Now after John was arrested, Jesus
32came into Galilee, proclaiming the gospel of God,
15
and saying,
33"The time is fulfilled, and 34the kingdom of God is at hand; 35repent and believe in the gospel."
Jesus Calls the First Disciples
16 36Passing alongside the Sea of Galilee, he saw Simon and Andrew the brother of Simon casting a net into the sea, for they were fishermen.
17
And Jesus said to them,
"Follow me, and I will make you become 37fishers of men."
18
And immediately they left their nets and followed him.
19
And going on a little farther, he saw James the son of Zebedee and John his brother, who were in their boat mending the nets.
20
And immediately he called them, and they left their father Zebedee in the boat with the hired servants and followed him.
Jesus Heals a Man with an Unclean Spirit
21 38And they went into Capernaum, and immediately
39on the Sabbath
40he entered the synagogue and was teaching.
22
And
41they were astonished at his teaching,
42for he taught them as one who had authority, and not as the scribes.
23
And immediately there was in their synagogue a man with an unclean spirit. And he cried out,
24
43"What have you to do with us, Jesus of Nazareth? Have you come to destroy us?
44I know who you are--
45the Holy One of God."
25
But Jesus
46rebuked him, saying,
"Be silent, and come out of him!"
26
And the unclean spirit,
47convulsing him and
48crying out with a loud voice, came out of him.
27
And they were all
49amazed, so that they questioned among themselves, saying, "What is this?
50A new teaching with authority! He commands even the unclean spirits, and they obey him."
28
And at once his fame spread everywhere throughout all the surrounding region of Galilee.
Jesus Heals Many
29 51And immediately he
52left the synagogue and entered the house of Simon and Andrew, with James and John.
30
Now
53Simon's mother-in-law lay ill with a fever, and immediately they told him about her.
31
And he came and
54took her by the hand and lifted her up, and the fever left her, and she began to serve them.
32
That evening at sundown they brought to him all who were sick or
55oppressed by demons.
33
And the whole city was gathered together at the door.
34
56And he healed many who were sick with various diseases, and cast out many demons. And
57he would not permit the demons to speak, because they knew him.
Jesus Preaches in Galilee
35 58And rising very early in the morning, while it was still dark, he departed and went out to a desolate place, and
59there he prayed.
36
And Simon and those who were with him searched for him,
37
and they found him and said to him,
60"Everyone is looking for you."
38
And he said to them,
"Let us go on to the next towns, that I may preach there also, for 61that is why I came out."
39
62And
63he went throughout all Galilee, preaching in their synagogues and casting out demons.
Jesus Cleanses a Leper
40 64And a leper came to him, imploring him, and
65kneeling said to him,
66"If you will, you can make me clean."
41
Moved with pity, he stretched out his hand and touched him and said to him,
"I will; be clean."
42
And immediately the leprosy left him, and he was made clean.
43
And
67Jesus sternly charged him and sent him away at once,
44
and said to him,
68"See that you say nothing to anyone, but go, 69show yourself to the priest and 70offer for your cleansing what Moses commanded, 71for a proof to them."
45
72But he went out and began to talk freely about it, and to spread the news, so that Jesus could no longer openly enter
73a town, but was out in
74desolate places, and
75people were coming to him from every quarter.