Matthew 4; Luke 4; Luke 5; John 1:15-51

1 Then the Spirit led Jesus into the desert to be tempted by the devil.

2 Jesus ate nothing for forty days and nights. After this, he was very hungry.

3 The devil came to Jesus to tempt him, saying, "If you are the Son of God, tell these rocks to become bread."

4 Jesus answered, "It is written in the Scriptures, 'A person does not live by eating only bread, but by everything God says.'"

5 Then the devil led Jesus to the holy city of Jerusalem and put him on a high place of the Temple.

6 The devil said, "If you are the Son of God, jump down, because it is written in the Scriptures: 'He has put his angels in charge of you. They will catch you in their hands so that you will not hit your foot on a rock.'"

7 Jesus answered him, "It also says in the Scriptures, 'Do not test the Lord your God.'"

8 Then the devil led Jesus to the top of a very high mountain and showed him all the kingdoms of the world and all their splendor.

9 The devil said, "If you will bow down and worship me, I will give you all these things."

10 Jesus said to the devil, "Go away from me, Satan! It is written in the Scriptures, 'You must worship the Lord your God and serve only him.'"

11 So the devil left Jesus, and angels came and took care of him.

12 When Jesus heard that John had been put in prison, he went back to Galilee.

13 He left Nazareth and went to live in Capernaum, a town near Lake Galilee, in the area near Zebulun and Naphtali.

14 Jesus did this to bring about what the prophet Isaiah had said:

15 "Land of Zebulun and land of Naphtali along the sea, beyond the Jordan River. This is Galilee where the non-Jewish people live.

16 These people who live in darkness will see a great light. They live in a place covered with the shadows of death, but a light will shine on them."

17 From that time Jesus began to preach, saying, "Change your hearts and lives, because the kingdom of heaven is near."

18 As Jesus was walking by Lake Galilee, he saw two brothers, Simon (called Peter) and his brother Andrew. They were throwing a net into the lake because they were fishermen.

19 Jesus said, "Come follow me, and I will make you fish for people."

20 So Simon and Andrew immediately left their nets and followed him.

21 As Jesus continued walking by Lake Galilee, he saw two other brothers, James and John, the sons of Zebedee. They were in a boat with their father Zebedee, mending their nets. Jesus told them to come with him.

22 Immediately they left the boat and their father, and they followed Jesus.

23 Jesus went everywhere in Galilee, teaching in the synagogues, preaching the Good News about the kingdom of heaven, and healing all the people's diseases and sicknesses.

24 The news about Jesus spread all over Syria, and people brought all the sick to him. They were suffering from different kinds of diseases. Some were in great pain, some had demons, some were epileptics, and some were paralyzed. Jesus healed all of them.

25 Many people from Galilee, the Ten Towns, Jerusalem, Judea, and the land across the Jordan River followed him.

1 Jesus, filled with the Holy Spirit, returned from the Jordan River. The Spirit led Jesus into the desert

2 where the devil tempted Jesus for forty days. Jesus ate nothing during that time, and when those days were ended, he was very hungry.

3 The devil said to Jesus, "If you are the Son of God, tell this rock to become bread."

4 Jesus answered, "It is written in the Scriptures: 'A person does not live by eating only bread.'"

5 Then the devil took Jesus and showed him all the kingdoms of the world in an instant.

6 The devil said to Jesus, "I will give you all these kingdoms and all their power and glory. It has all been given to me, and I can give it to anyone I wish.

7 If you worship me, then it will all be yours."

8 Jesus answered, "It is written in the Scriptures: 'You must worship the Lord your God and serve only him.'"

9 Then the devil led Jesus to Jerusalem and put him on a high place of the Temple. He said to Jesus, "If you are the Son of God, jump down.

10 It is written in the Scriptures: 'He has put his angels in charge of you to watch over you.'

11 It is also written: 'They will catch you in their hands so that you will not hit your foot on a rock.'"

12 Jesus answered, "But it also says in the Scriptures: 'Do not test the Lord your God.'"

13 After the devil had tempted Jesus in every way, he left him to wait until a better time.

14 Jesus returned to Galilee in the power of the Holy Spirit, and stories about him spread all through the area.

15 He began to teach in their synagogues, and everyone praised him.

16 Jesus traveled to Nazareth, where he had grown up. On the Sabbath day he went to the synagogue, as he always did, and stood up to read.

17 The book of Isaiah the prophet was given to him. He opened the book and found the place where this is written:

18 "The Lord has put his Spirit in me, because he appointed me to tell the Good News to the poor. He has sent me to tell the captives they are free and to tell the blind that they can see again.

19 God sent me to free those who have been treated unfairly and to announce the time when the Lord will show his kindness."

20 Jesus closed the book, gave it back to the assistant, and sat down. Everyone in the synagogue was watching Jesus closely.

21 He began to say to them, "While you heard these words just now, they were coming true!"

22 All the people spoke well of Jesus and were amazed at the words of grace he spoke. They asked, "Isn't this Joseph's son?"

23 Jesus said to them, "I know that you will tell me the old saying: 'Doctor, heal yourself.' You want to say, 'We heard about the things you did in Capernaum. Do those things here in your own town!'"

24 Then Jesus said, "I tell you the truth, a prophet is not accepted in his hometown.

25 But I tell you the truth, there were many widows in Israel during the time of Elijah. It did not rain in Israel for three and one-half years, and there was no food anywhere in the whole country.

26 But Elijah was sent to none of those widows, only to a widow in Zarephath, a town in Sidon.

27 And there were many with skin diseases living in Israel during the time of the prophet Elisha. But none of them were healed, only Naaman, who was from the country of Syria."

28 When all the people in the synagogue heard these things, they became very angry.

29 They got up, forced Jesus out of town, and took him to the edge of the cliff on which the town was built. They planned to throw him off the edge,

30 but Jesus walked through the crowd and went on his way.

31 Jesus went to Capernaum, a city in Galilee, and on the Sabbath day, he taught the people.

32 They were amazed at his teaching, because he spoke with authority.

33 In the synagogue a man who had within him an evil spirit shouted in a loud voice,

34 "Jesus of Nazareth! What do you want with us? Did you come to destroy us? I know who you are -- God's Holy One!"

35 Jesus commanded the evil spirit, "Be quiet! Come out of the man!" The evil spirit threw the man down to the ground before all the people and then left the man without hurting him.

36 The people were amazed and said to each other, "What does this mean? With authority and power he commands evil spirits, and they come out."

37 And so the news about Jesus spread to every place in the whole area.

38 Jesus left the synagogue and went to the home of Simon. Simon's mother-in-law was sick with a high fever, and they asked Jesus to help her.

39 He came to her side and commanded the fever to leave. It left her, and immediately she got up and began serving them.

40 When the sun went down, the people brought those who were sick to Jesus. Putting his hands on each sick person, he healed every one of them.

41 Demons came out of many people, shouting, "You are the Son of God." But Jesus commanded the demons and would not allow them to speak, because they knew Jesus was the Christ.

42 At daybreak, Jesus went to a lonely place, but the people looked for him. When they found him, they tried to keep him from leaving.

43 But Jesus said to them, "I must preach about God's kingdom to other towns, too. This is why I was sent."

44 Then he kept on preaching in the synagogues of Judea.

1 One day while Jesus was standing beside Lake Galilee, many people were pressing all around him to hear the word of God.

2 Jesus saw two boats at the shore of the lake. The fishermen had left them and were washing their nets.

3 Jesus got into one of the boats, the one that belonged to Simon, and asked him to push off a little from the land. Then Jesus sat down and continued to teach the people from the boat.

4 When Jesus had finished speaking, he said to Simon, "Take the boat into deep water, and put your nets in the water to catch some fish."

5 Simon answered, "Master, we worked hard all night trying to catch fish, and we caught nothing. But you say to put the nets in the water, so I will."

6 When the fishermen did as Jesus told them, they caught so many fish that the nets began to break.

7 They called to their partners in the other boat to come and help them. They came and filled both boats so full that they were almost sinking.

8 When Simon Peter saw what had happened, he bowed down before Jesus and said, "Go away from me, Lord. I am a sinful man!"

9 He and the other fishermen were amazed at the many fish they caught, as were

10 James and John, the sons of Zebedee, Simon's partners. Jesus said to Simon, "Don't be afraid. From now on you will fish for people."

11 When the men brought their boats to the shore, they left everything and followed Jesus.

12 When Jesus was in one of the towns, there was a man covered with a skin disease. When he saw Jesus, he bowed before him and begged him, "Lord, you can heal me if you will."

13 Jesus reached out his hand and touched the man and said, "I will. Be healed!" Immediately the disease disappeared.

14 Then Jesus said, "Don't tell anyone about this, but go and show yourself to the priestn and offer a gift for your healing, as Moses commanded. This will show the people what I have done."

15 But the news about Jesus spread even more. Many people came to hear Jesus and to be healed of their sicknesses,

16 but Jesus often slipped away to be alone so he could pray.

17 One day as Jesus was teaching the people, the Pharisees and teachers of the law from every town in Galilee and Judea and from Jerusalem were there. The Lord was giving Jesus the power to heal people.

18 Just then, some men were carrying on a mat a man who was paralyzed. They tried to bring him in and put him down before Jesus.

19 But because there were so many people there, they could not find a way in. So they went up on the roof and lowered the man on his mat through the ceiling into the middle of the crowd right before Jesus.

20 Seeing their faith, Jesus said, "Friend, your sins are forgiven."

21 The Jewish teachers of the law and the Pharisees thought to themselves, "Who is this man who is speaking as if he were God? Only God can forgive sins."

22 But Jesus knew what they were thinking and said, "Why are you thinking these things?

23 Which is easier: to say, 'Your sins are forgiven,' or to say, 'Stand up and walk'?

24 But I will prove to you that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins." So Jesus said to the paralyzed man, "I tell you, stand up, take your mat, and go home."

25 At once the man stood up before them, picked up his mat, and went home, praising God.

26 All the people were fully amazed and began to praise God. They were filled with much respect and said, "Today we have seen amazing things!"

27 After this, Jesus went out and saw a tax collector named Levi sitting in the tax collector's booth. Jesus said to him, "Follow me!"

28 So Levi got up, left everything, and followed him.

29 Then Levi gave a big dinner for Jesus at his house. Many tax collectors and other people were eating there, too.

30 But the Pharisees and the men who taught the law for the Pharisees began to complain to Jesus' followers, "Why do you eat and drink with tax collectors and sinners?"

31 Jesus answered them, "It is not the healthy people who need a doctor, but the sick.

32 I have not come to invite good people but sinners to change their hearts and lives."

33 They said to Jesus, "John's followers often give up eatingn for a certain time and pray, just as the Pharisees do. But your followers eat and drink all the time."

34 Jesus said to them, "You cannot make the friends of the bridegroom give up eating while he is still with them.

35 But the time will come when the bridegroom will be taken away from them, and then they will give up eating."

36 Jesus told them this story: "No one takes cloth off a new coat to cover a hole in an old coat. Otherwise, he ruins the new coat, and the cloth from the new coat will not be the same as the old cloth.

37 Also, no one ever pours new wine into old leather bags. Otherwise, the new wine will break the bags, the wine will spill out, and the leather bags will be ruined.

38 New wine must be put into new leather bags.

39 No one after drinking old wine wants new wine, because he says, 'The old wine is better.'"

15 John tells the truth about him and cries out, saying, "This is the One I told you about: 'The One who comes after me is greater than I am, because he was living before me.'"

16 Because he was full of grace and truth, from him we all received one gift after another.

17 The law was given through Moses, but grace and truth came through Jesus Christ.

18 No one has ever seen God. But God the only Son is very close to the Father, and he has shown us what God is like.

19 Here is the truth Johnn told when the Jews in Jerusalem sent priests and Levites to ask him, "Who are you?"

20 John spoke freely and did not refuse to answer. He said, "I am not the Christ."

21 So they asked him, "Then who are you? Are you Elijah?" He answered, "No, I am not." "Are you the Prophet?" they asked. He answered, "No."

22 Then they said, "Who are you? Give us an answer to tell those who sent us. What do you say about yourself?"

23 John told them in the words of the prophet Isaiah: "I am the voice of one calling out in the desert: 'Make the road straight for the Lord.'"

24 Some Pharisees who had been sent asked John:

25 "If you are not the Christ or Elijah or the Prophet, why do you baptize people?"

26 John answered, "I baptize with water, but there is one here with you that you don't know about.

27 He is the One who comes after me. I am not good enough to untie the strings of his sandals."

28 This all happened at Bethany on the other side of the Jordan River, where John was baptizing people.

29 The next day John saw Jesus coming toward him. John said, "Look, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!

30 This is the One I was talking about when I said, 'A man will come after me, but he is greater than I am, because he was living before me.'

31 Even I did not know who he was, although I came baptizing with water so that the people of Israel would know who he is."

32

33 Then John said, "I saw the Spirit come down from heaven in the form of a dove and rest on him. Until then I did not know who the Christ was. But the God who sent me to baptize with water told me, 'You will see the Spirit come down and rest on a man; he is the One who will baptize with the Holy Spirit.'

34 I have seen this happen, and I tell you the truth: This man is the Son of God."

35 The next day Johnn was there again with two of his followers.

36 When he saw Jesus walking by, he said, "Look, the Lamb of God!"

37 The two followers heard John say this, so they followed Jesus.

38 When Jesus turned and saw them following him, he asked, "What are you looking for?" They said, "Rabbi, where are you staying?" ("Rabbi" means "Teacher.")

39 He answered, "Come and see." So the two men went with Jesus and saw where he was staying and stayed there with him that day. It was about four o'clock in the afternoon.

40 One of the two men who followed Jesus after they heard John speak about him was Andrew, Simon Peter's brother.

41 The first thing Andrew did was to find his brother Simon and say to him, "We have found the Messiah." ("Messiah" means "Christ.")

42 Then Andrew took Simon to Jesus. Jesus looked at him and said, "You are Simon son of John. You will be called Cephas." ("Cephas" means "Peter."n)

43 The next day Jesus decided to go to Galilee. He found Philip and said to him, "Follow me."

44 Philip was from the town of Bethsaida, where Andrew and Peter lived.

45 Philip found Nathanael and told him, "We have found the man that Moses wrote about in the law, and the prophets also wrote about him. He is Jesus, the son of Joseph, from Nazareth."

46 But Nathanael said to Philip, "Can anything good come from Nazareth?" Philip answered, "Come and see."

47 As Jesus saw Nathanael coming toward him, he said, "Here is truly an Israelite. There is nothing false in him."

48 Nathanael asked, "How do you know me?" Jesus answered, "I saw you when you were under the fig tree, before Philip told you about me."

49 Then Nathanael said to Jesus, "Teacher, you are the Son of God; you are the King of Israel."

50 Jesus said to Nathanael, "Do you believe simply because I told you I saw you under the fig tree? You will see greater things than that."

51 And Jesus said to them, "I tell you the truth, you will all see heaven open and 'angels of God going up and coming down' on the Son of Man."