The beginning of the gospel
of Jesus
Christ
, athe Son
of God
.
aAs it is written in Isaiah
the prophet
: " bBEHOLD
, I SEND
MY MESSENGER
1AHEAD
OF YOU, WHO
WILL PREPARE
YOUR WAY
;
aTHE VOICE OF ONE CRYING
IN THE WILDERNESS
, `MAKE
READY
THE WAY
OF THE LORD
, MAKE
HIS PATHS
STRAIGHT
.' "
John the Baptist
appeared
in the wilderness
1 apreaching
a baptism
of repentance
for the bforgiveness
of sins
.
And all the country
of Judea
was going
out to him, and all
the people
of Jerusalem
; and they were being baptized
by him in the Jordan
River
, confessing
their sins
.
John was clothed
with camel's
hair
and wore aa leather
belt
around
his waist
, and 1his diet
was locusts
and wild
honey
.
And he was 1preaching, and saying
, "After
me One is coming
who is mightier
than I, and I am
not fit
to stoop
down
and untie
the thong
of His sandals
.
"I baptized you 1with water
; but He will baptize
you 1with the Holy
Spirit
."
aIn those days
Jesus
bcame
from Nazareth
in Galilee
and was baptized
by John
in the Jordan
.
Immediately coming
up out of the water
, He saw
the heavens
1opening
, and the Spirit
like
a dove
descending
upon Him;
and a voice came
out of the heavens
: " aYou are My beloved
Son
, in You I am
well-pleased
."
aImmediately the Spirit
*impelled
Him to go out into the wilderness
.
And He was in the wilderness forty
days
being tempted
by aSatan
; and He was with the wild
beasts
, and the angels
were ministering
to Him.
aNow after John
had been 1taken
into custody
, Jesus
came
into Galilee
, 2 bpreaching
the gospel
of God
,
and saying, " aThe time
is fulfilled
, and the kingdom
of God
1is at hand
; brepent
and 2believe
in the gospel
."
aAs He was going along
by the Sea
of Galilee
, He saw
Simon
and Andrew
, the brother
of Simon
, casting
a net
in the sea
; for they were fishermen
.
And Jesus said
to them, "Follow
Me, and I will make
you become
fishers
of men
."
Immediately they left
their nets
and followed
Him.
Going on a little
farther
, He saw
1James
the son of Zebedee
, and John
his brother
, who
were also
in the boat
mending
the nets
.
Immediately He called
them; and they left
their father
Zebedee
in the boat
with the hired
servants
, and went
away
1to follow
Him.
aThey *went into Capernaum
; and immediately
on the Sabbath
bHe entered
the synagogue
and began to teach
.
aThey were amazed at His teaching
; for He was teaching
them as one having
authority
, and not as the scribes
.
Just then
there was a man
in their synagogue
with an unclean
spirit
; and he cried
out,
saying, " aWhat
1business do we have with each other, Jesus
2of bNazareth
? Have You come
to destroy
us? I know
who
You are-- cthe Holy
One
of God
!"
And Jesus rebuked
him, saying
, "Be quiet
, and come
out of him!"
Throwing him into convulsions
, the unclean
spirit
cried
out with a loud
voice
and came
out of him.
They were all aamazed
, so
that they debated
among themselves
, saying
, "What
is this
? A new
teaching
with authority
! He commands
even
the unclean
spirits
, and they obey
Him."
Immediately the news
about Him spread
everywhere
into all
the surrounding
district
of Galilee
.
aAnd immediately after they came
bout of the synagogue
, they came
into the house
of Simon
and Andrew
, with 1James
and John
.
Now Simon's
mother-in-law
was lying
sick
with a fever
; and immediately
they *spoke
to 1Jesus about
her.
And He came to her and raised
her up, taking
her by the hand
, and the fever
left
her, and she 1waited
on them.
aWhen evening came
, bafter
the sun
had set
, they began bringing
to Him all
who were ill
and those
who were cdemon-possessed
.
And the whole acity
had gathered
at the door
.
And He ahealed many
who were ill
with various
diseases
, and cast
out many
demons
; and He was not permitting
the demons
to speak
, because
they knew
who He was.
aIn the early morning
, while
it was still
dark
, Jesus got
up, left
the house, and went
away
to a secluded
place
, and bwas praying
there
.
Simon and his companions
searched
for Him;
they found Him, and *said
to Him, "Everyone
is looking
for You."
He *said to them, "Let us go
somewhere
else
to the towns
nearby
, so
that I may 1preach
there
also
; for that is what I came
for."
aAnd He went into their synagogues
throughout
all
Galilee
, 1preaching
and casting
out the demons
.
aAnd a leper *came
to Jesus, beseeching
Him and bfalling
on his knees
before
Him, and saying
, "If
You are willing
, You can
make
me clean
."
Moved with compassion
, Jesus stretched
out His hand
and touched
him, and *said
to him, "I am
willing
; be cleansed
."
Immediately the leprosy
left
him and he was cleansed
.
And He sternly warned
him and immediately
sent
him away
,
and He *said to him, " aSee
that you say
nothing
to anyone
; but ago
, show
yourself
to the priest
and boffer
for your cleansing
what
Moses
commanded
, as a testimony
to them."
But he went out and began
to aproclaim
it freely
and to aspread
the news
around
, to such
an extent
that 1Jesus could
no
longer
publicly
enter
a city
, but 2stayed
out in unpopulated
areas
; and bthey were coming
to Him from everywhere
.