John the Baptist Prepares the Way

3:2–10pp—Mt 3:1–10; Mk 1:3–5
3:16,17pp—Mt 3:11,12; Mk 1:7,8

3 In the fifteenth year of the reign of Tiberius Caesar—when Pontius Pilatei was governor of Judea, Herodj tetrarch of Galilee, his brother Philip tetrarch of Iturea and Traconitis, and Lysanias tetrarch of Abilene—2 during the high-priesthood of Annas and Caiaphas,k the word of God came to Johnl son of Zechariahm in the wilderness. 3 He went into all the country around the Jordan, preaching a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins.n 4 As it is written in the book of the words of Isaiah the prophet:

“A voice of one calling in the wilderness,

‘Prepare the way for the Lord,

make straight paths for him.

5 Every valley shall be filled in,

every mountain and hill made low.

The crooked roads shall become straight,

the rough ways smooth.

6 And all people will see God’s salvation.’ ”a o

7 John said to the crowds coming out to be baptized by him, “You brood of vipers!p Who warned you to flee from the coming wrath?q 8 Produce fruit in keeping with repentance. And do not begin to say to yourselves, ‘We have Abraham as our father.’r For I tell you that out of these stones God can raise up children for Abraham. 9 The ax is already at the root of the trees, and every tree that does not produce good fruit will be cut down and thrown into the fire.”s

10 “What should we do then?”t the crowd asked.

11 John answered, “Anyone who has two shirts should share with the one who has none, and anyone who has food should do the same.”u

12 Even tax collectors came to be baptized.v “Teacher,” they asked, “what should we do?”

13 “Don’t collect any more than you are required to,”w he told them.

14 Then some soldiers asked him, “And what should we do?”

He replied, “Don’t extort money and don’t accuse people falselyx—be content with your pay.”

15 The people were waiting expectantly and were all wondering in their hearts if Johny might possibly be the Messiah.z 16 John answered them all, “I baptize you withb water.a But one who is more powerful than I will come, the straps of whose sandals I am not worthy to untie. He will baptize you withc the Holy Spirit and fire.b 17 His winnowing forkc is in his hand to clear his threshing floor and to gather the wheat into his barn, but he will burn up the chaff with unquenchable fire.”d 18 And with many other words John exhorted the people and proclaimed the good news to them.

19 But when John rebuked Herode the tetrarch because of his marriage to Herodias, his brother’s wife, and all the other evil things he had done, 20 Herod added this to them all: He locked John up in prison.f

The Baptism and Genealogy of Jesus

3:21,22pp—Mt 3:13–17; Mk 1:9–11
3:23–38pp—Mt 1:1–17

21 When all the people were being baptized, Jesus was baptized too. And as he was praying,g heaven was opened 22 and the Holy Spirit descended on himh in bodily form like a dove. And a voice came from heaven: “You are my Son,i whom I love; with you I am well pleased.”j

23 Now Jesus himself was about thirty years old when he began his ministry.k He was the son, so it was thought, of Joseph,l

the son of Heli, 24 the son of Matthat,

the son of Levi, the son of Melki,

the son of Jannai, the son of Joseph,

25 the son of Mattathias, the son of Amos,

the son of Nahum, the son of Esli,

the son of Naggai, 26 the son of Maath,

the son of Mattathias, the son of Semein,

the son of Josek, the son of Joda,

27 the son of Joanan, the son of Rhesa,

the son of Zerubbabel,m the son of Shealtiel,

the son of Neri, 28 the son of Melki,

the son of Addi, the son of Cosam,

the son of Elmadam, the son of Er,

29 the son of Joshua, the son of Eliezer,

the son of Jorim, the son of Matthat,

the son of Levi, 30 the son of Simeon,

the son of Judah, the son of Joseph,

the son of Jonam, the son of Eliakim,

31 the son of Melea, the son of Menna,

the son of Mattatha, the son of Nathan,n

the son of David, 32 the son of Jesse,

the son of Obed, the son of Boaz,

the son of Salmon,d the son of Nahshon,

33 the son of Amminadab, the son of Ram,e

the son of Hezron, the son of Perez,o

the son of Judah, 34 the son of Jacob,

the son of Isaac, the son of Abraham,

the son of Terah, the son of Nahor,p

35 the son of Serug, the son of Reu,

the son of Peleg, the son of Eber,

the son of Shelah, 36 the son of Cainan,

the son of Arphaxad,q the son of Shem,

the son of Noah, the son of Lamech,r

37 the son of Methuselah, the son of Enoch,

the son of Jared, the son of Mahalalel,

the son of Kenan,s 38 the son of Enosh,

the son of Seth, the son of Adam,

the son of God.t

Jesus Is Tested in the Wilderness

4:1–13pp—Mt 4:1–11; Mk 1:12,13

4 Jesus, full of the Holy Spirit,u left the Jordanv and was led by the Spiritw into the wilderness, 2 where for forty daysx he was tempteda by the devil.y He ate nothing during those days, and at the end of them he was hungry.

3 The devil said to him, “If you are the Son of God,z tell this stone to become bread.”

4 Jesus answered, “It is written: ‘Man shall not live on bread alone.’b”a

5 The devil led him up to a high place and showed him in an instant all the kingdoms of the world.b 6 And he said to him, “I will give you all their authority and splendor; it has been given to me,c and I can give it to anyone I want to. 7 If you worship me, it will all be yours.”

8 Jesus answered, “It is written: ‘Worship the Lord your God and serve him only.’c”d

9 The devil led him to Jerusalem and had him stand on the highest point of the temple. “If you are the Son of God,” he said, “throw yourself down from here. 10 For it is written:

“ ‘He will command his angels concerning you

to guard you carefully;

11 they will lift you up in their hands,

so that you will not strike your foot against a stone.’d”e

12 Jesus answered, “It is said: ‘Do not put the Lord your God to the test.’e”f

13 When the devil had finished all this tempting,g he left himh until an opportune time.

Jesus Rejected at Nazareth

14 Jesus returned to Galileei in the power of the Spirit, and news about him spread through the whole countryside.j 15 He was teaching in their synagogues,k and everyone praised him.

16 He went to Nazareth,l where he had been brought up, and on the Sabbath day he went into the synagogue,m as was his custom. He stood up to read,n 17 and the scroll of the prophet Isaiah was handed to him. Unrolling it, he found the place where it is written:

18 “The Spirit of the Lord is on me,o

because he has anointed me

to proclaim good newsp to the poor.

He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners

and recovery of sight for the blind,

to set the oppressed free,

19 to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor.”f q

20 Then he rolled up the scroll, gave it back to the attendant and sat down.r The eyes of everyone in the synagogue were fastened on him. 21 He began by saying to them, “Today this scripture is fulfilleds in your hearing.”

22 All spoke well of him and were amazed at the gracious words that came from his lips. “Isn’t this Joseph’s son?” they asked.t

23 Jesus said to them, “Surely you will quote this proverb to me: ‘Physician, heal yourself!’ And you will tell me, ‘Do here in your hometownu what we have heard that you did in Capernaum.’ ”v

24 “Truly I tell you,” he continued, “no prophet is accepted in his hometown.w 25 I assure you that there were many widows in Israel in Elijah’s time, when the sky was shut for three and a half years and there was a severe famine throughout the land.x 26 Yet Elijah was not sent to any of them, but to a widow in Zarephath in the region of Sidon.y 27 And there were many in Israel with leprosyg in the time of Elisha the prophet, yet not one of them was cleansed—only Naaman the Syrian.”z

28 All the people in the synagogue were furious when they heard this. 29 They got up, drove him out of the town,a and took him to the brow of the hill on which the town was built, in order to throw him off the cliff. 30 But he walked right through the crowd and went on his way.b

Jesus Drives Out an Impure Spirit

4:31–37pp—Mk 1:21–28

31 Then he went down to Capernaum,c a town in Galilee, and on the Sabbath he taught the people. 32 They were amazed at his teaching,d because his words had authority.e

33 In the synagogue there was a man possessed by a demon, an impure spirit. He cried out at the top of his voice, 34 “Go away! What do you want with us,f Jesus of Nazareth?g Have you come to destroy us? I know who you areh—the Holy One of God!”i

35 “Be quiet!” Jesus said sternly.j “Come out of him!” Then the demon threw the man down before them all and came out without injuring him.

36 All the people were amazedk and said to each other, “What words these are! With authorityl and power he gives orders to impure spirits and they come out!” 37 And the news about him spread throughout the surrounding area.m

Jesus Heals Many

4:38–41pp—Mt 8:14–17
4:38–43pp—Mk 1:29–38

38 Jesus left the synagogue and went to the home of Simon. Now Simon’s mother-in-law was suffering from a high fever, and they asked Jesus to help her. 39 So he bent over her and rebukedn the fever, and it left her. She got up at once and began to wait on them.

40 At sunset, the people brought to Jesus all who had various kinds of sickness, and laying his hands on each one,o he healed them.p 41 Moreover, demons came out of many people, shouting, “You are the Son of God!”q But he rebukedr them and would not allow them to speak,s because they knew he was the Messiah.

42 At daybreak, Jesus went out to a solitary place. The people were looking for him and when they came to where he was, they tried to keep him from leaving them. 43 But he said, “I must proclaim the good news of the kingdom of Godt to the other towns also, because that is why I was sent.” 44 And he kept on preaching in the synagogues of Judea.u

Jesus Calls His First Disciples

5:1–11pp—Mt 4:18–22; Mk 1:16–20; Jn 1:40–42

5 One day as Jesus was standing by the Lake of Gennesaret,a the people were crowding around him and listening to the word of God.v 2 He saw at the water’s edge two boats, left there by the fishermen, who were washing their nets. 3 He got into one of the boats, the one belonging to Simon, and asked him to put out a little from shore. Then he sat down and taught the people from the boat.w

4 When he had finished speaking, he said to Simon, “Put out into deep water, and let down the nets for a catch.”x

5 Simon answered, “Master,y we’ve worked hard all night and haven’t caught anything.z But because you say so, I will let down the nets.”

6 When they had done so, they caught such a large number of fish that their nets began to break.a 7 So they signaled their partners in the other boat to come and help them, and they came and filled both boats so full that they began to sink.

8 When Simon Peter saw this, he fell at Jesus’ knees and said, “Go away from me, Lord; I am a sinful man!”b 9 For he and all his companions were astonished at the catch of fish they had taken, 10 and so were James and John, the sons of Zebedee, Simon’s partners.

Then Jesus said to Simon, “Don’t be afraid;c from now on you will fish for people.” 11 So they pulled their boats up on shore, left everything and followed him.d

Jesus Heals a Man With Leprosy

5:12–14pp—Mt 8:2–4; Mk 1:40–44

12 While Jesus was in one of the towns, a man came along who was covered with leprosy.b e When he saw Jesus, he fell with his face to the ground and begged him, “Lord, if you are willing, you can make me clean.”

13 Jesus reached out his hand and touched the man. “I am willing,” he said. “Be clean!” And immediately the leprosy left him.

14 Then Jesus ordered him, “Don’t tell anyone,f but go, show yourself to the priest and offer the sacrifices that Moses commandedg for your cleansing, as a testimony to them.”

15 Yet the news about him spread all the more,h so that crowds of people came to hear him and to be healed of their sicknesses. 16 But Jesus often withdrew to lonely places and prayed.i

Jesus Forgives and Heals a Paralyzed Man

5:18–26pp—Mt 9:2–8; Mk 2:3–12

17 One day Jesus was teaching, and Pharisees and teachers of the lawj were sitting there. They had come from every village of Galilee and from Judea and Jerusalem. And the power of the Lord was with Jesus to heal the sick.k 18 Some men came carrying a paralyzed man on a mat and tried to take him into the house to lay him before Jesus. 19 When they could not find a way to do this because of the crowd, they went up on the roof and lowered him on his mat through the tiles into the middle of the crowd, right in front of Jesus.

20 When Jesus saw their faith, he said, “Friend, your sins are forgiven.”l

21 The Pharisees and the teachers of the law began thinking to themselves, “Who is this fellow who speaks blasphemy? Who can forgive sins but God alone?”m

22 Jesus knew what they were thinking and asked, “Why are you thinking these things in your hearts? 23 Which is easier: to say, ‘Your sins are forgiven,’ or to say, ‘Get up and walk’? 24 But I want you to know that the Son of Mann has authority on earth to forgive sins.” So he said to the paralyzed man, “I tell you, get up, take your mat and go home.” 25 Immediately he stood up in front of them, took what he had been lying on and went home praising God. 26 Everyone was amazed and gave praise to God.o They were filled with awe and said, “We have seen remarkable things today.”

Jesus Calls Levi and Eats With Sinners

5:27–32pp—Mt 9:9–13; Mk 2:14–17

27 After this, Jesus went out and saw a tax collector by the name of Levi sitting at his tax booth. “Follow me,”p Jesus said to him, 28 and Levi got up, left everything and followed him.q

29 Then Levi held a great banquet for Jesus at his house, and a large crowd of tax collectorsr and others were eating with them. 30 But the Pharisees and the teachers of the law who belonged to their sects complained to his disciples, “Why do you eat and drink with tax collectors and sinners?”t

31 Jesus answered them, “It is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick. 32 I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance.”u

Jesus Questioned About Fasting

5:33–39pp—Mt 9:14–17; Mk 2:18–22

33 They said to him, “John’s disciplesv often fast and pray, and so do the disciples of the Pharisees, but yours go on eating and drinking.”

34 Jesus answered, “Can you make the friends of the bridegroomw fast while he is with them? 35 But the time will come when the bridegroom will be taken from them;x in those days they will fast.”

36 He told them this parable: “No one tears a piece out of a new garment to patch an old one. Otherwise, they will have torn the new garment, and the patch from the new will not match the old. 37 And no one pours new wine into old wineskins. Otherwise, the new wine will burst the skins; the wine will run out and the wineskins will be ruined. 38 No, new wine must be poured into new wineskins. 39 And no one after drinking old wine wants the new, for they say, ‘The old is better.’ ”