Matthew 4; Luke 4–5; John 1:17–51

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Matthew 4

The Temptation of Jesus

sThen Jesus was led up by the Spirit into the wilderness tto be tempted by the devil. And after fasting uforty days and forty nights, he vwas hungry. And wthe tempter came and said to him, If you are xthe Son of God, command ythese stones to become loaves of bread. But he answered, zIt is written,

aMan shall not live by bread alone,

but by every word that comes from the mouth of God.

bThen the devil took him to cthe holy city and set him on the pinnacle of the temple and said to him, If you are the Son of God, throw yourself down, for it is written,

dHe will command his angels concerning you,

and

On their hands they will bear you up,

lest you strike your foot against a stone.

Jesus said to him, Again eit is written, fYou shall not gput the Lord your God to the test. hAgain, the devil took him to a very high mountain and showed him all the kingdoms of the world and their glory. And he said to him, All these I will give you, if you will fall down and worship me. 10 Then Jesus said to him, Be gone, iSatan! For jit is written,

kYou shall worship the Lord your God

and lhim only shall you serve.

11 Then the devil left him, and behold, mangels came and were ministering to him.

Jesus Begins His Ministry

12 Now when he heard that nJohn had been arrested, ohe withdrew into Galilee. 13 And leaving pNazareth he went and lived in qCapernaum by rthe sea, in the territory of sZebulun and Naphtali, 14 tso that what was spoken by the prophet Isaiah might be fulfilled:

15  uThe land of Zebulun and the land of Naphtali,

the way of the sea, beyond the Jordan, Galilee of the Gentiles

16  vthe people dwelling in darkness

have seen a great light,

and for those dwelling in the region and wshadow of death,

on them a light has dawned.

17 xFrom that time Jesus began to preach, saying, zRepent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.1

Jesus Calls the First Disciples

18 aWhile walking by bthe Sea of Galilee, he saw two brothers, Simon (who is called Peter) and Andrew his brother, casting a net into the sea, for they were fishermen. 19 And he said to them, Follow me, and I will make you cfishers of men.2 20 Immediately they left their nets and followed him. 21 And going on from there he saw two other brothers, James the son of Zebedee and John his brother, in the boat with Zebedee their father, mending their nets, and he called them. 22 Immediately they left the boat and their father and followed him.

Jesus Ministers to Great Crowds

23 dAnd he went throughout all Galilee, eteaching in their synagogues and fproclaiming the gospel of the kingdom and ghealing every disease and every affliction among the people. 24 So his fame spread throughout all hSyria, and gthey brought him all the sick, those afflicted with various diseases and ipains, jthose oppressed by demons, kthose having seizures, and lparalytics, and he healed them. 25 mAnd great crowds followed him from Galilee and the nDecapolis, and from Jerusalem and Judea, and from beyond the Jordan.


Luke 4–5

The Temptation of Jesus

sAnd Jesus, tfull of the Holy Spirit, ureturned from the Jordan and was led vby the Spirit in the wilderness for wforty days, xbeing tempted by the devil. wAnd he ate nothing during those days. And when they were ended, yhe was hungry. The devil said to him, If you are zthe Son of God, command athis stone to become bread. And Jesus answered him, bIt is written, cMan shall not live by bread alone. dAnd the devil took him up and showed him all the kingdoms of the world in a moment of time, and said to him, To you eI will give all this authority and their glory, efor it has been delivered to me, and I give it to whom I will. If you, then, will worship me, it will all be yours. And Jesus answered him, fIt is written,

gYou shall worship the Lord your God,

and hhim only shall you serve.

iAnd he took him to Jerusalem and set him on the pinnacle of the temple and said to him, If you are jthe Son of God, throw yourself down from here, 10 for it is written,

kHe will command his angels concerning you,

to guard you,

11 and

kOn their hands they will bear you up,

lest you strike your foot against a stone.

12 And Jesus answered him, It is said, lYou shall not mput the Lord your God to the test. 13 And when the devil had ended every temptation, he departed from him nuntil an opportune time.

Jesus Begins His Ministry

14 oAnd Jesus returned pin the power of the Spirit to Galilee, and qa report about him went out through all the surrounding country. 15 And rhe taught in their synagogues, being glorified by all.

Jesus Rejected at Nazareth

16 sAnd he came to tNazareth, where he had been brought up. And uas was his custom, vhe went to the synagogue on the Sabbath day, and he stood up wto read. 17 And xthe scroll of the prophet Isaiah was given to him. He unrolled the scroll and found the place where it was written,

18  yThe Spirit of the Lord zis upon me,

because he has anointed me

to aproclaim good news to the poor.

bHe has sent me to proclaim liberty to the captives

and crecovering of sight to the blind,

dto set at liberty those who are oppressed,

19  eto proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor.

20 And he rolled up the scroll and gave it back to the attendant and fsat down. And the eyes of all in the synagogue were gfixed on him. 21 And he began to say to them, Today hthis Scripture ihas been fulfilled in your hearing. 22 And all spoke well of him and marveled at jthe gracious words that were coming from his mouth. And they said, kIs not this lJoseph’s son? 23 And he said to them, Doubtless you will quote to me this proverb, mPhysician, heal yourself. What we have heard you did nat Capernaum, do here in your hometown as well. 24 And he said, Truly, I say to you, ono prophet is acceptable in his hometown. 25 But in truth, I tell you, there were many widows in Israel in the days of Elijah, when pthe heavens were shut up three years and six months, and a great famine came over all the land, 26 and Elijah was sent to none of them qbut only to Zarephath, in the land of Sidon, to a woman who was a widow. 27 And rthere were many lepers1 in Israel in the time of the prophet Elisha, and none of them was cleansed, sbut only Naaman the Syrian. 28 When they heard these things, all in the synagogue were filled with wrath. 29 And they rose up and tdrove him out of the town and brought him to the brow of the hill on which their town was built, so that they could throw him down the cliff. 30 But upassing through their midst, he went away.

Jesus Heals a Man with an Unclean Demon

31 vAnd he wwent down to Capernaum, a city of Galilee. And xhe was teaching them yon the Sabbath, 32 and zthey were astonished at his teaching, zfor his word possessed authority. 33 And xin the synagogue there was a man who had the spirit of an unclean demon, and he cried out with a loud voice, 34 Ha!2 aWhat have you to do with us, Jesus of Nazareth? Have you come to destroy us? bI know who you arecthe Holy One of God. 35 But Jesus drebuked him, saying, Be silent and come out of him! And when the demon had thrown him down in their midst, he came out of him, having done him no harm. 36 And ethey were all amazed and said to one another, What is this word? eFor with authority and power he commands the unclean spirits, and they come out! 37 And freports about him went out into every place in the surrounding region.

Jesus Heals Many

38 gAnd he arose and left the synagogue and entered Simon’s house. Now hSimon’s mother-in-law was ill with a high fever, and they appealed to him on her behalf. 39 And he stood over her and irebuked the fever, and it left her, and immediately she rose and began to serve them.

40 Now when the sun was setting, all those who had any who were sick with various diseases brought them to him, and jhe laid his hands on every one of them and healed them. 41 kAnd demons also came out of many, lcrying, You are mthe Son of God! But he rebuked them and kwould not allow them to speak, because they knew that he was nthe Christ.

Jesus Preaches in Synagogues

42 oAnd when it was day, he departed and went pinto a desolate place. And qthe people sought him and came to him, and would have kept him from leaving them, 43 but he said to them, rI must spreach the good news of the kingdom of God to the other towns as well; for I was sent for this purpose. 44 And he was preaching tin the synagogues of Judea.3

Jesus Calls the First Disciples

On one occasion, while the crowd was pressing in on him to hear the word of God, he was standing by uthe lake of Gennesaret, vand he saw two boats by the lake, but the fishermen had gone out of them and were wwashing their nets. Getting into one of the boats, which was Simon’s, he asked him to put out a little from the land. And xhe sat down and taught the people from the boat. And when he had finished speaking, he said to Simon, yPut out into the deep and let down your nets for a catch. And Simon answered, Master, zwe toiled all night and took nothing! But at your word I will let down the nets. And when they had done this, athey enclosed a large number of fish, and atheir nets were breaking. They signaled to their partners in the other boat to come and help them. bAnd they came and filled both the boats, so that they began to sink. But when Simon Peter saw it, he fell down at Jesus’ knees, saying, cDepart from me, for dI am a sinful man, O Lord. For he and all who were with him were astonished at the catch of fish that they had taken, 10 and so also were James and John, sons of Zebedee, who were partners with Simon. And Jesus said to Simon, Do not be afraid; from now on you will be catching men.4 11 And when they had brought their boats to land, ethey left everything and followed him.

Jesus Cleanses a Leper

12 While he was in one of the cities, fthere came a man full of leprosy.5 And when he saw Jesus, he gfell on his face and begged him, Lord, hif you will, you can make me clean. 13 And Jesus6 stretched out his hand and touched him, saying, I will; be clean. And immediately the leprosy left him. 14 And he charged him ito tell no one, but go and show jyourself to the priest, and kmake an offering for your cleansing, as Moses commanded, lfor a proof to them. 15 mBut now even more the report about him went abroad, and great crowds gathered to hear him and to be healed of their infirmities. 16 But nhe would withdraw to desolate places and npray.

Jesus Heals a Paralytic

17 On one of those days, as he was teaching, Pharisees and oteachers of the law were sitting there, who had come from every village of Galilee and Judea and from Jerusalem. And pthe power of the Lord was with him to heal.7 18 qAnd behold, some men were bringing ron a bed a man who was paralyzed, and they were seeking to bring him in and lay him before Jesus, 19 but finding no way to bring him in, because of the crowd, they went up on sthe roof and let him down with his bed tthrough the tiles into the midst before Jesus. 20 And uwhen he saw their faith, he said, Man, vyour sins are forgiven you. 21 And the scribes and the Pharisees began to question, saying, Who is this who speaks wblasphemies? xWho can forgive sins but God alone? 22 When Jesus yperceived their thoughts, he answered them, Why do you question in your hearts? 23 Which is easier, to say, Your sins are forgiven you, or to say, Rise and walk? 24 But that you may know that zthe Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sinshe said to the man who was paralyzedI say to you, rise, pick up your bed and go home. 25 And immediately he rose up before them and picked up what he had been lying on and went home, aglorifying God. 26 And amazement seized them all, and they aglorified God and were filled awith awe, saying, We have seen extraordinary things today.

Jesus Calls Levi

27 bAfter this he went out and saw ca tax collector named dLevi, sitting at the tax booth. And he said to him, Follow me. 28 And eleaving everything, he rose and followed him.

29 And Levi made him a great feast in his house, and there was a large company fof tax collectors and others reclining at table with them. 30 And the Pharisees and gtheir scribes grumbled at his disciples, saying, hWhy do you eat and drink with tax collectors and sinners? 31 And Jesus answered them, Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick. 32 iI have not come to call the righteous jbut sinners kto repentance.

A Question About Fasting

33 And they said to him, lThe disciples of John mfast often and moffer prayers, nand so do the disciples of the Pharisees, but yours eat and drink. 34 And Jesus said to them, oCan you make wedding guests fast while the bridegroom is with them? 35 pThe days will come when the bridegroom is taken away from them, and qthen they will fast in those days. 36 He also told them a parable: No one tears a piece from a new garment and puts it on an old garment. If he does, he will tear the new, and the piece from the new will not match the old. 37 And no one puts new wine into old rwineskins. If he does, the new wine will burst the skins and it will be spilled, and the skins will be destroyed. 38 But new wine must be put into fresh wineskins. 39 And no one after drinking old wine desires new, for he says, The old is good.8


John 1:17–51

17 For jthe law was given through Moses; kgrace and truth came through Jesus Christ. 18 lNo one has ever seen God; mthe only God,1 who is at the Father’s side,2 nhe has made him known.

The Testimony of John the Baptist

19 And this is the otestimony of John, when the Jews sent priests and Levites from Jerusalem to ask him, pWho are you? 20 qHe confessed, and did not deny, but confessed, I am not the Christ. 21 And they asked him, What then? rAre you Elijah? He said, I am not. Are you sthe Prophet? And he answered, No. 22 So they said to him, Who are you? We need to give an answer to those who sent us. What do you say about yourself? 23 He said, I am tthe voice of one crying out in the wilderness, Make straight3 the way of the Lord, as the prophet Isaiah said.

24 (Now they had been sent from the Pharisees.) 25 They asked him, uThen why are you baptizing, if you are neither the Christ, nor Elijah, nor the Prophet? 26 John answered them, vI baptize with water, but among you stands one you do not know, 27 even whe who comes after me, the strap of whose sandal I am not worthy to untie. 28 These things took place in Bethany across the Jordan, where John was baptizing.

Behold, the Lamb of God

29 The next day he saw Jesus coming toward him, and said, Behold, xthe Lamb of God, who ytakes away the sin zof the world! 30 This is he of whom I said, aAfter me comes a man who ranks before me, because he was before me. 31 I myself did not know him, but bfor this purpose I came baptizing with water, that he might be revealed to Israel. 32 And John cbore witness: dI saw the Spirit descend from heaven like a dove, and eit remained on him. 33 I myself did not know him, but fhe who sent me to baptize gwith water said to me, He on whom you see the Spirit descend and remain, hthis is he who baptizes gwith the Holy Spirit. 34 And I have seen and have borne witness that this is the Son4 of God.

Jesus Calls the First Disciples

35 The next day again John was standing with two of his disciples, 36 and he looked at Jesus as he walked by and said, Behold, ithe Lamb of God! 37 The two disciples heard him say this, and they followed Jesus. 38 Jesus turned and saw them following and said to them, jWhat are you seeking? And they said to him, kRabbi (which means Teacher), where are you staying? 39 He said to them, Come and you will see. So they came and saw where he was staying, and they stayed with him that day, for it was about the tenth hour.5 40 lOne of the two who heard John speak and followed Jesus6 was Andrew, Simon Peter’s brother. 41 He first found his own brother Simon and said to him, We have found mthe Messiah (which means Christ). 42 He brought him to Jesus. Jesus looked at him and said, You are Simon the son of nJohn. You shall be called oCephas (which means pPeter7).

Jesus Calls Philip and Nathanael

43 qThe next day Jesus decided rto go to Galilee. He found Philip and said to him, Follow me. 44 Now sPhilip was from Bethsaida, the city of Andrew and Peter. 45 Philip found tNathanael and said to him, We have found him of whom uMoses in the Law and also the prophets wrote, Jesus vof Nazareth, wthe son of Joseph. 46 Nathanael said to him, xCan anything good come out of Nazareth? Philip said to him, Come and see. 47 Jesus saw Nathanael coming toward him and said of him, Behold, yan Israelite indeed, zin whom there is no deceit! 48 Nathanael said to him, How ado you know me? Jesus answered him, Before Philip called you, when you were under the fig tree, I saw you. 49 Nathanael answered him, bRabbi, cyou are the Son of God! You are the dKing of Israel! 50 Jesus answered him, Because I said to you, I saw you under the fig tree, do you believe? You will see greater things than these. 51 And he said to him, Truly, truly, I say to you,8 you will see eheaven opened, and fthe angels of God ascending and descending on gthe Son of Man.