The Messiah’s Herald

1The beginninga of the gospelb of Jesus Christ, the Son of God.c 2As it is written in Isaiahd the prophet:e, f

Look, I am sending My messengerg ahead of You,

who will prepare Your way.h

3A voice of one crying out in the wilderness:i

Prepare the way for the Lord;j

make His paths straight!k, l

4John came baptizingm, n in the wildernesso and preaching a baptism of repentancep, q for the forgivenessr of sins.s 5The whole Judean countryside and all the people of Jerusalemt were flocking to him, and they were baptized by him in the Jordanu River as they confessedv their sins.w 6John wore a camel-hair garment with a leather belt around his waist and ate locustsx and wild honey.y 7He was preaching: “Someone more powerfulz than I will come after me.aa I am not worthyab to stoop down and untie the strap of His sandals.ac 8I have baptized you withad water,ae but He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit.”af

The Baptism of Jesus

9Inag those days Jesus came from Nazarethah in Galileeai and was baptized in the Jordan by John. 10As soon as He came up out of the water, He saw the heavensaj being torn open and the Spirit descending to Him like a dove. 11And a voiceak came from heaven:al

You are My belovedam Son;an

I take delightao in You!ap

The Temptation of Jesus

12Immediatelyaq the Spiritar droveas Him into the wilderness.at 13He was in the wilderness 40 days, being temptedau by Satan.av He was with the wild animals,aw and the angelsax began to serve Him.

Ministry in Galilee

14Afteray John was arrested,az Jesus went to Galilee,ba preachingbb the good newsbc, bd, be of God:bf, bg 15“The timebh is fulfilled, and the kingdom of Godbi has comebj near.bk Repentbl and believebm in the good news! ”

The First Disciples

16Asbn He was passing along by the Sea of Galilee,bo He saw Simonbp and Andrew,bq Simon’s brother. They were casting a net into the sea,br since they were fishermen.

17“Follow Me,”bs Jesus told them, “and I will make you fish forbt,bu people! ”bv 18Immediately they left their nets and followedbw Him.bx 19Going on a little farther, He saw Jamesby the son of Zebedeebz and his brother John.ca They were in their boat mending their nets. 20Immediately He called them, and they left their father Zebedee in the boat with the hired men and followed Him.cb

Driving Out an Unclean Spirit

21Thencc they went into Capernaum,cd and right away He entered the •synagoguece on the Sabbathcf and began to teach.cg 22They were astonishedch at His teachingci because, unlike the •scribes,cj He was teaching them as one having authority.

23Just then a man with an •uncleanck spiritcl was in their synagogue.cm He cried out,cn 24“What do You have to do with us,co Jesus — Nazarene?cp Have You come to destroycq us? I know who You are — the Holycr One of God! ”cs

25But Jesus rebukedct him and said, “Be quiet,cu,cv and come out of him! ” 26And the unclean spirit convulsed him,cw shouted with a loud voice, and came out of him.

27Then they were all amazed,cx so they began to arguecy with one another, saying, “What is this? A new teachingcz with authority!da, db He commands even the uncleande spirits,df and they obey Him.” 28News about Him then spread throughout the entire vicinity of Galilee.dg

Healings at Capernaum

29Asdh soon as they left the synagogue,di they went into Simondj and Andrew’sdk housedl with Jamesdm and John.dn 30Simon’s mother-in-law was lying in bed with a fever, and they told Him about her at once. 31So He went to her, took her by the hand, and raised her up.do The feverdp left her,dq and she began to servedr them.ds

32Whendt evening came, after the sun had set, they began bringing to Him all those who were sickdu and those who were demon-possessed.dv 33The whole town was assembled at the door, 34and He healeddw many who were sick with various diseasesdx and drove outdy many demons.dz But He would not permit the demons to speak, because they knew Him.ea

Preaching in Galilee

35Veryeb early in the morning, while it was still dark, He got up, went out, and made His way to a deserted place.ec And He was prayinged there. 36Simonee and his companions went searching for Him. 37They found Him and said, “Everyone’s looking for You! ”

38And He said to them, “Let’s go on to the neighboring villages so that I may preachef there too. This is why I have come.” 39So He went into all of Galilee,eg preaching in their synagogueseh and driving out demons.

A Man Cleansed

40Thenei a man with a serious skin diseaseej came to Him and, on his knees,ek, el begged Him: “If You are willing, You can make me •clean.”em

41Moved with compassion,en Jesus reached out His hand and touchedeo him. “I am willing,” He told him. “Be made clean.” 42Immediately the diseaseep left him, and he was healed.eq 43Then He sternly warneder him and sent him awayes at once, 44telling him, “See that you say nothing to anyone;et but go and showeu yourself to the priest,ev and offerew what Moses prescribed for your cleansing,ex as a testimonyey to them.” 45Yet he went out and began to proclaimez it widely and to spread the news,fa with the result that Jesus could no longer enter a town openly. But He was out in deserted places, and they would come to Him from everywhere.