1 The beginning of the gospel of Jesus Christ, the son of God,
2 as it stands written in the prophets, “See how I am sending my messenger in front of you, who will prepare your way ahead of you.
3 The voice of the one crying out in the desert, ‘Prepare the way of the Lord; make his paths straight.’ ”
4 It was the case that John was baptizing in the desert and preaching the baptism of repentance for forgiveness of sins,
5 and all the region of Judaea went out to him, as did the inhabitants of Jerusalem, and they were all baptized by him in the river Jordan, confessing their sins.
6 Now John was clothed in camel hair and a leather girdle around his loins, and he ate locusts and wild honey.
7 And he would preach, and say, “He who is more powerful than me is coming after me, whose buckle of his sandals I am not worthy to stoop to loosen.
8 I have baptized you with water, but he will baptize you with holy spirit.”
9 And it came to pass in those days that Jesus came from Nazareth of Galilee and was baptized by John in the Jordan,
10 and immediately as he came up out of the water, he saw the heavens splitting apart and the spirit descending like a dove on him,
11 and a voice came out of the heavens, “You are my beloved son, with whom I am very pleased.”
12 And immediately the spirit drove him out into the desert.
13 And he was there in the desert for forty days, being tempted by Satan, and he was with the wild animals, while the angels would take care of him.
14 Then after John had been arrested, Jesus went to Galilee, proclaiming the gospel of the kingdom of God,
15 and saying, “The time has been completed and the kingdom of God has drawn near. Repent and believe in the gospel.”
First Disciples Are Called
16 Then as he was walking by the Sea of Galilee, he saw Simon and Andrew his brother, Simon's, casting a round net in the sea. After all, they were fishermen.
17 And Jesus said to them, “Come and follow me, and I will make you fishermen of men.”
18 And they immediately left their nets and followed him.
19 Then when he had moved on a little from there, he saw James the son of Zebedee and John his brother, while they were in a boat mending their nets,
20 and he immediately called them, and they left their father Zebedee in the boat with the hired servants, and went away following him.
Unclean Spirits Are Cast Out
21 Then they went into Capernaum, and on the Sabbath he immediately went into the synagogue and gave some teaching.
22 And they were astonished at his teaching, for he was teaching them as one having authority, and not as the scribes.
23 And there was a man with an unclean spirit in their synagogue, and it shouted out,
24 and said, “Hey, what have you to do with us, Jesus the Nazarene? Have you come to destroy us? I know who you are: the holy one of God.”
25 At this Jesus rebuked it and said, “Be silent and come out of him.”
26 Then the unclean spirit convulsed him and shouted in a loud voice and came out of him.
27 And they were all astounded, so much so that they debated among themselves and said, “What does this mean? What is this new doctrine, where he even commands the unclean spirits with authority and they obey him?”
28 And his fame immediately spread into the whole country area of Galilee.
Mother of Peter's Wife Is Healed
29 Then immediately when they had come out of the synagogue, they went to the house of Simon and Andrew with James and John.
30 Now Simon's mother-in-law was laid up ill with a fever, and they told him about her straightaway.
31 And he came over and took hold of her by the hand and lifted her up, and the fever left her immediately, and she looked after them.
32 When evening had come, when the sun had set, they brought to him all those with ailments and those possessed by a demon,
33 and the whole city was congregated at the door,
34 and he cured many who were ailing with various diseases, and he cast out many demons, and did not permit the demons to speak, because they knew him.
35 Then he got up early, while it was still very much night, and went out and went to a deserted place, and prayed there.
36 Meanwhile Peter and those with him went after him,
37 and when they had found him, they said to him, “Everyone is looking for you.”
38 And he said to them, “Let us go to the nearby towns, so that I may preach there too. For I have come out for this very purpose.”
39 And he preached in their synagogues in the whole of Galilee, while he also cast out the demons.
40 Then a leper came to him pleading with him, and kneeling down to him, and he said to him, “If you are willing, you are able to cleanse me.”
41 At this, Jesus, moved with compassion, stretched his hand out and touched him, and said to him, “I am willing, be cleansed.”
42 And as soon as he had spoken, the leprosy went from him, and he was cleansed.
43 Then he vehemently admonished him and straightaway dismissed him,
44 and said to him, “See to it that you don't say anything to anyone, but go and show yourself to the priest, and offer for your cleansing what Moses prescribed, as a testimony to them.”
45 But he went out and began to publicize it widely and to blaze the matter abroad, so that he could no longer go openly into a city, but was outside in desolate places. And they kept coming to him from all sides.