The beginning of the gospel of Jesus Christ, athe Son of God.
2aAs it is written in Isaiah the prophet: " bBEHOLD, I SEND MY MESSENGER 1AHEAD OF YOU, WHO WILL PREPARE YOUR WAY;
3aTHE VOICE OF ONE CRYING IN THE WILDERNESS, `MAKE READY THE WAY OF THE LORD, MAKE HIS PATHS STRAIGHT.' "
4John the Baptist appeared in the wilderness 1 apreaching a baptism of repentance for the bforgiveness of sins.
5And 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.
6John was clothed with camel's hair and wore aa leather belt around his waist, and 1his diet was locusts and wild honey.
7And 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.
8"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.
10Immediately coming up out of the water, He saw the heavens 1opening, and the Spirit like a dove descending upon Him;
11and a voice came out of the heavens: " aYou are My beloved Son, in You I am well-pleased."
12aImmediately the Spirit *impelled Him to go out into the wilderness.
13And 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,
15and saying, " aThe time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God 1is at hand; brepent and 2believe in the gospel."
16aAs 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.
17And Jesus said to them, "Follow Me, and I will make you become fishers of men."
18Immediately they left their nets and followed Him.
19Going on a little farther, He saw 1James the son of Zebedee, and John his brother, who were also in the boat mending the nets.
20Immediately He called them; and they left their father Zebedee in the boat with the hired servants, and went away 1to follow Him.
21aThey *went into Capernaum; and immediately on the Sabbath bHe entered the synagogue and began to teach.
22aThey were amazed at His teaching; for He was teaching them as one having authority, and not as the scribes.
23Just then there was a man in their synagogue with an unclean spirit; and he cried out,
24saying, " 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!"
25And Jesus rebuked him, saying, "Be quiet, and come out of him!"
26Throwing him into convulsions, the unclean spirit cried out with a loud voice and came out of him.
27They 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."
28Immediately 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.
30Now Simon's mother-in-law was lying sick with a fever; and immediately they *spoke to 1Jesus about her.
31And He came to her and raised her up, taking her by the hand, and the fever left her, and she 1waited on them.
32aWhen evening came, bafter the sun had set, they began bringing to Him all who were ill and those who were cdemon-possessed.
33And the whole acity had gathered at the door.
34And 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.
35aIn 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.
36Simon and his companions searched for Him;
37they found Him, and *said to Him, "Everyone is looking for You."
38He *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."
39aAnd He went into their synagogues throughout all Galilee, 1preaching and casting out the demons.
40aAnd 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."
41Moved with compassion, Jesus stretched out His hand and touched him, and *said to him, "I am willing; be cleansed."
42Immediately the leprosy left him and he was cleansed.
43And He sternly warned him and immediately sent him away,
44and 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."
45But 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.