The Mission of John the Baptist

¹This is the beginning of the gospel of Jesus Christ, the Son of God.

²As it is written in Isaiah the prophet:“Behold, I will send My messenger ahead of You,who will prepare Your way.”

³“A voice of one calling in the wilderness,‘Prepare the way for the Lord,make straight paths for Him.’”

⁴John the Baptist appeared in the wilderness, preaching a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins.

⁵People went out to him from all of Jerusalem and the countryside of Judea. Confessing their sins, they were baptized by him in the Jordan River.

⁶John was clothed in camel’s hair, with a leather belt around his waist. His food was locusts and wild honey.

⁷And he proclaimed: “After me will come One more powerful than I, the straps of whose sandals I am not worthy to stoop down and untie.

⁸I baptize you with water,but He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit.”

⁹In those days Jesus came from Nazareth in Galilee and was baptized by John in the Jordan.

¹⁰As soon as Jesus came up out of the water, He sawthe heavens breaking open and the Spirit descending on Him like a dove.

¹¹And a voice came from heaven: “You are My beloved Son; in You I am well pleased.”

The Temptation and Preaching of Jesus

¹²At once the Spirit drove Jesus into the wilderness,

¹³and He was there for forty days, being tempted by Satan. He was with the wild animals, and the angels ministered to Him.

¹⁴After the arrest of John, Jesus went into Galilee and proclaimed the gospel of God.

¹⁵“The time is fulfilled,” He said, “and the kingdom of God is near. Repent and believe in the gospel!”

The First Disciples

¹⁶As Jesus was walking beside the Sea of Galilee, He saw Simon and his brother Andrew. They were casting a net into the sea, for they were fishermen.

¹⁷“Come, follow Me,” Jesus said, “and I will make you fishers of men.”

¹⁸And at once they left their nets and followed Him.

¹⁹Going on a little farther, He saw James son of Zebedee and his brother John. They were in a boat, mending their nets.

²⁰Immediately Jesus called them, and they left their father Zebedee in the boat with the hired men and followed Him.

Jesus Expels an Unclean Spirit

²¹Then Jesus and His companions went to Capernaum, and right away Jesus entered the synagogue on the Sabbath and began to teach.

²²The people were astonished at His teaching, because He taught as one who had authority, and not as the scribes.

²³Suddenly a man with an unclean spirit cried out in the synagogue:

²⁴“What do You want with us, Jesus of Nazareth? Have You come to destroy us? I know who You are—the Holy One of God!”

²⁵But Jesus rebuked the spirit. “Be silent!” He said. “Come out of him!”

²⁶At this, the unclean spirit threw the man into convulsions and came out with a loud shriek.

²⁷All the people were amazed and began to ask one another, “What is this? A new teaching with authority! He commands even the unclean spirits, and they obey Him!”

²⁸And the news about Jesus spread quickly through the whole region of Galilee.

Jesus Heals at Peter’s House

²⁹As soon as Jesus and His companions had left the synagogue, they went with James and John to the home of Simon and Andrew.

³⁰Simon’s mother-in-law was sick in bed with a fever, and they promptly told Jesus about her.

³¹So He went to her, took her by the hand, and helped her up. The fever left her, and she began to serve them.

³²That evening, after sunset, people brought to Jesus all the sick and demon-possessed,

³³and the whole town gathered at the door.

³⁴And He healed many who were ill with various diseases and drove out many demons. But He would not allow the demons to speak, because they knew who He was.

Jesus Prays and Preaches

³⁵Early in the morning, while it was still dark, Jesus got up and went out to a solitary place to pray.

³⁶Simon and his companions went to look for Him,

³⁷and when they found Him, they said, “Everyone is looking for You!”

³⁸But Jesus answered, “Let us go on to the neighboring towns so I can preach there as well, for that is why I have come.”

³⁹So He went throughout Galilee, preaching in their synagogues and driving out demons.

The Leper’s Prayer

⁴⁰Then a lepercame to Jesus, begging on his knees: “If You are willing, You can make me clean.”

⁴¹Moved with compassion,Jesus reached out His hand and touched the man. “I am willing,” He said. “Be clean!”

⁴²And immediately the leprosy left him, and the man was cleansed.

⁴³Jesus promptly sent him away with a stern warning:

⁴⁴“See that you don’t tell anyone. But go, show yourself to the priest and present the offering Moses prescribed for your cleansing, as a testimony to them.”

⁴⁵But the man went out and openly began to proclaim and spread the news.Consequently, Jesus could no longer enter a town in plain view, but He stayed out in solitary places. Yet people came to Him from every quarter.

Prologue

¹In my first book, O Theophilus, I wrote about all that Jesus began to do and to teach,

²until the day He was taken up to heaven, after giving instructions through the Holy Spirit to the apostles He had chosen.

³After His suffering, He presented Himself to them with many convincing proofs that He was alive. He appeared to them over a span of forty days and spoke about the kingdom of God.

⁴And while they were gathered together,He commanded them: “Do not leave Jerusalem, but wait for the gift the Father promised, which you have heard Me discuss.

⁵For John baptized with water, but in a few days you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit.”

The Ascension

⁶So when they came together, they asked Him, “Lord, will You at this time restore the kingdom to Israel?”

⁷Jesus replied, “It is not for you to know times or seasons that the Father has fixed by His own authority.

⁸But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes upon you, and you will be My witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.”

⁹After He had said this, they watched as He was taken up, and a cloud hid Him from their sight.

¹⁰They were looking intently into the sky as He was going, when suddenly two men dressed in white stood beside them.

¹¹“Men of Galilee,” they said, “why do you stand here looking into the sky? This same Jesus, who has been taken from you into heaven, will come back in the same way you have seen Him go into heaven.”

Matthias Replaces Judas

¹²Then they returned to Jerusalem from the Mount of Olives, which is near the city, a Sabbath day’s journey away.

¹³When they arrived, they went to the upper room where they were staying: Peter and John, James and Andrew, Philip and Thomas, Bartholomew and Matthew, James son of Alphaeus, Simon the Zealot, and Judas son of James.

¹⁴With one accord they all continued in prayer, along with the women and Mary the mother of Jesus, and with His brothers.

¹⁵In those days Peter stood up among the brothers (a gathering of about a hundred and twenty) and said,

¹⁶“Brothers, the Scripture had to be fulfilled that the Holy Spirit foretold through the mouth of David concerning Judas, who became a guide for those who arrested Jesus.

¹⁷He was one of our number and shared in this ministry.”

¹⁸(Now with the reward for his wickedness Judas bought a field; there he fell headlong and burst open in the middle, and all his intestines spilled out.

¹⁹This became known to all who lived in Jerusalem, so they called that field in their own language Akeldama, that is, Field of Blood.)

²⁰“For it is written in the book of Psalms:‘May his place be deserted;let there be no one to dwell in it,’and,‘May another take his position.’

²¹Therefore it is necessary to choose one of the men who have accompanied us the whole time the Lord Jesus went in and out among us,

²²beginning from John’s baptism until the day Jesus was taken up from us. For one of these must become a witness with us of His resurrection.”

²³So they proposed two men: Joseph called Barsabbas (also known as Justus) and Matthias.

²⁴And they prayed, “Lord, You know everyone’s heart. Show us which of these two You have chosen

²⁵to take up this ministry and apostleship, which Judas abandoned to go to his rightful place.”

²⁶Then they cast lots, and the lot fell to Matthias. So he was added to the eleven apostles.

The Lord’s Prayer

¹One day in a place where Jesus had just finished praying, one of His disciples requested, “Lord, teach us to pray, just as John taught his disciples.”

²So Jesus told them, “When you pray, say:‘Father,hallowed be Your name.Your kingdom come.

³Give us each day our daily bread.

⁴And forgive us our sins,for we also forgive everyone who sins against us.And lead us not into temptation.’”

Ask, Seek, Knock

⁵Then Jesus said to them, “Suppose one of you goes to his friend at midnight and says, ‘Friend, lend me three loaves of bread,

⁶because a friend of mine has come to me on a journey, and I have nothing to set before him.’

⁷And suppose the one inside answers, ‘Do not bother me. My door is already shut, and my children and I are in bed. I cannot get up to give you anything.’

⁸I tell you, even though he will not get up to provide for him because of his friendship, yet because of the man’s persistence, he will get up and give him as much as he needs.

⁹So I tell you: Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and the door will be opened to you.

¹⁰For everyone who asks receives; he who seeks finds; and to him who knocks, the door will be opened.

¹¹What father among you, if his son asks for a fish,will give him a snake instead?

¹²Or if he asks for an egg, will give him a scorpion?

¹³So if you who are evil know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give the Holy Spirit to those who ask Him!”

A House Divided

¹⁴One day Jesus was driving out a demon that was mute. And when the demon was gone, the man who had been mute spoke. The crowds were amazed,

¹⁵but some of them said, “It is by Beelzebul,the prince of the demons, that He drives out demons.”

¹⁶And others tested Him by demanding a sign from heaven.

¹⁷Knowing their thoughts, Jesus said to them, “Every kingdom divided against itself will be laid waste, and a house divided against a house will fall.

¹⁸If Satan is divided against himself, how can his kingdom stand? After all, you say that I drive out demons by Beelzebul.

¹⁹And if I drive out demons by Beelzebul, by whom do your sons drive them out? So then, they will be your judges.

²⁰But if I drive out demons by the finger of God, then the kingdom of God has come upon you.

²¹When a strong man, fully armed, guards his house, his possessions are secure.

²²But when someone stronger attacks and overpowers him, he takes away the armor in which the man trusted, and then he divides up his plunder.

²³He who is not with Me is against Me, and he who does not gather with Me scatters.

An Unclean Spirit Returns

²⁴When an unclean spirit comes out of a man, it passes through arid places seeking rest and does not find it. Then it says, ‘I will return to the house I left.’

²⁵On its return, it finds the house swept clean and put in order.

²⁶Then it goes and brings seven other spirits more wicked than itself, and they go in and dwell there. And the final plight of that man is worse than the first.”

True Blessedness

²⁷As Jesus was saying these things, a woman in the crowd raised her voice and said, “Blessed is the womb that bore You, and blessed are the breasts that nursed You!”

²⁸But He replied, “Blessed rather are those who hear the word of God and obey it.”

The Sign of Jonah

²⁹As the crowds were increasing, Jesus said, “This is a wicked generation. It demands a sign, but none will be given it except the sign of Jonah.

³⁰For as Jonah was a sign to the Ninevites, so the Son of Man will be a sign to this generation.

³¹The Queen of the South will rise at the judgment with the men of this generation and condemn them; for she came from the ends of the earth to hear the wisdom of Solomon, and now One greater than Solomon is here.

³²The men of Nineveh will stand at the judgment with this generation and condemn it; for they repented at the preaching of Jonah, and now One greater than Jonah is here.

The Lamp of the Body

³³No one lights a lamp and puts it in a cellar or under a basket. Instead, he sets it on a stand, so those who enter can see the light.

³⁴Your eye is the lamp of your body. When your eyes are good,your whole body also is full of light. But when they are bad,your body is full of darkness.

³⁵Be careful, then, that the light within you is not darkness.

³⁶So if your whole body is full of light, with no part of it in darkness, you will be radiant, as though a lamp were shining on you.”

Woes to Pharisees and Experts in the Law

³⁷As Jesus was speaking, a Pharisee invited Him to dine with him; so He went in and reclined at the table.

³⁸But the Pharisee was surprised to see that Jesus did not first wash before the meal.

³⁹Then the Lord said, “Now you Pharisees clean the outside of the cup and dish, but inside you are full of greed and wickedness.

⁴⁰You fools! Did not the One who made the outside make the inside as well?

⁴¹But give as alms the things that are within you, and behold, everything will be clean for you.

⁴²Woe to you Pharisees! For you pay tithes of mint, rue, and every herb, but you disregard justice and the love of God. You should have practiced the latter without neglecting the former.

⁴³Woe to you Pharisees! For you love the chief seats in the synagogues and the greetings in the marketplaces.

⁴⁴Woe to you! For you are like unmarked graves, which men walk over without even noticing.”

⁴⁵One of the experts in the law told Him, “Teacher, when You say these things, You insult us as well.”

⁴⁶“Woe to you as well, experts in the law!” He replied. “For you weigh men down with heavy burdens, but you yourselves will not lift a finger to lighten their load.

⁴⁷Woe to you! For you build tombs for the prophets, but it was your fathers who killed them.

⁴⁸So you are witnesses consenting to the deeds of your fathers: They killed the prophets, and you build their tombs.

⁴⁹Because of this, the wisdom of God said, ‘I will send them prophets and apostles; some of them they will kill and others they will persecute.’

⁵⁰As a result, this generation will be charged with the blood of all the prophets that has been shed since the foundation of the world,

⁵¹from the blood of Abel to the blood of Zechariah, who was killed between the altar and the sanctuary.Yes, I tell you, all of it will be charged to this generation.

⁵²Woe to you experts in the law! For you have taken away the key to knowledge. You yourselves have not entered, and you have hindered those who were entering.”

⁵³As Jesus went on from there, the scribes and Pharisees began to oppose Him bitterly and to ply Him with questions about many things,

⁵⁴waiting to catch Him in something He might say.

The Triumphant Messiah

¹Why do the nations rageand the peoples plot in vain?

²The kings of the earth take their standand the rulers gather together,against the LORDand against His Anointed One:

³“Let us break Their chainsand cast away Their cords.”

⁴The One enthroned in heaven laughs;the Lord taunts them.

⁵Then He rebukes them in His anger,and terrifies them in His fury:

⁶“I have installed My King on Zion,upon My holy mountain.”

⁷I will proclaim the decreespoken to Me by the LORD:“You are My Son;today I have become Your Father.

⁸Ask Me, and I will make the nations Your inheritance,the ends of the earth Your possession.

⁹You will break themwith an iron scepter;You will shatter them like pottery.”

¹⁰Therefore be wise, O kings;be admonished, O judges of the earth.

¹¹Serve the LORD with fear,and rejoice with trembling.

¹²Kiss the Son, lest He be angryand you perish in your rebellion,when His wrath ignites in an instant.Blessed are all who take refuge in Him.