41 Then Jesus was led up to the wilderness by the Spirit, to be tempted by the Devil, 2 and having fasted forty days and forty nights, afterwards he did hunger. 3 And the Tempter having come to him said, 'If Son thou art of God—speak that these stones may become loaves.' 4 But he answering said, 'It hath been written, Not upon bread alone doth man live, but upon every word coming forth from the mouth of God.' 5 Then doth the Devil take him to the 'holy' city, and doth set him on the pinnacle of the temple, 6 and saith to him, 'If Son thou art of God—cast thyself down, for it hath been written, that, His messengers He shall charge concerning thee, and on hands they shall bear thee up, that thou mayest not dash on a stone thy foot.' 7 Jesus said to him again, 'It hath been written, Thou shalt not tempt the Lord thy God.' 8 Again doth the Devil take him to a very high mount, and doth shew to him all the kingdoms of the world and the glory of them, 9 and saith to him, 'All these to thee I will give, if falling down thou mayest bow to me.' 10 Then saith Jesus to him, 'Go—Adversary, for it hath been written, The Lord thy God thou shalt bow to, and Him only thou shalt serve.' 11 Then doth the Devil leave him, and lo, messengers came and were ministering to him.
12 And Jesus having heard that John was delivered up, did withdraw to Galilee, 13 and having left Nazareth, having come, he dwelt at Capernaum that is by the sea, in the borders of Zebulun and Naphtalim, 14 that it might be fulfilled that was spoken through Isaiah the prophet, saying, 15 'Land of Zebulun and land of Naphtali, way of the sea, beyond the Jordan, Galilee of the nations!— 16 the people that is sitting in darkness saw a great light, and to those sitting in a region and shadow of death—light arose to them.' 17 From that time began Jesus to proclaim and to say, 'Reform ye, for come nigh hath the reign of the heavens.'
18 And Jesus, walking by the sea of Galilee, saw two brothers, Simon named Peter and Andrew his brother, casting a drag into the sea—for they were fishers— 19 and he saith to them, 'Come ye after me, and I will make you fishers of men,' 20 and they, immediately, having left the nets, did follow him. 21 And having advanced thence, he saw other two brothers, James of Zebedee, and John his brother, in the boat with Zebedee their father, refitting their nets, and he called them, 22 and they, immediately, having left the boat and their father, did follow him.
23 And Jesus was going about all Galilee teaching in their synagogues, and proclaiming the good news of the reign, and healing every disease, and every malady among the people, 24 and his fame went forth to all Syria, and they brought to him all having ailments, pressed with manifold sicknesses and pains, and demoniacs, and lunatics, and paralytics, and he healed them. 25 And there followed him many multitudes from Galilee, and Decapolis, and Jerusalem, and Judea, and beyond the Jordan.
41 And Jesus, full of the Holy Spirit, turned back from the Jordan, and was brought in the Spirit to the wilderness, 2 forty days being tempted by the Devil, and he did not eat anything in those days, and they having been ended, he afterward hungered, 3 and the Devil said to him, 'If Son thou art of God, speak to this stone that it may become bread.' 4 And Jesus answered him, saying, 'It hath been written, that, not on bread only shall man live, but on every saying of God.' 5 And the Devil having brought him up to an high mountain, shewed to him all the kingdoms of the world in a moment of time, 6 and the Devil said to him, 'To thee I will give all this authority, and their glory, because to me it hath been delivered, and to whomsoever I will, I do give it; 7 thou, then, if thou mayest bow before me—all shall be thine.' 8 And Jesus answering him said, 'Get thee behind me, Adversary, for it hath been written, Thou shalt bow before the Lord thy God, and Him only thou shalt serve.' 9 And he brought him to Jerusalem, and set him on the pinnacle of the temple, and said to him, 'If the Son thou art of God, cast thyself down hence, 10 for it hath been written—To His messengers He will give charge concerning thee, to guard over thee, 11 and—On hands they shall bear thee up, lest at any time thou mayest dash against a stone thy foot.' 12 And Jesus answering said to him—'It hath been said, Thou shalt not tempt the Lord thy God.' 13 And having ended all temptation, the Devil departed from him till a convenient season.
14 And Jesus turned back in the power of the Spirit to Galilee, and a fame went forth through all the region round about concerning him, 15 and he was teaching in their synagogues, being glorified by all.
16 And he came to Nazareth, where he hath been brought up, and he went in, according to his custom, on the sabbath-day, to the synagogue, and stood up to read; 17 and there was given over to him a roll of Isaiah the prophet, and having unfolded the roll, he found the place where it hath been written: 18 'The Spirit of the Lord 'is' upon me, Because He did anoint me; To proclaim good news to the poor, Sent me to heal the broken of heart, To proclaim to captives deliverance, And to blind receiving of sight, To send away the bruised with deliverance, 19 To proclaim the acceptable year of the Lord.' 20 And having folded the roll, having given 'it' back to the officer, he sat down, and the eyes of all in the synagogue were gazing on him. 21 And he began to say unto them—'To-day hath this writing been fulfilled in your ears;' 22 and all were bearing testimony to him, and were wondering at the gracious words that are coming forth out of his mouth, and they said, 'Is not this the son of Joseph?' 23 And he said unto them, 'Certainly ye will say to me this simile, Physician, heal thyself; as great things as we heard done in Capernaum, do also here in thy country;' 24 and he said, 'Verily I say to you—No prophet is accepted in his own country; 25 and of a truth I say to you, Many widows were in the days of Elijah, in Israel, when the heaven was shut for three years and six months, when great famine came on all the land, 26 and unto none of them was Elijah sent, but—to Sarepta of Sidon, unto a woman, a widow; 27 and many lepers were in the time of Elisha the prophet, in Israel, and none of them was cleansed, but—Naaman the Syrian.' 28 And all in the synagogue were filled with wrath, hearing these things, 29 and having risen, they put him forth without the city, and brought him unto the brow of the hill on which their city had been built—to cast him down headlong, 30 and he, having gone through the midst of them, went away.
31 And he came down to Capernaum, a city of Galilee, and was teaching them on the sabbaths, 32 and they were astonished at his teaching, because his word was with authority.
33 And in the synagogue was a man, having a spirit of an unclean demon, and he cried out with a great voice, 34 saying, 'Away, what—to us and to thee, Jesus, O Nazarene? thou didst come to destroy us; I have known thee who thou art—the Holy One of God.' 35 And Jesus did rebuke him, saying, 'Be silenced, and come forth out of him;' and the demon having cast him into the midst, came forth from him, having hurt him nought; 36 and amazement came upon all, and they were speaking together, with one another, saying, 'What 'is' this word, that with authority and power he doth command the unclean spirits, and they come forth?' 37 and there was going forth a fame concerning him to every place of the region round about.
38 And having risen out of the synagogue, he entered into the house of Simon, and the mother-in-law of Simon was pressed with a great fever, and they did ask him about her, 39 and having stood over her, he rebuked the fever, and it left her, and presently, having risen, she was ministering to them.
40 And at the setting of the sun, all, as many as had any ailing with manifold sicknesses, brought them unto him, and he on each one of them 'his' hands having put, did heal them. 41 And demons also were coming forth from many, crying out and saying—'Thou art the Christ, the Son of God;' and rebuking, he did not suffer them to speak, because they knew him to be the Christ.
42 And day having come, having gone forth, he went on to a desert place, and the multitudes were seeking him, and they came unto him, and were staying him—not to go on from them, 43 and he said unto them—'Also to the other cities it behoveth me to proclaim good news of the reign of God, because for this I have been sent;' 44 and he was preaching in the synagogues of Galilee.
51 And it came to pass, in the multitude pressing on him to hear the word of God, that he was standing beside the lake of Gennesaret, 2 and he saw two boats standing beside the lake, and the fishers, having gone away from them, were washing the nets, 3 and having entered into one of the boats, that was Simon's, he asked him to put back a little from the land, and having sat down, was teaching the multitudes out of the boat. 4 And when he left off speaking, he said unto Simon, 'Put back to the deep, and let down your nets for a draught;' 5 and Simon answering said to him, 'Master, through the whole night, having laboured, we have taken nothing, but at thy saying I will let down the net.' 6 And having done this, they enclosed a great multitude of fishes, and their net was breaking, 7 and they beckoned to the partners, who 'are' in the other boat, having come, to help them; and they came, and filled both the boats, so that they were sinking. 8 And Simon Peter having seen, fell down at the knees of Jesus, saying, 'Depart from me, because I am a sinful man, O lord;' 9 for astonishment seized him, and all those with him, at the draught of the fishes that they took, 10 and in like manner also James and John, sons of Zebedee, who were partners with Simon; and Jesus said unto Simon, 'Fear not, henceforth thou shalt be catching men;' 11 and they, having brought the boats upon the land, having left all, did follow him.
12 And it came to pass, in his being in one of the cities, that lo, a man full of leprosy, and having seen Jesus, having fallen on 'his' face, he besought him, saying, 'Sir, if thou mayest will, thou art able to cleanse me;' 13 and having stretched forth 'his' hand, he touched him, having said, 'I will; be thou cleansed;' and immediately the leprosy went away from him. 14 And he charged him to tell no one, 'But, having gone away, shew thyself to the priest, and bring near for thy cleansing according as Moses directed, for a testimony to them;' 15 but the more was the report going abroad concerning him, and great multitudes were coming together to hear, and to be healed by him of their infirmities, 16 and he was withdrawing himself in the desert places and was praying.
17 And it came to pass, on one of the days, that he was teaching, and there were sitting by Pharisees and teachers of the Law, who were come out of every village of Galilee, and Judea, and Jerusalem, and the power of the Lord was—to heal them. 18 And lo, men bearing upon a couch a man, who hath been struck with palsy, and they were seeking to bring him in, and to place before him, 19 and not having found by what way they may bring him in because of the multitude, having gone up on the house-top, through the tiles they let him down, with the little couch, into the midst before Jesus, 20 and he having seen their faith, said to him, 'Man, thy sins have been forgiven thee.' 21 And the scribes and the Pharisees began to reason, saying, 'Who is this that doth speak evil words? who is able to forgive sins, except God only?' 22 And Jesus having known their reasonings, answering, said unto them, 'What reason ye in your hearts? 23 which is easier—to say, Thy sins have been forgiven thee? or to say, Arise, and walk? 24 'And that ye may know that the Son of Man hath authority upon the earth to forgive sins—(he said to the one struck with palsy)—I say to thee, Arise, and having taken up thy little couch, be going on to thy house.' 25 And presently having risen before them, having taken up 'that' on which he was lying, he went away to his house, glorifying God, 26 and astonishment took all, and they were glorifying God, and were filled with fear, saying—'We saw strange things to-day.'
27 And after these things he went forth, and beheld a tax-gatherer, by name Levi, sitting at the tax-office, and said to him, 'Be following me;' 28 and he, having left all, having arisen, did follow him. 29 And Levi made a great entertainment to him in his house, and there was a great multitude of tax-gatherers and others who were with them reclining (at meat), 30 and the scribes and the Pharisees among them were murmuring at his disciples, saying, 'Wherefore with tax-gatherers and sinners do ye eat and drink?' 31 And Jesus answering said unto them, 'They who are well have no need of a physician, but they that are ill: 32 I came not to call righteous men, but sinners, to reformation.'
33 And they said unto him, 'Wherefore do the disciples of John fast often, and make supplications—in like manner also those of the Pharisees—but thine do eat and drink?' 34 And he said unto them, 'Are ye able to make the sons of the bride-chamber—in the bridegroom being with them—to fast? 35 but days will come, and, when the bridegroom may be taken away from them, then they shall fast in those days.' 36 And he spake also a simile unto them—'No one a patch of new clothing doth put on old clothing, and if otherwise, the new also doth make a rent, and with the old the patch doth not agree, that 'is' from the new. 37 'And no one doth put new wine into old skins, and if otherwise, the new wine will burst the skins, and itself will be poured out, and the skins will be destroyed; 38 but new wine into new skins is to be put, and both are preserved together; 39 and no one having drunk old 'wine', doth immediately wish new, for he saith, The old is better.'
15 John doth testify concerning him, and hath cried, saying, 'This was he of whom I said, He who after me is coming, hath come before me, for he was before me;' 16 and out of his fulness did we all receive, and grace over-against grace; 17 for the law through Moses was given, the grace and the truth through Jesus Christ did come; 18 God no one hath ever seen; the only begotten Son, who is on the bosom of the Father—he did declare.
19 And this is the testimony of John, when the Jews sent out of Jerusalem priests and Levites, that they might question him, 'Who art thou?' 20 and he confessed and did not deny, and confessed—'I am not the Christ.' 21 And they questioned him, 'What then? Elijah art thou?' and he saith, 'I am not.'—'The prophet art thou?' and he answered, 'No.' 22 They said then to him, 'Who art thou, that we may give an answer to those sending us? what dost thou say concerning thyself?' 23 He said, 'I 'am' a voice of one crying in the wilderness: Make straight the way of the Lord, as said Isaiah the prophet.' 24 And those sent were of the Pharisees, 25 and they questioned him and said to him, 'Why, then, dost thou baptize, if thou art not the Christ, nor Elijah, nor the prophet?' 26 John answered them, saying, 'I baptize with water, but in midst of you he hath stood whom ye have not known, this one it is who is coming after me, who hath been before me, 27 of whom I am not worthy that I may loose the cord of his sandal.' 28 These things came to pass in Bethabara, beyond the Jordan, where John was baptizing,
29 on the morrow John seeth Jesus coming unto him, and saith, 'Lo, the Lamb of God, who is taking away the sin of the world; 30 this is he concerning whom I said, After me doth come a man, who hath come before me, because he was before me: 31 and I knew him not, but, that he might be manifested to Israel, because of this I came with the water baptizing. 32 And John testified, saying—'I have seen the Spirit coming down, as a dove, out of heaven, and it remained on him; 33 and I did not know him, but he who sent me to baptize with water, He said to me, On whomsoever thou mayst see the Spirit coming down, and remaining on him, this is he who is baptizing with the Holy Spirit; 34 and I have seen, and have testified, that this is the Son of God.'
35 On the morrow, again, John was standing, and two of his disciples, 36 and having looked on Jesus walking, he saith, 'Lo, the Lamb of God;'
37 and the two disciples heard him speaking, and they followed Jesus. 38 And Jesus having turned, and having beheld them following, saith to them, 'What seek ye?' and they said to them, 'Rabbi, (which is, being interpreted, Teacher,) where remainest thou?' 39 He saith to them, 'Come and see;' they came, and saw where he doth remain, and with him they remained that day and the hour was about the tenth. 40 Andrew, the brother of Simon Peter, was one of the two who heard from John, and followed him; 41 this one doth first find his own brother Simon, and saith to him, 'We have found the Messiah,' (which is, being interpreted, The Anointed,) 42 and he brought him unto Jesus: and having looked upon him, Jesus saith, 'Thou art Simon, the son of Jonas, thou shalt be called Cephas,' (which is interpreted, A rock.)
43 On the morrow, he willed to go forth to Galilee, and he findeth Philip, and saith to him, 'Be following me.' 44 And Philip was from Bethsaida, of the city of Andrew and Peter; 45 Philip findeth Nathanael, and saith to him, 'Him of whom Moses wrote in the Law, and the prophets, we have found, Jesus the son of Joseph, who 'is' from Nazareth;' 46 and Nathanael said to him, 'Out of Nazareth is any good thing able to be?' Philip said to him, 'Come and see.' 47 Jesus saw Nathanael coming unto him, and he saith concerning him, 'Lo, truly an Israelite, in whom guile is not;' 48 Nathanael saith to him, 'Whence me dost thou know?' Jesus answered and said to him, 'Before Philip's calling thee—thou being under the fig-tree—I saw thee.' 49 Nathanael answered and saith to him, 'Rabbi, thou art the Son of God, thou art the king of Israel.' 50 Jesus answered and said to him, 'Because I said to thee, I saw thee under the fig-tree, thou dost believe; greater things than these thou shalt see;' 51 and he saith to him, 'Verily, verily, I say to you, henceforth ye shall see the heaven opened, and the messengers of God going up and coming down upon the Son of Man.'
(Read John 1:15-18)
As to the order of time and entrance on his work, Christ came after John, but in every other way he was before him. The expression clearly shows that Jesus had existence before he appeared on earth as man. All fulness dwells in him, from which alone fallen sinners have, and shall receive, by faith, all that renders them wise, strong, holy, useful, and happy. Our receivings by Christ are all summed up in this one word, grace; we have received "even grace," a gift so great, so rich, so invaluable; the good will of God towards us, and the good work of God in us. The law of God is holy, just, and good; and we should make the proper use of it. But we cannot derive from it pardon, righteousness, or strength. It teaches us to adorn the doctrine of God our Saviour, but it cannot supply the place of that doctrine. As no mercy comes from God to sinners but through Jesus Christ, no man can come to the Father but by him; no man can know God, except as he is made known in the only begotten and beloved Son.
(Read John 1:19-28)
John disowns himself to be the Christ, who was now expected and waited for. He came in the spirit and power of Elias, but he was not the person of Elias. John was not that Prophet whom Moses said the Lord would raise up to them of their brethren, like unto him. He was not such a prophet as they expected, who would rescue them from the Romans. He gave such an account of himself, as might excite and awaken them to hearken to him. He baptized the people with water as a profession of repentance, and as an outward sign of the spiritual blessings to be conferred on them by the Messiah, who was in the midst of them, though they knew him not, and to whom he was unworthy to render the meanest service.
(Read John 1:29-36)
John saw Jesus coming to him, and pointed him out as the Lamb of God. The paschal lamb, in the shedding and sprinkling of its blood, the roasting and eating of its flesh, and all the other circumstances of the ordinance, represented the salvation of sinners by faith in Christ. And the lambs sacrificed every morning and evening, can only refer to Christ slain as a sacrifice to redeem us to God by his blood. John came as a preacher of repentance, yet he told his followers that they were to look for the pardon of their sins to Jesus only, and to his death. It agrees with God's glory to pardon all who depend on the atoning sacrifice of Christ. He takes away the sin of the world; purchases pardon for all that repent and believe the gospel. This encourages our faith; if Christ takes away the sin of the world, then why not my sin? He bore sin for us, and so bears it from us. God could have taken away sin, by taking away the sinner, as he took away the sin of the old world; but here is a way of doing away sin, yet sparing the sinner, by making his Son sin, that is, a sin-offering, for us. See Jesus taking away sin, and let that cause hatred of sin, and resolutions against it. Let us not hold that fast, which the Lamb of God came to take away. To confirm his testimony concerning Christ, John declares the appearance at his baptism, in which God himself bore witness to him. He saw and bare record that he is the Son of God. This is the end and object of John's testimony, that Jesus was the promised Messiah. John took every opportunity that offered to lead people to Christ.
(Read John 1:37-42)
The strongest and most prevailing argument with an awakened soul to follow Christ, is, that it is he only who takes away sin. Whatever communion there is between our souls and Christ, it is he who begins the discourse. He asked, What seek ye? The question Jesus put to them, we should all put to ourselves when we begin to follow Him, What do we design and desire? In following Christ, do we seek the favour of God and eternal life? He invites them to come without delay. Now is the accepted time, 2 Corinthians 6:2. It is good for us to be where Christ is, wherever it be. We ought to labour for the spiritual welfare of those related to us, and seek to bring them to Him. Those who come to Christ, must come with a fixed resolution to be firm and constant to him, like a stone, solid and stedfast; and it is by his grace that they are so.
(Read John 1:43-51)
See the nature of true Christianity, it is following Jesus; devoting ourselves to him, and treading in his steps. Observe the objection Nathanael made. All who desire to profit by the word of God, must beware of prejudices against places, or denominations of men. They should examine for themselves, and they will sometimes find good where they looked for none. Many people are kept from the ways of religion by the unreasonable prejudices they conceive. The best way to remove false notions of religion, is to make trial of it. In Nathanael there was no guile. His profession was not hypocritical. He was not a dissembler, nor dishonest; he was a sound character, a really upright, godly man. Christ knows what men are indeed. Does He know us? Let us desire to know him. Let us seek and pray to be Israelites indeed, in whom is no guile; truly Christians, approved of Christ himself. Some things weak, imperfect, and sinful, are found in all, but hypocrisy belongs not to a believer's character. Jesus witnessed what passed when Nathanael was under the fig-tree. Probably he was then in fervent prayer, seeking direction as to the Hope and Consolation of Israel, where no human eye observed him. This showed him that our Lord knew the secrets of his heart. Through Christ we commune with, and benefit by the holy angels; and things in heaven and things on earth are reconciled and united together.
