The Preaching of John the Baptist

11 The first words of the good news of Jesus Christ, the Son of God. 2 Even as it is said in the book of Isaiah the prophet, See, I send my servant before your face, who will make ready your way; 3 The voice of one crying in the waste land, Make ready the way of the Lord, make his roads straight; 4 John came, and gave baptism in the waste land, preaching baptism as a sign of forgiveness of sin for those whose hearts were changed. 5 And there went out to him all the people of Judaea, and all those of Jerusalem, and they were given baptism by him in the river Jordan, saying that they were sinners. 6 And John was clothed in camel's hair, with a leather band about him; and his food was locusts and honey. 7 And he said to them all, There is one coming after me who is greater than I, whose shoes I am not good enough to undo. 8 I have given you baptism with water, but he will give you baptism with the Holy Spirit.

The Baptism of Jesus

9 And it came about in those days, that Jesus came from Nazareth of Galilee, and was given baptism by John in the Jordan. 10 And straight away, coming up out of the water, he saw the heavens broken open and the Spirit coming down on him as a dove: 11 And a voice came out of heaven, You are my dearly loved Son, with whom I am well pleased.

The Temptation of Jesus

12 And straight away the Spirit sent him out into the waste land. 13 And he was in the waste land for forty days, being tested by Satan; and he was with the beasts; and the angels took care of him.

Jesus Begins His Ministry

14 Now after John had been put in prison, Jesus came into Galilee, preaching the good news of God, 15 And saying, The time has come, and the kingdom of God is near: let your hearts be turned from sin and have faith in the good news.

Jesus Calls Four Fishermen

16 And going by the sea of Galilee, he saw Simon, and Andrew, the brother of Simon, putting a net into the sea: for they were fishermen. 17 And Jesus said to them, Come after me, and I will make you fishers of men. 18 And they went straight from their nets, and came after him. 19 And going on a little farther, he saw James, the son of Zebedee, and John his brother, who were in their boat stitching up their nets. 20 And he said, Come after me: and they went away from their father Zebedee, who was in the boat with the servants, and came after him.

A Man with an Unclean Spirit

21 And they came to Capernaum; and on the Sabbath he went into the Synagogue and gave teaching. 22 And they were full of wonder at his teaching, because he gave it as one having authority, and not like the scribes.

23 And there was in their Synagogue a man with an unclean spirit; and he gave a cry, 24 Saying, What have we to do with you, Jesus of Nazareth? have you come to put an end to us? I see well who you are, the Holy One of God. 25 And Jesus said to him sharply, Be quiet, and come out of him. 26 And the unclean spirit, shaking him violently, and crying with a loud voice, came out of him. 27 And they were all greatly surprised, so that they put questions to one another, saying, What is this? a new teaching! with authority he gives orders even to the unclean spirits, and they do what he says. 28 And news of him went out quickly everywhere into all parts of Galilee round about.

Jesus Heals Simon's Mother-in-Law

29 And when they came out of the Synagogue, they went into the house of Simon and Andrew, with James and John. 30 Now Simon's wife's mother was ill, with a burning heat; and they gave him word of her: 31 And he came and took her by the hand, lifting her up; and she became well, and took care of their needs.

Jesus Heals Many at Evening

32 And in the evening, at sundown, they took to him all who were diseased, and those who had evil spirits. 33 And all the town had come together at the door. 34 And a number, who were ill with different diseases, he made well, and sent out evil spirits; but he did not let the evil spirits say anything, because they had knowledge of him.

Jesus Departs on a Preaching Tour

35 And in the morning, a long time before daylight, he got up and went out to a quiet place, and there he gave himself up to prayer. 36 And Simon and those who were with him came after him. 37 And when they came up with him, they said to him, Everyone is looking for you. 38 And he said to them, Let us go to other parts into the nearest towns, so that I may give teaching there, because for this purpose I came. 39 And he went into their Synagogues in every part of Galilee, preaching and driving out evil spirits.

Jesus Cleanses a Leper

40 And a leper came to him and, going down on his knees before him, made a request, saying, If it is your pleasure, you have the power to make me clean. 41 And being moved with pity, he put out his hand, and touching him said to him, It is my pleasure; be made clean. 42 And straight away the disease went from him, and he was made clean. 43 And he sent him away, saying to him very sharply, 44 See that you say nothing to any man: but go and let the priest see you, and make yourself clean by an offering of the things ordered by Moses, for a witness to them. 45 But he went out, and made it public, giving an account of it everywhere, so that Jesus was no longer able to go openly into a town, but was outside in the waste land; and they came to him from every part.

The Man with a Withered Hand

31 And he went again into the Synagogue; and there was a man there whose hand was dead. 2 And they were watching him to see if he would make him well on the Sabbath day, so that they might have something against him. 3 And he said to the man, Get up and come forward. 4 And he said to them, Is it right to do good on the Sabbath or to do evil? to give life or to put to death? But they said nothing. 5 And looking round on them he was angry, being sad because of their hard hearts; and he said to the man, Put out your hand. And he put it out, and his hand was made well. 6 And the Pharisees went out, and straight away made designs with the Herodians about how they might put him to death.

A Multitude at the Seaside

7 And Jesus went away with his disciples to the sea, and a great number from Galilee came after him: and from Judaea, 8 And from Jerusalem, and from Idumaea, and the other side of Jordan, and the country about Tyre and Sidon, a great number, hearing what great things he did, came to him. 9 And he made a request to his disciples to have a little boat ready for him, so that he might not be crushed by the people; 10 For he had made such a great number well that all those who were diseased were falling down before him for the purpose of touching him. 11 And the unclean spirits, whenever they saw him, went down before him, crying out, and saying, You are the Son of God. 12 And he gave them special orders not to say who he was.

Jesus Chooses the Twelve

13 And he went up into the mountain, and sent for those whom it was his pleasure to have with him: and they went to him. 14 And he took twelve to be with him, so that he might send them out as preachers, 15 And give them the power of driving out evil spirits: 16 To Simon he gave the second name of Peter; 17 And to James, the son of Zebedee, and John, the brother of James, he gave the second name of Boanerges, which is, Sons of thunder: 18 And Andrew, and Philip, and Bartholomew, and Matthew, and Thomas, and James, the son of Alphaeus, and Thaddaeus, and Simon the Zealot; 19 And Judas Iscariot, who was false to him.

A Divided House Cannot Stand

20 And he went into a house. And the people came together again, so that they were not even able to take bread. 21 And when his friends had news of it, they went out to get him, saying, He is off his head.

22 And the scribes who came down from Jerusalem, said, He has Beelzebub, and, By the ruler of evil spirits he sends evil spirits out of men. 23 And turning to them, he said to them in the form of a story, How is it possible for Satan to put out Satan? 24 If there is division in a kingdom, that kingdom will come to destruction; 25 And if there is division in a house, that house will come to destruction; 26 And if Satan is at war with himself, and there is division in him, he will not keep his place but will come to an end. 27 But no one is able to go into the house of the strong man and take his goods, without first putting cords round the strong man, and then he will take his goods. 28 Truly, I say to you, The sons of men will have forgiveness for all their sins and for all the evil words they say: 29 But whoever says evil things against the Holy Spirit will never have forgiveness, but the evil he has done will be with him for ever: 30 Because they said, He has an unclean spirit.

Jesus' Mother and Brethren

31 And his mother and brothers came and were outside, and sent for him, requesting to see him. 32 And a great number were seated round him; and they said to him, See, your mother and your brothers are outside looking for you. 33 And he said in answer, Who are my mother and my brothers? 34 And looking round at those who were seated about him, he said, See, my mother and my brothers! 35 Whoever does God's pleasure, the same is my brother, and sister, and mother.