Matthew 3:1-17; Mark 1:1-45; Luke
3:1-38 NIV
Matthew
3:1-17
1 In those days John the Baptist
came, preaching in the Desert of Judea 2 and saying,
"Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is near." 3 This
is he who was spoken of through the prophet Isaiah: "A voice of one
calling in the desert, 'Prepare the way for the Lord, make straight paths for
him.' " 4 John's clothes were made of camel's hair, and
he had a leather belt around his waist. His food was locusts and wild
honey. 5 People went out to him from Jerusalem and all Judea
and the whole region of the Jordan. 6 Confessing their sins,
they were baptized by him in the Jordan River. 7 But when he
saw many of the Pharisees and Sadducees coming to where he was baptizing, he
said to them: "You brood of vipers! Who warned you to flee from the coming
wrath? 8 Produce fruit in keeping with repentance. 9 And
do not think you can say to yourselves, 'We have Abraham as our father.' I tell
you that out of these stones God can raise up children for Abraham. 10 The
ax is already at the root of the trees, and every tree that does not produce
good fruit will be cut down and thrown into the fire.11 "I
baptize you with water for repentance. But after me will come one who is more
powerful than I, whose sandals I am not fit to carry. He will baptize you with
the Holy Spirit and with fire. 12 His winnowing fork is in his
hand, and he will clear his threshing floor, gathering his wheat into the barn
and burning up the chaff with unquenchable fire."
13 Then Jesus came from Galilee to
the Jordan to be baptized by John. 14 But John tried to deter
him, saying, "I need to be baptized by you, and do you come to
me?" 15 Jesus replied, "Let it be so now; it is
proper for us to do this to fulfill all righteousness." Then John
consented. 16 As soon as Jesus was baptized, he went up out of
the water. At that moment heaven was opened, and he saw the Spirit of God
descending like a dove and lighting on him. 17 And a voice
from heaven said, "This is my Son, whom I love; with him I am well
pleased."
1 The beginning of the gospel
about Jesus Christ, the Son of God. 2 It is written in Isaiah
the prophet: "I will send my messenger ahead of you, who will prepare your
way"-- 3 "a voice of one calling in the desert,
'Prepare the way for the Lord, make straight paths for him.' " 4 And
so John came, baptizing in the desert region and preaching a baptism of
repentance for the forgiveness of sins. 5 The whole Judean
countryside and all the people of Jerusalem went out to him. Confessing their
sins, they were baptized by him in the Jordan River. 6 John
wore clothing made of camel's hair, with a leather belt around his waist, and
he ate locusts and wild honey. 7 And this was his message:
"After me will come one more powerful than I, the thongs of whose sandals
I am not worthy to stoop down and untie. 8 I baptize you with
water, but he will baptize you with the Holy Spirit."
9 At that time Jesus came from
Nazareth in Galilee and was baptized by John in the Jordan. 10 As
Jesus was coming up out of the water, he saw heaven being torn open and the
Spirit descending on him like a dove. 11 And a voice came from
heaven: "You are my Son, whom I love; with you I am well
pleased." 12 At once the Spirit sent him out into the
desert, 13 and he was in the desert forty days, being tempted
by Satan. He was with the wild animals, and angels attended him.
14 After John was put in prison,
Jesus went into Galilee, proclaiming the good news of God. 15 "The
time has come," he said. "The kingdom of God is near.
Repent and believe the good news!" 16 As Jesus walked
beside the Sea of Galilee, he saw Simon and his brother Andrew casting a net
into the lake, for they were fishermen. 17 "Come, follow
me," Jesus said, "and I will make you fishers of
men." 18 At once they left their nets and followed
him. 19 When he had gone a little farther, he saw James son of
Zebedee and his brother John in a boat, preparing their nets. 20 Without
delay he called them, and they left their father Zebedee in the boat with the
hired men and followed him.
21 They went to Capernaum, and
when the Sabbath came, Jesus went into the synagogue and began to teach. 22 The
people were amazed at his teaching, because he taught them as one who had
authority, not as the teachers of the law. 23 Just then a man
in their synagogue who was possessed by an evil spirit cried out, 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!" 25 "Be
quiet!" said Jesus sternly."Come out of him!" 26 The
evil spirit shook the man violently and came out of him with a shriek. 27The
people were all so amazed that they asked each other, "What is this? A new
teaching--and with authority! He even gives orders to evil spirits and they
obey him." 28 News about him spread quickly over the
whole region of Galilee.
29 As soon as they left the
synagogue, they went with James and John to the home of Simon and Andrew. 30 Simon's
mother-in-law was in bed with a fever, and they told Jesus about her. 31 So
he went to her, took her hand and helped her up. The fever left her and she
began to wait on them. 32That evening after sunset the people
brought to Jesus all the sick and demon-possessed. 33 The
whole town gathered at the door, 34 and Jesus healed many who
had various diseases. He also drove out many demons, but he would not let the
demons speak because they knew who he was.
35 Very early in the morning,
while it was still dark, Jesus got up, left the house and went off to a
solitary place, where he prayed. 36 Simon and his companions
went to look for him, 37 and when they found him, they
exclaimed: "Everyone is looking for you!" 38 Jesus
replied, "Let us go somewhere else--to the nearby villages--so I can
preach there also. That is why I have come." 39 So he
traveled throughout Galilee, preaching in their synagogues and driving out
demons.
40 A man with leprosy came to him
and begged him on his knees, "If you are willing, you can make me
clean." 41 Filled with compassion, Jesus reached out his
hand and touched the man. "I am willing," he
said. "Be clean!" 42 Immediately the leprosy
left him and he was cured. 43 Jesus sent him away at once with
a strong warning: 44 "See that you don't tell this to
anyone. But go, show yourself to the priest and offer the sacrifices that Moses
commanded for your cleansing, as a testimony to them." 45 Instead
he went out and began to talk freely, spreading the news. As a result, Jesus
could no longer enter a town openly but stayed outside in lonely places. Yet
the people still came to him from everywhere.