Matthew 4:1-25; Luke 4:1-44; Luke
5:1-39; John 1:15-51 NIV
Matthew 4:1-25
1 Then Jesus was led by the Spirit into the
desert to be tempted by the devil. 2 After fasting forty days
and forty nights, he was hungry. 3 The tempter came to him and
said, "If you are the Son of God, tell these stones to become
bread." 4 Jesus answered, "It is written: 'Man
does not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of
God.' " 5 Then the devil took him to the holy city and
had him stand on the highest point of the temple. 6 "If
you are the Son of God," he said, "throw yourself down. For it is
written: " 'He will command his angels concerning you, and they will lift
you up in their hands, so that you will not strike your foot against a stone.'
" 7 Jesus answered him,"It is also written: 'Do not
put the Lord your God to the test.' " 8 Again, the devil
took him to a very high mountain and showed him all the kingdoms of the world
and their splendor. 9 "All this I will give you," he
said, "if you will bow down and worship me." 10 Jesus
said to him, "Away from me, Satan! For it is written: 'Worship the
Lord your God, and serve him only.' " 11 Then the devil
left him, and angels came and attended him.
12 When Jesus heard that John had been put in
prison, he returned to Galilee. 13 Leaving Nazareth, he went
and lived in Capernaum, which was by the lake in the area of Zebulun and
Naphtali-- 14 to fulfill what was said through the prophet
Isaiah: 15 "Land of Zebulun and land of Naphtali, the way
to the sea, along the Jordan, Galilee of the Gentiles-- 16 the
people living in darkness have seen a great light; on those living in the land
of the shadow of death a light has dawned." 17 From that
time on Jesus began to preach, "Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is
near."
18 As Jesus was walking beside the Sea of
Galilee, he saw two brothers, Simon called Peter and his brother Andrew. They
were casting a net into the lake, for they were fishermen. 19 "Come,
follow me," Jesus said, "and I will make you fishers of
men." 20 At once they left their nets and followed
him. 21 Going on from there, he saw two other brothers, James
son of Zebedee and his brother John. They were in a boat with their father
Zebedee, preparing their nets. Jesus called them, 22 and
immediately they left the boat and their father and followed him.
23 Jesus went throughout Galilee, teaching in
their synagogues, preaching the good news of the kingdom, and healing every
disease and sickness among the people. 24 News about him
spread all over Syria, and people brought to him all who were ill with various
diseases, those suffering severe pain, the demon-possessed, those having
seizures, and the paralyzed, and he healed them. 25Large crowds
from Galilee, the Decapolis, Jerusalem, Judea and the region across the Jordan
followed him.
1 Jesus, full of the Holy Spirit, returned from
the Jordan and was led by the Spirit in the desert, 2where for
forty days he was tempted by the devil. He ate nothing during those days, and
at the end of them he was hungry. 3 The devil said to him,
"If you are the Son of God, tell this stone to become bread." 4 Jesus
answered, "It is written: 'Man does not live on bread alone.'
" 5 The devil led him up to a high place and showed him
in an instant all the kingdoms of the world. 6 And he said to
him, "I will give you all their authority and splendor, for it has been
given to me, and I can give it to anyone I want to. 7 So if
you worship me, it will all be yours." 8 Jesus
answered, "It is written: 'Worship the Lord your God and serve him
only.' " 9 The devil led him to Jerusalem and had him
stand on the highest point of the temple. "If you are the Son of
God," he said, "throw yourself down from here. 10For it
is written: " 'He will command his angels concerning you to guard you
carefully; 11 they will lift you up in their hands, so that
you will not strike your foot against a stone.' " 12 Jesus
answered, "It says: 'Do not put the Lord your God to the test.'
" 13 When the devil had finished all this tempting, he
left him until an opportune time.
14 Jesus returned to Galilee in the power of the
Spirit, and news about him spread through the whole countryside. 15 He
taught in their synagogues, and everyone praised him. 16 He
went to Nazareth, where he had been brought up, and on the Sabbath day he went
into the synagogue, as was his custom. And he stood up to read. 17 The
scroll of the prophet Isaiah was handed to him. Unrolling it, he found the
place where it is written: 18 "The Spirit of the Lord is
on me, because he has anointed me to preach good news to the poor. He has sent
me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners and recovery of sight for the blind,
to release the oppressed, 19 to proclaim the year of the
Lord's favor."20 Then he rolled up the scroll, gave it back to
the attendant and sat down. The eyes of everyone in the synagogue were fastened
on him, 21 and he began by saying to them, "Today
this scripture is fulfilled in your hearing." 22 All
spoke well of him and were amazed at the gracious words that came from his
lips. "Isn't this Joseph's son?" they asked. 23 Jesus
said to them, "Surely you will quote this proverb to me: 'Physician,
heal yourself ! Do here in your hometown what we have heard that you did in
Capernaum.' " 24 "I tell you the
truth," he continued, "no prophet is accepted in his
hometown. 25 I assure you that there were many widows in
Israel in Elijah's time, when the sky was shut for three and a half years and
there was a severe famine throughout the land. 26 Yet Elijah
was not sent to any of them, but to a widow in Zarephath in the region of
Sidon. 27 And there were many in Israel with leprosy in the
time of Elisha the prophet, yet not one of them was cleansed--only Naaman the
Syrian." 28 All the people in the synagogue were furious
when they heard this. 29 They got up, drove him out of the
town, and took him to the brow of the hill on which the town was built, in
order to throw him down the cliff. 30 But he walked right
through the crowd and went on his way.
31 Then he went down to Capernaum, a town in
Galilee, and on the Sabbath began to teach the people. 32 They
were amazed at his teaching, because his message had authority. 33 In
the synagogue there was a man possessed by a demon, an evil spirit. He cried
out at the top of his voice,34 "Ha! 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!" 35 "Be quiet!" Jesus said
sternly. "Come out of him!" Then the demon threw the man
down before them all and came out without injuring him. 36 All
the people were amazed and said to each other, "What is this teaching?
With authority and power he gives orders to evil spirits and they come
out!" 37 And the news about him spread throughout the
surrounding area.
38 Jesus left the synagogue and went to the home
of Simon. Now Simon's mother-in-law was suffering from a high fever, and they
asked Jesus to help her. 39 So he bent over her and rebuked
the fever, and it left her. She got up at once and began to wait on them. 40 When
the sun was setting, the people brought to Jesus all who had various kinds of
sickness, and laying his hands on each one, he healed them. 41 Moreover,
demons came out of many people, shouting, "You are the Son of God!"
But he rebuked them and would not allow them to speak, because they knew he was
the Christ. 42 At daybreak Jesus went out to a solitary place.
The people were looking for him and when they came to where he was, they tried
to keep him from leaving them. 43 But he said, "I
must preach the good news of the kingdom of God to the other towns also,
because that is why I was sent." 44 And he kept on
preaching in the synagogues of Judea.
1 One day as Jesus was standing by the Lake of
Gennesaret, with the people crowding around him and listening to the word of
God, 2 he saw at the water's edge two boats, left there by the
fishermen, who were washing their nets. 3 He got into one of
the boats, the one belonging to Simon, and asked him to put out a little from
shore. Then he sat down and taught the people from the boat. 4 When
he had finished speaking, he said to Simon, "Put out into deep water,
and let down the nets for a catch."5 Simon answered,
"Master, we've worked hard all night and haven't caught anything. But
because you say so, I will let down the nets." 6 When
they had done so, they caught such a large number of fish that their nets began
to break. 7 So they signaled their partners in the other boat
to come and help them, and they came and filled both boats so full that they
began to sink. 8 When Simon Peter saw this, he fell at Jesus'
knees and said, "Go away from me, Lord; I am a sinful man!" 9 For
he and all his companions were astonished at the catch of fish they had
taken, 10 and so were James and John, the sons of Zebedee,
Simon's partners. Then Jesus said to Simon, "Don't be afraid; from
now on you will catch men." 11 So they pulled their boats
up on shore, left everything and followed him.
12 While Jesus was in one of the towns, a man came
along who was covered with leprosy. When he saw Jesus, he fell with his face to
the ground and begged him, "Lord, if you are willing, you can make me
clean." 13 Jesus reached out his hand and touched the
man. "I am willing," he said. "Be clean!"And
immediately the leprosy left him. 14 Then Jesus ordered
him, "Don't tell anyone, but go, show yourself to the priest and
offer the sacrifices that Moses commanded for your cleansing, as a testimony to
them." 15 Yet the news about him spread all the more, so
that crowds of people came to hear him and to be healed of their
sicknesses. 16 But Jesus often withdrew to lonely places and
prayed.
17 One day as he was teaching, Pharisees and
teachers of the law, who had come from every village of Galilee and from Judea
and Jerusalem, were sitting there. And the power of the Lord was present for
him to heal the sick. 18 Some men came carrying a paralytic on
a mat and tried to take him into the house to lay him before Jesus. 19 When
they could not find a way to do this because of the crowd, they went up on the roof
and lowered him on his mat through the tiles into the middle of the crowd,
right in front of Jesus. 20 When Jesus saw their faith, he
said, "Friend, your sins are forgiven." 21 The
Pharisees and the teachers of the law began thinking to themselves, "Who
is this fellow who speaks blasphemy? Who can forgive sins but God
alone?" 22 Jesus knew what they were thinking and
asked, "Why are you thinking these things in your hearts? 23 Which
is easier: to say, 'Your sins are forgiven,' or to say, 'Get up and walk'? 24 But
that you may know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins .
. ." He said to the paralyzed man, "I tell you, get up,
take your mat and go home." 25 Immediately he stood up in
front of them, took what he had been lying on and went home praising God. 26 Everyone
was amazed and gave praise to God. They were filled with awe and said, "We
have seen remarkable things today."
27 After this, Jesus went out and saw a tax
collector by the name of Levi sitting at his tax booth."Follow
me," Jesus said to him, 28 and Levi got up, left
everything and followed him. 29 Then Levi held a great banquet
for Jesus at his house, and a large crowd of tax collectors and others were
eating with them. 30 But the Pharisees and the teachers of the
law who belonged to their sect complained to his disciples, "Why do you
eat and drink with tax collectors and 'sinners'?" 31 Jesus
answered them, "It is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the
sick. 32 I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners to
repentance."
33 They said to him, "John's disciples
often fast and pray, and so do the disciples of the Pharisees, but yours go on
eating and drinking." 34 Jesus answered, "Can
you make the guests of the bridegroom fast while he is with them? 35 But
the time will come when the bridegroom will be taken from them; in those days
they will fast." 36 He told them this
parable: "No one tears a patch from a new garment and sews it on an
old one. If he does, he will have torn the new garment, and the patch from the
new will not match the old. 37 And no one pours new wine into
old wineskins. If he does, the new wine will burst the skins, the wine will run
out and the wineskins will be ruined. 38 No, new wine must be
poured into new wineskins. 39 And no one after drinking old
wine wants the new, for he says, 'The old is better.' "
15 John testifies concerning him. He cries out,
saying, "This was he of whom I said, 'He who comes after me has surpassed
me because he was before me.' " 16 From the fullness of
his grace we have all received one blessing after another. 17 For
the law was given through Moses; grace and truth came through Jesus
Christ. 18 No one has ever seen God, but God the One and Only,
who is at the Father's side, has made him known.
19 Now this was John's testimony when the Jews
of Jerusalem sent priests and Levites to ask him who he was. 20 He
did not fail to confess, but confessed freely, "I am not the Christ.
" 21 They asked him, "Then who are you? Are you
Elijah?" He said, "I am not." "Are you the Prophet?"
He answered, "No." 22 Finally they said, "Who
are you? Give us an answer to take back to those who sent us. What do you say
about yourself ?" 23 John replied in the words of Isaiah
the prophet, "I am the voice of one calling in the desert, 'Make straight
the way for the Lord.' " 24 Now some Pharisees who had
been sent 25 questioned him, "Why then do you baptize if
you are not the Christ, nor Elijah, nor the Prophet?" 26 "I
baptize with water," John replied, "but among you stands one you do
not know. 27 He is the one who comes after me, the thongs of
whose sandals I am not worthy to untie."28 This all happened
at Bethany on the other side of the Jordan, where John was baptizing.
29 The next day John saw Jesus coming toward him
and said, "Look, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the
world! 30 This is the one I meant when I said, 'A man who
comes after me has surpassed me because he was before me.' 31 I
myself did not know him, but the reason I came baptizing with water was that he
might be revealed to Israel." 32 Then John gave this
testimony: "I saw the Spirit come down from heaven as a dove and remain on
him. 33 I would not have known him, except that the one who
sent me to baptize with water told me, 'The man on whom you see the Spirit come
down and remain is he who will baptize with the Holy Spirit.' 34 I
have seen and I testify that this is the Son of God."
35 The next day John was there again with two of
his disciples. 36 When he saw Jesus passing by, he said,
"Look, the Lamb of God!" 37 When the two disciples
heard him say this, they followed Jesus. 38 Turning around,
Jesus saw them following and asked, "What do you
want?" They said, "Rabbi" (which means Teacher),
"where are you staying?" 39 "Come," he
replied, "and you will see."So they went and saw where he was
staying, and spent that day with him. It was about the tenth hour. 40 Andrew,
Simon Peter's brother, was one of the two who heard what John had said and who
had followed Jesus. 41 The first thing Andrew did was to find
his brother Simon and tell him, "We have found the Messiah" (that is,
the Christ). 42 And he brought him to Jesus. Jesus looked at
him and said, "You are Simon son of John. You will be called
Cephas" (which, when translated, is Peter ).
43 The next day Jesus decided to leave for
Galilee. Finding Philip, he said to him, "Follow me." 44Philip,
like Andrew and Peter, was from the town of Bethsaida. 45 Philip
found Nathanael and told him, "We have found the one Moses wrote about in
the Law, and about whom the prophets also wrote--Jesus of Nazareth, the son of
Joseph." 46 "Nazareth! Can anything good come from
there?" Nathanael asked. "Come and see," said Philip. 47 When
Jesus saw Nathanael approaching, he said of him, "Here is a true
Israelite, in whom there is nothing false." 48 "How
do you know me?" Nathanael asked. Jesus answered, "I saw you
while you were still under the fig tree before Philip called you." 49 Then
Nathanael declared, "Rabbi, you are the Son of God; you are the King of
Israel." 50 Jesus said, "You believe because I
told you I saw you under the fig tree. You shall see greater things than
that." 51 He then added, "I tell you the truth,
you shall see heaven open, and the angels of God ascending and descending on
the Son of Man."
