5.6 KiB
The Preaching of John the Baptist
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The beginning of the gospel of Jesus Christ, the Son of God.
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As it is written in Isaiah the prophet: "Behold, I send My messenger ahead of You, Who will prepare Your way;
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The voice of one crying in the wilderness, 'Make ready the way of the LORD, Make His paths straight.'"
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John the Baptist appeared in the wilderness preaching a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins.
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And all the region of Judea was going out to him, and all the people of Jerusalem; and they were being baptized by him in the Jordan River, confessing their sins.
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And John was clothed with camel's hair and wore a leather belt around his waist and was eating locusts and wild honey.
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And he was preaching, saying, "After me One is coming who is mightier than I, and I am not fit to stoop down and untie the strap of His sandals.
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I baptized you with water; but He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit."
The Baptism of Jesus
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Now it happened that in those days Jesus came from Nazareth in Galilee and was baptized by John in the Jordan.
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And immediately coming up out of the water, He saw the heavens opening, and the Spirit like a dove descending upon Him;
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and a voice came out of the heavens: "You are My beloved Son, in You I am well-pleased."
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And immediately the Spirit *drove Him to go out into the wilderness.
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And He was in the wilderness forty days being tempted by Satan; and He was with the wild beasts, and the angels were ministering to Him.
Jesus Preaches in Galilee
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Now after John had been delivered up into custody, Jesus came into Galilee, preaching the gospel of God,
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and saying, "The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand; repent and believe in the gospel."
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As He was going along by the Sea of Galilee, He saw Simon and Andrew, the brother of Simon, casting a net in the sea; for they were fishermen.
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And Jesus said to them, "Follow Me, and I will make you become fishers of men."
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And immediately they left their nets and followed Him.
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And going on a little farther, He saw James the son of Zebedee, and John his brother, who were also in the boat mending the nets.
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And immediately He called them; and they left their father Zebedee in the boat with the hired servants, and went away to follow Him.
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And they *went into Capernaum; and immediately on the Sabbath He entered the synagogue and began to teach.
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And they were astonished at His teaching; for He was teaching them as one having authority, and not as the scribes.
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And immediately there was a man in their synagogue with an unclean spirit; and he cried out,
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saying, "What do we have to do with You, Jesus the Nazarene? Have You come to destroy us? I know who You are--the Holy One of God!"
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And Jesus rebuked him, saying, "Be quiet, and come out of him!"
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And throwing him into convulsions, the unclean spirit cried out with a loud voice and came out of him.
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And they were all amazed, so that they were arguing among themselves, saying, "What is this? A new teaching with authority! He commands even the unclean spirits, and they obey Him."
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And immediately the news about Him spread everywhere into all the surrounding district of Galilee.
Simon's Mother-in-Law and Many Others Healed
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And immediately after they came out of the synagogue, they came into the house of Simon and Andrew, with James and John.
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Now Simon's mother-in-law was lying sick with a fever; and immediately they *spoke to Jesus about her.
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And He came to her and raised her up, taking her by the hand, and the fever left her, and she began waiting on them.
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Now when evening came, after the sun had set, they began bringing to Him all who were ill and those who were demon-possessed.
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And the whole city had gathered at the door.
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And He healed many who were ill with various diseases, and cast out many demons; and He was not permitting the demons to speak, because they knew who He was.
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And in the early morning, while it was still dark, Jesus rose up, went out of the house, and went away to a desolate place, and was praying there.
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And Simon and his companions searched for Him;
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and they found Him, and *said to Him, "Everyone is looking for You."
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And He *said to them, "Let us go elsewhere, to the towns nearby, so that I may preach there also; for that is what I came out for."
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And He went, preaching in their synagogues throughout all Galilee and casting out the demons.
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And a leper *came to Jesus, pleading with Him and falling on his knees before Him, and saying, "If You are willing, You can make me clean."
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And moved with compassion, He stretched out His hand and touched him, and *said to him, "I am willing; be cleansed."
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And immediately the leprosy left him and he was cleansed.
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And He sternly warned him and immediately sent him away,
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and He *said to him, "See that you say nothing to anyone; but go, show yourself to the priest and offer for your cleansing what Moses commanded, as a testimony to them."
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But he went out and began to proclaim it freely and to spread the news around, to such an extent that Jesus could no longer publicly enter a city, but stayed out in desolate areas; and they were coming to Him from everywhere.