The Temptation of Jesus^(A)

4 Then the Spirit led Jesus [^Lup; out] into the ·desert [wilderness] to be tempted [or tested] by the devil. ² Jesus fasted for forty days and nights [^Canalogous to Israel’s forty years in the desert]. After this, he was ·very hungry [famished]. ³ The ·devil came to Jesus to tempt him [^Ltempter/tester came to Jesus], saying, “If you are the Son of God, ·tell [command] these rocks to ·become bread [turn into loaves].”

⁴ Jesus answered, “It is written in the Scriptures, ‘A person lives not on bread alone, but by ·everything God says [^Levery word that comes out of God’s mouth; Deut. 8:3].’”

⁵ Then the devil ·led [took] Jesus to the holy city [^CJerusalem] and put him on ·a high place [the highest point; the pinnacle] of the Temple. ⁶ The devil said, “If you are the Son of God, ·jump [^Lthrow yourself] down, because it is written in the Scriptures:

⁷ Jesus answered him, “It also says in the Scriptures, ‘Do not test the Lord your God [Deut. 6:16].’”

⁸ ·Then [Again] the devil took Jesus to a very high mountain and showed him all the kingdoms of the world and all their ·splendor [glory]. ⁹ The devil said, “If you will ·bow [fall] down and worship me, I will give you all these things.”

¹⁰ Jesus said to him, “·Go away from me [Get out of here; Be gone], Satan! [^LFor] It is written in the Scriptures, ‘You must worship the Lord your God and serve only him [Deut. 6:13].’”

¹¹ So the devil left Jesus, and angels came and ·took care of [served; ministered to] him.

Jesus Begins Work in Galilee^(B)

¹² When Jesus heard that John had been ·put in prison [arrested], he ·went back [withdrew] to Galilee. ¹³ He left Nazareth and went to live in Capernaum, ·a town near Lake Galilee [^Lby the sea], in the ·area near [region of] Zebulun and Naphtali [^Ctwo northern tribes of Israel]. ¹⁴ Jesus did this to ·bring about [fulfill] what the prophet Isaiah had said:

Jesus Chooses Some Followers^(C)

¹⁷ From that time Jesus began to preach, saying, “·Change your hearts and lives [Repent], because the kingdom of heaven is ·near [at hand].”

¹⁸ As Jesus was walking by ·Lake Galilee [^Tthe Sea of Galilee], he saw two brothers, Simon (called Peter) and his brother Andrew. They were ·throwing [casting] a net into the lake because they were fishermen. ¹⁹ Jesus said, “Come ·follow me [be my disciples], and I will ·make you [teach you how to] ·fish for people [^Tfishers of men].” ²⁰ So Simon and Andrew immediately left their nets and followed him.

²¹ As Jesus ·continued walking by Lake Galilee [went on from there], he saw two other brothers, ·James and John, the sons of Zebedee [^LJames the son of Zebedee, and his brother John]. They were in a boat with their father Zebedee, ·mending [or preparing] their nets. Jesus ·told them to come with him [called them]. ²² Immediately they left the boat and their father, and they followed Jesus.

Jesus Teaches and Heals People^(D)

²³ Jesus went everywhere in Galilee, teaching in the synagogues, preaching the ·Good News about [Gospel of] the kingdom, and healing ·all [or every kind of] the people’s diseases and sicknesses. ²⁴ The ·news [fame] about Jesus spread ·all over [or as far as] Syria, and people brought all the sick to him. They were suffering from different kinds of diseases. Some were in great pain, some ·had demons [were demon-possessed], some were epileptics, and some were paralyzed. Jesus healed all of them. ²⁵ ·Many people [Great crowds] from Galilee, the ·Ten Towns [^LDecapolis; ^Cthe area east of Lake Galilee that once had ten main towns], Jerusalem, Judea, and ·the land across [beyond] the Jordan River followed him.