Mark 1:16–39

¹⁶As Jesus walked along the shore of Lake Galilee, he saw two fishermen, Simon and his brother Andrew, catching fish with a net. ¹⁷Jesus said to them, “Come with me, and I will teach you to catch people.” ¹⁸At once they left their nets and went with him.

¹⁹He went a little farther on and saw two other brothers, James and John, the sons of Zebedee. They were in their boat getting their nets ready. ²⁰As soon as Jesus saw them, he called them; they left their father Zebedee in the boat with the hired men and went with Jesus.

A Man with an Evil Spirit

²¹Jesus and his disciples came to the town of Capernaum, and on the next Sabbath Jesus went to the synagogue and began to teach. ^22*The people who heard him were amazed at the way he taught, for he wasn’t like the teachers of the Law; instead, he taught with authority.

²³Just then a man with an evil spirit in him came into the synagogue and screamed, ²⁴“What do you want with us, Jesus of Nazareth? Are you here to destroy us? I know who you are—you are God’s holy messenger!”

²⁵Jesus ordered the spirit, “Be quiet, and come out of the man!”

²⁶The evil spirit shook the man hard, gave a loud scream, and came out of him. ²⁷The people were all so amazed that they started saying to one another, “What is this? Is it some kind of new teaching? This man has authority to give orders to the evil spirits, and they obey him!”

²⁸And so the news about Jesus spread quickly everywhere in the province of Galilee.

Jesus Heals Many People

²⁹Jesus and his disciples, including James and John, left the synagogue and went straight to the home of Simon and Andrew. ³⁰Simon’s mother-in-law was sick in bed with a fever, and as soon as Jesus arrived, he was told about her. ³¹He went to her, took her by the hand, and helped her up. The fever left her, and she began to wait on them.

³²After the sun had set and evening had come, people brought to Jesus all the sick and those who had demons. ³³All the people of the town gathered in front of the house. ³⁴Jesus healed many who were sick with all kinds of diseases and drove out many demons. He would not let the demons say anything, because they knew who he was.

Jesus Preaches in Galilee

³⁵Very early the next morning, long before daylight, Jesus got up and left the house. He went out of the town to a lonely place, where he prayed. ³⁶But Simon and his companions went out searching for him, ³⁷and when they found him, they said, “Everyone is looking for you.”

³⁸But Jesus answered, “We must go on to the other villages round here. I have to preach in them also, because that is why I came.” ^39*So he travelled all over Galilee, preaching in the synagogues and driving out demons.