Mark 1:1–8:38

John Prepares the Way—Matthew 3:1–12; Luke 3:1–18

¹This is the beginning of the Good News about Jesus Christ, the Son of God. 

²The prophet Isaiah wrote, 

“I am sending my messenger ahead of you 

to prepare the way for you.” 

³“A voice cries out in the desert: 

‘Prepare the way for the Lord! 

Make his paths straight!’ ” 

⁴John the Baptizer was in the desert telling people about a baptism of repentance^afor the forgiveness of sins. ⁵All Judea and all the people of Jerusalem went to him. As they confessed their sins, he baptized them in the Jordan River. 

⁶John was dressed in clothes made from camel’s hair. He wore a leather belt around his waist and ate locusts and wild honey. 

⁷He announced, “The one who comes after me is more powerful than I. I am not worthy to bend down and untie his sandal straps. ⁸I have baptized you with water, but he will baptize you with the Holy Spirit.” 

John Baptizes Jesus—Matthew 3:13–17; Luke 3:21–22

⁹At that time Jesus came from Nazareth in Galilee and was baptized by John in the Jordan River. ¹⁰As Jesus came out of the water, he saw heaven split open and the Spirit coming down to him as a dove. ¹¹A voice from heaven said, “You are my Son, whom I love. I am pleased with you.” 

Satan Tempts Jesus—Matthew 4:1–11; Luke 4:1–13

¹²At once the Spirit brought him into the desert, ¹³where he was tempted by Satan for 40 days. He was there with the wild animals, and the angels took care of him. 

Calling of the First Disciples—Matthew 4:18–22; Luke 5:1–11

¹⁴After John had been put in prison, Jesus went to Galilee and told people the Good News of God. ¹⁵He said, “The time has come, and God’s kingdom is near. Change the way you think and act, and believe the Good News.” 

¹⁶As he was going along the Sea of Galilee, he saw Simon and his brother Andrew. They were throwing a net into the sea because they were fishermen. ¹⁷Jesus said to them, “Come, follow me! I will teach you how to catch people instead of fish.” ¹⁸They immediately left their nets and followed him. 

¹⁹As Jesus went on a little farther, he saw James and John, the sons of Zebedee. They were in a boat preparing their nets ⸤to go fishing⸥. ²⁰He immediately called them, and they left their father Zebedee and the hired men in the boat and followed Jesus. 

Jesus Forces an Evil Spirit out of a Man—Luke 4:31–37

²¹Then they went to Capernaum. On the next day of rest—a holy day, Jesus went into the synagogue and began to teach. ²²The people were amazed at his teachings. Unlike their experts in Moses’ Teachings, he taught them with authority. 

²³At that time there was a man in the synagogue who was controlled by an evil spirit. He shouted, ²⁴“What do you want with us, Jesus from Nazareth? Have you come to destroy us? I know who you are—the Holy One of God!” 

²⁵Jesus ordered the spirit, “Keep quiet, and come out of him!” ²⁶The evil spirit threw the man into convulsions and came out of him with a loud shriek. 

²⁷Everyone was stunned. They said to each other, “What is this? This is a new teaching that has authority behind it! He gives orders to evil spirits, and they obey him.” 

²⁸The news about him spread quickly throughout the surrounding region of Galilee. 

Jesus Cures Simon’s Mother-in-Law and Many Others—Matthew 8:14–18; Luke 4:38–41

²⁹After they left the synagogue, they went directly to the house of Simon and Andrew. James and John went with them. ³⁰Simon’s mother-in-law was in bed with a fever. The first thing they did was to tell Jesus about her. ³¹Jesus went to her, took her hand, and helped her get up. The fever went away, and she prepared a meal for them. 

³²In the evening, when the sun had set, people brought to him everyone who was sick and those possessed by demons. ³³The whole city had gathered at his door. ³⁴He cured many who were sick with various diseases and forced many demons out of people. However, he would not allow the demons to speak. After all, they knew who he was. 

Spreading the Good News in Galilee—Matthew 4:23–25; Luke 4:42–44

³⁵In the morning, long before sunrise, Jesus went to a place where he could be alone to pray. ³⁶Simon and his friends searched for him. ³⁷When they found him, they told him, “Everyone is looking for you.” 

³⁸Jesus said to them, “Let’s go somewhere else, to the small towns that are nearby. I have to spread ⸤the Good News⸥ in them also. This is why I have come.” 

³⁹So he went to spread ⸤the Good News⸥ in the synagogues all over Galilee, and he forced demons out of people. 

Jesus Cures a Man with a Skin Disease—Matthew 8:1–4; Luke 5:12–14

⁴⁰Then a man with a serious skin disease came to him. The man fell to his knees and begged Jesus, “If you’re willing, you can make me clean.”^b

⁴¹Jesus felt sorry for him, reached out, touched him, and said, “I’m willing. So be clean!” 

⁴²Immediately, his skin disease went away, and he was clean. 

⁴³Jesus sent him away at once and warned him, ⁴⁴“Don’t tell anyone about this! Instead, show yourself to the priest. Then offer the sacrifices which Moses commanded as proof to people that you are clean.” 

⁴⁵When the man left, he began to talk freely. He spread his story so widely that Jesus could no longer enter any city openly. Instead, he stayed in places where he could be alone. But people still kept coming to him from everywhere. 

2ND CHAPTER

Jesus Forgives Sins—Matthew 9:1–8; Luke 5:17–26

¹Several days later Jesus came back to Capernaum. The report went out that he was home. ²Many people had gathered. There was no room left, even in front of the door. Jesus was speaking ⸤God’s⸥ word to them. 

³Four men came to him carrying a paralyzed man. ⁴Since they could not bring him to Jesus because of the crowd, they made an opening in the roof over the place where Jesus was. Then they lowered the cot on which the paralyzed man was lying. 

⁵When Jesus saw their faith, he said to the man, “Friend, your sins are forgiven.” 

⁶Some experts in Moses’ Teachings were sitting there. They thought, ⁷“Why does he talk this way? He’s dishonoring God. Who besides God can forgive sins?” 

⁸At once, Jesus knew inwardly what they were thinking. He asked them, “Why do you have these thoughts? ⁹Is it easier to say to this paralyzed man, ‘Your sins are forgiven,’ or to say, ‘Get up, pick up your cot, and walk’? ¹⁰I want you to know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins.” Then he said to the paralyzed man, ¹¹“I’m telling you to get up, pick up your cot, and go home!” 

¹²The man got up, immediately picked up his cot, and walked away while everyone watched. Everyone was amazed and praised God, saying, “We have never seen anything like this.” 

Jesus Chooses Levi ^[Matthew^[ to Be a Disciple—Matthew 9:9–13; Luke 5:27–32

¹³Jesus went to the seashore again. Large crowds came to him, and he taught them. 

¹⁴When Jesus was leaving, he saw Levi, son of Alphaeus, sitting in a tax office. Jesus said to him, “Follow me!” So Levi got up and followed him. 

¹⁵Later Jesus was having dinner at Levi’s house. Many tax collectors and sinners who were followers of Jesus were eating with him and his disciples. ¹⁶When the experts in Moses’ Teachings who were Pharisees saw him eating with sinners and tax collectors, they asked his disciples, “Why does he eat with tax collectors and sinners?” 

¹⁷When Jesus heard that, he said to them, “Healthy people don’t need a doctor; those who are sick do. I’ve come to call sinners, not people who think they have God’s approval.” 

Jesus Is Questioned about Fasting—Matthew 9:14–17; Luke 5:33–39

¹⁸John’s disciples and the Pharisees were fasting. Some people came to Jesus and said to him, “Why do John’s disciples and the Pharisees’ disciples fast, but your disciples don’t?” 

¹⁹Jesus replied, “Can wedding guests fast while the groom is still with them? As long as they have the groom with them, they cannot fast. ²⁰But the time will come when the groom will be taken away from them. Then they will fast. 

²¹“No one patches an old coat with a new piece of cloth that will shrink. Otherwise, the new patch will shrink and rip away some of the old cloth, and the tear will become worse. ²²People don’t pour new wine into old wineskins. If they do, the wine will make the skins burst, and both the wine and the skins will be ruined. Rather, new wine is to be poured into fresh skins.” 

Jesus Has Authority over the Day of Rest—a Holy Day—Matthew 12:1–8; Luke 6:1–5

²³Once on a day of rest—a holy day, Jesus was going through the grainfields. As the disciples walked along, they began to pick the heads of grain. 

²⁴The Pharisees asked him, “Look! Why are your disciples doing something that is not permitted on the day of rest—a holy day?” 

²⁵Jesus asked them, “Haven’t you ever read what David did when he and his men were in need and were hungry? ²⁶Haven’t you ever read how he went into the house of God when Abiathar was chief priest and ate the bread of the presence? He had no right to eat those loaves. Only the priests have that right. Haven’t you ever read how he also gave some of it to his men?” 

²⁷Then he added, “The day of rest—a holy day, was made for people, not people for the day of rest. ²⁸For this reason the Son of Man has authority over the day of rest—a holy day.” 

3RD CHAPTER

Jesus Heals on the Day of Rest—a Holy Day—Matthew 12:9–15a; Luke 6:6–11

¹Jesus went into a synagogue again. A man who had a paralyzed hand was there. ²The people were watching Jesus closely. They wanted to see whether he would heal the man on the day of rest—a holy day, so that they could accuse him of doing something wrong. 

³So he told the man with the paralyzed hand, “Stand in the center ⸤of the synagogue⸥.” ⁴Then he asked them, “Is it right to do good or to do evil on the day of rest—a holy day, to give a person back his health or to let him die?” 

But they were silent. ⁵Jesus was angry as he looked around at them. He was deeply hurt because their minds were closed. Then he told the man, “Hold out your hand.” The man held it out, and his hand became normal again. 

⁶The Pharisees left, and…