Matthew 4

The Temptation of Jesus

4Then ⁱJesus was led up by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the Devil. ^j2After He had fasted 40 days and 40 nights, ^kHe was hungry. ³Then the tempter approached Him and said, “If You are the Son of God, tell these stones to become bread.” ^l

⁴But He answered, “It is written:

Man must not live on bread alone

but on every word that comes

from the mouth of God.” ^mn

⁵Then the Devil took Him to the holy city, ^ohad Him stand on the pinnacle of the temple, ^p6and said to Him, “If You are the Son of God, throw Yourself down. For it is written:

He will give His angels ^qorders concerning you,

and they will support you with their hands

so that you will not strike

your foot against a stone.” ^rs

⁷Jesus told him, “It is also written: Do not test the Lord your God.” ^tu

⁸Again, the Devil took Him to a very high mountain and showed Him all the kingdoms of the world and their splendor. ⁹And he said to Him, “I will give You all these things if You will fall down and worship me.” ^v

¹⁰Then Jesus told him, “Go away, ^wSatan! For it is written:

Worship the Lord your God,

and serve only ^x Him.” ^y

¹¹Then the Devil left Him, and immediately angels came and began to serve Him. ^z

Ministry in Galilee

¹²When He heard that John had been arrested, ^aHe withdrew into Galilee. ^b13He left Nazareth behind and went to live in Capernaum ^cby the sea, in the region of Zebulun and Naphtali. ¹⁴This was to fulfill what was spoken through the prophet Isaiah:

¹⁵Land of Zebulun and land of Naphtali,

along the sea road, beyond the Jordan,

Galilee of the Gentiles!

¹⁶The people who live in darkness

have seen a great light,

and for those living in the shadowland of death,

light has dawned. ^def

¹⁷From then on Jesus began to preach, “Repent, because the kingdom of heaven ^ghas come near!”

The First Disciples

¹⁸As ^hHe was walking along the Sea of Galilee, ⁱHe saw two brothers, Simon, who was called Peter, and his brother Andrew. They were casting a net into the sea, since they were fishermen. ¹⁹“Follow Me,” He told them, “and I will make you fish for ^jpeople!” ²⁰Immediately they left their nets and followed Him.

²¹Going on from there, He saw two other brothers, James the son of Zebedee, and his brother John. They were in a boat with Zebedee their father, mending their nets, and He called them. ²²Immediately they left the boat and their father and followed Him.

Teaching, Preaching, and Healing

²³Jesus was going all over Galilee, ^kteaching in their synagogues, preaching the good news of the kingdom, and healing every ^ldisease and sickness among the people. ^m24Then the news about Him spread throughout Syria. ⁿSo they brought to Him all those who were afflicted, those suffering from various diseases and intense pains, the demon-possessed, the epileptics, and the paralytics. ^oAnd He healed them. ²⁵Large crowds followed Him from Galilee, Decapolis, Jerusalem, Judea, and beyond the Jordan. ^p