3About that time John the Baptist began preaching in the desert area of Judea. ²John said, “Change your hearts and lives because the kingdom of heaven is near.” ³John the Baptist is the one Isaiah the prophet was talking about when he said:

“This is a voice of one

who calls out in the desert:

‘Prepare the way for the Lord.

Make the road straight for him.’ ”

⁴John’s clothes were made from camel’s hair, and he wore a leather belt around his waist. For food, he ate locusts and wild honey. ⁵Many people came from Jerusalem and Judea and all the area around the Jordan River to hear John. ⁶They confessed their sins, and he baptized them in the Jordan River.

⁷Many of the Pharisees and Sadducees came to the place where John was baptizing people. When John saw them, he said, “You are snakes! Who warned you to run away from God’s coming punishment? ⁸Do the things that show you really have changed your hearts and lives. ⁹And don’t think you can say to yourselves, ‘Abraham is our father.’ I tell you that God could make children for Abraham from these rocks. ¹⁰The ax is now ready to cut down the trees, and every tree that does not produce good fruit will be cut down and thrown into the fire. ⁿ

¹¹“I baptize you with water to show that your hearts and lives have changed. But there is one coming after me who is greater than I am, whose sandals I am not good enough to carry. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire. ¹²He will come ready to clean the grain, separating the good grain from the chaff. He will put the good part of the grain into his barn, but he will burn the chaff with a fire that cannot be put out.” ⁿ

Jesus Is Baptized by John

¹³At that time Jesus came from Galilee to the Jordan River and wanted John to baptize him. ¹⁴But John tried to stop him, saying, “Why do you come to me to be baptized? I need to be baptized by you!”

¹⁵Jesus answered, “Let it be this way for now. We should do all things that are God’s will.” So John agreed to baptize Jesus.

¹⁶As soon as Jesus was baptized, he came up out of the water. Then heaven opened, and he saw God’s Spirit coming down on him like a dove. ¹⁷And a voice from heaven said, “This is my Son, whom I love, and I am very pleased with him.”

The Temptation of Jesus

4Then the Spirit led Jesus into the desert to be tempted by the devil. ²Jesus fasted for forty days and nights. After this, he was very hungry. ³The devil came to Jesus to tempt him, saying, “If you are the Son of God, tell these rocks to become bread.”

⁴Jesus answered, “It is written in the Scriptures, ‘A person lives not on bread alone, but by everything God says.’ ” ⁿ

⁵Then the devil led Jesus to the holy city of Jerusalem and put him on a high place of the Temple. ⁶The devil said, “If you are the Son of God, jump down, because it is written in the Scriptures:

‘He has put his angels in charge of you.

They will catch you in their hands

so that you will not hit your foot on a rock.’ ”

⁷Jesus answered him, “It also says in the Scriptures, ‘Do not test the Lord your God.’ ” ⁿ

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

¹⁰Jesus said to the devil, “Go away from me, Satan! It is written in the Scriptures, ‘You must worship the Lord your God and serve only him.’ ” ⁿ

¹¹So the devil left Jesus, and angels came and took care of him.

Jesus Begins Work in Galilee

¹²When Jesus heard that John had been put in prison, he went back to Galilee. ¹³He left Nazareth and went to live in Capernaum, a town near Lake Galilee, in the area near Zebulun and Naphtali. ¹⁴Jesus did this to bring about what the prophet Isaiah had said:

¹⁵“Land of Zebulun and land of Naphtali

along the sea,

beyond the Jordan River.

This is Galilee where the non-Jewish people live.

¹⁶These people who live in darkness

will see a great light.

They live in a place covered with the shadows of death,

but a light will shine on them.”

Jesus Chooses Some Followers

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

¹⁸As Jesus was walking by Lake Galilee, he saw two brothers, Simon (called Peter) and his brother Andrew. They were throwing a net into the lake because they were fishermen. ¹⁹Jesus said, “Come follow me, and I will make you fish for people.” ²⁰So Simon and Andrew immediately left their nets and followed him.

²¹As Jesus continued walking by Lake Galilee, he saw two other brothers, James and John, the sons of Zebedee. They were in a boat with their father Zebedee, mending their nets. Jesus told them to come with him. ²²Immediately they left the boat and their father, and they followed Jesus.

Jesus Teaches and Heals People

²³Jesus went everywhere in Galilee, teaching in the synagogues, preaching the Good News about the kingdom of heaven, and healing all the people’s diseases and sicknesses. ²⁴The news about Jesus spread all over 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, some were epileptics, ⁿ and some were paralyzed. Jesus healed all of them. ²⁵Many people from Galilee, the Ten Towns, ⁿ Jerusalem, Judea, and the land across the Jordan River followed him.

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Footnotes

nThe ax … fire. This means that God is ready to punish his people who do not obey him.
nHe will … out. This means that Jesus will come to separate good people from bad people, saving the good and punishing the bad.
n‘A person … says.’ Quotation from Deuteronomy 8:3.
n‘Do … God.’ Quotation from Deuteronomy 6:16.
n‘You … him.’ Quotation from Deuteronomy 6:13.
nepileptics People with a disease that causes them sometimes to lose control of their bodies and maybe faint, shake strongly, or not be able to move.
nTen Towns In Greek, called “Decapolis.” It was an area east of Lake Galilee that once had ten main towns.