⁴And so John came. He baptized people in the desert. He also preached that people should be baptized and turn away from their sins. Then God would forgive them. ⁵All the people from the countryside of Judea went out to him. All the people from Jerusalem went too. When they admitted they had sinned, John baptized them in the Jordan River. ⁶John wore clothes made out of camel’s hair. He had a leather belt around his waist. And he ate locusts and wild honey.

⁷Here is what John was preaching. “After me, one will come who is more powerful than I am. I’m not good enough to bend down and untie his sandals. ⁸I baptize you with water. But he will baptize you with the Holy Spirit.”

Jesus Is Baptized and Tempted

⁹At that time Jesus came from Nazareth in Galilee. John baptized him in the Jordan River. ¹⁰Jesus was coming up out of the water. Just then he saw heaven being torn open. He saw the Holy Spirit coming down on him like a dove. ¹¹A voice spoke to him from heaven. It said, “You are my Son, and I love you. I am very pleased with you.”

¹²At once the Holy Spirit sent Jesus out into the desert. ¹³He was in the desert 40 days. There Satan tempted him. The wild animals didn’t harm Jesus. Angels took care of him.

Jesus Chooses the First Disciples

¹⁴After John was put in prison, Jesus went into Galilee. He preached God’s good news. ¹⁵“The time has come,” he said. “The kingdom of God is near. Turn away from your sins and believe the good news!”

¹⁶One day Jesus was walking beside the Sea of Galilee. There he saw Simon and his brother Andrew. They were throwing a net into the lake. They were fishermen. ¹⁷“Come. Follow me,” Jesus said. “I will make you fishers of people.”

¹⁸At once they left their nets and followed him.

¹⁹Then Jesus walked a little farther. As he did, he saw James, son of Zebedee, and his brother John. They were in a boat preparing their nets. ²⁰Right away he called out to them. They left their father Zebedee in the boat with the hired men. Then they followed Jesus.

Jesus Drives Out an Evil Spirit

²¹Jesus and those with him went to Capernaum. When the Sabbath day came, he went into the synagogue. There he began to teach. ²²The people were amazed at his teaching. He taught them like one who had authority. He did not talk like the teachers of the law.

²³Just then a man in their synagogue cried out. He was controlled by an evil spirit. He said, ²⁴“What do you want with us, Jesus of Nazareth? Have you come to destroy us? I know who you are. You are the Holy One of God!”

²⁵“Be quiet!” said Jesus firmly. “Come out of him!”

²⁶The evil spirit shook the man wildly. Then it came out of him with a scream.

²⁷All the people were amazed. So they asked each other, “What is this? A new teaching! And with so much authority! He even gives orders to evil spirits, and they obey him.” ²⁸News about Jesus spread quickly all over Galilee.

Jesus Heals Many People

²⁹Jesus and those with him left the synagogue. Right away they went with James and John to the home of Simon and Andrew. ³⁰Simon’s mother-in-law was lying in bed. She had a fever. They told Jesus about her. ³¹So he went to her. He took her hand and helped her up. The fever left her. Then she began to serve them.

³²That evening after sunset, the people brought to Jesus all who were sick. They also brought all who were controlled by demons. ³³All the people in town gathered at the door. ³⁴Jesus healed many of them. They had all kinds of sicknesses. He also drove out many demons. But he would not let the demons speak, because they knew who he was.

Jesus Prays in a Quiet Place

³⁵It was very early in the morning and still dark. Jesus got up and left the house. He went to a place where he could be alone. There he prayed. ³⁶Simon and his friends went to look for Jesus. ³⁷When they found him, they called out, “Everyone is looking for you!”

³⁸Jesus replied, “Let’s go somewhere else. I want to go to the nearby towns. I must preach there also. That is why I have come.” ³⁹So he traveled all around Galilee. He preached in their synagogues. He also drove out demons.

Jesus Heals a Man Who Had a Skin Disease

⁴⁰A man who had a skin disease came to Jesus. On his knees he begged Jesus. He said, “If you are willing to make me ‘clean,’ you can do it.”

⁴¹Jesus was filled with deep concern. He reached out his hand and touched the man. “I am willing to do it,” he said. “Be ‘clean’!” ⁴²Right away the disease left him. He was healed.

⁴³Jesus sent him away at once. He gave the man a strong warning. ⁴⁴“Don’t tell this to anyone,” he said. “Go and show yourself to the priest. Offer the sacrifices that Moses commanded. It will be a witness to the priest and the people that you are ‘clean.’ ”

⁴⁵But the man went out and started talking right away. He spread the news to everyone. So Jesus could no longer enter a town openly. He stayed outside in lonely places. But people still came to him from everywhere.

Jesus Heals a Man Who Could Not Walk

2A few days later, Jesus entered Capernaum again. The people heard that he had come home. ²So many people gathered that there was no room left. There was not even room outside the door. And Jesus preached the word to them.

³Four of those who came were carrying a man who could not walk. ⁴But they could not get him close to Jesus because of the crowd. So they made a hole in the roof above Jesus. Then they lowered the man through it on a mat.

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

⁶Some teachers of the law were sitting there. They were thinking, ⁷“Why is this fellow talking like that? He’s saying a very evil thing! Only God can forgive sins!”

⁸Right away Jesus knew what they were thinking. So he said to them, “Why are you thinking these things? ⁹Is it easier to say to this man, ‘Your sins are forgiven’? Or to say, ‘Get up, take your mat and walk’? ¹⁰I want you to know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins.”

Then Jesus spoke to the man who could not walk. ¹¹“I tell you,” he said, “get up. Take your mat and go home.”

¹²The man got up and took his mat. Then he walked away while everyone watched. All the people were amazed. They praised God and said, “We have never seen anything like this!”

Jesus Chooses Levi

¹³Once again Jesus went out beside the Sea of Galilee. A large crowd came to him. He began to teach them. ¹⁴As he walked along he saw Levi, son of Alphaeus. Levi was sitting at the tax collector’s booth. “Follow me,” Jesus told him. Levi got up and followed him.

¹⁵Later Jesus was having dinner at Levi’s house. Many tax collectors and “sinners” were eating with him and his disciples. They were part of the large crowd following Jesus.

¹⁶Some teachers of the law who were Pharisees were there. They saw Jesus eating with “sinners” and tax collectors. So they asked his disciples, “Why does he eat with tax collectors and ‘sinners’?”

¹⁷Jesus heard that. So he said to them, “Those who are healthy don’t need a doctor. Sick people do. I have not come to get those who think they are right with God to follow me. I have come to get sinners to follow me.”

Jesus Is Asked About Fasting

¹⁸John’s disciples and the Pharisees were going without eating. Some people came to Jesus. They said to him, “John’s disciples are fasting. The disciples of the Pharisees are also fasting. But your disciples are not. Why aren’t they?”

¹⁹Jesus answered, “How can the guests of the groom go without eating while he is with them? They will not fast as long as he is with them. ²⁰But the time will come when the groom will be taken away from them. On that day they will go without eating.

²¹“People don’t sew a patch of new cloth on old clothes. If they do, the new piece will pull away from the old. That will make the tear worse. ²²People don’t pour new wine into old wineskins. If they do, the wine will burst the skins. Then the wine and the wineskins will both be destroyed. No, everyone pours new wine into new wineskins.”

Jesus Is Lord of the Sabbath Day

²³One Sabbath day Jesus was walking with his disciples through the grainfields. The disciples began to break off some heads of grain. ²⁴The Pharisees said to Jesus, “Look! It is against the Law to do this on the Sabbath. Why are your disciples doing it?”

²⁵He answered, “Haven’t you ever read about what David did? He and his men were hungry. They needed food. ²⁶It was when Abiathar was high priest. David entered the house of God and ate the holy bread. Only priests were allowed to eat it. David also gave some to his men.”

²⁷Then Jesus said to them, “The Sabbath day was made for man. Man was not made for the Sabbath day. ²⁸So the Son of Man is Lord even of the Sabbath day.”

3Another time Jesus went into the synagogue. A man with a weak and twisted hand was there. ²Some Pharisees were trying to find fault with Jesus. They watched him closely. They wanted to see if he would heal the man on the Sabbath day.

³Jesus spoke to the man with the weak and twisted hand. “Stand up in front of everyone,” he said.

⁴Then Jesus asked them, “What does the Law say we should do on the Sabbath day? Should we do good? Or should we do evil? Should we save life? Or should we kill?” But no one answered.

⁵Jesus looked around at them in anger. He was very upset because their hearts were stubborn. Then he said to the man, “Stretch out your hand.” He stretched it out, and his hand was as good as new.

⁶Then the Pharisees went out and began to make plans with the Herodians. They wanted to kill Jesus.

Crowds Follow Jesus

⁷Jesus went off to the Sea of Galilee with his disciples. A large crowd from Galilee followed. ⁸People heard about all that Jesus was doing. And many came to him. They came from Judea, Jerusalem, and Idumea. They came…

Read in Logos

This passage has been shortened. Keep reading Mark 1–8 in Logos