Mark 1–9

The Forerunner of the Servant

Matt. 3:1–11; Luke 3:3–16; John 1:19–34

1The ^abeginning of the gospel of Jesus Christ, ^bthe Son of God. ²As it is written in ¹the Prophets:

^c“Behold, I send My messenger before Your face,

Who will prepare Your way before You.”

³“The ^dvoice of one crying in the wilderness:

‘Prepare the way of the Lord;

Make His paths straight.’ ”

^4eJohn came baptizing in the wilderness and preaching a baptism of repentance ²for the remission of sins. ^5fThen all the land of Judea, and those from Jerusalem, went out to him and were all baptized by him in the Jordan River, confessing their sins.

⁶Now John was ^gclothed with camel’s hair and with a leather belt around his waist, and he ate locusts and wild honey. ⁷And he preached, saying, ^h“There comes One after me who is mightier than I, whose sandal strap I am not worthy to stoop down and loose. ⁸ⁱI indeed baptized you with water, but He will baptize you ^jwith the Holy Spirit.”

The Baptism of the Servant

Matt. 3:13–17; Luke 3:21–23

^9kIt came to pass in those days that Jesus came from Nazareth of Galilee, and was baptized by John in the Jordan. ^10lAnd immediately, coming up ³from the water, He saw the heavens ⁴parting and the Spirit ^mdescending upon Him like a dove. ¹¹Then a voice came from heaven, ⁿ“You are My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.”

The Temptation of the Servant

Matt. 4:1–11; Luke 4:1–13

^12oImmediately the Spirit ⁵drove Him into the wilderness. ¹³And He was there in the wilderness forty days, tempted by Satan, and was with the wild beasts; ^pand the angels ministered to Him.

The Work of the Servant

Matt. 4:12–17; Luke 4:14, 15

^14qNow after John was put in prison, Jesus came to Galilee, ^rpreaching the gospel ⁶of the kingdom of God, ¹⁵and saying, ^s “The time is fulfilled, and ^tthe kingdom of God ⁷is at hand. Repent, and believe in the gospel.”

The First Disciples are Called

Matt. 4:18–22

^16uAnd as He walked by the Sea of Galilee, He saw Simon and Andrew his brother casting a net into the sea; for they were fishermen. ¹⁷Then Jesus said to them, “Follow Me, and I will make you become ^vfishers of men.” ^18wThey immediately left their nets and followed Him.

¹⁹When He had gone a little farther from there, He saw James the son of Zebedee, and John his brother, who also were in the boat mending their nets. ²⁰And immediately He called them, and they left their father Zebedee in the boat with the hired servants, and went after Him.

Demons are Cast Out

Luke 4:31–37

^21xThen they went into Capernaum, and immediately on the Sabbath He entered the ^ysynagogue and taught. ^22zAnd they were astonished at His teaching, for He taught them as one having authority, and not as the scribes.

²³Now there was a man in their synagogue with an ^aunclean spirit. And he cried out, ²⁴saying, “Let us alone! ^bWhat have we to do with You, Jesus of Nazareth? Did You come to destroy us? I ^cknow who You are—the ^dHoly One of God!”

²⁵But Jesus ^erebuked him, saying, ⁸ “Be quiet, and come out of him!” ²⁶And when the unclean spirit ^fhad convulsed him and cried out with a loud voice, he came out of him. ²⁷Then they were all amazed, so that they questioned among themselves, saying, ⁹“What is this? What new ¹doctrine is this? For with authority He commands even the unclean spirits, and they obey Him.” ²⁸And immediately His ^gfame spread throughout all the region around Galilee.

Peter’s Mother-in-Law is Healed

Matt. 8:14, 15; Luke 4:38, 39

^29hNow as soon as they had come out of the synagogue, they entered the house of Simon and Andrew, with James and John. ³⁰But Simon’s wife’s mother lay sick with a fever, and they told Him about her at once. ³¹So He came and took her by the hand and lifted her up, and immediately the fever left her. And she served them.

Many Healings

Matt. 8:16, 17; 4:23; Luke 4:40–44

³²ⁱAt evening, when the sun had set, they brought to Him all who were sick and those who were demon-possessed. ³³And the whole city was gathered together at the door. ³⁴Then He healed many who were sick with various diseases, and ^jcast out many demons; and He ^kdid not allow the demons to speak, because they knew Him.

³⁵Now ^lin the morning, having risen a long while before daylight, He went out and departed to a ²solitary place; and there He ^mprayed. ³⁶And Simon and those who were with Him searched for Him. ³⁷When they found Him, they said to Him, ⁿ“Everyone ^ois looking for You.”

³⁸But He said to them, ^p“Let us go into the next towns, that I may preach there also, because ^qfor this purpose I have come forth.”

^39rAnd He was preaching in their synagogues throughout all Galilee, and ^scasting out demons.

A Leper is Cleansed

Matt. 8:1–4; Luke 5:12–16

^40tNow a leper came to Him, imploring Him, kneeling down to Him and saying to Him, “If You are willing, You can make me clean.”

⁴¹Then Jesus, moved with ^ucompassion, stretched out His hand and touched him, and said to him, “I am willing; be cleansed.” ⁴²As soon as He had spoken, ^vimmediately the leprosy left him, and he was cleansed. ⁴³And He strictly warned him and sent him away at once, ⁴⁴and said to him, “See that you say nothing to anyone; but go your way, show yourself to the priest, and offer for your cleansing those things ^wwhich Moses commanded, as a testimony to them.”

^45xHowever, he went out and began to proclaim it freely, and to spread the matter, so that Jesus could no longer openly enter the city, but was outside in deserted places; ^yand they came to Him from every direction.

A Paralytic is Healed

Matt. 9:1–8; Luke 5:17–26

2And again ^aHe entered Capernaum after some days, and it was heard that He was in the house. ²¹Immediately many gathered together, so that there was no longer room to receive them, not even near the door. And He preached the word to them. ³Then they came to Him, bringing a ^bparalytic who was carried by four men. ⁴And when they could not come near Him because of the crowd, they uncovered the roof where He was. So when they had broken through, they let down the bed on which the paralytic was lying.

⁵When Jesus saw their faith, He said to the paralytic, “Son, your sins are forgiven you.”

⁶And some of the scribes were sitting there and reasoning in their hearts, ⁷“Why does this Man speak blasphemies like this? ^cWho can forgive sins but God alone?”

⁸But immediately, when Jesus perceived in His spirit that they reasoned thus within themselves, He said to them, “Why do you reason about these things in your hearts? ^9dWhich is easier, to say to the paralytic, ‘Your sins are forgiven you,’ or to say, ‘Arise, take up your bed and walk’? ¹⁰But that you may know that the Son of Man has ²power on earth to forgive sins”—He said to the paralytic, ¹¹“I say to you, arise, take up your bed, and go to your house.” ¹²Immediately he arose, took up the bed, and went out in the presence of them all, so that all were amazed and ^eglorified God, saying, “We never saw anything like this!”

Call of Matthew

Matt. 9:9–13; Luke 5:27–32

^13fThen He went out again by the sea; and all the multitude came to Him, and He taught them. ^14gAs He passed by, He saw Levi the son of Alphaeus sitting at the tax office. And He said to him, ^h “Follow Me.” So he arose and ⁱfollowed Him.

^15jNow it happened, as He was dining in Levi’s house, that many tax collectors and sinners also sat together with Jesus and His disciples; for there were many, and they followed Him. ¹⁶And when the scribes ³and Pharisees saw Him eating with the tax collectors and sinners, they said to His disciples, “How is it that He eats and drinks with tax collectors and sinners?”

¹⁷When Jesus heard it, He said to them, ^k “Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick. I did not come to call the righteous, but sinners, ⁴to repentance.”

Parable of Cloth and Wineskins

Matt. 9:14–17; Luke 5:33–39

^18lThe disciples of John and of the Pharisees were fasting. Then they came and said to Him, “Why do the disciples of John and of the Pharisees fast, but Your disciples do not fast?”

¹⁹And Jesus said to them, “Can the ⁵friends of the bridegroom fast while the bridegroom is with them? As long as they have the bridegroom with them they cannot fast. ²⁰But the days will come when the bridegroom will be ^mtaken away from them, and then they will fast in those days. ²¹No one sews a piece of unshrunk cloth on an old garment; or else the new piece pulls away from the old, and the tear is made worse. ²²And no one puts new wine into old wineskins; or else the new wine bursts the wineskins, the wine is spilled, and the wineskins are ruined. But new wine must be put into new wineskins.”

Controversy Over Sabbath-Work

Matt. 12:1–8; Luke 6:1–5

²³ⁿNow it happened that He went through the grainfields on the Sabbath; and as they went His disciples began ^oto pluck the heads of grain. ²⁴And the Pharisees said to Him, “Look, why do they do what is ^pnot lawful on the Sabbath?”

²⁵But He said to them, “Have you never read ^qwhat David did when he was in need and hungry, he and those with him: ²⁶how he went into the house of God in the days of Abiathar the high priest, and ate the showbread, ^rwhich is not lawful to eat except for the priests, and also gave some to those who were with him?”

²⁷And He said to them, “The Sabbath was made for man, and not man for the ^sSabbath. ²⁸Therefore ^tthe Son of Man is also Lord of the Sabbath.”

Controversy Over Sabbath-Healing

Matt 12:9–13; Luke 6:6–10

3And ^aHe entered the synagogue again, and a man was there who had a withered hand. ²So they ^bwatched Him closely, whether He would ^cheal him on the Sabbath, so that they might ¹accuse Him. ³And He said to the man who had the withered hand, ² “Step forward.” ⁴Then He said to them, “Is it lawful on the Sabbath to do good or to do evil, to save life or to kill?” But they kept silent. ⁵And when He had looked around at them with anger, being grieved by the ^dhardness of their hearts, He said to the man, “Stretch out your hand.” And he stretched it out, and his hand was restored ³as whole as the other.

Pharisees Counsel…