Matthew 3–4

The Proclamation of John the Baptist

³In those days John the Baptist appeared in the wilderness of Judea, proclaiming, ²“Repent, for the kingdom of heaven has come near.”^{x* 3}This is the one of whom the prophet Isaiah spoke when he said,

“The voice of one crying out in the wilderness:

‘Prepare the way of the Lord;

make his paths straight.’ ”^*

⁴Now John wore clothing of camel’s hair with a leather belt around his waist, and his food was locusts and wild honey.^{* 5}Then Jerusalem and all Judea and all the region around the Jordan were going out to him, ⁶and they were baptized by him in the River Jordan, confessing their sins.^*

⁷But when he saw many of the Pharisees and Sadducees coming for his^y baptism, he said to them, “You brood of vipers! Who warned you to flee from the coming wrath?^{* 8}Therefore, bear fruit worthy of repentance,^{* 9}and do not presume to say to yourselves, ‘We have Abraham as our ancestor,’ for I tell you, God is able from these stones to raise up children to Abraham.^{* 10}Even now the ax is lying at the root of the trees; therefore every tree that does not bear good fruit will be cut down and thrown into the fire.^*

¹¹“I baptize you with^z water for repentance, but the one who is coming after me is more powerful than I, and I am not worthy to carry his sandals. He will baptize you with^a the Holy Spirit and fire.^{* 12}His winnowing fork is in his hand, and he will clear his threshing floor and will gather his wheat into the granary, but the chaff he will burn with unquenchable fire.”^*

The Baptism of Jesus

¹³Then Jesus came from Galilee to John at the Jordan, to be baptized by him.^{* 14}John would have prevented him, saying, “I need to be baptized by you, and do you come to me?” ¹⁵But Jesus answered him, “Let it be so now, for it is proper for us in this way to fulfill all righteousness.” Then he consented. ¹⁶And when Jesus had been baptized, just as he came up from the water, suddenly the heavens were opened to him and he saw God’s Spirit descending like a dove and alighting on him.^{* 17}And a voice from the heavens said, “This is my Son, the Beloved,^b with whom I am well pleased.”^*

The Testing of Jesus

⁴Then Jesus was led up by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tested by the devil. ²He fasted forty days and forty nights, and afterward he was famished.^{* 3}The tempter came and said to him, “If you are the Son of God, command these stones to become loaves of bread.”^{* 4}But he answered, “It is written,

‘One does not live by bread alone,

but by every word that comes from the mouth of God.’ ”^*

⁵Then the devil took him to the holy city and placed him on the pinnacle of the temple,^{* 6}saying to him, “If you are the Son of God, throw yourself down, for it is written,

‘He will command his angels concerning you,’

and ‘On their hands they will bear you up,

so that you will not dash your foot against a stone.’ ”^*

⁷Jesus said to him, “Again it is written, ‘Do not put the Lord your God to the test.’ ”^*

⁸Again, the devil took him to a very high mountain and showed him all the kingdoms of the world and their glory, ⁹and he said to him, “All these I will give you, if you will fall down and worship me.” ¹⁰Then Jesus said to him, “Away with you, Satan! for it is written,

‘Worship the Lord your God,

and serve only him.’ ”^*

¹¹Then the devil left him, and suddenly angels came and waited on him.^*

Jesus Begins His Ministry in Galilee

¹²Now when Jesus^c heard that John had been arrested, he withdrew to Galilee. ¹³He left Nazareth and made his home in Capernaum by the sea, in the territory of Zebulun and Naphtali, ¹⁴so that what had been spoken through the prophet Isaiah might be fulfilled:

¹⁵“Land of Zebulun, land of Naphtali,

on the road by the sea, across the Jordan, Galilee of the gentiles—^*

¹⁶the people who sat in darkness

have seen a great light,

and for those who sat in the region and shadow of death

light has dawned.”^*

¹⁷From that time Jesus began to proclaim, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven has come near.”^d*

Jesus Calls the First Disciples

¹⁸As he walked by the Sea of Galilee, he saw two brothers, Simon, who is called Peter, and Andrew his brother, casting a net into the sea—for they were fishers.^{* 19}And he said to them, “Follow me, and I will make you fishers of people.” ²⁰Immediately they left their nets and followed him.^{* 21}As he went from there, he saw two other brothers, James son of Zebedee and his brother John, in the boat with their father Zebedee, mending their nets, and he called them. ²²Immediately they left the boat and their father and followed him.

Jesus Ministers to Crowds of People

²³Jesus^e went throughout all Galilee, teaching in their synagogues and proclaiming the good news^f of the kingdom and curing every disease and every sickness among the people.^{* 24}So his fame spread throughout all Syria, and they brought to him all the sick, those who were afflicted with various diseases and pains, people possessed by demons or having epilepsy or afflicted with paralysis, and he cured them.^{* 25}And great crowds followed him from Galilee, the Decapolis, Jerusalem, Judea, and from beyond the Jordan.^*