Jesus and the Devil

(Matthew 4.1-11; Mark 1.12,13)

1When Jesus returned from the Jordan River, the power of the Holy Spirit was with him, and the Spirit led him into the desert. 2For 40 days Jesus was tested by the devil, and during that time he went without eating.+ When it was all over, he was hungry.

3The devil said to Jesus, “If you are God's Son, tell this stone to turn into bread.”

4 Jesus answered, “The Scriptures say, ‘No one can live only on food.’ ”

5Then the devil led Jesus up to a high place and quickly showed him all the nations on earth. 6The devil said, “I will give all this power and glory to you. It has been given to me, and I can give it to anyone I want to. 7Just worship me, and you can have it all.”

8 Jesus answered, “The Scriptures say:

‘Worship the Lord your God

and serve only him!’ ”

9Finally, the devil took Jesus to Jerusalem and had him stand on top of the temple. The devil said, “If you are God's Son, jump off. 10-11 The Scriptures say:

‘God will tell his angels

to take care of you.

They will catch you

in their arms,

and you will not even hurt

your feet on the stones.’ ”

12 Jesus answered, “The Scriptures also say, ‘Don't try to test the Lord your God!’ ”

13After the devil had finished testing Jesus in every way possible, he left him for a while.

Jesus Begins His Work

(Matthew 4.12-17; Mark 1.14,15)

14Jesus returned to Galilee with the power of the Spirit. News about him spread everywhere. 15He taught in the Jewish synagogues, and everyone praised him.

The People of Nazareth Turn against Jesus

(Matthew 13.53-58; Mark 6.1-6)

16Jesus went back to Nazareth, where he had been brought up, and as usual he went to the synagogue on the Sabbath. When he stood up to read from the Scriptures, 17he was given the book of Isaiah the prophet. He opened it and read,

18 “The Lord's Spirit

has come to me,

because he has chosen me

to tell the good news

to the poor.

The Lord has sent me

to announce freedom

for prisoners,

to give sight to the blind,

to free everyone

who suffers,

19and to say, ‘This is the year

the Lord has chosen.’ ”

20Jesus closed the book, then handed it back to the man in charge and sat down. Everyone in the synagogue looked straight at Jesus.

21Then Jesus said to them, “What you have just heard me read has come true today.”

22All the people started talking about Jesus and were amazed at the wonderful things he said. They kept on asking, “Isn't he Joseph's son?”

23Jesus answered:

You will certainly want to tell me this saying, “Doctor, first make yourself well.” You will tell me to do the same things here in my own hometown that you heard I did in Capernaum. 24 But you can be sure that no prophets are liked by the people of their own hometown.

25 Once during the time of Elijah there was no rain for three and a half years, and people everywhere were starving. There were many widows in Israel, 26 but Elijah was sent only to a widow in the town of Zarephath near the city of Sidon. 27 During the time of the prophet Elisha, many men in Israel had leprosy.+ But no one was healed, except Naaman who lived in Syria.

28When the people in the synagogue heard Jesus say this, they became so angry 29that they got up and threw him out of town. They dragged him to the edge of the cliff on which the town was built, because they wanted to throw him down from there. 30But Jesus slipped through the crowd and got away.

A Man with an Evil Spirit

(Mark 1.21-28)

31Jesus went to the town of Capernaum in Galilee and taught the people on the Sabbath. 32 His teaching amazed them because he spoke with power. 33There in the synagogue was a man with an evil spirit. He yelled out, 34“Hey, Jesus of Nazareth, what do you want with us? Are you here to get rid of us? I know who you are! You are God's Holy One.”

35Jesus ordered the evil spirit to be quiet and come out. The demon threw the man to the ground in front of everyone and left without harming him.

36They all were amazed and kept saying to each other, “What kind of teaching is this? He has power to order evil spirits out of people!” 37News about Jesus spread all over that part of the country.

Jesus Heals Many People

(Matthew 8.14-17; Mark 1.29-34)

38Jesus left the synagogue and went to Simon's home. When Jesus got there, he was told that Simon's mother-in-law was sick with a high fever. 39So Jesus went over to her and ordered the fever to go away. Right then she was able to get up and serve them a meal.

40After the sun had set, people with all kinds of diseases were brought to Jesus. He put his hands on each one of them and healed them. 41Demons went out of many people and shouted, “You are the Son of God!” But Jesus ordered the demons not to speak because they knew he was the Messiah.

42The next morning Jesus went out to a place where he could be alone, and crowds came looking for him. When they found him, they tried to stop him from leaving. 43But Jesus said, “People in other towns must hear the good news about God's kingdom. This is why I was sent.” 44So he kept on preaching in the synagogues in Judea.+