The Temptation of Jesus

1Now Jesus, full of the Holy Spirit, returned from the Jordan and was being led around [†]by the Spirit in the wilderness 2for forty days, being tempted by the devil. And He ate nothing during those days, and when they had finished, He was hungry. 3And the devil said to Him, “If You are the Son of God, tell this stone to become bread.” 4And Jesus answered him, “It is written, ‘MAN SHALL NOT LIVE ON BREAD ALONE.’”

5And he led Him up and showed Him all the kingdoms of [†]the world in a moment of time. 6And the devil said to Him, “I will give You all this dominion and [†]its glory, for it has been handed over to me, and I give it to whomever I wish. 7Therefore if You [†]worship before me, it shall all be Yours.” 8And Jesus answered and said to him, “It is written, ‘YOU SHALL WORSHIP THE [†]LORD YOUR GOD AND SERVE HIM ONLY.’”

9And he led Him to Jerusalem and had Him stand on the pinnacle of the temple, and said to Him, “If You are the Son of God, throw Yourself down from here, 10for it is written,

‘HE WILL COMMAND HIS ANGELS CONCERNING YOU TO GUARD YOU,’

11and,

‘ON their HANDS THEY WILL BEAR YOU UP,

LEST YOU STRIKE YOUR FOOT AGAINST A STONE.’”

12And Jesus answered and said to him, “It is said, ‘YOU SHALL NOT PUT THE [†]LORD YOUR GOD TO THE TEST.’”

13And when the devil had finished every temptation, he left Him until an opportune time.

Jesus Begins His Ministry

14And Jesus returned to Galilee in the power of the Spirit, and news about Him spread through all the surrounding district. 15And He was teaching in their synagogues, being glorified by all.

Jesus Rejected at Nazareth

16And He came to Nazareth, where He had been brought up, and as was His custom, He entered the synagogue on the Sabbath and stood up to read. 17And the scroll of the prophet Isaiah was handed to Him. And He opened the scroll and found the place where it was written,

18“THE SPIRIT OF THE [†]LORD IS UPON ME,

BECAUSE HE ANOINTED ME TO PREACH THE GOSPEL TO THE POOR.

HE HAS SENT ME TO PROCLAIM RELEASE TO THE CAPTIVES,

AND RECOVERY OF SIGHT TO THE BLIND,

TO SET FREE THOSE WHO ARE OPPRESSED,

19TO PROCLAIM THE FAVORABLE YEAR OF THE [†]LORD.”

20And He closed the scroll, gave it back to the attendant and sat down, and the eyes of all in the synagogue were fixed on Him. 21And He began to say to them, “Today this Scripture has been fulfilled in your [†]hearing.” 22And all were [†]speaking well of Him and marveling at the [†]gracious words which were coming forth from His lips, and they were saying, “Is this not Joseph’s son?” 23And He said to them, “No doubt you will quote this proverb to Me, ‘Physician, heal yourself! Whatever we heard took place at Capernaum, do also here in your hometown as well.’” 24And He said, “Truly I say to you, no prophet is welcome in his hometown. 25But I say to you in truth, there were many widows in Israel in the days of Elijah, when the sky was shut up for three years and six months, when a great famine came over all the land, 26and yet Elijah was sent to none of them, but only to [†]Zarephath, in the land of Sidon, to a woman who was a widow. 27And there were many lepers in Israel in the time of Elisha the prophet, and none of them was cleansed, but only Naaman the Syrian.” 28And all the people in the synagogue were filled with rage as they heard these things, 29and they stood up and drove Him out of the city, and led Him to the edge of the hill on which their city had been built, in order to throw Him down the cliff. 30But passing through their midst, He went on His way.

Jesus Casts Out an Unclean Demon

31And He came down to Capernaum, a city of Galilee, and He was teaching them on the Sabbath; 32and they were amazed at His teaching, for His [†]message was with authority. 33And in the synagogue there was a man [†]possessed by the spirit of an unclean demon, and he cried out with a loud voice, 34“[†]Let us alone! [†]What do we have to do with You, Jesus the Nazarene? Have You come to destroy us? I know who You are—the Holy One of God!” 35But Jesus rebuked it, saying, “Be quiet and come out of him!” And when the demon had thrown him down in the midst of the people, it came out of him without doing him any harm. 36And amazement came upon them all, and they were talking with one another saying, “What is [†]this message? For with authority and power He commands the unclean spirits and they come out.” 37And the report about Him was spreading into every place in the surrounding district.

Peter’s Mother-In-Law and Many Others Healed

38Then He stood up and left the synagogue, and entered Simon’s home. Now Simon’s mother-in-law was suffering from a high fever, and they asked Him [†]to help her. 39And standing over her, He rebuked the fever, and it left her. Immediately she stood up and [†]began waiting on them.

40And while the sun was setting, all those who had any who were sick with various diseases brought them to Him, and laying His hands on each one of them, He was healing them. 41And demons also were coming out of many, shouting and saying, “You are the Son of God!” But rebuking them, He was not allowing them to speak, because they knew Him to be the [†]Christ.

42When day came, Jesus left and went to a secluded place; and the crowds were eagerly seeking for Him, and came to Him and tried to keep Him from going away from them. 43But He said to them, “I must proclaim the good news of the kingdom of God to the other cities also, for I was sent for this purpose.”

44So He kept on preaching in the synagogues of [†]Judea.