Study Desk

The beginning of the gospel of Jesus Christ, ^(C1)the Son of God,

^(C1)just as it is written in Isaiah the prophet: "^(C2)BEHOLD, I AM SENDING MY MESSENGER ^(F1)BEFORE YOU, WHO WILL PREPARE YOUR WAY;

^(C1)THE VOICE OF ONE CALLING ^(F1)OUT IN THE WILDERNESS, 'PREPARE THE WAY OF THE LORD, MAKE HIS PATHS STRAIGHT!'"

John the Baptist appeared in the wilderness, ^(F1)(C1)preaching a baptism of repentance for the ^(C2)forgiveness of sins.

And all the country of Judea was going out to him, and all the people of Jerusalem; and they were being baptized by him in the Jordan River, confessing their sins.

John was clothed with camel's hair and wore ^(C1)a leather belt around his waist, and ^(F1)his diet was locusts and wild honey.

And he was ^(F1)preaching, saying, "After me One is coming who is mightier than I, and I am not fit to bend down and untie the straps of His sandals.

"I baptized you ^(F1)with water; but He will baptize you ^(F1)with the Holy Spirit."

^(C1)In those days Jesus ^(C2)came from Nazareth in Galilee and was baptized by John in the Jordan.

And immediately coming up out of the water, He saw the heavens ^(F1)opening, and the Spirit, like a dove, descending upon Him;

and a voice came from the heavens: "^(C1)You are My beloved Son; in You I ^(F1)am well pleased."

^(C1)And immediately the Spirit ^(*)brought Him out into the wilderness.

And He was in the wilderness for forty days, being tempted by ^(C1)Satan; and He was with the wild animals, and the angels were serving Him.

^(C1)Now after John was ^(F1)taken into custody, Jesus came into Galilee, ^(F2)(C2)preaching the gospel of God,

and saying, "^(C1)The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God has come near; ^(C2)repent and ^(F1)believe in the gospel."

^(C1)As He was going along the Sea of Galilee, He saw Simon and Andrew, the brother of Simon, casting a net in the sea; for they were fishermen.

And Jesus said to them, "Follow Me, and I will have you become fishers of people."

Immediately they left their nets and followed Him.

And going on a little farther, He saw ^(F1)James the son of Zebedee, and his brother John, ^(F2)who were also in the boat mending the nets.

Immediately He called them; and they left their father Zebedee in the boat with the hired men, and went away ^(F1)to follow Him.

^(C1)They ^(*)went into Capernaum; and immediately on the Sabbath Jesus ^(C2)entered the synagogue and began to teach.

And ^(C1)they were amazed at His teaching; for He was teaching them as one having authority, and not as the scribes.

Just then there was a man in their synagogue with an unclean spirit; and he cried out,

saying, "^(C1)What ^(F1)business do You have with us, Jesus ^(F2)of ^(C2)Nazareth? Have You come to destroy us? I know who You are: ^(C3)the Holy One of God!"

And Jesus rebuked him, saying, "Be quiet, and come out of him!"

After throwing him into convulsions and crying out with a loud voice, the unclean spirit came out of him.

And they were all ^(C1)amazed, so they debated among themselves, saying, "What is this? A new teaching with authority! He commands even the unclean spirits, and they obey Him."

Immediately the news about Him spread everywhere into all the surrounding region of Galilee.

^(C1)And immediately after they left ^(C2)the synagogue, they entered the house of Simon and Andrew, with ^(F1)James and John.

Now Simon's mother-in-law was lying sick with a fever; and they immediately ^(*)spoke to ^(F1)Jesus about her.

And He came to her and raised her up, taking her by the hand, and the fever left her, and she served them.

Now ^(C1)when evening came, ^(C2)after the sun had set, they began bringing to Him all who were ill and those who were ^(C3)demon-possessed.

And the whole ^(C1)city had gathered at the door.

And He ^(C1)healed many who were ill with various diseases, and cast out many demons; and He would not permit the demons to speak, because they knew ^(F1)who He was.

^(C1)And in the early morning, while it was still dark, Jesus got up, left the house, and went away to a secluded place, and ^(C2)prayed there for a time.

Simon and his companions eagerly searched for Him;

and they found Him and ^(*)said to Him, "Everyone is looking for You."

He ^(*)said to them, "Let's go somewhere else to the towns nearby, so that I may also ^(F1)preach there; for this is why I came."

^(C1)And He went into their synagogues ^(F1)preaching throughout Galilee, and casting out the demons.

^(C1)And a man with ^(F1)leprosy ^(*)came to ^(F2)Jesus, imploring Him and ^(C2)kneeling down, and saying to Him, "If You are willing, You can make me clean."

Moved with compassion, Jesus reached out with His hand and touched him, and ^(*)said to him, "I am willing; be cleansed."

And immediately the leprosy left him, and he was cleansed.

And He sternly warned him and immediately sent him away,

and He ^(*)said to him, "^(C1)See that you say nothing to anyone; but ^(C1)go, show yourself to the priest and ^(C2)offer for your cleansing what Moses commanded, as a testimony to them."

But he went out and began to ^(C1)proclaim it ^(F1)freely and to ^(C1)spread the news around, to such an extent that ^(F2)Jesus could no longer publicly enter a city, but ^(F3)stayed out in unpopulated areas; and ^(C2)they were coming to Him from everywhere.

When Jesus came back to Capernaum a few days later, it was heard that He was at home.

And ^(C1)many were gathered together, so that there was no longer space, not even near the door; and He was speaking the word to them.

^(C1)And some people ^(*)came, bringing to Him a man who was ^(C2)paralyzed, carried by four men.

And when they were unable to ^(F1)get to Him because of the crowd, they ^(C1)removed the roof ^(F2)above Him; and after digging an opening, they let down the pallet on which the ^(C2)paralyzed man was lying.

And Jesus, seeing their faith, ^(*)said to the paralyzed man, "Son, ^(C1)your sins are forgiven."

But some of the scribes were sitting there and thinking it over in their hearts,

"Why does this man speak that way? He is blaspheming! ^(C1)Who can forgive sins except God alone?"

Immediately Jesus, aware ^(F1)in His spirit that they were thinking that way within themselves, ^(*)said to them, "Why are you thinking about these things in your hearts?

"Which is easier, to say to the ^(C1)paralyzed man, 'Your sins are forgiven'; or to say, 'Get up, and pick up your pallet and walk'?

"But so that you may know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins"—He ^(*)said to the paralyzed man,

"I say to you, get up, pick up your pallet, and go home."

And he got up and immediately picked up the pallet and went out in the sight of everyone, so that they were all amazed and ^(C1)were glorifying God, saying, "^(C2)We have never seen anything like this!"

And He went out again by the seashore; and ^(C1)all the ^(F1)people were coming to Him, and He was teaching them.

^(C1)As He passed by, He saw ^(F1)(C2)Levi the son of Alphaeus sitting in the tax office, and He ^(*)said to him, "^(C3)Follow Me!" And he got up and followed Him.

And it ^(*)happened that He was reclining at the table in his house, and many tax collectors and ^(F1)sinners were ^(F2)dining with Jesus and His disciples; for there were many of them, and they were following Him.

When ^(C1)the scribes of the Pharisees saw that He was eating with the ^(F1)sinners and tax collectors, they said to His disciples, "^(C2)Why is He eating with tax collectors and ^(F1)sinners?"

And hearing this, Jesus ^(*)said to them, "^(C1)It is not those who are healthy who need a physician, but those who are sick; I did not come to call the righteous, but sinners."

^(C1)John's disciples and the Pharisees were fasting; and they ^(*)came and ^(*)said to Him, "Why do John's disciples and the disciples of the Pharisees fast, but Your disciples do not fast?"

And Jesus said to them, "While the groom is with them, ^(F1)the attendants of the groom cannot fast, can they? As long as they have the groom with them, they cannot fast.

"But the ^(C1)days will come when the groom is taken away from them, and then they will fast, on that day.

"No one sews a patch of unshrunk cloth on an old garment; otherwise, ^(F1)the patch pulls away from it, the new from the old, and a worse tear results.

"And no one puts new wine into old wineskins; otherwise the wine will burst the skins, and the wine is lost and the skins as well; but one puts new wine into fresh wineskins."

^(C1)And it happened that He was passing through the grainfields on the Sabbath, and His disciples began to make their way along while ^(C2)picking the heads of grain.

The Pharisees were saying to Him, "Look, ^(C1)why are they doing what is not lawful on the Sabbath?"

And He ^(*)said to them, "Have you never read what David did when he was in need and he and his companions became hungry;

how he entered the house of God in the ^(F1)time of ^(C1)Abiathar the high priest, and ate the ^(F2)consecrated bread, which ^(C2)is not lawful for anyone to eat except the priests, and he also gave it to those who were with him?"

Jesus said to them, "^(C1)The Sabbath ^(F1)was made ^(F2)for man, and ^(C2)not man ^(F2)for the Sabbath.

"So the Son of Man is Lord, even of the Sabbath."

^(C1)He ^(C2)entered a synagogue again; and a man was there whose hand was withered.

And ^(C1)they were watching Him ^(F1)closely to see if He would heal him on the Sabbath, ^(C2)so that they might accuse Him.

He ^(*)said to the man with the withered hand, "^(F1)Get up and come forward!"

And He ^(*)said to them, "Is it lawful to do good on the Sabbath or to do harm, to save a life or to kill?" But they kept silent.

After ^(C1)looking around at them with anger, grieved at their hardness of heart, He ^(*)said to the man, "Stretch out your hand." And he stretched it out, and his hand was restored.

The Pharisees went out and immediately began ^(F1)conspiring with the ^(C1)Herodians against Him, as to how they might put Him to death.

^(C1)Jesus withdrew to the sea with His disciples; and ^(C2)a large multitude from Galilee followed, and also from Judea,

and from Jerusalem, and from ^(C1)Idumea, and beyond the Jordan, and the vicinity of ^(C2)Tyre and Sidon, a great number of people heard about everything that He was doing and came to Him.

^(C1)And He told His disciples to see that a boat would be ready for Him because of the ^(F1)masses, so that they would not crowd Him;

for He had ^(C1)healed many, with the result that all those who had ^(C2)diseases pushed in around Him in order to ^(C3)touch Him.

And whenever the unclean spirits saw Him, they would fall down before Him and shout, "You are ^(C1)the Son of God!"

And He ^(C1)strongly warned them not to ^(F1)reveal who He was.

And He ^(*)went up on ^(C1)the mountain and ^(*)(C2)summoned those whom He Himself wanted, and they came to Him.

And He appointed twelve, so that they would be with Him and that He could send them out to preach,

and to have authority to cast out the demons.

And He appointed the twelve: ^(C1)Simon (to whom He gave the name Peter),

^(F1)James the son of Zebedee and John the brother of ^(F1)James (to them He gave the name Boanerges, which means, "Sons of Thunder");

and Andrew, Philip, Bartholomew, Matthew, Thomas, ^(F1)James the son of Alphaeus, Thaddaeus, and Simon the ^(F2)Zealot;

and Judas Iscariot, who also betrayed Him.

And He ^(*)came ^(F1)(C1)home, and the ^(C2)crowd ^(*)gathered again, ^(C3)to such an extent that they could not even eat ^(F2)a meal.

And when ^(C1)His own ^(F1)people heard about this, they came out to take custody of Him; for they were saying, "^(C2)He has lost His senses."

The scribes who came down ^(C1)from Jerusalem were saying, "He ^(F1)is possessed by ^(F2)(C2)Beelzebul," and "^(C3)He casts out the demons by the ruler of the demons."

^(C1)And so He called them to Himself and began speaking to them in ^(C2)parables: "How can ^(C3)Satan cast out Satan?

"And if a kingdom is divided against itself, that kingdom cannot stand.

"If a house is divided against itself, that house will not be able to stand.

"And if ^(C1)Satan has risen up against himself and is divided, he cannot stand, but ^(F1)he is finished!

"^(C1)But no one can enter the strong man's house and plunder his property unless he first ties up the strong man, and then he will plunder his house.

"^(C1)Truly I say to you, all sins will be forgiven the sons and daughters of men, and whatever blasphemies they commit;

but ^(C1)whoever blasphemes against the Holy Spirit never has forgiveness, but is guilty of an eternal sin"—

because they were saying, "He has an unclean spirit."

^(C1)Then His mother and His brothers ^(*)came, and while standing outside they sent word to Him, calling for Him.

And a crowd was sitting around Him, and they ^(*)said to Him, "Behold, Your mother and Your brothers are outside looking for You."

Answering them, He ^(*)said, "Who are My mother and My brothers?"

And looking around at those who were sitting around Him, He ^(*)said, "^(C1)Here are My mother and My brothers!

"For whoever ^(C1)does the will of God, this is My brother, and sister, and mother."

Again ^(C1)He began to teach ^(C2)by the sea. And such a very large crowd gathered to Him that ^(C3)He got into a boat on the sea and sat down; and the whole crowd was by the sea on the land.

And He was teaching them many things in ^(C1)parables, and was saying to them in His teaching,

"Listen to this! Behold, the sower went out to sow;

as he was sowing, some seed fell beside the road, and the birds came and ate it up.

"Other seed fell on the rocky ground where it did not have much soil; and immediately it sprang up because it had no depth of soil.

"And when the sun had risen, it was scorched; and because it had no root, it withered away.

"Other seed fell among the thorns, and the thorns came up and choked it, and it yielded no crop.

"Other seeds fell into the good soil, and as they grew up and increased, they yielded a crop and produced thirty, sixty, and a hundred times as much."

And He was saying, "^(C1)He who has ears to hear, ^(F1)let him hear."

As soon as He was alone, ^(F1)His followers, along with the twelve disciples, began asking Him about the parables.

And He was saying to them, "To you has been given the mystery of the kingdom of God, but for ^(C1)those who are outside, everything comes ^(C2)in parables,

so that ^(C1)WHILE SEEING THEY MAY SEE, AND NOT PERCEIVE, AND WHILE HEARING, THEY MAY HEAR, AND NOT UNDERSTAND, OTHERWISE THEY MIGHT RETURN AND IT WOULD BE FORGIVEN THEM."

^(C1)And He ^(*)said to them, "Do you not understand this parable? How will you understand all the parables?

"The sower sows the word.

"These are the ones who are beside the road where the word is sown; and when they hear, immediately ^(C1)Satan comes and takes away the word which has been sown in them.

"And in a similar way these are the ones sown with seed on the rocky places, who, when they hear the word, immediately receive it with joy;

and yet they have no firm root in themselves, but are only temporary; then, when affliction or persecution occurs because of the word, immediately they ^(F1)fall away.

"And others are the ones sown with seed among the thorns; these are the ones who have heard the word,

but the worries of ^(C1)the ^(F1)world, and the ^(C2)deceitfulness of wealth, and the desires for other things enter and choke the word, and it ^(F2)becomes unfruitful.

"And those are the ones sown with seed on the good soil; and they hear the word and accept it and ^(C1)bear fruit, thirty, sixty, and a hundred times as much."

And He was saying to them, "^(C1)A lamp is not brought to be put under a ^(F1)basket, or under a bed, is it? Is it not brought to be put on the lampstand?

"^(C1)For nothing is hidden, except to be revealed; nor has anything been secret, but that it would come to light.

"^(C1)If anyone has ears to hear, ^(F1)let him hear."

And He was saying to them, "Take care what you listen to. ^(F1)(C1)By your standard of measure it will be measured to you; and more will be given you besides.

"^(C1)For whoever has, to him more will be given; and whoever does not have, even what he has will be taken away from him."

And He was saying, "The kingdom of God is like a man who casts seed upon the soil;

and he goes to bed at night and gets up daily, and the seed sprouts and grows—how, he himself does not know.

"The soil produces crops by itself; first the stalk, then the head, then the mature grain in the head.

"Now when the crop permits, he immediately ^(F1)(C1)puts in the sickle, because the harvest has come."

^(C1)And He was saying, "How shall we ^(F1)(C2)picture the kingdom of God, or by what parable shall we present it?

"It is like a mustard seed, which, when sown upon the soil, though it is the smallest of all the seeds that are upon the soil,

yet when it is sown, it grows up and becomes larger than all the garden plants, and forms large branches, with the result that ^(C1)THE BIRDS OF THE SKY can NEST UNDER its shade."

And with many such parables He was speaking the word to them, so far as they were able to ^(F1)understand it;

and He did not speak to them ^(C1)without a parable; but He was ^(C2)explaining everything privately to His own disciples.

^(C1)On that day, when evening came, He ^(*)said to them, "Let's go over to the other side."

After dismissing the crowd, they ^(*)took Him along with them ^(C1)in the boat, just as He was; and other boats were with Him.

And a fierce gale of wind ^(*)developed, and the waves were breaking over the boat so much that the boat was already filling with water.

And yet Jesus Himself was in the stern, asleep on the cushion; and they ^(*)woke Him and ^(*)said to Him, "Teacher, do You not care that we are perishing?"

And He got up and ^(C1)rebuked the wind and said to the sea, "Hush, be still." And the wind died down and ^(F1)it became perfectly calm.

And He said to them, "Why are you ^(F1)afraid? ^(C1)Do you still have no faith?"

They became very much afraid and said to one another, "Who, then, is this, that even the wind and the sea obey Him?"