Study Desk

Now in the fifteenth year of the reign of Tiberius Caesar, when ^(C1)Pontius Pilate was governor of Judea, and ^(C2)Herod was tetrarch of Galilee and his brother Philip was tetrarch of the region of Ituraea and Trachonitis, and Lysanias was tetrarch of Abilene,

in the high priesthood of ^(C1)Annas and ^(C2)Caiaphas, ^(C3)the word of God came to John, the son of Zechariah, in the wilderness.

And he came into all ^(C1)the region around the Jordan, preaching a baptism of repentance ^(F1)for the forgiveness of sins;

as it is written in the book of the words of Isaiah the prophet: "^(C1)THE VOICE OF ONE CALLING ^(F1)OUT IN THE WILDERNESS, 'PREPARE THE WAY OF THE LORD, MAKE HIS PATHS STRAIGHT!

-'^(C1)EVERY RAVINE WILL BE FILLED, AND EVERY MOUNTAIN AND HILL WILL BE LOWERED; THE CROOKED WILL BECOME STRAIGHT, AND THE ROUGH ROADS SMOOTH;

^(C1)AND ALL ^(F1)FLESH WILL ^(C2)SEE THE SALVATION OF GOD!'"

So he was saying to the crowds who were going out to be baptized by him, "^(C1)You ^(F1)offspring of vipers, who warned you to flee from the wrath to come?

"Therefore produce fruits that are consistent with repentance, and ^(C1)do not start saying ^(F1)to yourselves, '^(C2)We have Abraham as our father,' for I say to you that from these stones God is able to raise up children for Abraham.

"But indeed the axe is already being laid at the root of the trees; so ^(C1)every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire."

And the crowds were questioning him, saying, "^(C1)Then what are we to do?"

And he would answer and say to them, "The one who has two ^(F1)tunics is to ^(C1)share with the one who has none; and the one who has food is to do likewise."

Now even ^(C1)tax collectors came to be baptized, and they said to him, "Teacher, what are we to do?"

And he said to them, "^(F1)Collect no more than what you have been ordered to."

And soldiers also were questioning him, saying, "What are we to do, we as well?" And he said to them, "Do not extort money from anyone, nor ^(F1)(C1)harass anyone, and ^(C2)be content with your wages."

Now while the people were in a state of expectation and they all were thinking carefully in their hearts about John, ^(C1)whether he himself perhaps was the ^(F1)Christ,

^(C1)John responded to them all, saying, "As for me, I baptize you with water; but He is coming who is mightier than I, and I am not fit to untie the straps of His sandals; He will baptize you ^(F1)with the Holy Spirit and fire.

"His ^(C1)winnowing fork is in His hand to thoroughly clear His threshing floor, and to gather the wheat into His barn; but He will burn up the chaff with ^(C2)unquenchable fire."

So with many other exhortations he preached the gospel to the people.

But when ^(C1)Herod the tetrarch was reprimanded by him regarding ^(C1)Herodias, his brother's wife, and regarding all the evil things which ^(C2)Herod had done,

Herod also added this to them all: ^(C1)he locked John up in prison.

^(C1)Now when all the people were baptized, Jesus also was baptized, and while He was ^(C2)praying, heaven was opened,

and the Holy Spirit descended upon Him in bodily form like a dove, and a voice came from heaven: "^(C1)You are My beloved Son, in You I am well pleased."

^(C1)When He began His ministry, Jesus Himself was about thirty years old, being, as was commonly held, the son of ^(C2)Joseph, ^(F1)the son of ^(F2)Eli,

the son of Matthat, the son of Levi, the son of Melchi, the son of Jannai, the son of Joseph,

the son of Mattathias, the son of Amos, the son of Nahum, the son of ^(F1)Hesli, the son of Naggai,

the son of Maath, the son of Mattathias, the son of Semein, the son of Josech, the son of Joda,

the son of Joanan, the son of Rhesa, ^(C1)the son of Zerubbabel, the son of ^(F1)Shealtiel, the son of Neri,

the son of Melchi, the son of Addi, the son of Cosam, the son of Elmadam, the son of Er,

the son of ^(F1)Joshua, the son of Eliezer, the son of Jorim, the son of Matthat, the son of Levi,

the son of Simeon, the son of ^(F1)Judah, the son of Joseph, the son of Jonam, the son of Eliakim,

the son of Melea, the son of Menna, the son of Mattatha, the son of Nathan, the son of David,

^(C1)the son of Jesse, the son of Obed, the son of Boaz, the son of ^(F1)Salmon, the son of ^(F2)Nahshon,

the son of Amminadab, the son of Admin, the son of ^(F1)Ram, the son of Hezron, the son of Perez, the son of Judah,

the son of Jacob, the son of Isaac, ^(C1)the son of Abraham, the son of Terah, the son of Nahor,

the son of Serug, the son of ^(F1)Reu, the son of Peleg, the son of ^(F2)Heber, the son of Shelah,

the son of Cainan, the son of Arphaxad, the son of Shem, ^(C1)the son of Noah, the son of Lamech,

the son of Methuselah, the son of Enoch, the son of Jared, the son of Mahalaleel, the son of Cainan,

the son of Enosh, the son of Seth, the son of Adam, the son of God.

^(C1)Now Jesus, full of the Holy Spirit, ^(C2)returned from the Jordan and was led around ^(F1)by the Spirit in the wilderness

for ^(C1)forty days, being tempted by the devil. And He ate nothing during those days, and when they had ended, He was hungry.

And the devil said to Him, "If You are the Son of God, tell this stone to become bread."

And Jesus answered him, "It is written: '^(C1)MAN SHALL NOT LIVE ON BREAD ALONE.'"

^(C1)And he led Him up and showed Him all the kingdoms of ^(F1)(C2)the world in a moment of time.

And the devil said to Him, "I will give You all this domain and ^(F1)its glory, ^(C1)for it has been handed over to me, and I give it to whomever I want.

"Therefore if You ^(F1)worship before me, it shall all be Yours."

Jesus replied to him, "It is written: '^(C1)YOU SHALL WORSHIP THE LORD YOUR GOD AND SERVE HIM ONLY.'"

^(C1)And he brought Him into 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;

for it is written: '^(C1)HE WILL GIVE HIS ANGELS ORDERS CONCERNING YOU, TO PROTECT YOU,'

and, '^(C1)ON THEIR HANDS THEY WILL LIFT YOU UP, SO THAT YOU DO NOT STRIKE YOUR FOOT AGAINST A STONE.'"

And Jesus answered and said to him, "It has been stated, '^(C1)YOU SHALL NOT PUT THE LORD YOUR GOD TO THE TEST.'"

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

And ^(C1)Jesus returned to Galilee in the power of the Spirit, and ^(C2)news about Him spread through all the surrounding region.

And He began ^(C1)teaching in their synagogues and was praised by all.

And He came to ^(C1)Nazareth, where He had been brought up; and as was His custom, ^(C2)He entered the synagogue on the Sabbath, and ^(C3)stood up to read.

And the scroll of Isaiah the prophet was handed to Him. And He unrolled the scroll and found the place where it was written:

"^(C1)THE SPIRIT OF THE LORD IS UPON ME, BECAUSE HE ANOINTED ME TO BRING GOOD NEWS TO THE POOR. HE HAS SENT ME TO PROCLAIM RELEASE TO CAPTIVES, AND RECOVERY OF SIGHT TO THE BLIND, TO SET FREE THOSE WHO ARE OPPRESSED,

^(C1)TO PROCLAIM THE FAVORABLE YEAR OF THE LORD."

And He ^(C1)rolled up the scroll, gave it back to the attendant, and ^(C2)sat down; and the eyes of all the people in the synagogue were intently directed at Him.

Now He began to say to them, "Today this Scripture has been fulfilled in your ^(F1)hearing."

And all the people were ^(F1)speaking well of Him, and admiring the ^(F2)gracious words which were coming from His ^(F3)lips; and yet they were saying, "^(C1)Is this not Joseph's son?"

And He said to them, "No doubt you will ^(F1)quote this proverb to Me: 'Physician, heal yourself! All the miracles that we heard were done ^(C1)in Capernaum, do here in ^(C2)Your hometown as well.'"

But He said, "Truly I say to you, ^(C1)no prophet is welcome in his hometown.

"But I say to you in truth, there were many widows in Israel ^(C1)in the days of Elijah, when the sky was shut up for three years and six months, when a ^(F1)severe famine came over all the land;

and yet Elijah was sent to none of them, but only to ^(F1)(C1)Zarephath, in the land of ^(C2)Sidon, to a woman who was a widow.

"And there were many with leprosy in Israel in the time of Elisha the prophet; and none of them was ^(F1)cleansed, but only ^(C1)Naaman the Syrian."

And all the people in the synagogue were filled with rage as they heard these things;

and they got up and ^(C1)drove Him out of the city, and brought Him to the ^(F1)crest of the hill on which their city had been built, so that they could throw Him down from the cliff.

But He ^(C1)passed through their midst and went on His way.

And ^(C1)He came down to ^(C2)Capernaum, a city of Galilee; and He was teaching them on the Sabbath;

and ^(C1)they were amazed at His teaching, because ^(C2)His ^(F1)message was delivered with authority.

In the synagogue there was a man ^(F1)possessed by the spirit of an unclean demon, and he cried out with a loud voice,

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

But Jesus ^(C1)rebuked him, 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.

And amazement came upon them all, and they began talking with one another, saying, "What is ^(F1)this message? For ^(C1)with authority and power He commands the unclean spirits, and they come out!"

And ^(C1)the news about Him was spreading into every locality of the surrounding region.

^(C1)Then He got up and left the synagogue, and entered Simon's home. Now Simon's mother-in-law was ^(C2)suffering from a high fever, and they asked Him ^(F1)to help her.

And standing over her, He ^(C1)rebuked the fever, and it left her; and she immediately got up and served them.

^(C1)Now while ^(C2)the sun was setting, all those who had any who were sick with various diseases brought them to Him; and He was ^(C3)laying His hands on each one of them and ^(C4)healing them.

Demons also were coming out of many, shouting, "You are ^(C1)the Son of God!" And yet He was ^(C2)rebuking them and would ^(C3)not allow them to speak, because they knew that He was the ^(F1)Christ.

^(C1)Now when day came, Jesus left and went to a secluded place; and the crowds were searching for Him, and they came to Him and tried to keep Him from leaving them.

But He said to them, "I must also preach the kingdom of God to the other cities, ^(C1)because I was sent for this purpose."

So He kept on preaching in the synagogues ^(C1)of ^(F1)Judea.