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

Immediately coming up out of the water, he (John) saw the heavens torn open, and the Spirit like a dove descending on Him (Jesus);

Immediately the [Holy] Spirit forced Him out into the wilderness.

He was in the wilderness forty days being tempted [to do evil] by Satan; and He was with the wild animals, and the angels ministered continually to Him.

Immediately they left their nets and followed Him [becoming His disciples, believing and trusting in Him and following His example].

Immediately Jesus called to them; and they left their father Zebedee in the boat with the hired workers, and went away to follow Him [becoming His disciples, believing and trusting in Him and following His example].

Jesus rebuked him, saying, “Be quiet (muzzled, silenced), and come out of him!”

The unclean spirit threw the man into convulsions, and screeching with a loud voice, came out of him.

They were all so amazed that they debated and questioned each other, saying, “What is this? A new teaching with authority! He commands even the unclean spirits (demons), and they obey Him.”

Immediately the news about Him spread everywhere throughout the district surrounding Galilee.

Now Simon’s mother-in-law was lying sick with a fever; and immediately they told Him about her.

Now when evening came, after the sun had set [and the Sabbath Day had ended, in a steady stream] they were bringing to Him all who were sick and those who were under the power of demons,

And Jesus healed many who were suffering with various diseases; and He drove out many demons, but would not allow the demons to speak, because they knew Him [recognizing Him as the Son of God].

Simon [Peter] and his companions searched [everywhere, looking anxiously] for Him,

and they found Him and said, “Everybody is looking for You!”

And a leper came to Him, begging Him and falling on his knees before Him, saying, “If You are willing, You are able to make me clean.”

Moved with compassion [for his suffering], Jesus reached out with His hand and touched him, and said to him, “I am willing; be cleansed.”

The leprosy left him immediately and he was cleansed [completely healed and restored to health].

And Jesus [deeply moved] admonished him sternly and sent him away immediately,

saying to him, “See that you tell no one anything [about this]; but go, show yourself to the priest and offer for your purification what Moses commanded, as proof to them [that you are really healed].”

But he went out and began to proclaim it freely and to spread the news [of his healing], to such an extent that Jesus could no longer openly enter a city [where He was known], but stayed out in the unpopulated places; yet people were still coming to Him from everywhere.

Then they came, bringing to Him a paralyzed man, who was being carried by four men.

When they were unable to get to Him because of the crowd, they removed the roof above Jesus; and when they had dug out an opening, they let down the mat on which the paralyzed man was lying.

When Jesus saw their [active] faith [springing from confidence in Him], He said to the paralyzed man, “Son, your sins are forgiven.”

Jesus went out again along the [Galilean] seashore; and all the people were coming to Him, and He was teaching them.

As He was passing by, He saw Levi (Matthew) the son of Alphaeus sitting in the tax collector’s booth, and He said to him, “Follow Me [as My disciple, accepting Me as your Master and Teacher and walking the same path of life that I walk].” And he got up and followed Him [becoming His disciple, believing and trusting in Him and following His example].

And it happened that Jesus was reclining at the table in Levi’s house, and many tax collectors and sinners [including non-observant Jews] were eating with Him and His disciples; for there were many of them and they were following Him.

The Pharisees said to Him, “Look, why are they doing what is unlawful on the Sabbath?”

Jesus said to them, “Have you never read [in the Scriptures] what David did when he was in need and was hungry, he and his companions;

how he went into the house of God in the time of Abiathar the high priest, and ate the sacred bread, which is not lawful for anyone but the priests to eat, and how he also gave it to the men who were with him?”

The Pharisees were watching Jesus closely to see if He would heal him on the Sabbath, so that they might accuse Him [in the Jewish high court].

Then the Pharisees went out and immediately began conspiring with the Herodians [to plot] against Him, as to how they might [fabricate some legal grounds to] put Him to death.

Jesus withdrew to the sea with His disciples; and a large crowd from Galilee followed Him; and also people from Judea,

and from Jerusalem, and from Idumea, and [from the region] beyond the Jordan, and around Tyre and Sidon; a vast number of people came to Him because they were hearing about all [the things] that He was doing.

And He told His disciples to have a small boat stand ready for Him because of the many people, so that they would not crowd Him;

for He had healed many, and as a result all who had diseases pressed around Him to touch Him.

Whenever the unclean spirits saw Him, they fell down before Him and screamed out, “You are the Son of God!”

Jesus sternly warned them [again and again] not to tell who He was.

He went up on the hillside and called those whom He Himself wanted and chose; and they came to Him.

And He appointed twelve [disciples], so that they would be with Him [for instruction] and so that He could send them out to preach [the gospel as apostles—that is, as His special messengers, personally chosen representatives],

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

and Judas Iscariot, who betrayed Him.

When His own family heard this they went to take custody of Him; for they were saying, “He is out of His mind.”

So He called them to Himself and spoke to them in parables, “How can Satan drive out Satan?

Then His mother and His brothers arrived, and standing outside they sent word to Him and called for Him.

A crowd was sitting around Him, and they said to Him, “Look! Your mother and Your brothers are outside asking for You.”

Looking at those who were sitting in a circle around Him, He said, “Here are My mother and My brothers!

Again Jesus began to teach beside the sea [of Galilee]. And a very large crowd gathered around Him, so He got into a boat [anchoring it a short distance out] on the sea and sat down; and the whole crowd was by the sea on the shore.

And He said, “He who has ears to hear, let him hear and heed My words.”

As soon as He was alone, those who were around Him, together with the twelve [disciples], began asking Him about [the interpretation of] the parables.

If anyone has ears to hear, let him hear and heed My words.”

For whoever has [a teachable heart], to him more [understanding] will be given; and whoever does not have [a yearning for truth], even what he has will be taken away from him.”

So leaving the crowd, they took Him with them, just as He was, in the boat. And other boats were with Him.

But Jesus was in the stern, asleep [with His head] on the [sailor’s leather] cushion. And they woke Him and said to Him, “Teacher, do You not care that we are about to die?”

They were filled with great fear, and said to each other, “Who then is this, that even the wind and the sea obey Him?”

When Jesus got out of the boat, immediately a man from the tombs with an unclean spirit met Him,

and the man lived in the tombs, and no one could bind him anymore, not even with chains.

For he had often been bound with shackles [for the feet] and with chains, and he tore apart the chains and broke the shackles into pieces, and no one was strong enough to subdue and tame him.

Seeing Jesus from a distance, he ran up and bowed down before Him [in homage];

He was asking him, “What is your name?” And he replied, “My name is Legion; for we are many.”

And he began begging Him repeatedly not to send them out of the region.

And the demons begged Him, saying, “Send us to the pigs so that we may go into them!”

As He was stepping into the boat, the [Gentile] man who had been demon-possessed was begging with Him [asking] that he might go with Him [as a disciple].

Jesus did not let him [come], but [instead] He said to him, “Go home to your family and tell them all the great things that the Lord has done for you, and how He has had mercy on you.”

So he [obeyed and] went away and began to publicly proclaim in Decapolis [the region of the ten Hellenistic cities] all the great things that Jesus had done for him; and all the people were astonished.

When Jesus had again crossed over in the boat to the other side [of the sea], a large crowd gathered around Him; and so He stayed by the seashore.

One of the synagogue officials named Jairus came up; and seeing Him, fell at His feet

and begged anxiously with Him, saying, “My little daughter is at the point of death; [please] come and lay Your hands on her, so that she will be healed and live.”

And Jesus went with him; and a large crowd followed Him and pressed in around Him [from all sides].

She had heard [reports] about Jesus, and she came up behind Him in the crowd and touched His outer robe.

Immediately Jesus, recognizing in Himself that power had gone out from Him, turned around in the crowd and asked, “Who touched My clothes?”

His disciples said to Him, “You see the crowd pressing in around You [from all sides], and You ask, ‘Who touched Me?’”

And the woman, though she was afraid and trembling, aware of what had happened to her, came and fell down before Him and told Him the whole truth.

And He allowed no one to go with Him [as witnesses], except Peter and James and John the brother of James.

They began laughing [scornfully] at Him [because they knew the child was dead]. But He made them all go outside, and took along the child’s father and mother and His own [three] companions, and entered the room where the child was.

Jesus left there and came to His hometown [Nazareth]; and His disciples followed Him.

When the Sabbath came, He began to teach in the synagogue; and many who listened to Him were astonished, saying, “Where did this man get these things [this knowledge and spiritual insight]? What is this wisdom [this confident understanding of the Scripture] that has been given to Him, and such miracles as these performed by His hands?

Is this not the carpenter, the son of Mary, and the brother of James and Joses and Judas and Simon? Are His sisters not here with us?” And they were [deeply] offended by Him [and their disapproval blinded them to the fact that He was anointed by God as the Messiah].

He wondered at their unbelief.

And He was going around in the villages teaching.

And He called the twelve [disciples] and began to send them out [as His special messengers] two by two, and gave them authority and power over the unclean spirits.

King Herod [Antipas] heard about this, for Jesus’ name and reputation had become well known. People were saying, “John the Baptist has been raised from the dead, and that is why these miraculous powers are at work in Him.”

For Herod himself had sent [guards] and had John arrested and shackled in prison because of Herodias, the wife of his [half-] brother Philip, because he (Herod) had married her.

Herodias had a grudge against John and wanted to kill him, but she could not,

because Herod feared John, knowing that he was a righteous and holy man, and he continually kept him safe. When he heard John [speak], he was very perplexed; but he enjoyed listening to him.

So the king immediately sent for an executioner and commanded him to bring back John’s head. And he went and had John beheaded in the prison,

The apostles [who had been sent out on a mission] gathered together with Jesus and told Him everything that they had done and taught.

When the day was nearly gone, His disciples came to Him and said, “This is an isolated place, and it is already late;

But He replied, “You give them something to eat!” And they asked Him, “Shall we go and buy 200 denarii worth of bread and give it to them to eat?”

Jesus immediately insisted that His disciples get into the boat and go ahead [of Him] to the other side to Bethsaida, while He was dismissing the crowd.

But when they saw Him walking on the sea, they thought it was a ghost, and cried out [in horror];

for they all saw Him and were shaken and terrified. But He immediately spoke with them and said, “Take courage! It is I (I Am)! Stop being afraid.”

They got out of the boat and immediately people recognized Him,

And wherever He came into villages, or cities, or the countryside, they were laying the sick in the market places and pleading with Him [to allow them] just to touch the fringe (tassel with a blue cord) of His robe; and all who touched it were healed.

For Moses said, ‘Honor your father and your mother [with respect and gratitude]’; and, ‘He who speaks evil of his father or mother must be put to death’;

then you no longer let him do anything for his father or mother [since helping them would violate his vow of Corban];

After He called the people to Him again, He began saying to them, “Listen [carefully] to Me, all of you, [hear] and understand [what I am saying]:

there is nothing outside a man [such as food] which by going into him can defile him [morally or spiritually]; but the things which come out of [the heart of] a man are what defile and dishonor him.

[If anyone has ears to hear, let him hear.”]

When Jesus had left the crowd and gone into the house, His disciples asked Him about the parable.

And He said to them, “Are you, too, so foolish and lacking in understanding? Do you not understand that whatever goes into the man from outside cannot defile and dishonor him,