Now John was clothed with camel's hair, and with a leather belt around his waist, and he ate locusts and wild honey.

And he preached, saying, "After me comes One who is mightier than I, the thong of whose sandals I am not worthy to stoop down and untie.

I have baptized you with water, but he will baptize you with the Holy Spirit."

And immediately coming up out of the water, he saw the heavens opened and the Spirit descending upon him like a dove.

And he was in the wilderness forty days, tempted by Satan; and he was with the wild beasts, and the angels ministered to him.

And as he walked by the Sea of Galilee, he saw Simon and Andrew his brother casting a net into the Sea; for they were fishermen.

When he had gone a little farther from there, he saw James the son of Zebedee, and John his brother, who also were in the boat mending their nets.

And immediately he called them; and they left their father Zebedee in the boat with the hired servants, and followed him.

And they went into Capernaum, and immediately on the Sabbath he entered the synagogue and taught.

And they were astonished at his teaching, for he taught them as one who had authority, and not as the scribes.

Now there was a man in their synagogue with an unclean spirit. And he cried out,

And they were all amazed, so that they questioned among themselves, saying, "What is this? A new teaching! With authority he commands even the unclean spirits, and they obey him."

So he came and took her by the hand and lifted her up, and immediately the fever left her. And she served them.

And he healed many who were sick with various diseases, and cast out many demons; and he would not permit the demons to speak, because they knew him.

Now in the morning, a long while before daylight, he rose and went out to a solitary place, and there he prayed.

And he said to them, "Let us go on to the next towns, so I may preach there also; for that is why I have come."

And he went throughout all Galilee, preaching in their synagogues and casting out demons.

And immediately the leprosy left him, and he was made clean.

And he strictly warned him and sent him away at once,

and he said to him, "See that you say nothing to anyone; but go, show yourself to the priest, and offer for your cleansing what Moses commanded, as a testimony to them."

But he went out and began to talk freely about it, and to spread the news, so that Jesus could no longer openly enter a town, but was outside in the deserted places; and people came to him from every quarter.

And when he entered Capernaum after some days, it was heard that he was home.

And many gathered together, so that there was no longer room to receive them, not even near the door. And he preached the word to them.

When Jesus saw their faith, he said to the paralytic, "Son, your sins are forgiven."

"Why does this man speak like this? He is blaspheming! Who can forgive sins but God alone?"

And immediately, when Jesus perceived in his spirit that they reasoned thus within themselves, he said to them, "Why do you reason about these things in your hearts?

But that you may know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins"he said to the paralytic,

And he rose, and immediately took up the pallet and went out in the sight of them all; so that they were all amazed and glorified God, saying, "We never saw anything like this!"

Then he went out again beside the sea; and all the crowd came to him, and he taught them.

As he passed by, he saw Levi the son of Alphaeus sitting at the tax office, and he said to him, "Follow me." So he rose and followed him.

And as he sat at table in Levi's house, many tax collectors and sinners were sitting with Jesus and his disciples; for there were many who followed him.

And the scribes of the Pharisees, when they saw him eating with sinners and tax collectors, said to his disciples, "Why does he eat with tax collectors and sinners?"

And when Jesus heard it, he said to them, "Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick. I did not come to call the righteous, but sinners."

And Jesus said to them, "Can the guests of the bridegroom fast while he is with them? As long as they have the bridegroom with them, they cannot fast.

"No one sews a patch of unshrunk cloth on an old garment; if he does, the new piece will pull away from the old, and the tear is made worse.

And no one puts new wine into old wineskins; if he does, the wine will burst the skins, and the wine is lost and the wineskins are ruined. But new wine must be put into new wineskins."

One Sabbath he was going through the grainfields; and as they made their way his disciples began to pluck heads of grain.

But he said to them, "Have you never read what David did when he was in need and hungry, he and those who were with him:

how he entered the house of God in the days of Abiathar the high priest, and ate the consecrated bread, which is not lawful to eat, except for the priests, and also gave some to those who were with him?"

And he said to them, "The Sabbath was made for man, not man for the Sabbath.

He entered the synagogue again, and a man was there who had a withered hand.

And they watched him closely, to see whether he would heal him on the Sabbath, so that they might accuse him.

And he said to the man who had the withered hand, "Come here."

Then he said to them, "Is it lawful on the Sabbath to do good or to do evil, to save life or to kill?" But they kept silent.

And he looked around at them with anger, grieved at the hardness of their hearts, and said to the man, "Stretch out your hand." He stretched it out, and his hand was restored.

Then the Pharisees went out and immediately plotted with the Herodians against him, how they might destroy him.

and Jerusalem and Idumea and beyond the Jordan and from around Tyre and Sidon, a great multitude, when they heard how many things he was doing, came to him.

And he told his disciples to have a small boat ready for him because of the crowd, lest they should crush him.

For he had healed many, so that all who had diseases pressed upon him to touch him.

But he strictly ordered them not to make him known.

And he went up on the mountain, and called to him those he himself wanted. And they came to him.

Then he appointed twelve, that they might be with him and that he might send them out to preach,

Simon, to whom he gave the name Peter;

James the son of Zebedee and John the brother of James, to whom he gave the name Boanerges, that is, "Sons of Thunder";

Then he went home; and the crowd came together again, so that they could not even eat.

When his family heard about this, they went to take charge of him, for they said, "He is out of his mind."

And the scribes who came down from Jerusalem said, "He is possessed by Beelzebub, and by the prince of demons he casts out the demons."

So he called them to himself and said to them in parables: "How can Satan cast out Satan?

And if Satan has risen up against himself, and is divided, he cannot stand, but is coming to an end.

No one can enter a strong man's house and plunder his goods, unless he first binds the strong man. And then he will plunder his house.

because they said, "He has an unclean spirit."

And he replied, "Who are my mother and my brothers?"

And he looked at those who sat in a circle around him, and said, "Here are my mother and my brothers!

Again he began to teach by the sea. and a very large crowd gathered around him, so that he got into a boat and sat in it on the sea; and the whole crowd was beside the sea on the land.

Then he taught them many things by parables, and said to them in his teaching:

And as he sowed the seed, some fell along the path, and the birds came and devoured it.

And he said, "He who has ears to hear, let him hear."

And when he was alone, those around him with the twelve asked him about the parables.

And he said to them, "To you has been given the secret of the kingdom of God, but to those outside everything is in parables;

And he said to them, "Do you not understand this parable? How then will you understand all the parables?

And he said to them, "Is a lamp brought to be put under a basket or under a bed? Is it not to be set on a lampstand?

Then he said to them, "Take heed what you hear. With the measure you use, it will be measured to you; and more will be given you.

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

And he said, "The kingdom of God is as if a man should scatter seed on the ground,

and should sleep by night and rise by day, and the seed should sprout and grow, he himself does not know how.

But when the grain is ripe, at once he puts in the sickle, because the harvest has come."

And he said, "With what shall we compare the kingdom of God, or what parable shall we use for it?

With many such parables he spoke the word to them, as they were able to hear it.

But without a parable he did not speak to them. And when they were alone, he explained everything to his own disciples.

On that day, when evening had come, he said to them, "Let us go over to the other side."

And leaving the crowd, they took him along, just as he was, in the boat. There were also other boats with him.

But he was in the stern, asleep on a cushion. And they woke him and said to him, "Teacher, do you not care if we perish?"

Then he rose and rebuked the wind, and said to the sea, "Peace! Be still!" And the wind ceased and there was a great calm.

He said to them, "Why are you so afraid? Have you no faith?"

And when he had come out of the boat, there met him out of the tombs a man with an unclean spirit,

for he had often been bound with shackles and chains. But the chains he wrenched apart, and the shackles he broke in pieces; and no one had the strength to subdue him.

Night and day among the tombs and on the mountains he was always crying out, and cutting himself with stones.

And when he saw Jesus from a distance, he ran and worshipped him.

And crying out with a loud voice, he said, "What have you to do with me, Jesus, Son of the Most High God? I implore you by God, do not torment me."

For he had said to him, "Come out of the man, you unclean spirit!"

Then Jesus asked him, "What is your name?" And he replied, "My name is Legion, for we are many."

And he begged him eagerly not to send them out of the country.

So he gave them permission. And the unclean spirits came out, and entered the swine; and the herd, numbering about two thousand, rushed down the steep bank into the sea, and were drowned in the sea.

And as he was getting into the boat, the man who had been demon-possessed begged him that he might be with him.

Jesus did not let him, but said, "Go home to your friends and tell them how much the Lord has done for you, and how he has had mercy on you."

And he went away and began to proclaim in the Decapolis how much Jesus had done for him; and all men marveled.

And when Jesus had crossed over again by the boat to the other side, a great crowd gathered around him; and he was by the sea.

Then came one of the rulers of the synagogue, Jairus by name. And seeing him, he fell at his feet,

And he looked around to see who had done it.

And he said to her, "Daughter, your faith has made you well. Go in peace, and be healed of your disease."