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.

As Jesus was walking by the shore of the Sea of Galilee, He saw Simon [Peter] and Simon’s brother, Andrew, casting a net in the sea; for they were fishermen.

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].

They went into Capernaum, and immediately on the Sabbath Jesus went into the synagogue and began to teach.

They were completely amazed at His teaching; because He was teaching them as one having [God-given] authority, and not as the scribes.

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.”

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].

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

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.

But some of the scribes were sitting there debating in their hearts [the implication of what He had said],

Immediately Jesus, being fully aware [of their hostility] and knowing in His spirit that they were thinking this, said to them, “Why are you debating and arguing about these things in your hearts?

And he got up and immediately picked up the mat and went out before them all, so that they all were astonished and they glorified and praised God, saying, “We have never seen anything like this!”

When the scribes [belonging to the sect] of the Pharisees saw that Jesus was eating with the sinners [including non-observant Jews] and tax collectors, they asked His disciples, “Why does He eat and drink with tax collectors and sinners?”

Jesus answered, “The attendants of the bridegroom cannot fast while the bridegroom is [still] with them, can they? As long as they have the bridegroom with them, they cannot fast.

But the days will come when the bridegroom is [forcefully] taken away from them, and they will fast at that time.

One Sabbath He was walking along [with His disciples] through the grainfields, and as they went along, His disciples began picking the heads of grain.

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

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].

He asked them, “Is it lawful on the Sabbath to do good or to do evil, to save a life or to kill?” But they kept silent.

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.

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.

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

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

“I assure you and most solemnly say to you, all sins will be forgiven the sons of men, and all the abusive and blasphemous things they say;

[Jesus said this] because the scribes and Pharisees were [attributing His miracles to Satan by] saying, “He has an unclean spirit.”

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.”

so that they will continually look but not see, and they will continually hear but not understand, otherwise they might turn [from their rejection of the truth] and be forgiven.”

These [in the first group] are the ones along the road where the word is sown; but when they hear, Satan immediately comes and takes away the word which has been sown in them.

In a similar way these [in the second group] are the ones on whom seed was sown on rocky ground, who, when they hear the word, immediately receive it with joy [but accept it only superficially];

and they have no real root in themselves, so they endure only for a little while; then, when trouble or persecution comes because of the word, immediately they [are offended and displeased at being associated with Me and] stumble and fall away.

With many such parables, Jesus spoke the word to them, as they were able to hear and understand it;

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?”

They came to the other side of the sea, to the region of the Gerasenes.

They came to Jesus and saw the man who had been demon-possessed sitting down, clothed and in his right mind, the man who had [previously] had the “legion” [of demons]; and they were frightened.

So the people began to beg with Jesus to leave their region.

Overhearing what was being said, Jesus said to the synagogue official, “Do not be afraid; only keep on believing [in Me and my power].”

They came to the house of the synagogue official; and He looked [with understanding] at the uproar and commotion, and people loudly weeping and wailing [in mourning].

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.

The little girl immediately got up and began to walk, for she was twelve years old. And immediately they [who witnessed the child’s resurrection] were overcome with great wonder and utter amazement.

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].

Any place that does not welcome you or listen to you, when you leave there, shake the dust off the soles of your feet as a testimony against them [breaking all ties with them because they rejected My message].”

So they went out and preached that men should repent [that is, think differently, recognize sin, turn away from it, and live changed lives].

And they were casting out many demons and were anointing with oil many who were sick, and healing them.

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.”

When his disciples heard about this, they came and took away John’s body and laid it in a tomb.

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

He said to them, “Come away by yourselves to a secluded place and rest a little while”—for there were many [people who were continually] coming and going, and they could not even find time to eat.

And they went away by themselves in the boat to a secluded place.

Many [people] saw them leaving, and recognized them and ran there together on foot from all the [surrounding] cities, and got there ahead of them.

When Jesus went ashore, He saw a large crowd [waiting], and He was moved with compassion for them because they were like sheep without a shepherd [lacking guidance]; and He began to teach them many things.

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?”

He said to them, “How many loaves do you have? Go look!” And when they found out, they said, “Five [loaves], and two fish.”

They sat down in groups of hundreds and of fifties [so that the crowd resembled an orderly arrangement of colorful garden plots].

They all ate and were satisfied.

And the disciples picked up twelve full baskets of the broken pieces [of the loaves], and of the fish.

Seeing the disciples straining at the oars, because the wind was against them, at about the fourth watch of the night (3:00-6:00 a.m.) He came to them, walking on the sea. And [acted as if] He intended to pass by them.

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.”

Then He got into the boat with them, and the wind ceased [as if exhausted by its own activity]; and they were completely overwhelmed,

because they had not understood [the miracle of] the loaves [how it revealed the power and deity of Jesus]; but [in fact] their heart was hardened [being oblivious and indifferent to His amazing works].

When they had crossed over [the sea], they reached the land of Gennesaret and anchored at the shore.

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

and ran throughout that surrounding countryside and began to carry around on their mats those who were sick, to any place where they heard He was.

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.

and they had seen that some of His disciples ate their bread with [ceremonially] impure hands, that is, unwashed [and defiled according to Jewish religious ritual].

(For the Pharisees and all of the Jews do not eat unless they carefully wash their hands, holding firmly to the traditions of the elders;

and when they come from the market place, they do not eat unless they cleanse themselves [completely according to ritual]; and there are many other things [oral, man-made laws and traditions handed down to them] which they follow diligently, such as the washing of cups and pitchers and copper utensils.)

‘They worship Me in vain [their worship is meaningless and worthless, a pretense],
Teaching the precepts of men as doctrines [giving their traditions equal weight with the Scriptures].’

All these evil things [schemes and desires] come from within and defile and dishonor the man.”

They brought to Him a man who was deaf and had difficulty speaking, and they begged Jesus to place His hand on him.

Jesus commanded them not to tell anyone; but the more He ordered them, the more widely they continued to proclaim it.

They were thoroughly astounded and completely overwhelmed, saying, “He has done everything well! He even makes the deaf hear and the mute speak!”

In those days, when there was again a large crowd [gathered before Him] and they had nothing to eat, Jesus called His disciples and told them,

“I feel compassion for the crowd; they have been with Me now for three days and have nothing [left] to eat.

If I send them away to their homes hungry, they will faint [from exhaustion] on the road; because some of them have come a long way.”

He asked them, “How many loaves [of bread] do you have?” They said, “Seven.”

He directed the people to sit down on the ground; and taking the seven loaves, He gave thanks and broke them, and [repeatedly] gave them to His disciples to set before them, and they served the crowd.

They also had a few small fish; and when Jesus had blessed them [and given thanks], He ordered these [fish] to be set before them as well.

And the people ate and were satisfied; and they picked up seven large baskets full of the broken pieces that were left over.

Now the disciples had forgotten to bring bread, and they had only one loaf with them in the boat.

They began discussing this with one another, saying, “It is because we have no bread [that He said this].”

when I broke the five loaves for the five thousand, how many baskets full of broken pieces you picked up?” They answered, “Twelve.”

“And [when I broke] the seven [loaves] for the four thousand, how many large baskets full of broken pieces did you pick up?” And they answered, “Seven.”

Then they came to Bethsaida; and some people brought a blind man to Jesus and begged Him to touch him.

And he looked up and said, “I see people, but [they look] like trees, walking around.”

They answered Him, “John the Baptist; and others say Elijah; but others, one of the prophets.”

And Jesus said to them, “I assure you and most solemnly say to you, there are some of those who are standing here who will not taste (experience) death before they see the kingdom of God after it has come with power.”

Elijah appeared to them along with Moses, and they were having a conversation with Jesus.

For he did not [really] know what to say because they were terrified [and stunned by the miraculous sight].