Gospel of Matthew 1-28, Mark 1-16, Luke 1-24, John 1-21
THE PROLOGUE AND THE INCARNATION
In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God, existing with God from the very start. All things were made through him, and nothing that has been made came into being without him. In him was life, and that life was the light of humanity, a light that shines in the darkness, which the darkness has not overcome. The Word was in the world, and though the world was made through him, it did not recognize him. He came to his own people, yet they did not receive him. But to all who did receive him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the power to become children of God—born not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh or of man, but of God. And so the Word became flesh and dwelt among us. We have seen his glory, the glory as of the Father’s only Son, full of grace and truth. From his fullness we have all received, grace upon grace. For while the law was given through Moses, grace and truth came through Jesus Christ. No one has ever seen God; but the only Son, who is at the Father’s side, has made him known.
Many have undertaken to compile an account of the events that have been fulfilled among us, just as they were handed down by the original eyewitnesses and servants of the word. Having carefully investigated everything from the beginning, it also seemed good to write an orderly account for you, most excellent Theophilus, so that you may know the certainty of the things you have been taught.
THE BIRTH OF THE FORERUNNER
In the time of Herod, king of Judea, there was a priest named Zacharias of the division of Abijah, and his wife, Elizabeth, was also a descendant of Aaron. They were both righteous before God, observing all the Lord's commands and decrees blamelessly, but they were childless because Elizabeth was barren, and they were both very old. One day, while Zacharias was serving as priest, it was his turn to go into the temple of the Lord and burn incense. While the people prayed outside, an angel of the Lord appeared to him, standing at the right side of the altar. Zacharias was gripped with fear, but the angel said, "Fear not, Zacharias: for thy prayer is heard; and thy wife Elisabeth shall bear thee a son, and thou shalt call his name John." The angel promised that John’s birth would bring joy to many, for he would be great in the sight of the Lord, filled with the Holy Spirit even from his mother's womb, and would turn many in Israel back to God. He would go before the Lord in the spirit and power of Elijah to prepare a people for Him.
Zacharias, doubting due to his and his wife's advanced age, asked for a sign. The angel, identifying himself as Gabriel who stands in God’s presence, declared that Zacharias would be mute and unable to speak until the day these things happened, because he did not believe the words which would be fulfilled in their time. The people waiting outside wondered at his delay, and when he came out, they realized he had seen a vision, for he could only make signs to them. After his service was complete, he returned home, and his wife Elizabeth conceived. She remained in seclusion for five months, saying that the Lord had shown her favor and taken away her disgrace among the people.
THE ANNOUNCEMENT AND BIRTH OF THE MESSIAH
In Elizabeth’s sixth month of pregnancy, God sent the angel Gabriel to Nazareth, a town in Galilee, to a virgin named Mary, who was pledged to be married to a man named Joseph, a descendant of David. The angel greeted her, saying, “Hail, thou that art highly favoured, the Lord is with thee: blessed art thou among women.” Troubled by his words, Mary wondered what this greeting might mean. The angel reassured her, telling her she had found favor with God and would conceive and give birth to a son, whom she was to call Jesus. He would be great and called the Son of the Most High, and the Lord God would give him the throne of his father David to reign over Jacob’s descendants forever in a kingdom that would never end.
When Mary asked how this could be, since she was a virgin, the angel explained, "The Holy Ghost shall come upon thee, and the power of the Highest shall overshadow thee: therefore also that holy thing which shall be born of thee shall be called the Son of God." He also told her that her relative Elizabeth was in her sixth month of pregnancy in her old age, for with God nothing is impossible. Mary replied, "Behold the handmaid of the Lord; be it unto me according to thy word," and the angel departed.
Mary then hurried to a town in the hill country of Judea and entered Zacharias’s home to greet Elizabeth. When Elizabeth heard Mary's greeting, the baby leaped in her womb, and she, filled with the Holy Spirit, exclaimed that Mary and the child she would bear were blessed. She felt honored that the mother of her Lord should visit her, recounting how the baby had leaped for joy at the sound of Mary's voice. Mary then proclaimed a song of praise, magnifying the Lord for his mercy and for regarding her humble state, scattering the proud, lifting up the humble, and helping his servant Israel as he had promised Abraham. Mary stayed with Elizabeth for about three months before returning home.
Meanwhile, this is how the birth of Jesus Christ came about. His mother Mary was pledged to be married to Joseph, but before they came together, she was found to be pregnant through the Holy Spirit. Because Joseph was a righteous man and did not want to expose her to public disgrace, he decided to divorce her quietly. But after he had considered this, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream and said, “Joseph, thou son of David, fear not to take unto thee Mary thy wife: for that which is conceived in her is of the Holy Ghost. And she shall bring forth a son, and thou shalt call his name JESUS: for he shall save his people from their sins.” All this took place to fulfill what the Lord had said through the prophet: “Behold, a virgin shall be with child, and shall bring forth a son, and they shall call his name Emmanuel,” which means “God with us.” When Joseph woke up, he did what the angel had commanded and took Mary home as his wife, but he had no union with her until she gave birth to her firstborn son, and he named him Jesus.
THE GENEALOGY OF JESUS CHRIST
This is the account of the genealogy of Jesus Christ, the son of David, the son of Abraham. Abraham was the father of Isaac; Isaac the father of Jacob; and Jacob the father of Judah and his brothers. Judah was the father of Perez and Zerah, whose mother was Tamar; Perez was the father of Hezron, and Hezron the father of Ram. Ram was the father of Amminadab; Amminadab of Nahshon; and Nahshon of Salmon. Salmon was the father of Boaz, whose mother was Rahab; Boaz the father of Obed, whose mother was Ruth; and Obed the father of Jesse. Jesse was the father of King David.
David was the father of Solomon, whose mother had been Uriah’s wife. Solomon was the father of Rehoboam; Rehoboam of Abijah; and Abijah of Asa. Asa was the father of Jehoshaphat; Jehoshaphat of Jehoram; and Jehoram of Uzziah. Uzziah was the father of Jotham; Jotham of Ahaz; and Ahaz of Hezekiah. Hezekiah was the father of Manasseh; Manasseh of Amon; and Amon of Josiah. Josiah was the father of Jeconiah and his brothers at the time of the exile to Babylon. After the exile, Jeconiah was the father of Shealtiel, and Shealtiel of Zerubbabel. Zerubbabel was the father of Abihud; Abihud of Eliakim; and Eliakim of Azor. Azor was the father of Zadok; Zadok of Akim; and Akim of Eliud. Eliud was the father of Eleazar; Eleazar of Matthan; and Matthan of Jacob. And Jacob was the father of Joseph, the husband of Mary, of whom Jesus was born, who is called the Christ. Thus, there were fourteen generations in all from Abraham to David, fourteen from David until the exile to Babylon, and fourteen from the exile to the Christ.
Jesus, when he began his ministry at about thirty years of age, was thought to be the son of Joseph, the son of Heli. The lineage extends from Heli back through Matthat, Levi, Melki, Jannai, Joseph, Mattathias, Amos, Nahum, Esli, Naggai, Maath, Mattathias, Semein, Josech, Joda, Joanan, Rhesa, Zerubbabel, Shealtiel, Neri, Melki, Addi, Cosam, Elmadam, Er, Joshua, Eliezer, Jorim, Matthat, Levi, Simeon, Judah, Joseph, Jonam, Eliakim, Melea, Menna, Mattatha, Nathan, and David. From David, the line continues through Jesse, Obed, Boaz, Salmon, Nahshon, Amminadab, Ram, Hezron, Perez, Judah, Jacob, Isaac, Abraham, Terah, Nahor, Serug, Reu, Peleg, Eber, Shelah, Cainan, Arphaxad, Shem, Noah, Lamech, Methuselah, Enoch, Jared, Mahalalel, Kenan, Enosh, Seth, to Adam, the son of God.
EARLY LIFE AND REVELATION
When Elizabeth’s time came, she gave birth to a son, and her neighbors and relatives rejoiced with her. On the eighth day, when they came to circumcise the child, they were going to name him after his father Zacharias, but his mother insisted he be called John. When they objected that no one in their family had that name, they made signs to his father to find out what he wanted the child to be called. He asked for a writing tablet and wrote, "His name is John," to everyone’s astonishment. Immediately his mouth was opened, his tongue was loosed, and he began to speak, praising God. Fear fell upon the neighbors, and people throughout the hill country of Judea wondered what kind of child this would be, for the Lord's hand was with him. Then his father Zacharias, filled with the Holy Spirit, prophesied, praising God for visiting and redeeming his people and raising up a horn of salvation in the house of his servant David, as promised through the prophets. He spoke of salvation from enemies, the mercy promised to the fathers, and the covenant sworn to Abraham. He addressed his child, saying he would be called the prophet of the Most High, who would prepare the way for the Lord and give his people the knowledge of salvation through the forgiveness of their sins, bringing light to those in darkness. The child grew and became strong in spirit, living in the wilderness until his public appearance to Israel.
In those days, Caesar Augustus issued a decree that a census should be taken of the entire Roman world, which first took place when Quirinius was governor of Syria. Everyone went to their own town to register. So Joseph, being of the house and lineage of David, went from Nazareth in Galilee to Bethlehem, the town of David, to register with Mary, who was expecting a child. While they were there, she gave birth to her firstborn son. She wrapped him in cloths and placed him in a manger, because there was no guest room available for them.
In the nearby fields, shepherds were watching their flocks at night when an angel of the Lord appeared, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, making them terrified. The angel said, "Fear not: for, behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people. For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord." He gave them a sign: they would find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger. Suddenly, a great company of the heavenly host appeared, praising God and saying, "Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men." After the angels left, the shepherds hurried to Bethlehem and found Mary, Joseph, and the baby, just as they had been told. They spread the word about what they had seen, and everyone who heard it was amazed. Mary treasured all these things and pondered them in her heart. The shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God.
On the eighth day, the child was circumcised and named Jesus, the name the angel had given before his conception. When the time came for their purification according to the Law of Moses, Joseph and Mary took him to Jerusalem to present him to the Lord, as it is written that every firstborn male is to be consecrated to the Lord, and to offer a sacrifice of two doves or two young pigeons. Now there was a man in Jerusalem called Simeon, who was righteous and devout, waiting for the consolation of Israel, and the Holy Spirit was on him. It had been revealed to him that he would not die before he had seen the Lord’s Messiah. Moved by the Spirit, he went into the temple courts just as the parents brought in the child Jesus. Simeon took him in his arms and praised God, saying he could now depart in peace, for his eyes had seen God's salvation—a light for revelation to the Gentiles and for glory to Israel. Joseph and Mary marveled at what was said. Simeon blessed them and said to Mary that the child was destined for the fall and rising of many in Israel and would be a sign that would be spoken against, revealing the thoughts of many hearts, and that a sword would pierce her own soul too. There was also a prophetess, Anna, who never left the temple but worshiped night and day with fasting and prayer. Coming up at that very moment, she gave thanks to God and spoke about the child to all who were looking forward to the redemption of Jerusalem.
After Jesus was born in Bethlehem during the time of King Herod, Magi from the east came to Jerusalem asking where the one who had been born king of the Jews was, for they had seen his star when it rose and had come to worship him. When King Herod heard this, he and all Jerusalem were disturbed. He called together the chief priests and teachers of the law and asked them where the Messiah was to be born. They told him it was in Bethlehem of Judea, as written by the prophet. Herod then secretly called the Magi to find out the exact time the star had appeared. He sent them to Bethlehem with instructions to search for the child and report back to him so he too could worship him.
After they had heard the king, they went on their way, and the star they had seen when it rose went ahead of them until it stopped over the place where the child was. They were overjoyed. On coming to the house, they saw the child with his mother Mary, and they bowed down and worshiped him. Then they opened their treasures and presented him with gifts of gold, frankincense and myrrh. Having been warned in a dream not to go back to Herod, they returned to their country by another route.
When they had gone, an angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream, telling him to take the child and his mother and escape to Egypt, for Herod was going to search for the child to kill him. So he left for Egypt by night with the family and stayed there until Herod’s death, fulfilling what the Lord had said through the prophet: "Out of Egypt have I called my son." When Herod realized he had been outwitted by the Magi, he was furious and ordered the killing of all boys in Bethlehem and its vicinity who were two years old and under, in accordance with the time he had learned from the Magi. This fulfilled the prophecy of Jeremiah concerning Rachel weeping for her children.
After Herod died, an angel appeared in a dream to Joseph in Egypt and told him to return to the land of Israel, for those who were trying to take the child’s life were dead. He took the child and his mother and went to the land of Israel. But when he heard that Archelaus was reigning in Judea in place of his father Herod, he was afraid to go there. Having been warned in a dream, he withdrew to the district of Galilee and went to live in a town called Nazareth, so was fulfilled what was said through the prophets: "He shall be called a Nazarene."
His parents went to Jerusalem every year for the Festival of the Passover. When he was twelve years old, they went up to the festival as usual. After it was over, while his parents were returning home, the boy Jesus stayed behind in Jerusalem, but they were unaware of it. Thinking he was in their company, they traveled on for a day. Then they began looking for him among their relatives and friends. When they did not find him, they went back to Jerusalem to look for him. After three days they found him in the temple courts, sitting among the teachers, listening to them and asking them questions. Everyone who heard him was amazed at his understanding and his answers. When his parents saw him, they were astonished. His mother said to him, “Son, why have you treated us like this? Your father and I have been anxiously searching for you.” He replied, “Why were you searching for me? Didn’t you know I had to be in my Father’s house?” But they did not understand what he was saying. Then he went down to Nazareth with them and was obedient. His mother treasured all these things in her heart, and Jesus grew in wisdom and stature, and in favor with God and man.
THE MINISTRY OF JOHN AND THE BAPTISM OF JESUS
In the fifteenth year of the reign of Tiberius Caesar—when Pontius Pilate was governor of Judea, Herod tetrarch of Galilee, his brother Philip tetrarch of Iturea and Traconitis, and Lysanias tetrarch of Abilene—during the high priesthood of Annas and Caiaphas, the word of God came to John son of Zacharias in the wilderness. He went into all the country around the Jordan, preaching a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins, fulfilling the prophecy of Isaiah: "The voice of one crying in the wilderness, Prepare ye the way of the Lord, make his paths straight." He proclaimed that every valley would be filled, every mountain brought low, the crooked made straight, and the rough ways smooth, so that all people would see God’s salvation.
John was a man sent from God as a witness to the Light, so that through him all might believe. He himself was not the Light but came to testify concerning it. That true Light, which gives light to everyone, was coming into the world. John wore clothing of camel’s hair with a leather belt, and he ate locusts and wild honey. People from Jerusalem, Judea, and the entire Jordan region went out to him, and confessing their sins, were baptized by him in the Jordan River. When he saw many Pharisees and Sadducees coming for baptism, he said to them, “O generation of vipers, who hath warned you to flee from the wrath to come?” He told them to produce fruit in keeping with repentance and not to rely on their descent from Abraham, for God could raise up children for Abraham from stones. He warned that the ax was already at the root of the trees, and every tree not producing good fruit would be cut down and thrown into the fire.
The crowds asked what they should do. He told them that anyone with two coats should share with the one who has none, and the one with food should do the same. Tax collectors who came to be baptized were told to collect no more than they were required to. Soldiers were instructed not to extort money or accuse people falsely, and to be content with their pay. As the people were in expectation, wondering if John might be the Messiah, John answered them all, saying, “I indeed baptize you with water; but one mightier than I cometh, the latchet of whose shoes I am not worthy to unloose: he shall baptize you with the Holy Ghost and with fire.” He described this mightier one as having a winnowing fork to clear his threshing floor, gathering the wheat into his barn and burning up the chaff with unquenchable fire. With many such words, John exhorted the people.
The Jews of Jerusalem sent priests and Levites to ask John who he was. He confessed freely, “I am not the Christ.” They asked if he was Elijah, and he said he was not. When they asked if he was the Prophet, he answered, "No." Finally, they asked him to identify himself so they could give an answer to those who sent them. He replied in the words of Isaiah the prophet, "I am the voice of one crying in the wilderness, Make straight the way of the Lord." The Pharisees who had been sent questioned him further, asking why he baptized if he was not the Messiah, Elijah, or the Prophet. John replied, “I baptize with water: but there standeth one among you, whom ye know not; He it is, who coming after me is preferred before me, whose shoe's latchet I am not worthy to unloose.” This took place in Bethabara beyond the Jordan.
But Herod the tetrarch, whom John had rebuked for marrying his brother Philip's wife, Herodias, and for all the other evil things he had done, added this to them all: He locked John up in prison.
When all the people were being baptized, Jesus came from Nazareth of Galilee to the Jordan to be baptized by John. John tried to deter him, saying, “I have need to be baptized of thee, and comest thou to me?” But Jesus replied, "Suffer it to be so now: for thus it becometh us to fulfil all righteousness." Then John consented. As soon as Jesus was baptized and came up out of the water, while he was praying, heaven was opened. John saw the Spirit of God descending in bodily form like a dove and alighting on him. And a voice came from heaven, saying, "Thou art my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased." John later testified that the one who sent him to baptize with water had told him that the man on whom he saw the Spirit descend and remain was the one who would baptize with the Holy Spirit. John declared, “I saw, and bare record that this is the Son of God.”
THE TEMPTATION AND THE FIRST DISCIPLES
Then Jesus, full of the Holy Spirit, was led by the Spirit into the wilderness, where for forty days he was tempted by the devil. He was with the wild animals, and angels attended him. He ate nothing during those days, and at the end of them, he was hungry. The tempter came and said, "If thou be the Son of God, command this stone that it be made bread." Jesus answered, "It is written, That man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word of God."
Then the devil took him to a high mountain and showed him all the kingdoms of the world, offering him their authority and splendor in exchange for worship. Jesus replied, "Get thee behind me, Satan: for it is written, Thou shalt worship the Lord thy God, and him only shalt thou serve."
Finally, the devil took him to the holy city and had him stand on the highest point of the temple. "If thou be the Son of God," he said, "cast thyself down from hence," quoting from the scriptures that angels would guard him. Jesus answered, "It is said, Thou shalt not tempt the Lord thy God." When the devil had finished all this tempting, he left him until an opportune time.
The next day, John was standing with two of his disciples. When he saw Jesus walking by, he said, "Behold the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world." He testified that this was the one he had spoken of, who came after him but surpassed him because he was before him. The two disciples heard him and followed Jesus. Jesus turned and asked what they wanted, and they asked where he was staying. He invited them to "Come and see." It was Andrew, Simon Peter’s brother, who was one of the two. He first found his brother Simon and told him, "We have found the Messias" (which is, the Christ). He brought Simon to Jesus, who looked at him and said, "Thou art Simon the son of Jona: thou shalt be called Cephas," which is translated as Peter (a stone).
The following day, Jesus decided to go to Galilee, where he found Philip and said, "Follow me." Philip, who was from Bethsaida, the city of Andrew and Peter, found Nathanael and told him, "We have found him, of whom Moses in the law, and the prophets, did write, Jesus of Nazareth, the son of Joseph." Nathanael skeptically asked, "Can there any good thing come out of Nazareth?" Philip replied, "Come and see." When Jesus saw Nathanael approaching, he said, "Behold an Israelite indeed, in whom is no guile!" Nathanael asked how Jesus knew him, and Jesus answered that he had seen him under the fig tree before Philip called him. Nathanael declared, "Rabbi, thou art the Son of God; thou art the King of Israel." Jesus told him he would see greater things, including heaven open and the angels of God ascending and descending on the Son of Man.
THE BEGINNING OF THE GALILEAN MINISTRY
On the third day, a wedding took place at Cana in Galilee where Jesus’s mother was present, and Jesus and his disciples were also invited. When the wine ran out, Jesus’s mother told him they had no wine. Jesus replied, "Woman, what have I to do with thee? mine hour is not yet come." His mother then instructed the servants to do whatever he told them. Jesus directed them to fill six large stone water jars with water, and they filled them to the brim. He then told them to draw some out and take it to the master of the banquet. When the master tasted the water that had been turned into wine, not knowing where it came from, he called the bridegroom and complimented him for saving the best wine until now. This, the first of his signs, Jesus performed in Cana of Galilee, thus revealing his glory, and his disciples believed in him.
After this, he went down to Capernaum with his mother, brothers, and disciples, staying for a few days. When the Jewish Passover was near, Jesus went up to Jerusalem. In the temple courts he found people selling cattle, sheep and doves, and others sitting at tables exchanging money. He made a whip out of cords and drove all from the temple area, both sheep and cattle; he scattered the coins of the money changers and overturned their tables. To those who sold doves, he said, “Take these things hence; make not my Father's house an house of merchandise.” His disciples remembered the scripture: “The zeal of thine house hath eaten me up.”
The Jews then demanded a sign to prove his authority. Jesus answered, “Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up.” They scoffed, noting the temple had taken forty-six years to build. But he was speaking of the temple of his body. After he was raised from the dead, his disciples recalled what he had said and believed the scripture and his words. While he was in Jerusalem at the Passover Festival, many people saw the signs he was performing and believed in his name. But Jesus would not entrust himself to them, for he knew all people and knew what was in each person.
THE NEW BIRTH AND THE WITNESS OF JOHN
There was a Pharisee named Nicodemus, a member of the Jewish ruling council, who came to Jesus at night. He acknowledged Jesus as a teacher from God because of the signs he performed. Jesus declared, “Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.” Confused, Nicodemus asked how a man could be born when he is old. Jesus explained that one must be born of water and the Spirit to enter God's kingdom. Flesh gives birth to flesh, but the Spirit gives birth to spirit. The wind blows where it pleases, and though you hear its sound, you cannot tell where it comes from or where it is going; so it is with everyone born of the Spirit.
When Nicodemus still asked how this could be, Jesus questioned how a teacher of Israel could not understand these things. He explained that he spoke of what he knew and had seen, but his testimony was not accepted. "If I have told you earthly things, and ye believe not, how shall ye believe, if I tell you of heavenly things?" He declared that no one has gone into heaven except the one who came from heaven—the Son of Man. "And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of man be lifted up: that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have eternal life." For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. God did not send his Son into the world to condemn it, but to save it. Whoever believes is not condemned, but whoever does not believe stands condemned already. This is the verdict: light has come into the world, but people loved darkness because their deeds were evil. Everyone who does evil hates the light, but whoever lives by the truth comes into the light, so that it may be seen plainly that what they have done has been done in the sight of God.
After this, Jesus and his disciples went into the Judean countryside, where he spent time with them and baptized. John was also baptizing at Aenon near Salim. An argument developed between some of John’s disciples and a certain Jew over the matter of ceremonial washing. They came to John and said, "Rabbi, he that was with thee beyond Jordan, to whom thou barest witness, behold, the same baptizeth, and all men come to him." John replied that a person can only receive what is given them from heaven. He reminded them that he had said he was not the Messiah but was sent ahead of him. The one who has the bride is the bridegroom; the friend of the bridegroom rejoices to hear his voice. John’s joy was now complete. "He must increase, but I must decrease." He testified that the one who comes from above is above all; the one who comes from heaven testifies to what he has seen and heard, and whoever accepts his testimony certifies that God is true. For the one whom God has sent speaks the words of God, to whom God gives the Spirit without limit. The Father loves the Son and has placed everything in his hands. Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life, but whoever rejects the Son will not see life, for God’s wrath remains on them.
THE WOMAN AT THE WELL AND GALILEAN MINISTRY
Jesus learned that the Pharisees had heard he was gaining and baptizing more disciples than John—although it was his disciples who baptized—so he left Judea and went back once more to Galilee. He had to go through Samaria and came to a town called Sychar, near the plot of ground Jacob had given to his son Joseph. Jacob’s well was there, and Jesus, tired from the journey, sat down by the well. A Samaritan woman came to draw water, and Jesus asked her for a drink. The woman was surprised, as Jews did not associate with Samaritans. Jesus told her that if she knew who he was, she would have asked him for living water. She questioned how he could offer this, as he had nothing to draw with and the well was deep. Jesus explained that whoever drinks the well water will be thirsty again, but whoever drinks the water he gives will never thirst; it will become in them a spring of water welling up to eternal life.
The woman asked for this water. Jesus told her to go and call her husband. When she replied that she had no husband, Jesus revealed that she had had five husbands and the man she now had was not her husband. Perceiving he was a prophet, the woman brought up the dispute over the proper place of worship—her ancestors on that mountain, the Jews in Jerusalem. Jesus explained that a time was coming when true worshipers would worship the Father in spirit and in truth, for the Father seeks such people to worship him. When the woman said she knew the Messiah was coming who would explain everything, Jesus declared, "I that speak unto thee am he."
Just then his disciples returned and were surprised to find him talking with a woman. The woman left her water jar and went back to the town, telling the people to come see a man who told her everything she ever did, wondering if he could be the Messiah. Meanwhile, the disciples urged Jesus to eat, but he told them his food was to do the will of Him who sent him. He pointed to the fields, ripe for harvest, noting that one sows and another reaps. Many Samaritans from that town believed in him because of the woman’s testimony. They urged him to stay, and he stayed for two days. Many more became believers because of his words, telling the woman, “Now we believe, not because of thy saying: for we have heard him ourselves, and know that this is indeed the Christ, the Saviour of the world.”
After two days, he went on to Galilee. Though he himself had testified that a prophet has no honor in his own country, the Galileans welcomed him because they had seen all he had done in Jerusalem. He returned to Nazareth, where he had been brought up. On the Sabbath day he went into the synagogue, and he stood up to read from the scroll of the prophet Isaiah: "The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he hath anointed me to preach the gospel to the poor; he hath sent me to heal the brokenhearted, to preach deliverance to the captives, and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty them that are bruised, To preach the acceptable year of the Lord." He rolled up the scroll and said, "This day is this scripture fulfilled in your ears." All spoke well of him and were amazed, but then they asked, "Is not this Joseph's son?" Knowing their thoughts, he said that no prophet is accepted in his hometown and recalled how Elijah was sent to a widow in Zarephath and Elisha cleansed Naaman the Syrian, both non-Israelites. The people in the synagogue were furious. They drove him out of town to the brow of the hill to throw him off a cliff, but he walked right through the crowd and went on his way.
Then he went down to Capernaum, where his word was with power. In the synagogue there was a man possessed by a demon, who cried out, "I know thee who thou art; the Holy One of God." Jesus rebuked the demon, saying, "Hold thy peace, and come out of him," and the demon left the man without injuring him. News about him spread throughout the surrounding area.
While in Cana, a royal official whose son lay sick in Capernaum came and begged Jesus to heal his son. Jesus said, “Except ye see signs and wonders, ye will not believe.” The official pleaded for him to come before his child died. Jesus told him, “Go thy way; thy son liveth.” The man took Jesus at his word and departed. On his way, his servants met him with the news that his boy was living. He learned that the fever had left him at the very time Jesus had spoken, and so he and his whole household believed. This was the second sign Jesus performed after coming from Judea to Galilee.
THE CALL OF THE FIRST DISCIPLES AND FURTHER HEALINGS
As Jesus was walking beside the Sea of Galilee, he saw two brothers, Simon called Peter and his brother Andrew, casting a net into the lake, for they were fishermen. "Come ye after me," he said, "and I will make you to become fishers of men." At once they left their nets and followed him. Going on, he saw two other brothers, James son of Zebedee and his brother John, in a boat with their father, preparing their nets. He called them, and immediately they left the boat and their father and followed him.
On another occasion, as Jesus stood by the Lake of Gennesaret, he got into one of the boats, the one belonging to Simon, and taught the people from the boat. Afterward, he told Simon to launch out into deep water for a catch. Simon explained they had worked all night and caught nothing, but at Jesus' word, he would let down the nets. They caught such a large number of fish that their nets began to break. They signaled their partners in the other boat, James and John, to help them, and they filled both boats so full they began to sink. When Simon Peter saw this, he fell at Jesus' knees and said, "Depart from me; for I am a sinful man, O Lord." Jesus said to Simon, "Fear not; from henceforth thou shalt catch men." When they had brought their boats to shore, they forsook all and followed him.
After leaving the synagogue, Jesus went to the home of Simon, whose mother-in-law was suffering from a high fever. Jesus rebuked the fever, and it left her. She immediately got up and began to wait on them. That evening after sunset, the people brought to Jesus all who had various kinds of sickness and were demon-possessed, and he laid his hands on each one and healed them, driving out many demons. He would not allow the demons to speak, because they knew he was the Messiah.
Very early the next morning, Jesus went out to a solitary place to pray. Simon and his companions went to look for him, and when they found him, they exclaimed that everyone was looking for him. Jesus replied that he must go to the nearby villages to preach there also, for that is why he had come. So he traveled throughout Galilee, preaching in their synagogues and driving out demons. A man with leprosy came to him and begged on his knees, "If thou wilt, thou canst make me clean." Filled with compassion, Jesus touched him and said, "I will: be thou clean." Immediately the leprosy left him. Jesus sent him away with a strong warning not to tell anyone, but to show himself to the priest and offer the sacrifices that Moses commanded. Instead, the man went out and began to talk freely, spreading the news so much that Jesus could no longer enter a town openly but stayed outside in lonely places, where people still came to him from everywhere.
When Jesus entered Capernaum again, it was heard that he was at home, and so many gathered that there was no room left. While he was preaching, four men came, bringing a paralyzed man. Since they could not get to him because of the crowd, they made an opening in the roof above Jesus and lowered the man on his mat. When Jesus saw their faith, he said to the man, "Son, thy sins be forgiven thee." Some teachers of the law sitting there thought to themselves that he was blaspheming, as only God can forgive sins. Immediately Jesus knew their thoughts and asked them whether it was easier to say 'Your sins are forgiven' or to say 'Get up and walk.' But to show them that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins, he said to the paralytic, "Arise, and take up thy bed, and go thy way into thine house." The man got up, took his mat, and walked out in full view of them all. This amazed everyone, and they praised God.
After this, Jesus saw a tax collector named Levi (or Matthew) sitting at his tax booth. "Follow me," Jesus told him, and Levi got up, left everything, and followed him. Then Levi held a great banquet for Jesus at his house, and a large crowd of tax collectors and others were eating with them. But the Pharisees and their scribes complained to his disciples, "Why do ye eat and drink with publicans and sinners?" Jesus answered them, "They that are whole need not a physician; but they that are sick. I came not to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance."
Then John’s disciples and the Pharisees questioned Jesus, asking why his disciples did not fast like them. Jesus answered, "Can ye make the children of the bridechamber fast, while the bridegroom is with them?" He told them the time would come when the bridegroom would be taken from them, and on that day they would fast. He also told them a parable: no one tears a piece out of a new garment to patch an old one, nor do people pour new wine into old wineskins. If they do, the new wine will burst the skins, the wine will run out and the wineskins will be ruined. No, new wine must be poured into new wineskins.
CONTROVERSIES AND THE CALLING OF THE TWELVE
One Sabbath, Jesus was going through the grainfields, and his disciples began to pick some heads of grain, rub them in their hands, and eat the kernels. Some Pharisees asked why they were doing what is unlawful on the Sabbath. Jesus answered them by asking if they had never read what David did when he and his companions were hungry—how he entered the house of God and ate the consecrated bread, which was lawful only for priests. He then said to them, "The sabbath was made for man, and not man for the sabbath: Therefore the Son of man is Lord also of the sabbath." On another Sabbath, he went into the synagogue, where a man with a shriveled right hand was present. The Pharisees and teachers of the law watched him closely to see if he would heal on the Sabbath. Jesus, knowing their thoughts, told the man to stand up. He then asked them, "Is it lawful on the sabbath days to do