Lectionary Calendar

Wednesday, December 4th, 2024
the First Week of Advent

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The Preaching of John the Baptist

¹ The beginning of the gospel of Jesus Christ, ^(C1)the Son of God.

² ^(C1)As it is written in Isaiah the prophet:

"^(C2)BEHOLD, I SEND MY MESSENGER ^(F1)AHEAD OF YOU,
WHO WILL PREPARE YOUR WAY;

³ ^(C1)THE VOICE OF ONE CRYING IN THE WILDERNESS,
'MAKE READY THE WAY OF THE ^(F1)LORD,
MAKE HIS PATHS STRAIGHT.'"

⁴ John the Baptist appeared in the wilderness preaching a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins.⁵ And all the region of Judea was going out to him, and all the people of Jerusalem; and they were being baptized by him in the Jordan River, confessing their sins.⁶ And John was clothed with camel's hair and wore a leather belt around his waist and was eating locusts and wild honey.⁷ And he was preaching, saying, "After me One is coming who is mightier than I, and I am not fit to stoop down and untie the strap of His sandals.⁸ "I baptized you with water; but He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit."

The Baptism of Jesus

⁹ ^(F1)^(C1)Now it happened that in those days Jesus ^(C2)came from Nazareth in Galilee and was baptized by John in the Jordan.¹⁰ And immediately coming up out of the water, He saw the heavens ^(F1)opening, and the Spirit like a dove descending upon Him;¹¹ and a voice came out of the heavens: "^(C1)You are My beloved Son, in You I am well-pleased."

¹² ^(C1)And immediately the Spirit ^(*)drove Him to go out into the wilderness.¹³ And He was in the wilderness forty days being tempted by ^(C1)Satan; and He was with the wild beasts, and the angels were ministering to Him.

Jesus Preaches in Galilee

¹⁴ ^(C1)Now after John had been delivered up into custody, Jesus came into Galilee, ^(F1)^(C2)preaching the gospel of God,¹⁵ and saying, "^(C1)The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God ^(F1)is at hand; ^(C2)repent and ^(F2)believe in the gospel."

¹⁶ ^(C1)As He was going along by the Sea of Galilee, He saw Simon and Andrew, the brother of Simon, casting a net in the sea; for they were fishermen.¹⁷ And Jesus said to them, "Follow Me, and I will make you become fishers of men."¹⁸ And immediately they left their nets and followed Him.¹⁹ And going on a little farther, He saw ^(F1)James the son of Zebedee, and John his brother, who were also in the boat mending the nets.²⁰ And immediately He called them; and they left their father Zebedee in the boat with the hired servants, and went away ^(F1)to follow Him.

²¹ ^(C1)And they ^(*)went into Capernaum; and immediately on the Sabbath ^(C2)He entered the synagogue and began to teach.²² ^(C1)And they were astonished at His teaching; for He was teaching them as one having authority, and not as the scribes.²³ And immediately there was a man in their synagogue with an unclean spirit; and he cried out,²⁴ saying, "^(C1)What ^(F1)do we have to do with You, Jesus the ^(C2)Nazarene? Have You come to destroy us? I know who You are—^(C3)the Holy One of God!"²⁵ And Jesus rebuked him, saying, "Be quiet, and come out of him!"²⁶ And throwing him into convulsions, the unclean spirit cried out with a loud voice and came out of him.²⁷ And they were all ^(C1)amazed, so that they were arguing among themselves, saying, "What is this? A new teaching with authority! He commands even the unclean spirits, and they obey Him."²⁸ And immediately the news about Him spread everywhere into all the surrounding district of Galilee.

Simon's Mother-in-Law and Many Others Healed

²⁹ ^(C1)And immediately after they came ^(C2)out of the synagogue, they came into the house of Simon and Andrew, with James and John.³⁰ Now Simon's mother-in-law was lying sick with a fever; and immediately they ^(*)spoke to ^(F1)Jesus about her.³¹ And He came to her and raised her up, taking her by the hand, and the fever left her, and she ^(F1)began waiting on them.

³² ^(C1)Now when evening came, ^(C2)after the sun had set, they began bringing to Him all who were ill and those who were ^(C3)demon-possessed.³³ And the whole ^(C1)city had gathered at the door.³⁴ And He ^(C1)healed many who were ill with various diseases, and cast out many demons; and He was not permitting the demons to speak, because they knew who He was.

³⁵ ^(C1)And in the early morning, while it was still dark, Jesus rose up, went out of the house, and went away to a desolate place, and ^(C2)was praying there.³⁶ And Simon and his companions searched for Him;³⁷ and they found Him, and ^(*)said to Him, "Everyone is looking for You."³⁸ And He ^(*)said to them, "Let us go elsewhere, to the towns nearby, so that I may ^(F1)preach there also; for that is what I came out for."³⁹ ^(C1)And He went, ^(F1)preaching in their synagogues throughout all Galilee and casting out the demons.

⁴⁰ ^(C1)And a leper ^(*)came to ^(F1)Jesus, pleading with Him and ^(C2)falling on his knees before Him, and saying, "If You are willing, You can make me clean."⁴¹ And moved with compassion, He stretched out His hand and touched him, and ^(*)said to him, "I am willing; be cleansed."⁴² And immediately the leprosy left him and he was cleansed.⁴³ And He sternly warned him and immediately sent him away,⁴⁴ and He ^(*)said to him, "^(C1)See that you say nothing to anyone; but ^(C1)go, show yourself to the priest and ^(C2)offer for your cleansing what Moses commanded, as a testimony to them."⁴⁵ But he went out and began to ^(C1)proclaim it freely and to ^(C1)spread the news around, to such an extent that ^(F1)Jesus could no longer publicly enter a city, but ^(F2)stayed out in desolate areas; and ^(C2)they were coming to Him from everywhere.