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The Temptation of Jesus

¹ Then Jesus, full of the Holy Spirit, returned from the Jordan River and was led by the Spirit in the wilderness, ² where for forty days he endured temptations from the devil. He ate nothing during those days, and when they were completed, he was famished. ³ The devil said to him, "If you are the Son of God, command this stone to become bread." ⁴ Jesus answered him, "It is written, ‘Man does not live by bread alone.'"

⁵ Then the devil led him up to a high place and showed him in a flash all the kingdoms of the world. ⁶ And he said to him, "To you I will grant this whole realm—and the glory that goes along with it, for it has been relinquished to me, and I can give it to anyone I wish. ⁷ So then, if you will worship me, all this will be yours." ⁸ Jesus answered him, "It is written, ‘You are to worship the Lord your God and serve only him.'"

⁹ Then the devil brought him to Jerusalem, had him stand on the highest point of the temple, and said to him, "If you are the Son of God, throw yourself down from here, ¹⁰ for it is written, ‘He will command his angels concerning you, to protect you,' ¹¹ and ‘with their hands they will lift you up, so that you will not strike your foot against a stone.'" ¹² Jesus answered him, "It is said, ‘You are not to put the Lord your God to the test.'" ¹³ So when the devil had completed every temptation, he departed from him until a more opportune time.

The Beginning of Jesus' Ministry in Galilee

¹⁴ Then Jesus, in the power of the Spirit, returned to Galilee, and news about him spread throughout the surrounding countryside. ¹⁵ He began to teach in their synagogues and was praised by all.

Rejection at Nazareth

¹⁶ Now Jesus came to Nazareth, where he had been brought up, and went into the synagogue on the Sabbath day, as was his custom. He stood up to read, ¹⁷ and the scroll of the prophet Isaiah was given to him. He unrolled the scroll and found the place where it was written,

²⁰ Then he rolled up the scroll, gave it back to the attendant, and sat down. The eyes of everyone in the synagogue were fixed on him. ²¹ Then he began to tell them, "Today this scripture has been fulfilled even as you heard it being read." ²² All were speaking well of him, and were amazed at the gracious words coming out of his mouth. They said, "Isn't this Joseph's son?" ²³ Jesus said to them, "No doubt you will quote to me the proverb, ‘Physician, heal yourself!' and say, ‘What we have heard that you did in Capernaum, do here in your hometown too.'" ²⁴ And he added, "I tell you the truth, no prophet is acceptable in his hometown. ²⁵ But in truth I tell you, there were many widows in Israel in Elijah's days, when the sky was shut up three and a half years, and there was a great famine over all the land. ²⁶ Yet Elijah was sent to none of them, but only to a woman who was a widow at Zarephath in Sidon. ²⁷ And there were many lepers in Israel in the time of the prophet Elisha, yet none of them was cleansed except Naaman the Syrian." ²⁸ When they heard this, all the people in the synagogue were filled with rage. ²⁹ They got up, forced him out of the town, and brought him to the brow of the hill on which their town was built, so that they could throw him down the cliff. ³⁰ But he passed through the crowd and went on his way.

Ministry in Capernaum

³¹ So he went down to Capernaum, a town in Galilee, and on the Sabbath he began to teach the people. ³² They were amazed at his teaching, because he spoke with authority.

³³ Now in the synagogue there was a man who had the spirit of an unclean demon, and he cried out with a loud voice, ³⁴ "Ha! Leave us alone, Jesus the Nazarene! Have you come to destroy us? I know who you are—the Holy One of God." ³⁵ But Jesus rebuked him: "Silence! Come out of him!" Then, after the demon threw the man down in their midst, he came out of him without hurting him. ³⁶ They were all amazed and began to say to one another, "What's happening here? For with authority and power he commands the unclean spirits, and they come out!" ³⁷ So the news about him spread into all areas of the region.

³⁸ After Jesus left the synagogue, he entered Simon's house. Now Simon's mother-in-law was suffering from a high fever, and they asked Jesus to help her. ³⁹ So he stood over her, commanded the fever, and it left her. Immediately she got up and began to serve them.

⁴⁰ As the sun was setting, all those who had any relatives sick with various diseases brought them to Jesus. He placed his hands on every one of them and healed them. ⁴¹ Demons also came out of many, crying out, "You are the Son of God!" But he rebuked them, and would not allow them to speak, because they knew that he was the Christ.

⁴² The next morning Jesus departed and went to a deserted place. Yet the crowds were seeking him, and they came to him and tried to keep him from leaving them. ⁴³ But Jesus said to them, "I must proclaim the good news of the kingdom of God to the other towns too, for that is what I was sent to do." ⁴⁴ So he continued to preach in the synagogues of Judea.