Study Desk

In the fifteenth year of the reign of Tiberius Caesar,^[a] while Pontius Pilate was governor of Judea,^(a) Herod was tetrarch^[b] of Galilee,^(b) his brother Philip tetrarch of the region of Iturea^[c] and Trachonitis,^[d] and Lysanias tetrarch of Abilene,^[e]

during the high priesthood of Annas^(c) and Caiaphas,^(d) God's word came to John the son of Zechariah in the wilderness.^(e)

He went into all the vicinity of the Jordan,^(f) preaching a baptism of repentance^[f] for the forgiveness of sins,

as it is written in the book of the words of the prophet Isaiah: A voice of one crying out in the wilderness: Prepare the way for the Lord; make His paths straight!

Every valley will be filled, and every mountain and hill will be made low; ^[g] the crooked will become straight, the rough ways smooth,

and everyone ^[h] will see the salvation of God. ^(g)[i]

He then said to the crowds who came out to be baptized by him, "Brood of vipers!^(h) Who warned you to flee from the coming wrath?

Therefore produce fruit consistent with repentance. And don't start saying to yourselves, ‘We have Abraham as our father,'⁽ⁱ⁾ for I tell you that God is able to raise up children for Abraham from these stones!

Even now the ax is ready to strike^[j] the root of the trees! Therefore, every tree that doesn't produce good fruit will be cut down and thrown into the fire."^(j)

"What then should we do?"^(k) the crowds were asking him.

He replied to them, "The one who has two shirts^[k] must share with someone who has none, and the one who has food must do the same."^(l)

Tax collectors also came to be baptized, and they asked him, "Teacher, what should we do?"^(m)

He told them, "Don't collect any more than what you have been authorized."

Some soldiers also questioned him: "What should we do?" He said to them, "Don't take money from anyone by force or false accusation; be satisfied with your wages."

Now the people were waiting expectantly, and all of them were debating in their minds^[l] whether John might be the Messiah.⁽ⁿ⁾

John answered them all,^(o) "I baptize you with^[m] water, but One is coming who is more powerful than I. I am not worthy to untie the strap of His sandals. He will baptize you with^[n] the Holy Spirit and fire.

His winnowing shovel^[o](p) is in His hand to clear His threshing floor and gather the wheat into His barn, but the chaff He will burn up with a fire that never goes out."^(q)

Then, along with many other exhortations, he proclaimed good news to the people.

But Herod the tetrarch,^(r) being rebuked by him about Herodias, his brother's wife, and about all the evil things Herod had done,^(s)

added this to everything else—he locked John up in prison.^(t)

When all the people were baptized,^(u) Jesus also was baptized. As He was praying,^(v) heaven opened,

and the Holy Spirit descended on Him in a physical appearance like a dove. And a voice came from heaven: You are My beloved Son. I take delight in You!^(w)

As He began His ministry, Jesus was about 30 years old and was thought to be^[p] the son of Joseph,^(x) son^[q] of Heli,

son of Matthat, son of Levi, son of Melchi, son of Jannai, son of Joseph,

²⁵son of Mattathias, son of Amos, son of Nahum, son of Esli, son of Naggai,

son of Maath, son of Mattathias, son of Semein, son of Josech, son of Joda,

²⁷son of Joanan, son of Rhesa, son of Zerubbabel,^(y) son of Shealtiel, son of Neri,

son of Melchi, son of Addi, son of Cosam, son of Elmadam, son of Er,

²⁹son of Joshua, son of Eliezer, son of Jorim, son of Matthat, son of Levi,

son of Simeon, son of Judah, son of Joseph, son of Jonam, son of Eliakim,

³¹son of Melea, son of Menna, son of Mattatha, son of Nathan, son of David,

son of Jesse,^(z) son of Obed, son of Boaz, son of Salmon,^[r] son of Nahshon,

³³son of Amminadab, son of Ram,^[s] son of Hezron, son of Perez, son of Judah,

son of Jacob, son of Isaac, son of Abraham,^(aa) son of Terah, son of Nahor,

³⁵son of Serug, son of Reu, son of Peleg, son of Eber, son of Shelah,

son of Cainan, son of Arphaxad, son of Shem, son of Noah,^(ab) son of Lamech,

³⁷son of Methuselah, son of Enoch, son of Jared, son of Mahalaleel, son of Cainan,

son of Enos, son of Seth, son of Adam, son of God.

Then Jesus^(a) returned from the Jordan,^(b) full of the Holy Spirit, and was led by the Spirit in the wilderness

for 40 days to be tempted by the Devil. He ate nothing during those days, and when they were over,^[a] He was hungry.

The Devil said to Him, "If You are the Son of God, tell this stone to become bread."

But Jesus answered him, "It is written: Man must not live on bread alone. " ^[b](c)[c]

So he took Him up^[d] and showed Him all the kingdoms of the world in a moment of time.

The Devil said to Him, "I will give You their splendor and all this authority, because it has been given over to me,^(d) and I can give it to anyone I want.

If You, then, will worship me,^[e] all will be Yours."

And Jesus answered him,^[f] "It is written: Worship the Lord your God, and serve ^(e) Him only. " ^[g]

So he took Him to Jerusalem, had Him stand on the pinnacle of the temple, and said to Him, "If You are the Son of God, throw Yourself down from here.

For it is written: He will give His angels orders concerning you, to protect you, ^(f)[h]

¹¹and they will support you with their hands, so that you will not strike your foot against a stone. "^(g)[i]

And Jesus answered him, "It is said: Do not test the Lord your God. " ^(h)[j]

After the Devil had finished every temptation, he departed from Him for a time.

Then Jesus returned to Galilee in the power of the Spirit,⁽ⁱ⁾ and news about Him spread throughout the entire vicinity.^(j)

He was teaching in their synagogues,^(k) being acclaimed^[k] by everyone.

He came to Nazareth, where He had been brought up.^(l) As usual, He entered the synagogue on the Sabbath day^(m) and stood up to read.⁽ⁿ⁾

The scroll of the prophet Isaiah was given to Him, and unrolling the scroll, He found the place where it was written:

The Spirit of the Lord is on Me, because He has anointed Me to preach good news to the poor. He has sent Me ^[l] to proclaim freedom ^[m] to the captives and recovery of sight to the blind, to set free the oppressed,

to proclaim the year of the Lord's favor. ^[n](o)[o]

He then rolled up the scroll, gave it back to the attendant, and sat down.^(p) And the eyes of everyone in the synagogue were fixed on Him.

He began by saying to them, "Today as you listen, this Scripture has been fulfilled."

They were all speaking well of Him^[p] and were amazed by the gracious words that came from His mouth, yet they said, "Isn't this Joseph's son?"^(q)

Then He said to them, "No doubt you will quote this proverb^[q] to Me: ‘Doctor, heal yourself. So all we've heard that took place in Capernaum,^(r) do here in Your hometown also.'"

He also said, "I assure you: No prophet is accepted in his hometown.^(s)

But I say to you, there were certainly many widows in Israel in Elijah's days,^(t) when the sky was shut up for three years and six months while a great famine came over all the land.

Yet Elijah was not sent to any of them—but to a widow at Zarephath in Sidon.

And in the prophet Elisha's time, there were many in Israel who had serious skin diseases, yet not one of them was healed^[r] —only Naaman the Syrian." ^(u)

When they heard this, everyone in the synagogue was enraged.

They got up, drove Him out of town,^(v) and brought Him to the edge^[s] of the hill that their town was built on, intending to hurl Him over the cliff.

But He passed right through the crowd and went on His way.^(w)

Then He went down to Capernaum,^(x) a town in Galilee, and was teaching them on the Sabbath.

They were astonished at His teaching because His message had authority.^(y)

In the synagogue there was a man with an unclean demonic spirit who cried out with a loud voice,^(z)

"Leave us alone!^[t] What do You have to do with us,^[u] Jesus—Nazarene? Have You come to destroy us? I know who You are—the Holy One of God!"

But Jesus rebuked him^(aa) and said, "Be quiet and come out of him!" And throwing him down before them, the demon came out of him without hurting him at all.

Amazement came over them all, and they kept saying to one another, "What is this message? For He commands the unclean spirits with authority and power, and they come out!"

And news about Him began to go out to every place in the vicinity.

After He left the synagogue, He entered Simon's house.^(ab) Simon's mother-in-law was suffering from a high fever, and they asked Him about her.

So He stood over her and rebuked the fever, and it left her. She got up immediately and began to serve them.

When the sun was setting, all those who had anyone sick with various diseases brought them to Him. As He laid His hands on each one of them, He would heal them.^(ac)

Also, demons were coming out of many, shouting and saying, "You are the Son of God!"^(ad) But He rebuked them and would not allow them to speak, because they knew He was the Messiah.^(ae)

When it was day, He went out and made His way to a deserted place.^(af) But the crowds were searching for Him. They came to Him and tried to keep Him from leaving them.

But He said to them, "I must proclaim the good news about the kingdom of God to the other towns also, because I was sent for this purpose."

And He was preaching in the synagogues of Galilee.^[v](ag)