Matthew 4

The Temptation of Jesus

¹Then Jesus was led up by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil. ²And after He had fasted for forty days and forty nights, He then became hungry. ³And the tempter came and said to Him, “If You are the Son of God, command that these stones become bread.” ⁴But He answered and said, “It is written: ‘Man shall not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes out of the mouth of God.’ ”

⁵Then the devil *took Him along into the holy city and had Him stand on the pinnacle of the temple, ⁶and he *said to Him, “If You are the Son of God, throw Yourself down; for it is written: ‘He will give His angels orders concerning You’; and ‘On their hands they will lift You up, So that You do not strike Your foot against a stone.’ ”

⁷Jesus said to him, “On the other hand, it is written: ‘You shall not put the Lord your God to the test.’ ”

⁸Again, the devil *took Him along to a very high mountain and *showed Him all the kingdoms of the world and their glory; ⁹and he said to Him, “All these things I will give You, if You fall down and worship me.” ¹⁰Then Jesus *said to him, “Go away, Satan! For it is written: ‘You shall worship the Lord your God, and serve Him only.’ ” ¹¹Then the devil *left Him; and behold, angels came and began to serve Him.

Jesus Begins His Ministry

¹²Now when Jesus heard that John had been taken into custody, He withdrew into Galilee; ¹³and leaving Nazareth, He came and settled in Capernaum, which is by the sea, in the region of Zebulun and Naphtali. ¹⁴This happened so that what was spoken through Isaiah the prophet would be fulfilled:

¹⁷From that time Jesus began to preach and say, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven has come near.”

The First Disciples

¹⁸Now as Jesus was walking by the Sea of Galilee, He saw two brothers, Simon, who was called Peter, and his brother Andrew, casting a net into the sea; for they were fishermen. ¹⁹And He *said to them, “Follow Me, and I will make you fishers of people.” ²⁰Immediately they left their nets and followed Him. ²¹Going on from there He saw two other brothers, James the son of Zebedee, and his brother John, in the boat with their father Zebedee, mending their nets; and He called them. ²²Immediately they left the boat and their father, and followed Him.

Ministry in Galilee

²³Jesus was going about in all of Galilee, teaching in their synagogues and proclaiming the gospel of the kingdom, and healing every disease and every sickness among the people.

²⁴And the news about Him spread throughout Syria; and they brought to Him all who were ill, those suffering with various diseases and severe pain, demon-possessed, people with epilepsy, and people who were paralyzed; and He healed them. ²⁵Large crowds followed Him from Galilee and the Decapolis, and Jerusalem, and Judea, and from beyond the Jordan.