Mar 1 | ESV | STEP | The beginning of the gospel of Jesus Christ , the Son of God .

^e“Behold, I send my messenger before your face,
who will prepare your way,
3 ^fthe voice of one crying in the wilderness:
^g‘Prepare ^{▼▼Or crying: Prepare in the wilderness} the way of the Lord,
make his paths straight,’”

4 ⁱJohn appeared, baptizing in ^jthe wilderness and proclaiming ^ka baptism of ^lrepentance ^mfor the forgiveness of sins. 5 And all the country of Judea and all Jerusalem were going out to him and were being baptized by him in the river Jordan, ⁿconfessing their sins. 6 Now John was ^oclothed with camel’s hair and ^pwore a leather belt around his waist and ate ^qlocusts and ^rwild honey. 7 And he preached, saying, ^s“After me comes he who is mightier than I, the strap of whose sandals I am not worthy to stoop down and untie. 8 ^tI have baptized you with water, but ^uhe will baptize you with the Holy Spirit.”

The Baptism of Jesus

9 ^vIn those days Jesus ^wcame from Nazareth of Galilee and was baptized by John in the Jordan. 10 And when he came up out of the water, immediately he ^xsaw ^ythe heavens being torn open ^zand the Spirit descending on him like a dove. 11 And ^aaa voice came from heaven, ^ab“You are my beloved Son; ^{▼▼Or my Son, my (or the) Beloved} with you I am well pleased.”

The Temptation of Jesus

12 ^adThe Spirit immediately drove him out into the wilderness. 13 ^aeAnd he was in the wilderness forty days, being ^aftempted by ^agSatan. And he was with the wild animals, and ^ahthe angels were ministering to him.

Jesus Begins His Ministry

14 ^aiNow after John was arrested, Jesus ^ajcame into Galilee, proclaiming the gospel of God, 15 and saying, ^ak“The time is fulfilled, and ^althe kingdom of God is at hand; ^amrepent and believe in the gospel.”

Jesus Calls the First Disciples

16 ^anPassing alongside the Sea of Galilee, he saw Simon and Andrew the brother of Simon casting a net into the sea, for they were fishermen. 17 And Jesus said to them, “Follow me, and I will make you become ^aofishers of men.” ^{▼▼The Greek word anthropoi refers here to both men and women} 18 And immediately they left their nets and followed him. 19 And going on a little farther, he saw James the son of Zebedee and John his brother, who were in their boat mending the nets. 20 And immediately he called them, and they left their father Zebedee in the boat with the hired servants and followed him.

Jesus Heals a Man with an Unclean Spirit

21 ^aqAnd they went into Capernaum, and immediately ^aron the Sabbath ^ashe entered the synagogue and was teaching. 22 And ^atthey were astonished at his teaching, ^aufor he taught them as one who had authority, and not as the scribes. 23 And immediately there was in their synagogue a man with an unclean spirit. And he cried out, 24 ^av“What have you to do with us, Jesus of Nazareth? Have you come to destroy us? ^awI know who you are— ^axthe Holy One of God.” 25 But Jesus ^ayrebuked him, saying, “Be silent, and come out of him!” 26 And the unclean spirit, ^azconvulsing him and ^bacrying out with a loud voice, came out of him. 27 And they were all ^bbamazed, so that they questioned among themselves, saying, “What is this? ^bcA new teaching with authority! He commands even the unclean spirits, and they obey him.” 28 And at once his fame spread everywhere throughout all the surrounding region of Galilee.

Jesus Heals Many

29 ^bdAnd immediately he ^{▼▼Some manuscripts they} ^bfleft the synagogue and entered the house of Simon and Andrew, with James and John. 30 Now ^bgSimon’s mother-in-law lay ill with a fever, and immediately they told him about her. 31 And he came and ^bhtook her by the hand and lifted her up, and the fever left her, and she began to serve them.

32 That evening at sundown they brought to him all who were sick or ^bioppressed by demons. 33 And the whole city was gathered together at the door. 34 ^bjAnd he healed many who were sick with various diseases, and cast out many demons. And ^bkhe would not permit the demons to speak, because they knew him.

Jesus Preaches in Galilee

35 ^blAnd rising very early in the morning, while it was still dark, he departed and went out to a desolate place, and ^bmthere he prayed. 36 And Simon and those who were with him searched for him, 37 and they found him and said to him, ^bn“Everyone is looking for you.” 38 And he said to them, “Let us go on to the next towns, that I may preach there also, for ^bothat is why I came out.” 39 ^bpAnd ^bqhe went throughout all Galilee, preaching in their synagogues and casting out demons.

Jesus Cleanses a Leper

40 ^brAnd a leper ^{▼▼Leprosy was a term for several skin diseases; see Leviticus 13} came to him, imploring him, and ^btkneeling said to him, ^bu“If you will, you can make me clean.” 41 Moved with pity, he stretched out his hand and touched him and said to him, “I will; be clean.” 42 And immediately the leprosy left him, and he was made clean. 43 And ^bvJesus ^{▼▼Greek he; also verse 45} sternly charged him and sent him away at once, 44 and said to him, ^bx“See that you say nothing to anyone, but go, ^byshow yourself to the priest and ^bzoffer for your cleansing what Moses commanded, ^cafor a proof to them.” 45 ^cbBut he went out and began to talk freely about it, and to spread the news, so that Jesus could no longer openly enter ^cca town, but was out in ^cddesolate places, and ^cepeople were coming to him from every quarter.