Jesus Begins His Ministry

¹² Now when he heard that ^(A)John had been arrested, ^(B)he withdrew into Galilee. ¹³ And leaving ^(C)Nazareth he went and lived in ^(D)Capernaum by ^(E)the sea, in the territory of ^(F)Zebulun and Naphtali, ^14 (G)so that what was spoken by the prophet Isaiah might be fulfilled:

^17 (K)From that time Jesus began to preach, saying, ^(L)“Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.”^[a]

Jesus Calls the First Disciples

^18 (M)While walking by ^(N)the Sea of Galilee, he saw two brothers, Simon (who is called Peter) and Andrew his brother, casting a net into the sea, for they were fishermen. ¹⁹ And he said to them, “Follow me, and I will make you ^(O)fishers of men.”^{[b] 20} Immediately they left their nets and followed him. ²¹ And going on from there he saw two other brothers, James the son of Zebedee and John his brother, in the boat with Zebedee their father, mending their nets, and he called them. ²² Immediately they left the boat and their father and followed him.

Jesus Ministers to Great Crowds

^23 (P)And he went throughout all Galilee, ^(Q)teaching in their synagogues and ^(R)proclaiming the gospel of the kingdom and ^(S)healing every disease and every affliction among the people. ²⁴ So his fame spread throughout all ^(T)Syria, and ^(U)they brought him all the sick, those afflicted with various diseases and ^(V)pains, ^(W)those oppressed by demons, ^(X)those having seizures, and ^(Y)paralytics, and he healed them. ^25 (Z)And great crowds followed him from Galilee and the ^(AA)Decapolis, and from Jerusalem and Judea, and from beyond the Jordan.

The Harvest Is Plentiful, the Laborers Few

^35 (A)And Jesus went throughout all the cities and villages, teaching in their synagogues and proclaiming the gospel of the kingdom and healing every disease and every affliction.

Israel's Only Savior

Jesus Begins His Ministry

^14 (A)Now after John was arrested, Jesus ^(B)came into Galilee, proclaiming the gospel of God, ¹⁵ and saying, ^(C)“The time is fulfilled, and ^(D)the kingdom of God is at hand;^{[a] (E)}repent and believe in the gospel.”

A New Prophet like Moses

^15 (A)“The Lord your God will raise up for you a prophet like me from among you, from your brothers—it is to him you shall listen—

The Authority of Jesus

²⁸ And when Jesus finished these sayings, ^(A)the crowds were astonished at his teaching, ^29 (B)for he was teaching them as one who had authority, and not as their scribes.

The New Covenant

^31 (A)“Behold, the days are coming, declares the Lord, when I will make ^(B)a new covenant with the house of Israel and the house of Judah, ³² not like the covenant that I made with their fathers on the day when ^(C)I took them by the hand to bring them out of the land of Egypt, my covenant that they broke, ^(D)though I was their husband, declares the Lord. ^33 (E)For this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, declares the Lord: ^(F)I will put my law within them, and I will write it ^(G)on their hearts. ^(H)And I will be their God, and they shall be my people. ³⁴ And no longer shall each one teach his neighbor and each his brother, saying, ‘Know the Lord,’ ^(I)for they shall all know me, ^(J)from the least of them to the greatest, declares the Lord. For ^(K)I will forgive their iniquity, and ^(L)I will remember their sin no more.”

²⁶ And I will give you ^(A)a new heart, and ^(B)a new spirit I will put within you. ^(C)And I will remove the heart of stone from your flesh and give you a heart of flesh. ^27 (D)And I will put my Spirit within you, ^(E)and cause you to walk in my statutes and ^(F)be careful to obey my rules.^[a]