Read the Gospels in 40 Days
The start of the good news
1 This is the start of the good news about Jesus Christ. He is the Son of God. 2 The prophet Isaiah wrote this message from God in his book:[a]
‘Listen! I will send someone to prepare a way for you.
He will tell people my message.
3 His voice will shout in the wilderness:
“The Lord will come soon, so prepare a way for him.
Make the paths straight for him.” ’[b]
4 So John went to a place in the wilderness. He baptized people and he spoke a message from God.[c] He said to people, ‘You have done many wrong things. You must turn away from them and change how you live. Then God will forgive you and I will baptize you.’
5 Many people who lived in Jerusalem and in the country of Judea went to listen to John.[d] The people told God about all the wrong things that they had done. Then John baptized them in the Jordan River. 6 John wore clothes made from the hair of a camel. He also wore a belt made from leather. His usual food was locusts and honey from the wilderness.
7 John said to the people, ‘Another person will come soon. He is much greater than I am. I am not good enough even to undo his shoes for him. 8 I have baptized you with water. But this man will baptize you with the Holy Spirit.’
John baptizes Jesus
9 Soon after this, Jesus came from the town of Nazareth in Galilee. John baptized him in the Jordan River. 10 While Jesus was coming up out of the water, he saw the skies open. The Holy Spirit came down like a dove and he stayed on Jesus. 11 A voice spoke from heaven: ‘You are my Son and I love you. You make me very happy.’
Satan tries to cause Jesus to do wrong things
12 Immediately, the Holy Spirit sent Jesus out into the wilderness. 13 Jesus was in the wilderness for 40 days. During this time, Satan tried to cause him to do wrong things. There were wild animals with Jesus in the wilderness. God's angels took care of him.
Jesus asks some men to be his disciples
14 Later, John was in prison. At that time, Jesus went to Galilee.[e] He told people the good news about God. 15 Jesus said, ‘Now is the time when the kingdom of God has come very near. You have done many wrong things. Turn away from them and change the way that you live. Believe God's good news.’
16 One day, Jesus was walking along the shore of Lake Galilee. He saw two brothers called Simon and Andrew.[f] Their job was to catch fish. They were throwing their nets into the lake to catch fish. 17 Jesus said to them, ‘Come with me and be my disciples. Then I will teach you how to catch people, instead of fish.’[g] 18 Simon and Andrew immediately put down their nets and they went with Jesus.[h]
19 Jesus continued to walk along the shore. Soon he saw two more men who were brothers. They were called James and John. They were the sons of Zebedee. They were in their boat and they were mending their nets. 20 Immediately, Jesus asked them to come with him. They left their father and his workers in the boat, and they went with Jesus to be his disciples.
Jesus causes a bad spirit to leave a man
21 Then Jesus and those disciples went into a town called Capernaum. On the next Jewish day of rest, Jesus went into the Jews' meeting place.[i] He began to teach the people there.
22 The people were very surprised at the things that Jesus taught them. When he taught them, he showed his authority. That was not like the way that the teachers of God's Law taught people. 23 In the meeting place, there was a man who had a bad spirit. The bad spirit caused the man to shout. 24 He said, ‘Jesus from Nazareth, leave us alone! Do not kill us! I know who you are. You are the Holy One and God has sent you.’
25 Jesus said to the bad spirit, ‘Be quiet! Come out of the man!’ 26 The bad spirit caused the man to shake and to fall down. It shouted loudly and then it came out of the man.
27 All the people were very surprised and they said to each other, ‘This is very strange. This man Jesus is teaching us something new and he speaks with authority. He can tell bad spirits what they must do. Then they do it.’ 28 Immediately, people began to hear the news about Jesus. Everywhere in Galilee, people were talking about him.
Jesus makes many people well
29 Then Jesus left the meeting place. He took James and John with him to the home of Simon and Andrew. 30 The mother of Simon's wife was ill in bed. Her body was very hot. Immediately, Simon and Andrew told Jesus about her. 31 So Jesus went to her and he held her hand. Then he helped her to sit up and she was well again. Immediately she prepared food for her visitors.
32-33 That evening, when the sun had gone down, people in the town came to Jesus.[j] They brought to him everyone who was ill. And they brought people with bad spirits in them. All these people were standing together near the door of the house. 34 Jesus caused many sick people to become well. They had many different kinds of illness. He also caused many bad spirits to leave people. The spirits knew who he was. So Jesus did not let them speak.
Jesus prays alone in a quiet place
35 Jesus got up very early the next morning, while it was still dark. He went to a place where he could be alone. He prayed there. 36 Simon and the other disciples went to look for him. 37 When they found him, they said, ‘Everyone is looking for you.’
38 Jesus replied, ‘We should go to other towns near here. Then I can teach the people there too. That is the reason why I came here.’ 39 So Jesus travelled everywhere in Galilee. He taught the people in the Jewish meeting places. He caused bad spirits to come out of people.
A man with a disease in his skin
40 One day, a man who had a disease of the skin came to Jesus. He went down on his knees in front of Jesus. The man said. ‘If you want, you can make me well. Please do it.’
41 Jesus felt very sorry for the man. He put out his hand towards the man and he touched him. ‘I do want to help you,’ Jesus said, ‘Be clean again!’ 42 Immediately, the disease left the man.
43 Jesus sent the man away immediately and he spoke to the man with strong words. 44 He said, ‘Listen to me. Do not tell anyone about this. Instead, go and show yourself to the priest. Take him a gift for God. Moses' law tells you what you should give when you are clean again after this kind of disease. This will show everyone that you are now well again.’ 45 But instead, the man went away and he talked to everybody. He told them what had happened to him. Because he did this, it became too difficult for Jesus to go into the towns. Everybody knew him. So Jesus stayed in places in the wilderness. People came from all the places around there to see him.
Jesus helps a man who cannot walk
2 Several days after that, Jesus returned to Capernaum. People heard the news that he had come back to his home. 2 Many people came into the house. The house was so full that there was no room, even outside the door. Jesus was teaching people about the good news. 3 Four men came. They were carrying another man on a mat. That man could not move his legs. 4 They could not reach Jesus because of the crowd. So they made a hole in the roof above the place where Jesus was.[k] They helped the man to go down through the hole. He was still lying on his mat. 5 Jesus saw the man and his friends. He knew that they believed in him. So he said to the man who could not walk, ‘My friend, I forgive you for your sins.’
6 But some teachers of God's Law were sitting there. They thought about the words that Jesus had spoken to the man. 7 They thought, ‘This man Jesus should not have said that. He is speaking as if he is God. Only God can forgive people for their sins.’
8 Immediately, Jesus knew in his spirit what the teachers were thinking. He said to them, ‘You should not think these things. 9 I said to this man who cannot walk, “I forgive you for your sins.” Instead, I could have said to him, “Stand up! Pick up your mat and walk.” Which of those is easier for me to say? 10 But I want you to know this. I, the Son of Man, have authority on earth to forgive people for their sins.’[l] Then he said to the man who could not walk, 11 ‘I am saying to you, stand up! Pick up your mat and go home.’ 12 Immediately, the man stood up. He picked up his mat and he walked out of the house. Everyone watched him do this. The people were very surprised. They praised God and they said, ‘God is great. We have never seen anything like this before.’
Jesus asks Levi to be his disciple
13 Jesus went to the shore of Lake Galilee again. A large crowd came to him, and he taught them. 14 While Jesus was walking along, he saw a man called Levi. Levi was the son of Alphaeus. His job was to take taxes from people.[m] He was sitting in his office. Jesus said to him, ‘Come with me and be my disciple.’ Levi stood up and he went with Jesus.
15 Then Jesus went to eat a meal at Levi's house. Many people followed Jesus and they ate there with him and with his disciples. Many of these were bad people and also men who took taxes. 16 Some teachers of God's Law who were Pharisees saw what was happening.[n] They said to Jesus' disciples, ‘He is eating with bad people and men who take taxes. That is not right.’
17 Jesus heard what these people were saying. He said to them, ‘People who are well do not need a doctor. It is people who are ill that need a doctor. Some people think that they always obey God. I did not come to help people like that. Some people know that they have done wrong things. I am asking those people to come to me for help.’
18 At this time, the disciples of John the Baptist and the disciples of the Pharisees were fasting. Some people came to Jesus and they asked him this question: ‘The disciples of John and the disciples of the Pharisees often fast for a time. So why do your disciples never do that?’[o]
19 Jesus answered them, ‘When a man marries, his friends cannot refuse to eat. They cannot fast while he is with them. 20 But there will be a time when people will take the man away from his friends. At that time his friends will fast.’[p]
21 Then Jesus said, ‘Nobody uses a piece of new cloth to mend an old coat. If he does, the new cloth will cause the old cloth to tear again. It will make a bigger hole than before. 22 And nobody pours new wine into old wineskins. If he does that, the new wine will tear the old wineskins. He will lose the wine and the wineskins will spoil. Instead, you must put new wine into new wineskins.’[q]
Jesus answers questions about the day of rest
23 On one Jewish day of rest, Jesus and his disciples were walking through some fields where wheat was growing. While they were walking along, his disciples picked some grains of wheat. 24 Some Pharisees said to Jesus, ‘Look at what your disciples are doing. They should not do that on our day of rest. It is against God's Law.’
25 Jesus replied, ‘You have certainly read about what David did one day.[r] He and the men who were with him were very hungry. They needed food to eat. 26 David went into the temple. He ate the special bread that was there. He gave some of it to his men to eat as well. This happened during the time that Abiathar was the leader of the priests. It is against God's Law for anyone except the priests to eat that special bread.’
27 Then Jesus said to the Pharisees, ‘God wanted to help people. So he made a day for them when they should rest. He did not make people so that they could keep laws about the day of rest. 28 So you should know that the Son of Man has authority over the laws about the day of rest.’
Jesus makes a man well
3 Another time, Jesus went into the Jewish meeting place. A man was there. His hand was very small and weak, so he could not use it. 2 Some Pharisees were watching Jesus carefully. They wanted to find a reason to say that Jesus was doing wrong things. It was the Jewish day of rest. So the Pharisees watched Jesus to see if he would make the man well on this day. 3 Jesus said to the man, ‘Stand here in front of everyone.’
4 Then Jesus said to the Pharisees, ‘Is it right for us to do good things on our day of rest? Or should we do bad things? Should we save a person's life? Or should we kill people?’
Nobody said anything.
5 Jesus looked round at everybody. He felt angry with them. He also felt sad because they did not want to learn. Then he said to the man, ‘Lift up your hand.’ The man lifted his hand and it became well. He could use it again. 6 The Pharisees left the meeting place immediately. They went to meet with some other people who were friends with the ruler, Herod.[s] The Pharisees talked with them about how they could kill Jesus.
Crowds follow Jesus
7 Jesus left that place and he went away to Lake Galilee with his disciples. A large crowd of people from Galilee followed them. 8 Many people also came to him from Judea, from Jerusalem and from a region of Israel called Idumea. They also came from places on the other side of the Jordan River, and from the towns called Tyre and Sidon. Many people had heard about the things that Jesus was doing. That is why all these people came to him. 9 The crowd was very large. So Jesus asked his disciples to prepare a small boat for him. They did this so that the people would not push against him. 10 Sick people were pushing to the front, because they were trying to touch him. They knew that he had made many people well. 11 Often, a person with a bad spirit saw Jesus. Then, the spirit caused the person to fall down on the ground in front of Jesus. The spirit caused that person to shout out, ‘You are the Son of God.’ 12 Jesus often had to say to the bad spirits, ‘You must not tell anyone who I am.’
Jesus chooses 12 apostles
13 Jesus went up a mountain. He chose some men and he asked them to go there with him. So they met together with him there. 14 He chose a group of 12 men. He called them his apostles.[t] He wanted them to be with him. And he would send them to teach people about God. 15 He gave these men authority to cause bad spirits to leave people. 16 These are the names of the 12 apostles:
Simon, (Jesus called him Peter).
17 James and John who were the sons of Zebedee. Jesus called them ‘Boanerges’. It means ‘men who are like thunder’.
18 Andrew,
Philip,
Bartholomew,
Matthew,[u]
Thomas,
James, who was the son of Alphaeus,
Thaddaeus,[v]
Simon the Zealot
19 and Judas Iscariot, who later gave Jesus to his enemies.
Jesus talks about Satan
20 Then Jesus went into a house. A crowd of people came together there again. There were so many people that Jesus and his disciples were not even able to eat. 21 People told his family what was happening. So they went to take him away with them. They thought that Jesus was crazy.[w]
22 Some teachers of God's Law came from Jerusalem. They said, ‘Jesus has a bad spirit called Beelzebul in him. That is Satan, the one who rules all the bad spirits. This man can send bad spirits out of people because Satan gives him authority.’[x]
23 So Jesus spoke to the teachers of God's Law. He said, ‘Come here and listen to me.’ He used stories to explain to them, ‘Satan would not fight against himself! 24 If armies in the same country start to fight each other, then they will destroy their own country. 25 And if the people in one family start to fight against each other, they will destroy their own family. 26 So Satan would not attack himself. If he did that, he would destroy his own power. That would be the end of him. 27 Nobody can easily go into the house of a strong man to rob him. To do that, he must first tie up the strong man. Then he can take away all that man's valuable things. 28 I tell you this: God can forgive all the wrong things that people do. He can also forgive people who say bad things against him. 29 But God will never forgive people who say bad things against the Holy Spirit. Those people will always be guilty of a terrible sin.’
30 Jesus said that to the teachers of God's Law, because they had said, ‘Jesus has a bad spirit in him.’
Jesus' mother and his brothers come to look for him
31 Then, Jesus' mother and his brothers arrived and they stood outside the house. They sent someone into the house with a message. They wanted Jesus to come out to speak to them. 32 A crowd of people was sitting around Jesus. Somebody said to him, ‘Look! Your mother and brothers are outside. They are looking for you.’
33 Jesus replied, ‘I will tell you who my mother and brothers really are.’
34 Then he looked at the people who were sitting around him. He said, ‘Look! Here are my mother and my brothers! 35 My brothers and sisters and my mother are the people who do what God wants.’[y]
EasyEnglish Bible Copyright © MissionAssist 2019 - Charitable Incorporated Organisation 1162807. Used by permission. All rights reserved.