Read the Gospels in 40 Days
4 And Jesus, being full of the Holy Ghost, returned from the Jordan and was led by the Spirit into the wilderness,
2 and for forty days was tempted by the devil. And in those days He ate nothing, and afterward when they were ended, He hungered.
3 And the devil said unto Him, “If Thou be the Son of God, command this stone that it be made bread.”
4 And Jesus answered him, saying, “It is written: ‘Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word of God.’”
5 And the devil, taking Him up onto a high mountain, showed unto Him all the kingdoms of the world in a moment of time.
6 And the devil said unto Him, “All this power will I give Thee, and the glory of them; for this has been delivered unto me, and to whomsoever I will, I give it.
7 If Thou therefore wilt worship me, all shall be Thine.”
8 And Jesus answered and said unto him, “Get thee behind Me, Satan! For it is written: ‘Thou shalt worship the Lord thy God, and Him only shalt thou serve.’”
9 And he brought Him to Jerusalem, and set Him on a pinnacle of the temple and said unto Him, “If Thou be the Son of God, cast Thyself down from hence.
10 For it is written: ‘He shall give His angels charge over thee to keep thee,’
11 and, ‘In their hands they shall bear thee up, lest at any time thou dash thy foot against a stone.’”
12 And Jesus answering said unto him, “It is said, ‘Thou shalt not tempt the Lord thy God.’”
13 And when the devil had ended all the temptation, he departed from Him for a season.
14 And Jesus returned in the power of the Spirit into Galilee, and His fame went out through all the region round about.
15 And He taught in their synagogues, being glorified by all.
16 And He came to Nazareth where He had been brought up. And as His custom was, He went into the synagogue on the Sabbath day and stood up to read.
17 And there was delivered unto Him the book of the prophet Isaiah. And when He had opened the book, He found the place where it was written:
18 “The Spirit of the Lord is upon Me, because He hath anointed Me to preach the Gospel to the poor. He hath sent Me to heal the brokenhearted, to preach deliverance to the captives, and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty them that are bruised,
19 to preach the acceptable year of the Lord.”
20 And He closed the book, and He gave it again to the minister and sat down. And the eyes of all those who were in the synagogue were fastened on Him.
21 And He began to say unto them, “This day is this Scripture fulfilled in your ears.”
22 And all bore Him witness and wondered at the gracious words which proceeded out of His mouth. And they said, “Is not this Joseph’s son?”
23 And He said unto them, “Ye will surely say unto Me this proverb: ‘Physician, heal thyself! Whatsoever we have heard done in Capernaum, do also here in thy country.’”
24 And He said, “Verily I say unto you, no prophet is accepted in his own country.
25 But I tell you in truth, many widows were in Israel in the days of Elijah, when the heaven was shut up three years and six months, when great famine was throughout all the land.
26 But unto none of them was Elijah sent, save unto Zarephath, a city of Sidon, unto a woman that was a widow.
27 And many lepers were in Israel in the time of Elisha the prophet, and none of them was cleansed, except Naaman the Syrian.”
28 Then all those in the synagogue, when they heard these things, were filled with wrath,
29 and rose up and thrust Him out of the city; and they led Him unto the brow of a hill whereon their city was built, that they might cast Him down headlong.
30 But He, passing through the midst of them, went His way.
31 And He came down to Capernaum, a city of Galilee, and taught them on the Sabbath days.
32 And they were astonished at His doctrine, for His word was with power.
33 And in the synagogue there was a man, who had a spirit of an unclean devil, and cried out with a loud voice,
34 saying, “Let us alone! What have we to do with Thee, Thou Jesus of Nazareth? Art Thou come to destroy us? I know Thee and who Thou art — the Holy One of God!”
35 And Jesus rebuked him, saying, “Hold thy peace, and come out of him!” And when the devil had thrown him in their midst, he came out of him and hurt him not.
36 And they were all amazed, and spoke among themselves, saying, “What a word is this! For with authority and power he commandeth the unclean spirits, and they come out.”
37 And His fame went out into every place in the country round about.
38 And He arose out of the synagogue and entered into Simon’s house. And Simon’s wife’s mother was taken with a great fever, and they besought Him for her.
39 And He stood over her and rebuked the fever, and it left her. And immediately she arose and ministered unto them.
40 Now when the sun was setting, all those who had any sick with divers diseases brought them unto Him; and He laid His hands on every one of them, and healed them.
41 And devils also came out of many, crying out and saying, “Thou art Christ, the Son of God!” And He, rebuking them, suffered them not to speak; for they knew that He was Christ.
42 And when it was day, He departed and went into a desert place. And the people sought Him and came unto Him and would have stayed Him, that He should not depart from them.
43 But He said unto them, “I must preach the Kingdom of God to other cities also, for therefore am I sent.”
44 And He preached in the synagogues of Galilee.
5 And it came to pass that, as the people pressed upon Him to hear the Word of God, He stood by the Lake of Gennesaret
2 and saw two boats standing by the lake, but the fishermen were gone out of them and were washing their nets.
3 And He entered into one of the boats, which was Simon’s, and asked him to put out a little from the land. And He sat down and taught the people from the boat.
4 Now when He was through speaking, He said unto Simon, “Launch out into the deep, and let down your nets for a draft.”
5 And Simon answering said unto Him, “Master, we have toiled all the night and have taken nothing. Nevertheless, at Thy word I will let down the net.”
6 And when they had done this, they enclosed a great multitude of fishes, and their net began to break.
7 And they beckoned unto their partners, who were in the other boat, that they should come and help them. And they came and filled both the boats, so that they began to sink.
8 When Simon Peter saw it, he fell down at Jesus’ knees, saying, “Depart from me, for I am a sinful man, O Lord.”
9 For he was astonished, and all those who were with him, at the draft of the fishes which they had taken;
10 and so also were James and John, the sons of Zebedee, who were partners with Simon. And Jesus said unto Simon, “Fear not. From henceforth thou shalt catch men.”
11 And when they had brought their boats to land, they forsook all and followed Him.
12 And it came to pass when He was in a certain city, behold, a man full of leprosy, seeing Jesus, fell on his face and besought Him, saying, “Lord, if Thou wilt, Thou canst make me clean.”
13 And He put forth His hand and touched him, saying, “I will; be thou clean.” And immediately the leprosy departed from him.
14 And He charged him to tell no man, but, “Go and show thyself to the priest, and offer for thy cleansing according as Moses commanded, as a testimony unto them.”
15 But so much the more His fame spread abroad, and great multitudes came together to hear and to be healed by Him of their infirmities.
16 And He withdrew Himself into the wilderness and prayed.
17 And it came to pass on a certain day, as He was teaching, that there were Pharisees and doctors of the law sitting by, who had come from every town of Galilee and Judea and Jerusalem. And the power of the Lord was present to heal them.
18 And behold, men brought in on a bed a man who was taken with a palsy, and they sought means to bring him in and to lay him before Him.
19 And when they could not find a way to bring him in because of the multitude, they went upon the housetop, and let him down on his couch through the tiling into the midst before Jesus.
20 And when He saw their faith, He said unto him, “Man, thy sins are forgiven thee.”
21 And the scribes and the Pharisees began to reason, saying, “Who is this who speaketh blasphemies? Who can forgive sins, but God alone?”
22 But when Jesus perceived their thoughts, He answering said unto them, “What reason ye in your hearts:
23 whether it is easier to say, ‘Thy sins be forgiven thee,’ or to say, ‘Rise up and walk’?
24 But that ye may know that the Son of Man hath power upon earth to forgive sins,” He said unto the one sick with the palsy, “I say unto thee, arise and take up thy couch and go into thine house.”
25 And immediately he rose up before them, and took up that whereon he lay, and departed to his own house, glorifying God.
26 And they were all amazed, and they glorified God and were filled with fear, saying, “We have seen strange things today.”
27 And after these things He went forth and saw a publican named Levi, sitting in the customhouse, and He said unto him, “Follow Me.”
28 And he left all, rose up, and followed Him.
29 And Levi made Him a great feast in his own house, and there was a great company of publicans and of others who sat down with them.
30 But their scribes and Pharisees murmured against His disciples, saying, “Why do ye eat and drink with publicans and sinners?”
31 And Jesus answering said unto them, “They that are whole need not a physician, but they that are sick.
32 I came not to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance.”
33 And they said unto Him, “Why do the disciples of John fast often and make prayers, and likewise the disciples of the Pharisees, but thine eat and drink?”
34 And He said unto them, “Can ye make the attendants of the bridechamber fast while the bridegroom is with them?
35 But the days will come when the bridegroom shall be taken away from them, and then shall they fast in those days.”
36 And He spoke also a parable unto them: “No man putteth a piece of a new garment upon an old; otherwise, both the new maketh a rent, and the piece that was taken out of the new agreeth not with the old.
37 And no man putteth new wine into old wineskins; else the new wine will burst the wineskins and be spilled, and the wineskins shall perish.
38 But new wine must be put into new wineskins, and both are preserved.
39 No man also, having drunk old wine, straightway desireth new; for he saith, ‘The old is better.’”
6 And it came to pass on the second Sabbath after the first, that He went through the cornfields. And His disciples plucked the ears of corn and, rubbing them in their hands, ate.
2 And certain of the Pharisees said unto them, “Why do ye that which is not lawful to do on the Sabbath days?”
3 And Jesus answering them said, “Have ye not read so much as this, what David did when he himself hungered and they that were with him:
4 how he went into the house of God, and took and ate the showbread and gave also to them that were with him, which it is not lawful to eat except for the priests alone?”
5 And He said unto them, “The Son of Man is Lord also of the Sabbath.”
6 And it came to pass also on another Sabbath, that He entered into the synagogue and taught. And there was a man whose right hand was withered.
7 And the scribes and Pharisees watched Him to see whether He would heal on the Sabbath day, that they might find an accusation against Him.
8 But He knew their thoughts, and said to the man who had the withered hand, “Rise up and stand forth in the midst.” And he arose and stood forth.
9 Then said Jesus unto them, “I will ask you one thing: Is it lawful on the Sabbath days to do good, or to do evil? To save life, or to destroy it?”
10 And looking round about upon them all, He said unto the man, “Stretch forth thy hand.” And he did so, and his hand was restored whole as the other.
11 And they were filled with madness, and communed one with another what they might do to Jesus.
12 And it came to pass in those days that He went out onto a mountain to pray, and continued all night in prayer to God.
13 And when it was day, He called unto Him His disciples, and from them He chose twelve, whom also He named apostles:
14 Simon (whom He also named Peter), and Andrew his brother, James and John, Philip and Bartholomew,
15 Matthew and Thomas, James the son of Alphaeus, and Simon called the Zealot,
16 and Judas the brother of James, and Judas Iscariot who also was the traitor.
17 And He came down with them and stood on the plain with the company of His disciples and a great multitude of people out of all Judea and Jerusalem, and from the seacoast of Tyre and Sidon, who came to hear Him and to be healed of their diseases,
18 and those who were vexed with unclean spirits; and they were healed.
19 And the whole multitude sought to touch Him, for there went virtue out of Him and healed them all.
20 And He lifted up His eyes on His disciples and said, “Blessed be ye poor, for yours is the Kingdom of God.
21 Blessed are ye that hunger now, for ye shall be filled. Blessed are ye that weep now, for ye shall laugh.
22 Blessed are ye when men shall hate you, and when they shall separate you from their company, and shall reproach you and cast out your name as evil, for the Son of Man’s sake.
23 Rejoice ye in that day and leap for joy, for behold, your reward is great in Heaven; for in like manner did their fathers unto the prophets.
24 “But woe unto you that are rich, for ye have received your consolation.
25 Woe unto you that are full, for ye shall hunger. Woe unto you that laugh now, for ye shall mourn and weep.
26 Woe unto you when all men shall speak well of you, for so did their fathers to the false prophets.
27 “But I say unto you that hear: Love your enemies, do good to them that hate you.
28 Bless them that curse you, and pray for them that despitefully use you.
29 And unto him that smiteth thee on the one cheek, offer also the other; and him that taketh away thy cloak, forbid not to take thy coat also.
30 Give to every man that asketh of thee; and of him that taketh away thy goods, ask them not back.
31 And as ye would that men should do to you, do ye also to them likewise.
32 For if ye love them that love you, what thanks have ye? For sinners also love those that love them.
33 And if ye do good to them that do good to you, what thanks have ye? For sinners also do even the same.
34 And if ye lend to them from whom ye hope to receive, what thanks have ye? For sinners also lend to sinners, to receive as much again.
35 But love ye your enemies, and do good and lend, hoping for nothing in return; and your reward shall be great, and ye shall be the children of the Highest; for He is kind unto the unthankful and to the evil.
36 Be ye therefore merciful, as your Father also is merciful.
37 “Judge not, and ye shall not be judged. Condemn not, and ye shall not be condemned. Forgive, and ye shall be forgiven.
38 Give, and it shall be given unto you: good measure, pressed down and shaken together and running over, shall men give into your bosom. For with the same measure that ye mete, therewith it shall be measured to you again.”
39 And He spoke a parable unto them: “Can the blind lead the blind? Shall they not both fall into the ditch?
40 The disciple is not above his master, but every one that is perfect shall be as his master.
41 And why beholdest thou the mote that is in thy brother’s eye, but perceivest not the beam that is in thine own eye?
42 Or how canst thou say to thy brother, ‘Brother, let me pull out the mote that is in thine eye,’ when thou thyself beholdest not the beam that is in thine own eye? Thou hypocrite! Cast out first the beam out of thine own eye, and then shalt thou see clearly to pull out the mote that is in thy brother’s eye.
43 “For a good tree bringeth not forth corrupt fruit; neither doth a corrupt tree bring forth good fruit.
44 For every tree is known by his own fruit. For from thorns men do not gather figs, nor from a bramble bush gather they grapes.
45 A good man out of the good treasure of his heart bringeth forth that which is good; and an evil man out of the evil treasure of his heart bringeth forth that which is evil; for of the abundance of his heart his mouth speaketh.
46 “And why call ye Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ and do not the things which I say?
47 Whosoever cometh to Me, and heareth My sayings and doeth them, I will show you to whom he is like:
48 He is like a man who built a house and dug deep and laid the foundation on a rock; and when the flood arose, the stream beat vehemently upon that house and could not shake it, for it was founded upon a rock.
49 But he that heareth, and doeth not, is like a man that built a house without a foundation upon the earth, against which the stream beat vehemently, and immediately it fell. And the ruin of that house was great.”
Copyright © 1994 by Deuel Enterprises, Inc.