Dual PanelJohn the Baptist and Jesus
1THE beginning of the gospel of Jesus Christ the Son of God.
2IN the prophet Isaiah it stands written: I am sending my herald ahead of you; he will prepare your way.
3A voice cries in the wilderness, “Prepare the way for the Lord; clear a straight path for him.”
4John the Baptist appeared in the wilderness proclaiming a baptism in token of repentance, for the forgiveness of sins;
5and everyone flocked to him from the countryside of Judaea and the city of Jerusalem, and they were baptized by him in the river Jordan, confessing their sins.
6John was dressed in a rough coat of camel's hair, with a leather belt round his waist, and he fed on locusts and wild honey.
7He proclaimed: “After me comes one mightier than I am, whose sandals I am not worthy to stoop down and unfasten.
8I have baptized you with water; he will baptize you with the Holy Spirit.”
9It was at this time that Jesus came from Nazareth in Galilee and was baptized in the Jordan by John.
10As he was coming up out of the water, he saw the heavens break open and the Spirit descend on him, like a dove.
11And a voice came from heaven: “You are my beloved Son; in you I take delight.”
12At once the Spirit drove him out into the wilderness,
13and there he remained for forty days tempted by Satan. He was among the wild beasts; and angels attended to his needs.
Proclaiming the kingdom
14AFTER John had been arrested, Jesus came into Galilee proclaiming the gospel of God:
15“The time has arrived; the kingdom of God is upon you. Repent, and believe the gospel.”
16Jesus was walking by the sea of Galilee when he saw Simon and his brother Andrew at work with casting-nets in the lake; for they were fishermen.
17Jesus said to them, “Come, follow me, and I will make you fishers of men.”
18At once they left their nets and followed him.
19Going a little farther, he saw James son of Zebedee and his brother John in a boat mending their nets.
20At once he called them; and they left their father Zebedee in the boat with the hired men and followed him.
21They came to Capernaum, and on the sabbath he went to the synagogue and began to teach.
22The people were amazed at his teaching, for, unlike the scribes, he taught with a note of authority.
23Now there was a man in their synagogue possessed by an unclean spirit. He shrieked at him:
24“What do you want with us, Jesus of Nazareth? Have you come to destroy us? I know who you are -- the Holy One of God.”
25Jesus rebuked him: “Be silent”, he said, “and come out of him.”
26The unclean spirit threw the man into convulsions and with a loud cry left him.
27They were all amazed and began to ask one another, “What is this? A new kind of teaching! He speaks with authority. When he gives orders, even the unclean spirits obey.”
28His fame soon spread far and wide throughout Galilee.
29On leaving the synagogue, they went straight to the house of Simon and Andrew; and James and John went with them.
30Simon's mother-in-law was in bed with a fever. As soon as they told him about her,
31Jesus went and took hold of her hand, and raised her to her feet. The fever left her, and she attended to their needs.
32That evening after sunset they brought to him all who were ill or possessed by demons;
33and the whole town was there, gathered at the door.
34He healed many who suffered from various diseases, and drove out many demons. He would not let the demons speak, because they knew who he was.
35Very early next morning he got up and went out. He went away to a remote spot and remained there in prayer.
36But Simon and his companions went in search of him,
37and when they found him, they said, “Everybody is looking for you.”
38He answered, “Let us move on to the neighbouring towns, so that I can proclaim my message there as well, for that is what I came out to do.”
39So he went through the whole of Galilee, preaching in their synagogues and driving out demons.
40On one occasion he was approached by a leper, who knelt before him and begged for help. “If only you will,” said the man, “you can make me clean.”
41Jesus was moved to anger; he stretched out his hand, touched him, and said, “I will; be clean.”
42The leprosy left him immediately, and he was clean.
43Then he dismissed him with this stern warning:
44“See that you tell nobody, but go and show yourself to the priest, and make the offering laid down by Moses for your cleansing; that will certify the cure.”
45But the man went away and made the whole story public, spreading it far and wide, until Jesus could no longer show himself in any town. He stayed outside in remote places; yet people kept coming to him from all quarters.