Mark 1

²A long time before Jesus came, God's prophets wrote about a messenger who would come to get people ready for Jesus. God kept His promise.

³God said a voice would cry out in the wilderness: 'Get ready! Make a straight path — the Lord is coming!'

⁴John the Baptist was in the wilderness, calling people to turn away from their sins and be baptised — washed clean — so their sins could be forgiven.

⁵People came from all over Judea and Jerusalem to hear John. They were baptised in the River Jordan, telling God about their sins.

⁶John was not rich or fancy. He wore rough camel-hair clothes and a leather belt, and he ate locusts and wild honey out in the wilderness.

⁷John preached: 'Someone is coming who is so much greater than me — I am not even worthy to kneel down and untie His sandals.'

⁸John said: 'I baptise you with water, but the One coming after me will baptise you with the Holy Spirit — something far greater.'

⁹Then Jesus came from Nazareth in Galilee and was baptised by John in the River Jordan.

¹⁰As soon as Jesus came up out of the water, He saw the sky open up and the Holy Spirit come down on Him like a dove.

¹¹A voice came from heaven and said: 'You are my beloved Son. I am so pleased with You.'

¹²Right away, the Holy Spirit led Jesus out into the wilderness.

¹³Jesus spent forty days in the wilderness being tempted by Satan. Wild animals were around Him — but angels looked after Him.

¹⁴After John was put in prison, Jesus came to Galilee and began preaching the good news — the good news of God's kingdom.

¹⁵Jesus said: 'The time has come! God's kingdom is here right now. Turn away from sin and believe the good news!'

¹⁶As Jesus walked along the Sea of Galilee, He saw two brothers — Simon and Andrew — throwing their fishing net into the water. They were fishermen.

¹⁷Jesus said to them: 'Follow Me, and I will make you fishers of men — people who bring others to God.'

¹⁸Immediately, Simon and Andrew left their nets and followed Jesus.

¹⁹A little further along, Jesus saw two more brothers — James and John, the sons of Zebedee. They were in their boat, fixing their nets.

²⁰Jesus called James and John right away. They left their father Zebedee in the boat with the hired workers — and they went with Jesus.

²¹Jesus and His disciples went to Capernaum. On the Sabbath day, Jesus went into the synagogue — the Jewish place of worship — and began to teach.

²²The people were amazed at Jesus' teaching. He taught like someone who truly had authority — not like the scribes who always quoted other people.

²³There was a man in the synagogue who was controlled by an evil spirit. The evil spirit cried out.

²⁴The evil spirit shouted: 'Leave us alone! What do You want with us, Jesus of Nazareth? Have You come to destroy us? I know who You are — You are the Holy One of God!'

²⁵Jesus commanded firmly: 'Be quiet and come out of him!' — and the evil spirit had to obey.

²⁶The evil spirit threw the man into a convulsion and cried out loudly — then it came out of him.

²⁷Everyone was amazed and started asking each other: 'What is this? What kind of new teaching is this? He commands even evil spirits — and they obey Him!'

²⁸And right away, news about Jesus spread through all of Galilee and the surrounding area.

²⁹Right after the synagogue, Jesus went with Simon, Andrew, James, and John to Simon and Andrew's house.

³⁰Simon's mother-in-law was lying in bed with a high fever. As soon as they arrived, they told Jesus about her.

³¹Jesus went to her, took her by the hand, and helped her up. The fever left her immediately — and she began serving everyone.

³²That evening when the sun went down, people brought all the sick and those controlled by evil spirits to Jesus.

³³The whole city gathered at the door of the house where Jesus was.

³⁴Jesus healed many people with all kinds of diseases and drove out many evil spirits. He did not let the evil spirits speak because they knew who He was.

³⁵Very early in the morning, long before daylight, Jesus got up and went to a quiet, lonely place. There He prayed.

³⁶Simon and the other disciples went looking for Jesus.

³⁷When they found Him, they said: 'Everyone is looking for You!'

³⁸Jesus said: 'Let's go to the other towns so I can preach there too — that is why I came.'

³⁹Jesus travelled through all of Galilee, preaching in the synagogues and driving out evil spirits.

⁴⁰A man with leprosy came to Jesus, knelt down in front of Him, and said: 'If You are willing, You can make me clean.'

⁴¹Jesus was filled with compassion. He reached out and touched the man and said: 'I am willing. Be clean!'

⁴²As soon as Jesus spoke, the leprosy was gone. The man was completely clean.

⁴³Jesus gave him a firm instruction and sent him away right away.

⁴⁴Jesus told him: 'Don't tell anyone yet. Go to the priest and offer what Moses commanded — as a proof that you have been healed.'

⁴⁵But the man went out and told everyone. He spread the news so widely that Jesus could not go into any city without being surrounded by crowds — so He stayed in the open places. And people came to Him from everywhere.