The Temptation of Jesus

Matthew 4

Then Jesus was led by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil. When he had fasted forty days and forty nights, he was famished. The tempter approached and said to him, “If you are the Son of God, command these stones to become bread.”

But he answered, “It is written, ‘A human must not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds out of the mouth of God.’”+Deut 8:3

Then the devil took him into the holy city. He had him stand on the pinnacle of the temple, and said to him, “If you are the Son of God, throw yourself down, for it is written,

‘He will command his angels concerning you,’ and, ‘On their hands they will bear you up, so that you won’t strike your foot against a stone.’”+Psa 91:11-12

Jesus said to him, “It is also written, ‘You must not test the Lord [YHWH], your God.’”+Deut 6:16

Again, the devil took him to a very high mountain and showed him all the empires of the world and their grandeur. He said to him, “I will give you all of these things, if you will fall down and worship me.”

Then Jesus said to him, “Get away from me, Satan! For it is written, ‘You are to worship the Lord [YHWH] your God, and serve only ʜɪᴍ.’” +Deut 6:13

Then the devil left him, and angels came and served him.

Jesus Begins Preaching in Galilee

Now when Jesus heard that John had been imprisoned, he withdrew to Galilee. Leaving Nazareth, he came and lived in Capernaum by the sea, in the region of Zebulun and Naphtali. This was to fulfill what was spoken through Isaiah the prophet:

“The land of Zebulun and the land of Naphtali, toward the sea, beyond the Jordan, Galilee of the ethnic groups, the people who were sitting in darkness saw a great light; to those who were sitting in the land and shadow of death, a light has dawned upon them.”+Isa 9:1-2

From that time on Jesus began to preach and say, “Y’all must repent! For the Empire of Heaven has come near.”

Jesus Calls the First Disciples

Walking by the sea of Galilee, Jesus saw two brothers, Simon who is called Peter, and Andrew his brother. They were casting a net into the sea, for they were fishermen. He said to them, “Y’all come follow me, and I will make y’all fishers for humans.”

Immediately, they left their nets and followed him. Going on from there, he saw two other brothers, James the son of Zebedee, and his brother John. They were in the boat with their father Zebedee, preparing their nets. Jesus called them, and immediately they left the boat and their father and followed him.

Jesus Heals the Sick

Jesus went about in all Galilee, teaching in their synagogues, preaching the gospel of the empire, and healing every disease and every sickness among the people. The report about him went out into all Syria. They brought to him all who were sick, afflicted with various diseases and torments, possessed with demons, epileptics, and paralytics. And he healed them. Large crowds from Galilee, Decapolis, Jerusalem, Judea, and beyond the Jordan followed him.