1: The good news of Jesus Christ--the Message!-begins here,
2: following to the letter the scroll of the prophet Isaiah. Watch closely: I'm sending my preacher ahead of you; He'll make the road smooth for you.
3: Thunder in the desert! Prepare for God's arrival! Make the road smooth and straight!
4: John the Baptizer appeared in the wild, preaching a baptism of life-change that leads to forgiveness of sins.
5: People thronged to him from Judea and Jerusalem and, as they confessed their sins, were baptized by him in the Jordan River into a changed life.
6: John wore a camel-hair habit, tied at the waist with a leather belt. He ate locusts and wild field honey.
7: As he preached he said, "The real action comes next: The star in this drama, to whom I'm a mere stagehand, will change your life.
8: I'm baptizing you here in the river, turning your old life in for a kingdom life. His baptism--a holy baptism by the Holy Spirit--will change you from the inside out."
9: At this time, Jesus came from Nazareth in Galilee and was baptized by John in the Jordan.
10: The moment he came out of the water, he saw the sky split open and God's Spirit, looking like a dove, come down on him.
11: Along with the Spirit, a voice: "You are my Son, chosen and marked by my love, pride of my life."
12: At once, this same Spirit pushed Jesus out into the wild.
13: For forty wilderness days and nights he was tested by Satan. Wild animals were his companions, and angels took care of him.
14: After John was arrested, Jesus went to Galilee preaching the Message of God:
15: "Time's up! God's kingdom is here. Change your life and believe the Message."
16: Passing along the beach of Lake Galilee, he saw Simon and his brother Andrew net-fishing. Fishing was their regular work.
17: Jesus said to them, "Come with me. I'll make a new kind of fisherman out of you. I'll show you how to catch men and women instead of perch and bass."
18: They didn't ask questions. They dropped their nets and followed.
19: A dozen yards or so down the beach, he saw the brothers James and John, Zebedee's sons. They were in the boat, mending their fishnets.
20: Right off, he made the same offer. Immediately, they left their father Zebedee, the boat, and the hired hands, and followed.
21: Then they entered Capernaum. When the Sabbath arrived, Jesus lost no time in getting to the meeting place. He spent the day there teaching.
22: They were surprised at his teaching--so forthright, so confident--not quibbling and quoting like the religion scholars.
23: Suddenly, while still in the meeting place, he was interrupted by a man who was deeply disturbed and yelling out,
24: "What business do you have here with us, Jesus? Nazarene! I know what you're up to! You're the Holy One of God, and you've come to destroy us!"
25: Jesus shut him up: "Quiet! Get out of him!"
26: The afflicting spirit threw the man into spasms, protesting loudly--and got out.
27: Everyone there was incredulous, buzzing with curiosity. "What's going on here? A new teaching that does what it says? He shuts up defiling, demonic spirits and sends them packing!"
28: News of this traveled fast and was soon all over Galilee.
29: Directly on leaving the meeting place, they came to Simon and Andrew's house, accompanied by James and John.
30: Simon's mother-in-law was sick in bed, burning up with fever. They told Jesus.
31: He went to her, took her hand, and raised her up. No sooner had the fever left than she was up fixing dinner for them.
32: That evening, after the sun was down, they brought sick and evil-afflicted people to him,
33: the whole city lined up at his door!
34: He cured their sick bodies and tormented spirits. Because the demons knew his true identity, he didn't let them say a word.
35: While it was still night, way before dawn, he got up and went out to a secluded spot and prayed.
36: Simon and those with him went looking for him.
37: They found him and said, "Everybody's looking for you."
38: Jesus said, "Let's go to the rest of the villages so I can preach there also. This is why I've come."
39: He went to their meeting places all through Galilee, preaching and throwing out the demons.
40: A leper came to him, begging on his knees, "If you want to, you can cleanse me."
41: Deeply moved, Jesus put out his hand, touched him, and said, "I want to. Be clean."
42: Then and there the leprosy was gone, his skin smooth and healthy.
43: Jesus dismissed him with strict orders:
44: "Say nothing to anyone. Take the offering for cleansing that Moses prescribed and present yourself to the priest. This will validate your healing to the people."
45: But as soon as the man was out of earshot, he told everyone he met what had happened, spreading the news all over town. So Jesus kept to out-of-the-way places, no longer able to move freely in and out of the city. But people found him, and came from all over.