Matthew 2

Wise Men Come to Visit Jesus

1 Jesus was born in the town of Bethlehem in Judea during the time when Herod was king. When Jesus was born, some wise men from the east came to Jerusalem.

2 They asked, “Where is the baby who was born to be the king of the Jews? We saw his star in the east and have come to worship him.”
3 When King Herod heard this, he was troubled, as were all the people in Jerusalem.4 Herod called a meeting of all the leading priests and teachers of the law and asked them where the Christ would be born.

5 They answered, “In the town of Bethlehem in Judea. The prophet wrote about this in the Scriptures:

6 ‘But you, Bethlehem, in the land of Judah, are not just an insignificant village in Judah.
A ruler will come from you who will be like a shepherd for my people Israel.’ ” t
7 Then Herod had a secret meeting with the wise men and learned from them the exact time they first saw the star.

8 He sent the wise men to Bethlehem, saying, “Look carefully for the child. When you find him, come tell me so I can worship him too.”
9 After the wise men heard the king, they left. The star that they had seen in the east went before them until it stopped above the place where the child was.10 When the wise men saw the star, they were filled with joy.11 They came to the house where the child was and saw him with his mother, Mary, and they bowed down and worshiped him. They opened their gifts and gave him treasures of gold, frankincense, and myrrh.

12 But God warned the wise men in a dream not to go back to Herod, so they returned to their own country by a different way.

Jesus’ Parents Take Him to Egypt

13 After they left, an angel of the Lord came to Joseph in a dream and said, “Get up! Take the child and his mother and escape to Egypt, because Herod is starting to look for the child so he can kill him. Stay in Egypt until I tell you to return.”
14 So Joseph got up and left for Egypt during the night with the child and his mother.15 And Joseph stayed in Egypt until Herod died. This happened to bring about what the Lord had said through the prophet: “I called my son out of Egypt.” 

Herod Kills the Baby Boys

16 When Herod saw that the wise men had tricked him, he was furious. So he gave an order to kill all the baby boys in Bethlehem and in the surrounding area who were two years old or younger. This was in keeping with the time he learned from the wise men.

17 So what God had said through the prophet Jeremiah came true:

18 “A voice was heard in Ramah of painful crying and deep sadness:
Rachel crying for her children. She refused to be comforted, because her children are dead.” t

Joseph and Mary Return

19 After Herod died, an angel of the Lord spoke to Joseph in a dream while he was in Egypt.

20 The angel said, “Get up! Take the child and his mother and go to the land of Israel, because the people who were trying to kill the child are now dead.”
21 So Joseph took the child and his mother and went to Israel.22 But he heard that Archelaus was now king in Judea since his father Herod had died. So Joseph was afraid to go there. After being warned in a dream, he went to the area of Galilee,23 to a town called Nazareth, and lived there. And so what God had said through the prophets came true: “He will be called a Nazarene.” 

Matthew 3

The Work of John the Baptist

1 About that time John the Baptist began preaching in the desert area of Judea.2 John said, “Change your hearts and lives because the kingdom of heaven is near.”

3 John the Baptist is the one Isaiah the prophet was talking about when he said:
“This is a voice of one who calls out in the desert:
‘Prepare the way for the Lord. Make the road straight for him.’ ” t
4 John’s clothes were made from camel’s hair, and he wore a leather belt around his waist. For food, he ate locusts and wild honey.5 Many people came from Jerusalem and Judea and all the area around the Jordan River to hear John.

6 They confessed their sins, and he baptized them in the Jordan River.
7 Many of the Pharisees and Sadducees came to the place where John was baptizing people. When John saw them, he said, “You are snakes! Who warned you to run away from God’s coming punishment?8 Do the things that show you really have changed your hearts and lives.9 And don’t think you can say to yourselves, ‘Abraham is our father.’ I tell you that God could make children for Abraham from these rocks.10 The ax is now ready to cut down the trees, and every tree that does not produce good fruit will be cut down and thrown into the fire. 11 “I baptize you with water to show that your hearts and lives have changed. But there is one coming after me who is greater than I am, whose sandals I am not good enough to carry. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire.12 He will come ready to clean the grain, separating the good grain from the chaff. He will put the good part of the grain into his barn, but he will burn the chaff with a fire that cannot be put out.” 

Jesus Is Baptized by John

13 At that time Jesus came from Galilee to the Jordan River and wanted John to baptize him.

14 But John tried to stop him, saying, “Why do you come to me to be baptized? I need to be baptized by you!”

15 Jesus answered, “Let it be this way for now. We should do all things that are God’s will.” So John agreed to baptize Jesus.
16 As soon as Jesus was baptized, he came up out of the water. Then heaven opened, and he saw God’s Spirit coming down on him like a dove.17 And a voice from heaven said, “This is my Son, whom I love, and I am very pleased with him.”

Matthew 4

The Temptation of Jesus

1 Then the Spirit led Jesus into the desert to be tempted by the devil.2 Jesus fasted for forty days and nights. After this, he was very hungry.

3 The devil came to Jesus to tempt him, saying, “If you are the Son of God, tell these rocks to become bread.”
4 Jesus answered, “It is written in the Scriptures, ‘A person lives not on bread alone, but by everything God says.’ ” 5 Then the devil led Jesus to the holy city of Jerusalem and put him on a high place of the Temple.

6 The devil said, “If you are the Son of God, jump down, because it is written in the Scriptures:
‘He has put his angels in charge of you. They will catch you in their hands
so that you will not hit your foot on a rock.’ ” t
7 Jesus answered him, “It also says in the Scriptures, ‘Do not test the Lord your God.’ ” 8 Then the devil led Jesus to the top of a very high mountain and showed him all the kingdoms of the world and all their splendor.

9 The devil said, “If you will bow down and worship me, I will give you all these things.”
10 Jesus said to the devil, “Go away from me, Satan! It is written in the Scriptures, ‘You must worship the Lord your God and serve only him.’ ” 

11 So the devil left Jesus, and angels came and took care of him.

Jesus Begins Work in Galilee

12 When Jesus heard that John had been put in prison, he went back to Galilee.13 He left Nazareth and went to live in Capernaum, a town near Lake Galilee, in the area near Zebulun and Naphtali.

14 Jesus did this to bring about what the prophet Isaiah had said:

15 “Land of Zebulun and land of Naphtali along the sea,
beyond the Jordan River. This is Galilee where the non-Jewish people live.

16 These people who live in darkness will see a great light.
They live in a place covered with the shadows of death, but a light will shine on them.” t

Jesus Chooses Some Followers

17 From that time Jesus began to preach, saying, “Change your hearts and lives, because the kingdom of heaven is near.”
18 As Jesus was walking by Lake Galilee, he saw two brothers, Simon (called Peter) and his brother Andrew. They were throwing a net into the lake because they were fishermen.19 Jesus said, “Come follow me, and I will make you fish for people.”

20 So Simon and Andrew immediately left their nets and followed him.
21 As Jesus continued walking by Lake Galilee, he saw two other brothers, James and John, the sons of Zebedee. They were in a boat with their father Zebedee, mending their nets. Jesus told them to come with him.

22 Immediately they left the boat and their father, and they followed Jesus.

Jesus Teaches and Heals People

23 Jesus went everywhere in Galilee, teaching in the synagogues, preaching the Good News about the kingdom of heaven, and healing all the people’s diseases and sicknesses.24 The news about Jesus spread all over Syria, and people brought all the sick to him. They were suffering from different kinds of diseases. Some were in great pain, some had demons, some were epileptics, 25 Many people from Galilee, the Ten Towns,