Luke 3

The Ministry of John the Baptist

1 Now in the fifteenth year of the reign of Tiberius Caesar, Pontius Pilate being governor of Judea, Herod being tetrarch of Galilee, his brother Philip tetrarch of Iturea and the region of Trachonitis, and Lysanias tetrarch of Abilene,2 while Annas and Caiaphas were high priests, the word of God came to John the son of Zacharias in the wilderness.3 And he went into all the region around the Jordan, preaching a baptism of repentance for the remission of sins,4 as it is written in the book of the words of Isaiah the prophet, saying: The voice of one crying in the wilderness: Prepare the way of the Lord; Make His paths straight. 5  Every valley shall be filled And every mountain and hill brought low; The crooked places shall be made straight And the rough ways smooth;6  And all flesh shall see the salvation of God.7 Then he said to the multitudes that came out to be baptized by him, Brood of vipers! Who warned you to flee from the wrath to come?8 Therefore bear fruits worthy of repentance, and do not begin to say to yourselves, We have Abraham as our father. For I say to you that God is able to raise up children to Abraham from these stones.9 And even now the ax is laid to the root of the trees. Therefore every tree which does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire.10 So the people asked him, saying, What shall we do then?11 He answered and said to them, He who has two tunics, let him give to him who has none; and he who has food, let him do likewise.12 Then tax collectors also came to be baptized, and said to him, Teacher, what shall we do?13 And he said to them, Collect no more than what is appointed for you.14 Likewise the soldiers asked him, saying, And what shall we do? So he said to them, Do not intimidate anyone or accuse falsely, and be content with your wages.15 Now as the people were in expectation, and all reasoned in their hearts about John, whether he was the Christ or not,16 John answered, saying to all, I indeed baptize you with water; but One mightier than I is coming, whose sandal strap I am not worthy to loose. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire.17 His winnowing fan is in His hand, and He will thoroughly clean out His threshing floor, and gather the wheat into His barn; but the chaff He will burn with unquenchable fire.18 And with many other exhortations he preached to the people.19 But Herod the tetrarch, being rebuked by him concerning Herodias, his brother Philips wife, and for all the evils which Herod had done,20 also added this, above all, that he shut John up in prison.

The Baptism of Christ

21 When all the people were baptized, it came to pass that Jesus also was baptized; and while He prayed, the heaven was opened.22 And the Holy Spirit descended in bodily form like a dove upon Him, and a voice came from heaven which said, You are My beloved Son; in You I am well pleased.

The Genealogy of Christ Through Mary

23 Now Jesus Himself began His ministry at about thirty years of age, being (as was supposed) the son of Joseph, the son of Heli,24 the son of Matthat, the son of Levi, the son of Melchi, the son of Janna, the son of Joseph,25 the son of Mattathiah, the son of Amos, the son of Nahum, the son of Esli, the son of Naggai,26 the son of Maath, the son of Mattathiah, the son of Semei, the son of Joseph, the son of Judah,27 the son of Joannas, the son of Rhesa, the son of Zerubbabel, the son of Shealtiel, the son of Neri,28 the son of Melchi, the son of Addi, the son of Cosam, the son of Elmodam, the son of Er,29 the son of Jose, the son of Eliezer, the son of Jorim, the son of Matthat, the son of Levi,30 the son of Simeon, the son of Judah, the son of Joseph, the son of Jonan, the son of Eliakim,31 the son of Melea, the son of Menan, the son of Mattathah, the son of Nathan, the son of David,32  the son of Jesse, the son of Obed, the son of Boaz, the son of Salmon, the son of Nahshon,33 the son of Amminadab, the son of Ram, the son of Hezron, the son of Perez, the son of Judah,34 the son of Jacob, the son of Isaac, the son of Abraham, the son of Terah, the son of Nahor,35 the son of Serug, the son of Reu, the son of Peleg, the son of Eber, the son of Shelah,36  the son of Cainan, the son of Arphaxad, the son of Shem, the son of Noah, the son of Lamech,37 the son of Methuselah, the son of Enoch, the son of Jared, the son of Mahalalel, the son of Cainan,38 the son of Enosh, the son of Seth, the son of Adam, the son of God.

Luke 4

The Temptation of Christ

1 Then Jesus, being filled with the Holy Spirit, returned from the Jordan and was led by the Spirit into the wilderness,2 being tempted for forty days by the devil. And in those days He ate nothing, and afterward, when they had ended, He was hungry.3 And the devil said to Him, If You are the Son of God, command this stone to become bread.4 But Jesus answered him, saying, It is written, Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word of God. 5 Then the devil, taking Him up on a high mountain, showed Him all the kingdoms of the world in a moment of time.6 And the devil said to Him, All this authority I will give You, and their glory; for this has been delivered to me, and I give it to whomever I wish.7 Therefore, if You will worship before me, all will be Yours.8 And Jesus answered and said to him, Get behind Me, Satan! For it is written, You shall worship the Lord your God, and Him only you shall serve. 9 Then he brought Him to Jerusalem, set Him on the pinnacle of the temple, and said to Him, If You are the Son of God, throw Yourself down from here.10 For it is written: He shall give His angels charge over you, To keep you, 11 and, In their hands they shall bear you up, Lest you dash your foot against a stone.12 And Jesus answered and said to him, It has been said, You shall not tempt the Lord your God. 13 Now when the devil had ended every temptation, he departed from Him until an opportune time.

Acceptance Throughout Galilee

14 Then Jesus returned in the power of the Spirit to Galilee, and news of Him went out through all the surrounding region.15 And He taught in their synagogues, being glorified by all.

Rejection at Nazareth

16 So He came to Nazareth, where He had been brought up. And as His custom was, He went into the synagogue on the Sabbath day, and stood up to read.17 And He was handed the book of the prophet Isaiah. And when He had opened the book, He found the place where it was written:18 The Spirit of the Lord is upon Me, Because He has anointed Me To preach the gospel to the poor; He has sent Me to heal the brokenhearted, To proclaim liberty to the captives And recovery of sight to the blind, To set at liberty those who are oppressed;19  To proclaim the acceptable year of the Lord.20 Then He closed the book, and gave it back to the attendant and sat down. And the eyes of all who were in the synagogue were fixed on Him.21 And He began to say to them, Today this Scripture is fulfilled in your hearing.22 So all bore witness to Him, and marveled at the gracious words which proceeded out of His mouth. And they said, Is this not Josephs son?23 He said to them, You will surely say this proverb to Me, Physician, heal yourself! Whatever we have heard done in Capernaum, do also here in Your country. 24 Then He said, Assuredly, I say to you, no prophet is accepted in his own country. 25 But I tell you truly, many widows were in Israel in the days of Elijah, when the heaven was shut up three years and six months, and there was a great famine throughout all the land; 26 but to none of them was Elijah sent except to Zarephath, in the region of Sidon, to a woman who was a widow. 27 And many lepers were in Israel in the time of Elisha the prophet, and none of them was cleansed except Naaman the Syrian.28 So all those in the synagogue, when they heard these things, were filled with wrath,29 and rose up and thrust Him out of the city; and they led Him to the brow of the hill on which their city was built, that they might throw Him down over the cliff.30 Then passing through the midst of them, He went His way.

Demons are Cast Out

31 Then He went down to Capernaum, a city of Galilee, and was teaching them on the Sabbaths.32 And they were astonished at His teaching, for His word was with authority.33 Now in the synagogue there was a man who had a spirit of an unclean demon. And he cried out with a loud voice,34 saying, Let us alone! What have we to do with You, Jesus of Nazareth? Did You come to destroy us? I know who You are the Holy One of God!35 But Jesus rebuked him, saying, Be quiet, and come out of him! And when the demon had thrown him in their midst, it came out of him and did not hurt him.36 Then they were all amazed and spoke among themselves, saying, What a word this is! For with authority and power He commands the unclean spirits, and they come out.37 And the report about Him went out into every place in the surrounding region.

Peters Mother-in-Law Healed

38 Now He arose from the synagogue and entered Simons house. But Simons wifes mother was sick with a high fever, and they made request of Him concerning her.39 So He stood over her and rebuked the fever, and it left her. And immediately she arose and served them.

Jesus Ministers Throughout Galilee

40 When the sun was setting, all those who had any that were sick with various diseases brought them to Him; and He laid His hands on every one of them and healed them.41 And demons also came out of many, crying out and saying, You are the Christ, the Son of God! And He, rebuking them, did not allow them to speak, for they knew that He was the Christ.42 Now when it was day, He departed and went into a deserted place. And the crowd sought Him and came to Him, and tried to keep Him from leaving them;43 but He said to them, I must preach the kingdom of God to the other cities also, because for this purpose I have been sent.44 And He was preaching in the synagogues of Galilee.

Luke 5

The First Disciples are Called

1 So it was, as the multitude pressed about Him to hear the word of God, that He stood by the Lake of Gennesaret,2 and saw two boats standing by the lake; but the fishermen had gone from them and were washing their nets.3 Then He got into one of the boats, which was Simons, and asked him to put out a little from the land. And He sat down and taught the multitudes from the boat.4 When He had stopped speaking, He said to Simon, Launch out into the deep and let down your nets for a catch.5 But Simon answered and said to Him, Master, we have toiled all night and caught nothing; nevertheless at Your word I will let down the net.6 And when they had done this, they caught a great number of fish, and their net was breaking.7 So they signaled to their partners in the other boat to come and help them. And they came and filled both the boats, so that they began to sink.8 When Simon Peter saw it, he fell down at Jesus knees, saying, Depart from me, for I am a sinful man, O Lord!9 For he and all who were with him were astonished at the catch of fish which they had taken;10 and so also were James and John, the sons of Zebedee, who were partners with Simon. And Jesus said to Simon, Do not be afraid. From now on you will catch men.11 So when they had brought their boats to land, they forsook all and followed Him.

A Leper is Cleansed

12 And it happened when He was in a certain city, that behold, a man who was full of leprosy saw Jesus; and he fell on his face and implored Him, saying, Lord, if You are willing, You can make me clean.13 Then He put out His hand and touched him, saying, I am willing; be cleansed. Immediately the leprosy left him.14 And He charged him to tell no one, But go and show yourself to the priest, and make an offering for your cleansing, as a testimony to them, just as Moses commanded.15 However, the report went around concerning Him all the more; and great multitudes came together to hear, and to be healed by Him of their infirmities.

A Paralytic is Healed

16 So He Himself often withdrew into the wilderness and prayed.17 Now it happened on a certain day, as He was teaching, that there were Pharisees and teachers of the law sitting by, who had come out of every town of Galilee, Judea, and Jerusalem. And the power of the Lord was present to heal them.18 Then behold, men brought on a bed a man who was paralyzed, whom they sought to bring in and lay before Him.19 And when they could not find how they might bring him in, because of the crowd, they went up on the housetop and let him down with his bed through the tiling into the midst before Jesus.20 When He saw their faith, He said to him, Man, your sins are forgiven you.21 And the scribes and the Pharisees began to reason, saying, Who is this who speaks blasphemies? Who can forgive sins but God alone?22 But when Jesus perceived their thoughts, He answered and said to them, Why are you reasoning in your hearts? 23 Which is easier, to say, Your sins are forgiven you, or to say, Rise up and walk? 24 But that you may know that the Son of Man has power on earth to forgive sinsHe said to the man who was paralyzed, I say to you, arise, take up your bed, and go to your house.25 Immediately he rose up before them, took up what he had been lying on, and departed to his own house, glorifying God.26 And they were all amazed, and they glorified God and were filled with fear, saying, We have seen strange things today!

Matthew is Called

27 After these things He went out and saw a tax collector named Levi, sitting at the tax office. And He said to him, Follow Me.28 So he left all, rose up, and followed Him.

Jesus Eats with Sinners

29 Then Levi gave Him a great feast in his own house. And there were a great number of tax collectors and others who sat down with them.30 And their scribes and the Pharisees complained against His disciples, saying, Why do You eat and drink with tax collectors and sinners?31 Jesus answered and said to them, Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick. 32 I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners, to repentance.

Jesus Teaches About Fasting

33 Then they said to Him, Why do the disciples of John fast often and make prayers, and likewise those of the Pharisees, but Yours eat and drink?34 And He said to them, Can you make the friends of the bridegroom fast while the bridegroom is with them? 35 But the days will come when the bridegroom will be taken away from them; then they will fast in those days.

Parable of the Cloth and Wineskins

36 Then He spoke a parable to them: No one puts a piece from a new garment on an old one; otherwise the new makes a tear, and also the piece that was taken out of the new does not match the old. 37 And no one puts new wine into old wineskins; or else the new wine will burst the wineskins and be spilled, and the wineskins will be ruined. 38 But new wine must be put into new wineskins, and both are preserved. 39 And no one, having drunk old wine, immediately desires new; for he says, The old is better.