New Testament Plan

¹Now after the Sabbath, near dawn of the first day of the week, Mary Magdalene and the other Mary went to look at the tomb.

²And a great earthquake had occurred, for an angel of the Lord descended from heaven and came and rolled away the stone [from the opening of the tomb], and sat on it.

³The angel's appearance was like lightning, and his clothes were as white as snow.

⁴The guards shook, paralyzed with fear [at the sight] of him and became like dead men [pale and immobile].

⁵But the angel said to the women, "Do not be afraid; for I know that you are looking for Jesus who has been crucified.

⁶He is not here, for He has risen, just as He said [He would]. Come! See the place where He was lying.

⁷Then go quickly and tell His disciples that He has risen from the dead; and behold, He is going ahead of you into Galilee [as He promised]. There you will see Him; behold, I have told you."

⁸So the women left the tomb quickly with fear and great joy, and ran to tell [the good news to] the disciples.

⁹And as they went, suddenly, Jesus met them, saying, "Rejoice!" And they went to Him and took hold of His feet [in homage] and worshiped Him [as the Messiah].

¹⁰Then Jesus said to them, "Do not be afraid; go and tell My brothers to leave for Galilee, and there they will see Me [just as I promised]."

¹¹While they were on their way, some of the [Roman] guards went into the city and reported to the chief priests everything that had happened.

¹²And when the chief priests had gathered with the elders and had consulted together [to develop a plan of deception], they gave a sufficient sum of money [as a bribe] to the soldiers,

¹³and said, "You say this, 'His disciples came at night and stole Him while we were sleeping.'

¹⁴And if the governor (Pilate) hears about it, we will calm him down and keep you out of trouble."

¹⁵So they took the money [they were paid for lying] and did as they were instructed; and this [fabricated] story was widely spread among the Jews, and is to the present day.

¹⁶Now the eleven disciples went to Galilee, to the mountain which Jesus had designated.

¹⁷And when they saw Him, they worshiped Him; but some doubted [that it was really He].

¹⁸Jesus came up and said to them, "All authority (all power of absolute rule) in heaven and on earth has been given to Me.

¹⁹Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations [help the people to learn of Me, believe in Me, and obey My words], baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit,

²⁰teaching them to observe everything that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always [remaining with you perpetually—regardless of circumstance, and on every occasion], even to the end of the age."

¹The beginning of the [facts regarding the] good news of Jesus Christ, the Son of God.

²As it is written and forever remains in the [writings of the] prophet Isaiah: "Behold, I send My messenger ahead of You, Who will prepare Your way—

³A voice of one shouting in the wilderness, 'Prepare the way of the Lord, Make His paths straight!'"

⁴John the Baptist appeared in the wilderness preaching a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins [that is, requiring a change of one's old way of thinking, turning away from sin and seeking God and His righteousness].

⁵And all the country of Judea and all the people of Jerusalem were continually going out to him; and they were being baptized by him in the Jordan River, as they confessed their sins.

⁶John wore clothing made of camel's hair and had a [wide] leather band around his waist, and he ate locusts and wild honey.

⁷And he was preaching, saying, "After me comes He who is mightier [more powerful, more noble] than I, and I am not worthy to stoop down and untie the straps of His sandals [even as His slave].

⁸As for me, I baptized you [who came to me] with water [only]; but He will baptize you [who truly repent] with the Holy Spirit."

⁹In those days Jesus came from Nazareth of Galilee and was baptized by John in the Jordan.

¹⁰Immediately coming up out of the water, he (John) saw the heavens torn open, and the Spirit like a dove descending on Him (Jesus);

¹¹and a voice came out of heaven saying: "You are My beloved Son, in You I am well-pleased and delighted!"

¹²Immediately the [Holy] Spirit forced Him out into the wilderness.

¹³He was in the wilderness forty days being tempted [to do evil] by Satan; and He was with the wild animals, and the angels ministered continually to Him.

¹⁴Now after John [the Baptist] was arrested and taken into custody, Jesus went to Galilee, preaching the good news of [the kingdom of] God,

¹⁵and saying, "The [appointed period of] time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand; repent [change your inner self—your old way of thinking, regret past sins, live your life in a way that proves repentance; seek God's purpose for your life] and believe [with a deep, abiding trust] in the good news [regarding salvation]."

¹⁶As Jesus was walking by the shore of the Sea of Galilee, He saw Simon [Peter] and Simon's brother, Andrew, casting a net in the sea; for they were fishermen.

¹⁷And Jesus said to them, " Follow Me [as My disciples, accepting Me as your Master and Teacher and walking the same path of life that I walk], and I will make you fishers of men."

¹⁸Immediately they left their nets and followed Him [becoming His disciples, believing and trusting in Him and following His example].

¹⁹Going on a little farther, He saw James the son of Zebedee, and his brother John, who were also in the boat mending and cleaning the nets.

²⁰Immediately Jesus called to them; and they left their father Zebedee in the boat with the hired workers, and went away to follow Him [becoming His disciples, believing and trusting in Him and following His example].

²¹They went into Capernaum, and immediately on the Sabbath Jesus went into the synagogue and began to teach.

²²They were completely amazed at His teaching; because He was teaching them as one having [God-given] authority, and not as the scribes.

²³Just then there was a man in their synagogue with an unclean spirit; and he cried out [terribly from the depths of his throat],

²⁴saying, " What business do You have with us, Jesus of Nazareth? Have You come to destroy us? I know who You are—the Holy One of God!"

²⁵Jesus rebuked him, saying, "Be quiet (muzzled, silenced), and come out of him!"

²⁶The unclean spirit threw the man into convulsions, and screeching with a loud voice, came out of him.

²⁷They were all so amazed that they debated and questioned each other, saying, "What is this? A new teaching with authority! He commands even the unclean spirits (demons), and they obey Him."

²⁸Immediately the news about Him spread everywhere throughout the district surrounding Galilee.

²⁹And immediately they left the synagogue and went into the house of Simon [Peter] and Andrew, accompanied by James and John.

³⁰Now Simon's mother-in-law was lying sick with a fever; and immediately they told Him about her.

³¹Jesus went to her, and taking her by the hand, raised her up; and the fever left her, and she began to serve them [as her guests].

³²Now when evening came, after the sun had set [and the Sabbath Day had ended, in a steady stream] they were bringing to Him all who were sick and those who were under the power of demons,

³³until [it seemed as though] the whole city had gathered together at the door.

³⁴And Jesus healed many who were suffering with various diseases; and He drove out many demons, but would not allow the demons to speak, because they knew Him [recognizing Him as the Son of God].

³⁵Early in the morning, while it was still dark, Jesus got up, left [the house], and went out to a secluded place, and was praying there.

³⁶Simon [Peter] and his companions searched [everywhere, looking anxiously] for Him,

³⁷and they found Him and said, "Everybody is looking for You!"

³⁸He replied, "Let us go on to the neighboring towns, so I may preach there also; that is why I came [from the Father]."

³⁹So He went throughout Galilee, preaching [the gospel] in their synagogues and casting out demons.

⁴⁰And a leper came to Him, begging Him and falling on his knees before Him, saying, "If You are willing, You are able to make me clean."

⁴¹Moved with compassion [for his suffering], Jesus reached out with His hand and touched him, and said to him, "I am willing; be cleansed."

⁴²The leprosy left him immediately and he was cleansed [completely healed and restored to health].

⁴³And Jesus [deeply moved] admonished him sternly and sent him away immediately,

⁴⁴saying to him, "See that you tell no one anything [about this]; but go, show yourself to the priest and offer for your purification what Moses commanded, as proof to them [that you are really healed]."

⁴⁵But he went out and began to proclaim it freely and to spread the news [of his healing], to such an extent that Jesus could no longer openly enter a city [where He was known], but stayed out in the unpopulated places; yet people were still coming to Him from everywhere.

¹Jesus returned to Capernaum, and a few days later the news went out that He was at home.

²So many people gathered together that there was no longer room [for them], not even near the door; and Jesus was discussing with them the word [of God].

³Then they came, bringing to Him a paralyzed man, who was being carried by four men.

⁴When they were unable to get to Him because of the crowd, they removed the roof above Jesus; and when they had dug out an opening, they let down the mat on which the paralyzed man was lying.

⁵When Jesus saw their [active] faith [springing from confidence in Him], He said to the paralyzed man, "Son, your sins are forgiven."

⁶But some of the scribes were sitting there debating in their hearts [the implication of what He had said],

⁷"Why does this man talk that way? He is blaspheming; who can forgive sins [remove guilt, nullify sin's penalty, and assign righteousness] except God alone?"

⁸Immediately Jesus, being fully aware [of their hostility] and knowing in His spirit that they were thinking this, said to them, "Why are you debating and arguing about these things in your hearts?

⁹Which is easier, to say to the paralyzed man, 'Your sins are forgiven'; or to say, 'Get up, and pick up your mat and walk'?

¹⁰But so that you may know that the Son of Man has the authority and power on earth to forgive sins"—He said to the paralyzed man,

¹¹"I say to you, get up, pick up your mat and go home."

¹²And he got up and immediately picked up the mat and went out before them all, so that they all were astonished and they glorified and praised God, saying, "We have never seen anything like this!"

¹³Jesus went out again along the [Galilean] seashore; and all the people were coming to Him, and He was teaching them.

¹⁴As He was passing by, He saw Levi (Matthew) the son of Alphaeus sitting in the tax collector's booth, and He said to him, "Follow Me [as My disciple, accepting Me as your Master and Teacher and walking the same path of life that I walk]." And he got up and followed Him [becoming His disciple, believing and trusting in Him and following His example].

¹⁵And it happened that Jesus was reclining at the table in Levi's house, and many tax collectors and sinners [including non-observant Jews] were eating with Him and His disciples; for there were many of them and they were following Him.

¹⁶When the scribes [belonging to the sect] of the Pharisees saw that Jesus was eating with the sinners [including non-observant Jews] and tax collectors, they asked His disciples, "Why does He eat and drink with tax collectors and sinners?"

¹⁷When Jesus heard this, He said to them, "Those who are healthy have no need of a physician, but [only] those who are sick; I did not come to call the righteous, but sinners [who recognize their sin and humbly seek forgiveness]."

¹⁸Now John's disciples and the Pharisees were fasting [as a ritual]; and they came and asked Jesus, "Why are John's disciples and the disciples of the Pharisees fasting, but Your disciples are not doing so?"

¹⁹Jesus answered, "The attendants of the bridegroom cannot fast while the bridegroom is [still] with them, can they? As long as they have the bridegroom with them, they cannot fast.

²⁰But the days will come when the bridegroom is [forcefully] taken away from them, and they will fast at that time.

²¹"No one sews a patch of unshrunk (new) cloth on an old garment; otherwise the patch pulls away from it, the new from the old, and the tear becomes worse.

²²No one puts new wine into old wineskins; otherwise the [fermenting] wine will [expand and] burst the skins, and the wine is lost as well as the wineskins. But new wine must be put into new wineskins."

²³One Sabbath He was walking along [with His disciples] through the grainfields, and as they went along, His disciples began picking the heads of grain.

²⁴The Pharisees said to Him, "Look, why are they doing what is unlawful on the Sabbath?"

²⁵Jesus said to them, "Have you never read [in the Scriptures] what David did when he was in need and was hungry, he and his companions;

²⁶how he went into the house of God in the time of Abiathar the high priest, and ate the sacred bread, which is not lawful for anyone but the priests to eat, and how he also gave it to the men who were with him?"

²⁷Jesus said to them, "The Sabbath was made for man, not man for the Sabbath.

²⁸So the Son of Man is Lord even of the Sabbath [and He has authority over it]."