But Jesus answered him: "It is said

'Thou shalt not tempt the Lord thy God."

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When he had tried every kind of temptation, the Devil left 13 Jesus, till another opportunity.

Jesus begins

III. THE WORK IN GALILEE.

Moved by the power of the Spirit, Jesus returned 14 his Work. to Galilee. Reports about him spread through all that neighbourhood; and he began to teach in their Syna- 15 gogues, and was honoured by every one.

Jesus

Coming to Nazareth, where he had been brought | 16 teaches at up, Jesus, as was his custom, went on the Nazareth. Sabbath into the Synagogue, and stood up to read the Scriptures. The book given him was that of the 17 Prophet Isaiah; and Jesus opened the book and found the place where it says

'The Spirit of the Lord is upon me,

For he has consecrated me to bring Good News to the poor, He has sent me to proclaim release to captives and restoration of sight to the blind,

To set the oppressed at liberty,

To proclaim the accepted year of the Lord.'

Then, closing the book and returning it to the attendant, he sat down. The eyes of all in the Synagogue were fixed upon him, and Jesus began:

"This very day this passage has been fulfilled in your hearing.'

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20

21

All who were present spoke well of him, and were astonished 22 at the beautiful words that fell from his lips.

"Is not he Joseph's son?" they asked.

"Doubtless," said Jesus, "you will remind me of the saying- 23 'Doctor, cure yourself;' and you will say 'Do here in your own country all that we have heard has been done at Capernaum.' I tell you," he continued, "that no Prophet is accept- 24 able in his own country. There were, doubtless, many widows 25 in Israel in Elijah's days, when the heavens were closed for three years and six months, and a severe famine prevailed throughout the country; and yet it was not to one of them that 26 Elijah was sent, but to a widow at Zarephath in Sidonia. And there were many lepers in Israel in the time of the 27 12 Deut. 6. 16. 18-19 Isa. 61. 1-2. 261 Kings 17. 9.

Prophet Elisha, yet it was not one of them who was made clean, but Naaman the Syrian."

All the people in the Synagogue, as they listened to this, 28 became enraged. Starting up, they drove Jesus out of the 29 town, and led him to the brow of the hill on which their town stood, intending to hurl him down. But he passed through 30 the middle of the crowd and went on his way.

Cure of

Then Jesus went down to Capernaum, a city 31 a possessed in Galilee. On the Sabbath he taught.

Man. the people. They were amazed at his teaching, 32 because his words were spoken with authority. In the Syna- 33 gogue there was a man with the spirit of a foul demon in him, who called out loudly:

Stop! What do you want with us, Jesus of Nazareth? 34 Have you come to destroy us? I know who you are--the Holy One of God!"

But Jesus rebuked the demon.

"Be silent! Come out from him," he said.

35

The demon flung the man down in the middle of the people, and then came out from him, without causing him further harm. And they were all lost in amazement, and kept saying 36 to one another:

"What words are these? For he gives his commands to the foul spirits with a marvellous authority, and they come out. And rumours about Jesus travelled through every place in the 37 neighbourhood.

Cure

of Peter's

On leaving the Synagogue, Jesus went into 38 Simon's house. Now Simon's mother-in-law was Mother-in-law suffering from a severe attack of fever, and they and of many asked Jesus to cure her. Bending over her, he 39 others. rebuked the fever; the fever left her, and she immediately got up and began to wait upon them. At sunset, all who had friends suffering from various 40 diseases took them to Jesus; and he placed his hands upon every one of them and cured them. And even demons came out from many people, screaming 'You are the Son of God." Jesus rebuked them, and would not allow them to speak, because they knew that he was the Christ.

Jesus retires

41

42

At daybreak, Jesus went out and walked to a to a lonely spot. But crowds of people began to look lonely Place. for him; and they came to where he was and tried to detain him and prevent his leaving them. Jesus, 43 however, said to them:

"I must take the Good News of the Kingdom of God to the other towns also, for that was why I was sent."

And he continued to make his proclamation in the Synagogues 44 of Judaea.

34 Ps. 16. 10.

The

Once, when the people were pressing round 1 5 great Catch Jesus as they listened to God's Message, he of Fish. happened to be standing by the shore of the Lake of Gennesaret, and saw two boats close to the shore. The 2 fishermen had gone away from them and were washing the nets. So, getting into one of the boats, which belonged to 3 Simon, Jesus asked him to push off a little way from the shore, and then sat down and taught the people from the boat. When he had finished speaking, he said to Simon :

"Push off into deep water, and all throw out your nets for a haul."

4

"We have been hard at work all night, Sir," answered 5 Simon, "and have not caught anything, but, at your bidding, I will throw out the nets."

They did so, and enclosed such a great shoal of fish that their 6 nets began to break. So they signalled to their partners in 7 the other boat to come and help them; and they came and filled both the boats so full of fish that they were almost sinking. When Simon Peter saw this, he threw himself down at 8 Jesus' knees, exclaiming :

'Master, leave me, for I am a sinful man!"

For he and all who were with him were lost in amaze- 9 ment at the haul of fish which they had made; and so, too, were James and John, Zebediah's sons, who were Simon's partners.

"Do not be afraid," Jesus said to Simon; "from to-day you shall catch men."

10

And, when they had brought their boats to shore, they left II everything, and followed him.

Cure

On one occasion Jesus was staying in a town, of a Leper. When he saw a man who was covered with leprosy. When the leper saw Jesus, he threw himself on his face and implored his help :

66

Master, if only you are willing, you are able to make me

clean."

12

Stretching out his hand, Jesus touched him, saying as he did 13

So:

"I am willing; become clean." Instantly the leprosy left the man; and then Jesus impressed 14 upon him that he was not to say a word to any one, "but," he added, "set out and show yourself to the Priest, and make the offerings for your cleansing, in the manner directed by Moses, as evidence of your cure. However, the story about 15 Jesus spread all the more, and great crowds came together to listen to him, and to be cured of their illnesses; but Jesus 16 used to withdraw to lonely places and pray.

14 Lev. 13. 49.

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Cure of

On one of those days, when Jesus was teaching, 17 a paralyzed Some Pharisees and Doctors of the Law were Man. sitting near by. (They had come from all the villages in Galilee and Judaea, and from Jerusalem; and the power of the Lord was upon Jesus, so that he could work cures.) And there some men brought on a bed a man who 18 was paralyzed. They tried to get him in and lay him before Jesus; but, finding no way of getting him in, owing to the crowd, they went up on the roof and lowered him through the tiles, with his pallet, into the middle of the people and in front of Jesus. When he saw their faith, Jesus said: 'Friend, your sins have been forgiven you.'

The Teachers of the Law and the Pharisees began debating about this.

"Who is this man who speaks so blasphemously?" they asked. "Who can forgive sins except God?

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21

When Jesus became aware of the way in which they were 22 debating, he turned to them and exclaimed :

23

'What are you debating with yourselves? Which is the easier?-to say 'Your sins have been forgiven you'? or to say 'Get up, and walk about '? But that you may know that 24 the Son of Man has power on earth to forgive sins-" here he spoke to the paralyzed man-" To you I say, Get up, and take up your pallet, and go to your home."

Instantly the man stood up before their eyes, took up what 25
he had been lying on, and went to his home, praising
The people, one and all, were lost in amazement,

God.
and praised God; and in great awe they said:
We have seen marvellous things to-day!"

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Call of

Levi.

After this, Jesus went out; and he noticed a
tax-gatherer, named Levi, sitting in the tax-office,

and said to him: "Follow me."
Levi left everything and got up and followed him.

Jesus blamed

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27

And 28, 29

Levi gave a great entertainment at his house, in for his honour of Jesus; and a large number of taxCompanions. gatherers and others were at table with them. The Pharisees and the Teachers of the Law belonging to their 30 party complained of this to the disciples of Jesus.

"Why do you eat and drink with tax-gatherers and outcasts?"

In answer Jesus said:

31

'It is not those who are well that need a doctor, but those who are ill. I have not come to call the religious, but the 32 outcast, to repent."

The Disciples "John's disciples," they said to Jesus, "often 33 blamed for fast and say prayers, and so do the disciples of the Pharisees, while yours are eating and drinking!”

not observing
the Law.

24 Dan. 7. 13.

But Jesus answered them:

34

"Can you make the bridegroom's friends fast while the bridegroom is with them? But the days will come-a time 35 when the bridegroom will be parted from them; and they will fast then, when those days come."

Then, as an illustration, Jesus said to them:

36

"No man ever tears a piece from a new garment and puts it upon an old one; for, if he does, he will not only tear the new garment, but the piece from the new one will not match the old. And no man puts new wine into old wine-skins; for, if 37 he does, the new wine will burst the skins, and the wine itself will run out, and the skins be lost. But new wine 38 must be put into fresh skins. No man after drinking 39 old wine wishes for new. 'No,' he says, 'the old is excellent.'"

One Sabbath Jesus was walking through cornfields, and I his disciples were picking the ears of wheat, and rubbing them in their hands, and eating them.

'Why are you doing what it is not allowable to do on the 2 Sabbath?" asked some of the Pharisees. Jesus' answer was:

"Have not you read even of what David did, when he was hungry, he and his companions—that he went into the House 4 of God, and took the consecrated bread and ate it, and gave some to his companions, though only the priests are allowed to eat it?"

Then Jesus added:

"The Son of Man is .ord even of the Sabbath."

Cure of

a Man with a withered

Hand.

3

5

On another Sabbath Jesus went into the Syna- 6 gogue and taught; and there was a man there whose right hand was withered. The Teachers of 7 the Law and the Pharisees watched Jesus closely, to see if he would work cures on the Sabbath, so that they might find a charge to bring against him. Jesus, however, 8 knew what was in their minds, and said to the man whose hand was withered :

"Stand up and come out into the middle." The man stood up; and Jesus said to them:

"I ask you, is it allowable to do good on the Sabbath-or harm? to save a life, or let it perish?"

Then, looking round at them all, he said to the man :

"Stretch out your hand."

The man did so; and his hand had become sound.

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10

But II

the Teachers of the Law and the Pharisees were goaded to madness, and consulted together what they could do to Jesus.

41 Sam. 21. 6.