004:020 And rolling up the book, He returned it to the attendant,
and sat down--to speak. And the eyes of all in the synagogue
were fixed on Him.
004:021 Then He proceeded to say to them, "To-day is this Scripture
fulfilled in your hearing."
004:022 And they all spoke well of Him, wondering at the sweet words of
kindness which fell from His lips, while they asked one another,
"Is not this Joseph's son?"
004:023 "Doubtless," said He, "you will quote to me the proverb,
`Physician, cure yourself: all that we hear that you have
done at Capernaum, do here also in your native place.'"
004:024 "I tell you in solemn truth," He added, "that no Prophet
is welcomed among his own people.
004:025 But I tell you in truth that there was many a widow in Israel
in the time of Elijah, when there was no rain for three years
and six months and there came a severe famine over all the land;
004:026 and yet to not one of them was Elijah sent: he was only sent
to a widow at Zarephath in the Sidonian country.
004:027 And there was also many a leper in Israel in the time of
the Prophet Elisha, and yet not one of them was cleansed,
but Naaman the Syrian was."
004:028 Then all in the synagogue, while listening to these words,
were filled with fury.
004:029 They rose, hurried Him outside the town, and brought Him
to the brow of the hill on which their town was built,
to throw Him down the cliff;
004:030 but He passed through the midst of them and went His way.
004:031 So He came down to Capernaum, a town in Galilee, where He
frequently taught the people on the Sabbath days.
004:032 And they were greatly impressed by His teaching, because He
spoke with the language of authority.
004:033 But in the synagogue there was a man possessed by the spirit
of a foul demon. In a loud voice he cried out,
004:034 "Ha! Jesus the Nazarene, what have you to do with us?
I know who you are--God's Holy One!"
004:035 But Jesus rebuked the demon. "Silence!" He exclaimed;
"come out of him." Upon this, the demon hurled the man
into the midst of them, and came out of him without doing
him any harm.
004:036 All were astonished and awe-struck; and they asked one another,
"What sort of language is this? For with authority and real
power He gives orders to the foul spirits and they come out."
004:037 And the talk about Him spread into every part of
the neighbouring country.
004:038 Now when He rose and left the synagogue He went to Simon's house.
Simon's mother-in-law was suffering from an acute attack of fever;
and they consulted Him about her.
004:039 Then standing over her He rebuked the fever, and it left her;
and she at once rose and waited on them.
004:040 At sunset all who had friends suffering from any illness brought
them to Him, and He laid His hands on them all, one by one,
and cured them.
004:041 Demons also came out of many, loudly calling out, "You are
the Son of God." But He rebuked them and forbad them to speak,
because they knew Him to be the Christ.
004:042 Next morning, at daybreak, He left the town and went away
to a solitary place; but the people flocked out to find Him,
and, coming to the place where He was, they endeavoured
to detain Him that He might not leave them.
004:043 But He said to them, "I have to tell the Good News of the Kingdom
of God to the other towns also, because for this purpose
I was sent."
004:044 And for some time He preached in the synagogues in Galilee.
005:001 On one occasion the crowd was pressing on Him and listening to
God's Message, while He was standing by the Lake of Gennesaret.
005:002 He, however, saw two fishing-boats drawn up on the beach
(for the men had gone away from them and were washing the nets),
005:003 and going on board one of them, which was Simon's He asked him
to push out a little from land. Then He sat down and taught
the crowd of people from the boat.
005:004 When He had finished speaking, He said to Simon, "Push out
into deep water, and let down your nets for a haul."
005:005 "Rabbi," replied Peter, "all night long we have worked
hard and caught nothing; but at your command I will let
down the nets."
005:006 This they did, and enclosed a vast number of fish; and their
nets began to break.
005:007 So they signalled to their partners in the other boat to come
and help them; they came, and they filled both the boats
so that they almost sank.
005:008 When Simon Peter saw this, he fell down at the knees of Jesus,
and exclaimed, "Master, leave my boat, for I am a sinful man."
005:009 (For he was astonished and terrified--he and all his companions--
at the haul of fish which they had taken;
005:010 and so were Simon's partners James and John, the sons of Zabdi.)
But Jesus replied to Simon, "Fear not: from this time you
shall be a catcher of men."
005:011 Then, after bringing their boats to land, they left everything
and followed Him.
005:012 On another occasion, when He was in one of the towns,
there was a man there covered with leprosy, who, seeing Jesus,
threw himself at His feet and implored Him, saying, "Sir,
if only you are willing, you are able to make me clean."
005:013 Reaching out His hand and touching him, Jesus said, "I am willing;
be cleansed!" And instantly the leprosy left him.
005:014 He ordered him to tell no one. "But go," He said, "show yourself
to the Priest, and make the offering for your purification
which Moses appointed, as evidence for them."
005:015 But all the more the report about Him spread abroad,
and great multitudes crowded to hear Him and to be cured
of their diseases;
005:016 but Jesus Himself constantly withdrew into the Desert
and there prayed.
005:017 One day He was teaching, and there were Pharisees
and teachers of the Law sitting there who had come from
every village in Galilee and Judaea and from Jerusalem.
And the power of the Lord was present for Him to cure people.
005:018 And a party of men came carrying a palsied man on a bed,
and they endeavoured to bring him in and lay him before Jesus.
005:019 But when they could find no way of doing so because of the crowd,
they went up on the roof and let him down through the tiling--
bed and all--into the midst, in front of Jesus.