Hello, this is Father Paul, and I'm glad we're
taking this journey together to read the Bible
in a year. Today's reading is from the Gospel
of Matthew chapter 4 and the Gospel of Luke chapter
4. Matthew chapter 4. Then Jesus was led up by
the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted
by the devil. And when he had fasted forty days
and forty nights, afterward he was hungry. Now
when the tempter came to him, he said, If you
are the Son of God, command that these stones
become bread. But he answered and said, It is
written, Man shall not live by bread alone, but
by every word that proceeds from the mouth of
God. Then the devil took him up into the holy
city, set him on the pinnacle of the temple,
and said to him, If you are the Son of God, throw
yourself down, for it is written, He shall give
his angels charge over you, and in their hands
they shall bear you up, lest you dash your foot
against a stone. Jesus said to him, It is written
again, You shall not tempt the Lord your God.
Again the devil took him up on an exceedingly
high mountain and showed him all the kingdoms
of the world and their glory. And he said to
him, All these things I will give you if you
will fall down and worship me. Then Jesus said
to him, Away with you, Satan, for it is written,
You shall worship the Lord your God, and him
only you shall serve. Then the devil left him,
and behold, angels came and ministered to him.
Now when Jesus heard that John had been put in
prison, he departed to Galilee. And leaving Nazareth,
he came and dwelt in Capernaum, which is by the
sea, in the regions of Zebulun and Naphtali.
that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by
Isaiah the prophet, saying, The land of Zebulun
and the land of Naphtali, by the way of the sea
beyond the Jordan, Galilee of the Gentiles. The
people who sat in darkness have seen a great
light, and upon those who sat in the region and
shadow of death, light has dawned. From that
time Jesus began to preach and to say, Repent,
for the kingdom of heaven is at hand. And Jesus,
walking by the Sea of Galilee, saw two brothers,
Simon called Peter, and Andrew his brother, casting
a net into the sea, for they were fishermen.
Then he said to them, Follow me, and I will make
you fishers of men. They immediately left their
nets and followed him. Going on from there, he
saw two other brothers, James the son of Zebedee,
and John his brother, in the boat with Zebedee
their father, mending their nets. He called them,
and immediately they left the boat and their
father and followed him. And Jesus went about
all Galilee, teaching in their synagogues, preaching
the gospel of the kingdom, and healing all kinds
of sickness and all kinds of disease among the
people. Then his fame went throughout all Syria,
and they brought to him all sick people who were
afflicted with various diseases and torments,
and those who were demon -possessed, epileptics
and paralytics, and he healed them. Great multitudes
followed him from Galilee and from Decapolis,
Jerusalem, Judea, and beyond the Jordan. Luke
chapter 4 Then Jesus, being filled with the Holy
Spirit, returned from the Jordan and was led
by the Spirit into the wilderness, being tempted
for forty days by the devil. And in those days
he ate nothing, and afterward, when they had
ended, he was hungry. And the devil said to him,
If you are the Son of God, Command this stone
to become bread. But Jesus answered him, saying,
It is written, Man shall not live by bread alone,
but by every word of God. Then the devil, taking
him up on a high mountain, showed him all the
kingdoms of the world in a moment of time. 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. Therefore, if you will worship before me,
All will be yours. 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. 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, for it is written, He
shall give his angels charge over you to keep
you, and in their hands they shall bear you up,
lest you dash your foot against a stone. And
Jesus answered and said to him, It has been said,
You shall not tempt the Lord your God. Now when
the devil had ended every temptation, he departed
from him until an opportune time. Then Jesus
returned in the power of the Spirit to Galilee,
and news of him went out through all the surrounding
region, and he taught in their synagogues, being
glorified by all. So when he came to Nazareth,
where he had been brought up, And as his custom
was, he went into the synagogue on a Sabbath
day and stood up to read. 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,
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, to proclaim the acceptable
year of the Lord. 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. And he began to say to them, Today
this scripture is fulfilled in your hearing.
So all bore witness to him and marveled at the
gracious words which proceeded out of his mouth.
And they said, Is this not Joseph's son? 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. Then he said, Assuredly, I say to you,
no prophet is accepted in his own country. 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. But to
none of them was Elijah sent except to Zarephath.
in the region of Sidon, to a woman who was a
widow. And many lepers were in Israel in the
time of Elisha the prophet, and none of them
was cleansed except Naaman the Syrian. So all
those in the synagogue, when they heard these
things, were filled with wrath, 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. Then passing through the midst of them,
he went his way. Then he went down to Capernaum,
a city of Galilee, and was teaching them on the
Sabbaths. And when they were astonished at his
teaching, for his word was with authority, now
in the synagogue there was a man who had a spirit
of an unclean demon. And he cried out with a
loud voice, 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. But Jesus rebuked them, saying, Be quiet
and come out of him. And when a demon had thrown
him in their midst, it came out of him and did
not hurt him. 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. And the report
about him went out into every place in the surrounding
region. Now he arose from the synagogue and entered
Simon's house. But Simon's wife's mother was
sick with a high fever, and they made request
of him concerning her. So he stood over her and
rebuked the fever, and it left her, and immediately
she arose and served them. 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. 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. Now when
it was day, he departed and went into a deserted
place. And a crowd sought him and came to him
and tried to keep him from leaving them. 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. And he was preaching
in the synagogues of Galilee. I hope you enjoyed
today's reading as much as I did and I look forward
to seeing you again tomorrow to continue on our
journey. God bless you and have a great day.