Mark 1:21-45

Jesus and his followers went to Capernaum. On the Sabbath day, Jesus went into the synagogue and taught the people. They were amazed at his teaching. He did not teach like their teachers of the law. He taught like someone with authority. While Jesus was in the synagogue, a man was there who had an evil spirit inside him. The man shouted, “Jesus of Nazareth! What do you want with us? Did you come to destroy us? I know who you are—God’s Holy One!” Jesus, his voice full of warning, said, “Be quiet, and come out of him!” The evil spirit made the man shake. Then the spirit made a loud noise and came out of him. The people were amazed. They asked each other, “What is happening here? This man is teaching something new, and he teaches with authority! He even commands evil spirits, and they obey him.” So the news about Jesus spread quickly everywhere in the area of Galilee. Jesus and the followers left the synagogue. They all went with James and John to the home of Simon and Andrew. Simon’s mother-in-law was very sick. She was in bed and had a fever. The people there told Jesus about her. So he went to her bed. Jesus held her hand and helped her stand up. The fever left her, and she was healed. Then she began serving them. That night, after the sun went down, the people brought to Jesus many who were sick. They also brought those who had demons inside them. Everyone in the town gathered at the door of that house. Jesus healed many of those who had different kinds of sicknesses. He also forced many demons out of people. But he would not allow the demons to speak, because they knew who he was. The next morning Jesus woke up very early. He left the house while it was still dark and went to a place where he could be alone and pray. Later, Simon and his friends went to look for Jesus. They found him and said, “Everyone is looking for you!” Jesus answered, “We should go to another place. We can go to other towns around here, and I can tell God’s message to those people too. That is why I came.” So Jesus traveled everywhere in Galilee. He spoke in the synagogues, and he forced demons out of people. A man who had leprosy came to Jesus. The man bowed on his knees and begged him, “You have the power to heal me if you want.” These last words made Jesus angry. But he touched him and said, “I want to heal you. Be healed!” Immediately the leprosy disappeared, and the man was healed. Jesus told the man to go, but he gave him a strong warning: “Don’t tell anyone about what I did for you. But go and let the priest look at you. And offer a gift to God because you have been healed. Offer the gift that Moses commanded. This will show everyone that you are healed.” The man left there and told everyone he saw that Jesus had healed him. So the news about Jesus spread. And that is why he could not enter a town if people saw him. He stayed in places where people did not live. But people came from all the towns to the places where he was.