Matthew 4 EASY

1. Then the Holy Spirit led Jesus into the wilderness. While he was there, the Devil came to him. He tried to cause Jesus to do wrong things.

2. Jesus did not eat anything for 40 days and 40 nights. At the end of this time, he was very hungry.

3. Then the Devil came to Jesus and said to him, ‘If you are the Son of God, speak to these stones. Tell them to become bread.’

4. But Jesus replied, ‘No! The Bible says that food alone cannot cause people to live. They need to hear every word that God speaks. That is what gives them true life.’

5. Then the Devil led Jesus to Jerusalem. He made him stand on the highest part of the temple.

6. He said to Jesus, ‘If you are the Son of God, jump down from here to the ground. You know that the Bible says: “God will tell his angels to keep you safe. They will hold you safely in their hands. They will not let you hurt your foot on a stone”.’

7. Jesus replied, ‘No! The Bible also says, “Do not test the Lord God, to see if he will save you”.’

8. Then the Devil led Jesus up a very high mountain. He showed Jesus all the countries in the whole world. They were very great and beautiful.

9. The Devil said, ‘I will give you power over all these countries. Just go down on your knees in front of me. Worship me and I will give it all to you.’

10. Jesus then said to him, ‘Satan, go away from me! The Bible says, “Only worship your Lord God. He is the only one that you should obey”.’

11. Then the Devil left Jesus alone. Immediately angels came to Jesus and they took care of him.

12. Then Jesus heard that Herod had put John the Baptist in prison. So Jesus returned to Galilee.

13. But he did not stay in Nazareth. He went to live in Capernaum, which is a town on the shore of Lake Galilee. It was in the part of Israel called Zebulun and Naphtali.

14. This caused God's message to become true. Long ago God had said through his prophet Isaiah:

15. ‘I am speaking to you people who live in Zebulun and Naphtali. Your part of this country is on the way to Lake Galilee. It is across the Jordan River in the part of the country called Galilee. Some people who are not Jews live there.

16. They are like people who are living in the dark. They live in the shadow which death brings. God will send a light to shine on them.’

17. Then Jesus began to speak God's message to people. He said, ‘You have done many wrong things. You must turn away from them and change how you live. Do this now, because the kingdom of heaven has come very near.’

18. One day, Jesus was walking along the shore of Lake Galilee. He saw two men who were brothers. One man was called Simon, and he was also called Peter. His brother's name was Andrew. Their job was to catch fish. They were throwing their nets into the lake to catch fish.

19. Jesus said to them, ‘Come with me and be my disciples. Then I will teach you how to catch people, instead of fish.’

20. Simon and Andrew immediately put their nets down and they went with Jesus.

21. They continued to walk along the shore. Soon Jesus saw two more men who were brothers. They were called James and John. They were in their boat with their father, Zebedee. They were mending their nets. Jesus said to James and John, ‘Come with me.’

22. The brothers immediately left the boat and their father behind. They went with Jesus to be his disciples.

23. Jesus travelled everywhere in Galilee. He taught the people in the Jewish meeting places. He told them the good news about God's kingdom. He also caused sick people to become well again from all their different pains and illnesses.

24. More and more people in all parts of Syria heard about Jesus. So they brought all the sick people to see him. These people had many different illnesses, and some of them had strong pains. Bad spirits were living inside some of them. Some people could not control their bodies, and some people could not walk. Jesus caused all these people to become well again.

25. Because of this, large crowds of people followed him. They came from Galilee and from the region called ‘The ten cities’. Some of them came from Jerusalem, and other parts of Judea. And some came from the other side of the Jordan River.