The Berean Pursuit
In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.
Now the earth was formless and void, and darkness was over the surface of the deep. And the Spirit of God was hovering over the surface of the waters.
And God said, "Let there be light," and there was light. And God saw that the light was good, and He separated the light from the darkness. God called the light "day," and the darkness He called "night."
And there was evening, and there was morning-the first day.
And God said, "Let there be an expanse between the waters, to separate the waters from the waters." So God made the expanse and separated the waters beneath it from the waters above. And it was so. God called the expanse "sky."
And there was evening, and there was morning-the second day.
And God said, "Let the waters under the sky be gathered into one place, so that the dry land may appear." And it was so. God called the dry land "earth," and the gathering of waters He called "seas." And God saw that it was good.
Then God said, "Let the earth bring forth vegetation: seed-bearing plants and fruit trees, each bearing fruit with seed according to its kind." And it was so. The earth produced vegetation: seed-bearing plants according to their kinds and trees bearing fruit with seed according to their kinds. And God saw that it was good.
And there was evening, and there was morning-the third day.
And God said, "Let there be lights in the expanse of the sky to distinguish between the day and the night, and let them be signs to mark the seasons and days and years. And let them serve as lights in the expanse of the sky to shine upon the earth." And it was so.
God made two great lights: the greater light to rule the day and the lesser light to rule the night. And He made the stars as well.
God set these lights in the expanse of the sky to shine upon the earth, to preside over the day and the night, and to separate the light from the darkness. And God saw that it was good.
And there was evening, and there was morning-the fourth day.
And God said, "Let the waters teem with living creatures, and let birds fly above the earth in the open expanse of the sky." So God created the great sea creatures and every living thing that moves, with which the waters teemed according to their kinds, and every bird of flight after its kind. And God saw that it was good.
Then God blessed them and said, "Be fruitful and multiply and fill the waters of the seas, and let birds multiply on the earth."
And there was evening, and there was morning-the fifth day.
And God said, "Let the earth bring forth living creatures according to their kinds: livestock, land crawlers, and beasts of the earth according to their kinds." And it was so. God made the beasts of the earth according to their kinds, the livestock according to their kinds, and everything that crawls upon the earth according to its kind. And God saw that it was good.
Then God said, "Let Us make man in Our image, after Our likeness, to rule over the fish of the sea and the birds of the air, over the livestock, and over all the earth itself and every creature that crawls upon it."
So God created man in His own image;
in the image of God He created him;
male and female He created them.
God blessed them and said to them, "Be fruitful and multiply, and fill the earth and subdue it; rule over the fish of the sea and the birds of the air and every creature that crawls upon the earth."
Then God said, "Behold, I have given you every seed-bearing plant on the face of all the earth, and every tree whose fruit contains seed. They will be yours for food. And to every beast of the earth and every bird of the air and every creature that crawls upon the earth-everything that has the breath of life in it-I have given every green plant for food." And it was so.
And God looked upon all that He had made, and indeed, it was very good.
And there was evening, and there was morning-the sixth day.
Thus the heavens and the earth were completed in all their vast array. And by the seventh day God had finished the work He had been doing; so on that day He rested from all His work.
Then God blessed the seventh day and sanctified it, because on that day He rested from all the work of creation that He had accomplished.
This is the account of the heavens and the earth when they were created, in the day that the LORD God made them.
Now no shrub of the field had yet appeared on the earth, nor had any plant of the field sprouted; for the LORD God had not yet sent rain upon the earth, and there was no man to cultivate the ground. But springs welled up from the earth and watered the whole surface of the ground.
Then the LORD God formed man from the dust of the ground and breathed the breath of life into his nostrils, and the man became a living being.
And the LORD God planted a garden in Eden, in the east, where He placed the man He had formed. Out of the ground the LORD God gave growth to every tree that is pleasing to the eye and good for food. And in the middle of the garden were the tree of life and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil.
Now a river flowed out of Eden to water the garden, and from there it branched into four headwaters:
The name of the first river is Pishon; it winds through the whole land of Havilah, where there is gold. And the gold of that land is pure, and bdellium and onyx are found there.
The name of the second river is Gihon; it winds through the whole land of Cush.
The name of the third river is Hiddekel; it runs along the east side of Assyria.
And the fourth river is the Euphrates.
Then the LORD God took the man and placed him in the Garden of Eden to cultivate and keep it.
And the LORD God commanded him, "You may eat freely from every tree of the garden, but you must not eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil; for in the day that you eat of it, you will surely die."
The LORD God also said, "It is not good for the man to be alone. I will make for him a suitable helper."
And out of the ground the LORD God formed every beast of the field and every bird of the air, and He brought them to the man to see what he would name each one. And whatever the man called each living creature, that was its name. The man gave names to all the livestock, to the birds of the air, and to every beast of the field. But for Adam no suitable helper was found.
So the LORD God caused the man to fall into a deep sleep, and while he slept, He took one of the man's ribs and closed up the area with flesh. And from the rib that the LORD God had taken from the man, He made a woman and brought her to him. And the man said:
"This is now bone of my bones
and flesh of my flesh;
she shall be called 'woman,'
for out of man she was taken."
For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and they will become one flesh.
And the man and his wife were both naked, and they were not ashamed.
For the choirmaster. A Psalm of David.
The heavens declare the glory of God;
the skies proclaim the work of His hands.
Day after day they pour forth speech;
night after night they reveal knowledge.
Without speech or language,
without a sound to be heard,
their voice has gone out into all the earth,
their words to the ends of the world.
In the heavens He has pitched
a tent for the sun.
Like a bridegroom emerging from his chamber,
like a champion rejoicing to run his course,
it rises at one end of the heavens
and runs its circuit to the other;
nothing is deprived of its warmth.
The Law of the LORD is perfect,
reviving the soul;
the testimony of the LORD is trustworthy,
making wise the simple.
The precepts of the LORD are right,
bringing joy to the heart;
the commandments of the LORD are radiant,
giving light to the eyes.
The fear of the LORD is pure,
enduring forever;
the judgments of the LORD are true,
being altogether righteous.
They are more precious than gold,
than much pure gold;
they are sweeter than honey,
than honey from the comb.
By them indeed Your servant is warned;
in keeping them is great reward.
Who can discern his own errors?
Cleanse me from my hidden faults.
Keep Your servant also from willful sins;
may they not rule over me.
Then I will be blameless
and cleansed of great transgression.
May the words of my mouth
and the meditation of my heart
be pleasing in Your sight,
O LORD, my Rock and my Redeemer.
This is the beginning of the gospel of Jesus Christ, the Son of God. As it is written in Isaiah the prophet:
"Behold, I will send My messenger ahead of You,
who will prepare Your way."
"A voice of one calling in the wilderness,
'Prepare the way for the Lord,
make straight paths for Him.'?"
John the Baptist appeared in the wilderness, preaching a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins. People went out to him from all of Jerusalem and the countryside of Judea. Confessing their sins, they were baptized by him in the Jordan River.
John was clothed in camel's hair, with a leather belt around his waist. His food was locusts and wild honey. And he began to proclaim: "After me will come One more powerful than I, the straps of whose sandals I am not worthy to stoop down and untie. I baptize you with water, but He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit."
In those days Jesus came from Nazareth in Galilee and was baptized by John in the Jordan. As soon as Jesus came up out of the water, He saw the heavens breaking open and the Spirit descending on Him like a dove. And a voice came from heaven: "You are My beloved Son; in You I am well pleased."
At once the Spirit drove Jesus into the wilderness, and He was there for forty days, being tempted by Satan. He was with the wild animals, and the angels ministered to Him.
After the arrest of John, Jesus went into Galilee and proclaimed the gospel of God. "The time is fulfilled," He said, "and the kingdom of God is near. Repent and believe in the gospel!"
As Jesus was walking beside the Sea of Galilee, He saw Simon and his brother Andrew. They were casting a net into the sea, for they were fishermen. "Come, follow Me," Jesus said, "and I will make you fishers of men." And at once they left their nets and followed Him.
Going on a little farther, He saw James son of Zebedee and his brother John. They were in a boat, mending their nets. Immediately Jesus called them, and they left their father Zebedee in the boat with the hired men and followed Him.
Then Jesus and His companions went to Capernaum, and right away Jesus entered the synagogue on the Sabbath and began to teach. The people were astonished at His teaching, because He taught as one who had authority, and not as the scribes.
Suddenly a man with an unclean spirit cried out in the synagogue: "What do You want with us, Jesus of Nazareth? Have You come to destroy us? I know who You are-the Holy One of God!"
But Jesus rebuked the spirit. "Be silent!" He said. "Come out of him!" At this, the unclean spirit threw the man into convulsions and came out with a loud shriek.
All the people were amazed and began to ask one another, "What is this? A new teaching with authority! He commands even the unclean spirits, and they obey Him!" And the news about Jesus spread quickly through the whole region of Galilee.
As soon as Jesus and His companions had left the synagogue, they went with James and John to the home of Simon and Andrew. Simon's mother-in-law was sick in bed with a fever, and they promptly told Jesus about her. So He went to her, took her by the hand, and helped her up. The fever left her, and she began to serve them.
That evening, after sunset, people brought to Jesus all who were sick and demon-possessed, and the whole town gathered at the door. And He healed many who were ill with various diseases and drove out many demons. But He would not allow the demons to speak, because they knew who He was.
Early in the morning, while it was still dark, Jesus got up and slipped out to a solitary place to pray. Simon and his companions went to look for Him, and when they found Him, they said, "Everyone is looking for You!"
But Jesus answered, "Let us go on to the neighboring towns so I can preach there as well, for that is why I have come." So He went throughout Galilee, preaching in their synagogues and driving out demons.
Then a leper came to Jesus, begging on his knees: "If You are willing, You can make me clean."
Moved with compassion, Jesus reached out His hand and touched the man. "I am willing," He said. "Be clean!" And immediately the leprosy left him, and the man was cleansed.
Jesus promptly sent him away with a stern warning: "See that you don't tell anyone. But go, show yourself to the priest and present the offering Moses prescribed for your cleansing, as a testimony to them."
But the man went out and openly began to proclaim and spread the news.
Consequently, Jesus could no longer enter a town in plain view, but He stayed out in solitary places. Yet people came to Him from every quarter.