Jesus Begins to Preach

¹² When Jesus heard that John had been put in prison,^(A) he withdrew to Galilee.^{(B) 13} Leaving Nazareth, he went and lived in Capernaum,^(C) which was by the lake in the area of Zebulun and Naphtali— ¹⁴ to fulfill^(D) what was said through the prophet Isaiah:

¹⁷ From that time on Jesus began to preach, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven^(F) has come near.”

Jesus Calls His First Disciples^(G)

¹⁸ As Jesus was walking beside the Sea of Galilee,^(H) he saw two brothers, Simon called Peter^(I) and his brother Andrew. They were casting a net into the lake, for they were fishermen. ¹⁹ “Come, follow me,”^(J) Jesus said, “and I will send you out to fish for people.” ²⁰ At once they left their nets and followed him.^(K)

²¹ Going on from there, he saw two other brothers, James son of Zebedee and his brother John.^(L) They were in a boat with their father Zebedee, preparing their nets. Jesus called them, ²² and immediately they left the boat and their father and followed him.^(M)

Jesus Heals the Sick

²³ Jesus went throughout Galilee,^(N) teaching in their synagogues,^(O) proclaiming the good news^(P) of the kingdom,^(Q) and healing every disease and sickness among the people.^(R)

The Calling of Matthew^(A)

⁹ As Jesus went on from there, he saw a man named Matthew sitting at the tax collector’s booth. “Follow me,”^(B) he told him, and Matthew got up and followed him.

¹⁰ While Jesus was having dinner at Matthew’s house, many tax collectors and sinners came and ate with him and his disciples. ¹¹ When the Pharisees saw this, they asked his disciples, “Why does your teacher eat with tax collectors and sinners?”^(C)

¹² On hearing this, Jesus said, “It is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick. ¹³ But go and learn what this means: ‘I desire mercy, not sacrifice.’^[a](D) For I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners.”^(E)

Jesus Sends Out the Twelve^{(A)(B)(C)(D)(E)}

10 Jesus called his twelve disciples to him and gave them authority to drive out impure spirits^(F) and to heal every disease and sickness.^(G)

² These are the names of the twelve apostles: first, Simon (who is called Peter) and his brother Andrew; James son of Zebedee, and his brother John; ³ Philip and Bartholomew; Thomas and Matthew the tax collector; James son of Alphaeus, and Thaddaeus; ⁴ Simon the Zealot and Judas Iscariot, who betrayed him.^(H)