Matthew 4:12-25

¹²John had been put in prison. When Jesus heard about this, he returned to Galilee. ¹³Jesus left Nazareth and went to live in the city of Capernaum. It was by the lake in the area of Zebulun and Naphtali. ¹⁴In that way, what the prophet Isaiah had said came true. He had said, ¹⁵“Land of Zebulun! Land of Naphtali! Galilee, where Gentiles live! Land along the Mediterranean Sea! Territory east of the Jordan River! ¹⁶The people who are now living in darkness have seen a great light. They are now living in a very dark land. But a light has shined on them.” (Isaiah 9:1,2) ¹⁷From that time on Jesus began to preach. “Turn away from your sins!” he said. “The kingdom of heaven has come near.” ¹⁸One day Jesus was walking beside the Sea of Galilee. There he saw two brothers, Simon Peter and his brother Andrew. They were throwing a net into the lake, because they were fishermen. ¹⁹“Come and follow me,” Jesus said. “I will send you out to fish for people.” ²⁰At once they left their nets and followed him. ²¹Going on from there, he saw two other brothers. They were James, son of Zebedee, and his brother John. They were in a boat with their father Zebedee. As they were preparing their nets, Jesus called out to them. ²²Right away they left the boat and their father and followed Jesus. ²³Jesus went all over Galilee. There he taught in the synagogues. He preached the good news of God’s kingdom. He healed every illness and sickness the people had. ²⁴News about him spread all over Syria. People brought to him all who were ill with different kinds of sicknesses. Some were suffering great pain. Others were controlled by demons. Some were shaking wildly. Others couldn’t move at all. And Jesus healed all of them. ²⁵Large crowds followed him. People came from Galilee, from the area known as the Ten Cities, and from Jerusalem and Judea. Others came from the area across the Jordan River.