1. From the wilderness, Jesus returned to His hometown and began to preach a message of repentance from the world. In the temple, on the sabbath, He stood and quoted from the scriptures:
2. "The Spirit of the Lord is upon Me, for He has anointed Me to preach good news to the poor. He has sent Me to announce the release of the captives, and to recover the sight of the blind. He has sent Me to free the oppressed and to proclaim the favorable year of the Lord."
3. At that, He closed the scriptures and handed it back to the priest and sat down, and the eyes of the entire congregation were fixed on Him. And He said to them, "Today, in your hearing, the scriptures are fulfilled."
4. And a rumble went through the crowed, and they said among themselves, "Who is this? Is this not Jesus? Do we not know His mother and sisters and brothers? Is He not merely the son of Joseph--a carpenter from Nazareth? How dare He preach to us!"
5. So He said to them, "No doubt you will tell Me to tend to Myself-- 'Physician, heal thyself,' but I say to you, a prophet is never accepted in his hometown. The Son of Man has come and is rejected by those who knew Him before, even by the members of His own household."
6. All the people in the temple were filled with rage as they heard Him speak these words. "We are God's chosen people," they said. "Who are You to set Yourself above us?"
7. And they drove Him out of the temple to the edge of the city near a high cliff in order to throw Him off and to kill Him.
8. But He walked through the midst of them and went on His way.
9. From the crowd, two men (John and Andrew) followed after Jesus, because they heard John the Baptist's testimony concerning Jesus, and they said to Him, "Teacher, where do You stay?"
10. And Jesus said to them, "Follow Me, and you will see where I am." So, they followed Him and stayed with Him, for the night was at hand.
11. In the morning, Andrew found his brother, Simon, and said to him, "We have found the Christ!" And when he brought him to Jesus, Jesus looked at Simon and said, "You are Simon, but from now on you will be called Peter."
12. Then Jesus set out on His way to find Philip, and when He had found him, He said to him, "Follow Me." And Philip instantly recognized Christ as all that the law and prophets had spoken of. So, Philip went out and found Nathaniel.
13. But when Nathaniel heard of Jesus from Philip, he said, "How could any good come from Nazareth?"
14. "Come and see," Philip said. And when Jesus saw Nathaniel He declared, "Here is a true child of God in whom there is no deceit!"
15. "How do you know me?" Nathaniel asked. And Jesus revealed to him, "Before Philip called you, I saw you when you were alone under the fig tree." Then Nathaniel recognized Jesus as the Christ and said, "My Teacher, You are the Son of God. You are the King of heaven!"
16. Then Jesus asked him, "Do you believe only because I said I saw you when you were alone? You will have more than this. For you will see angels descending on and ascending from the Son of Man."
17. Later, while standing on the edge of a lake, a crowd had gathered to hear Him speak the words of God, and as they pressed toward Him, He saw two fishing boats sitting on the shore of the lake.
18. He got into one of the boats, which belonged to Peter, and asked him to push off slightly from the shore. There He sat in the boat and taught the people.
19. And when He had finished speaking, He turned to Peter and said, "Take us out into deep water and let down your nets for a new catch."
20. Peter answered and said, "Lord, we have worked all night and caught nothing, but I will do as You say."
21. As soon as the nets were in deep water, they began to fill with fish, to the point where they were starting to break. And as they hauled in the nets, they were so full that the boat was beginning to sink. Therefore, James, who was with them, called to other boats to come and take some of the fish.
22. And when they were back on shore, and the awesome power of Christ was revealed to Peter by this miracle, Peter fell at the feet of Jesus and said, "Go away from me Lord! Do You not realize I am a sinful man!"
23. But Jesus lifted Peter up and said to them, "Follow Me, and I will make you fishers of men."
24. So, Peter left behind everything and followed Jesus.
25. As Jesus traveled with His disciples, they entered a village; and Martha, a woman known to Thaddeus, welcomed them into her home.
26. Martha had a sister called Mary, who sat at the Lord's feet, listening to His words.
27. But Martha was distracted with all her preparations; she came to Jesus and said, "Lord, do You not care that my sister has left me to do all the serving alone? Why do You not tell her to get up and help me?"
28. But the Lord answered and said to her, "Martha, Martha, you are worried and bothered about so many things; but only one thing is necessary, and Mary has chosen that good work. It shall not be taken from her."
29. When Jesus had gathered His disciples, and they had set out on their way, Mary asked Him, "What are your disciples like?"
30. And He said to her, "They are like little children living in a field that is not their own. When the owners of the land return, they say, 'Give our land back to us.' So, the children give back everything, even the clothes they are wearing, and they return the field to its rightful owners--and the children go home."
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