Matthew 4:14-24

14 This move completed Isaiah's sermon:
15 Land of Zebulun, land of Naphtali, road to the sea, over Jordan, Galilee, crossroads for the nations.
16 People sitting out their lives in the dark saw a huge light; Sitting in that dark, dark country of death, they watched the sun come up.
17 This Isaiah-prophesied sermon came to life in Galilee the moment Jesus started preaching. He picked up where John left off: "Change your life. God's kingdom is here."
18 Walking along the beach of Lake Galilee, Jesus saw two brothers: Simon (later called Peter) and Andrew. They were fishing, throwing their nets into the lake. It was their regular work.
19 Jesus said to them, "Come with me. I'll make a new kind of fisherman out of you. I'll show you how to catch men and women instead of perch and bass."
20 They didn't ask questions, but simply dropped their nets and followed.
21 A short distance down the beach they came upon another pair of brothers, James and John, Zebedee's sons. These two were sitting in a boat with their father, Zebedee, mending their fishnets. Jesus made the same offer to them,
22 and they were just as quick to follow, abandoning boat and father.
23 From there he went all over Galilee. He used synagogues for meeting places and taught people the truth of God. God's kingdom was his theme - that beginning right now they were under God's government, a good government! He also healed people of their diseases and of the bad effects of their bad lives.
24 Word got around the entire Roman province of Syria. People brought anybody with an ailment, whether mental, emotional, or physical. Jesus healed them, one and all.
Published by permission. Originally published by NavPress in English as THE MESSAGE: The Bible in Contemporary Language copyright 2002 by Eugene Peterson. All rights reserved.