Jesus chooses his apostles and begins preaching
Bible Accent: The Apostles
Saint for Today: St. Angela Merici
Jesus chooses his apostles and begins preaching
After he had been baptized, Jesus spent 40 days and 40 nights in the desert, where he was tempted by the devil. After defeating those temptations with his faith and the Scriptures, Jesus moved away from his home in Nazareth to live in Capernaum, a city by the sea in the land of Zebulun and Naphtali.
By doing this Jesus fulfilled one of the prophecies of Isaiah, which said, “Land of Zebulun and land of Naphtali, the way to the sea, beyond the Jordan, Galilee of the Gentiles, the people who sit in darkness have seen a great light, on those dwelling in a land overshadowed by death light has arisen.”
From there started preaching and saying, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.”
On a day when Jesus was walking along the Sea of Galilee, he saw two men who were fishing by casting their net into the water. They were brothers, and their names were Simon, also called Peter, and Andrew. Jesus said to them, “Come after me, and I will make you fishers of men.” The two men immediately stopped what they were doing and went with Jesus.
As the three men continued walking along the sea coast, they saw two other brothers, named James and John, who were in their boat mending their nets with their father, Zebedee. Jesus called them as well, and they left their father to go with Jesus.
Jesus traveled throughout the region of Galilee preaching, teaching in the synagogues and healing the people of their sicknesses. Word of this new teacher and healer quickly spread as far away as Syria. People from many different cities and villages brought to Jesus their friends and family members who were sick, injured or tormented by spirits, and he healed every one of them. Crowds began to follow Jesus everywhere he went, from Jerusalem and Judea to Jordan and beyond.
Sometimes there were so many people that Jesus would have to sit on high ground in order to be seen and heard. He would teach the people who came to hear him about meekness and mercy. Sometimes he would tell stories with a message, other times he would talk about the prophets who had come before him or about the Scriptures and their meanings. And most important of all he would tell them about God’s love and how he wanted them to love one another.
READ MORE ABOUT IT:
Matthew 4 and 5
Q&A 1. What was the first message Jesus began to preach?
2. What were Peter and Andrew doing when Jesus called them?
Bible Accent: The Apostles
Shortly after beginning his ministry, Jesus selected a few men who would become his first apostles. These men would help Jesus as he traveled and preached, and some of them would continue the work of Jesus after he had ascended into heaven. These men were not political or religious leaders, such as kings or rabbis. Peter and Andrew were fishermen and Matthew was a tax collector. We can read about these men and some of the things they did or wrote in the Gospels, the Book of the Acts of the Apostles and some of the other New Testament books. Another one of the apostles was Judas, who later betrayed Jesus. In the first chapter of the Book of Acts, the other apostles selected a man named Matthias to take the place of Judas.
Saint for Today; St. Angela Merici
Angela Merici (1470-1540) became an orphan when she was only 10 years old, along with one sister and one brother. The three children went to live with an uncle, but three years later another tragedy struck the family when Angela’s sister died before she had received the last sacraments. Angela was very upset by this, but she had a vision that reassured her about the fate of her sister’s soul. This vision also inspired Angela to dedicate her life to serving the Lord. She entered a Franciscan tertiary and lived very simply, eating a very meager diet. When she was in her 20s Angela was determined to improve the lives of children who were living in poverty, and she wanted to make sure they received proper religious instruction. This led to her eventual founding of the Company of St. Urusula as a teaching order. We honor Angela on Jan. 27.
