The Story: Week 12
Intro
The Call of the Disciples
37 When John’s two disciples heard him say this, they followed Jesus.
38 Jesus turned around and saw them following and said to them, “What do you want?” So they said to him, “Rabbi” (which is translated Teacher), “where are you staying?”
39 Jesus answered, “Come and you will see.” So they came and saw where he was staying, and they stayed with him that day. Now it was about four o’clock in the afternoon.
Andrew’s Declaration
40 Andrew, the brother of Simon Peter, was one of the two disciples who heard what John said and followed Jesus.
41 He first found his own brother Simon and told him, “We have found the Messiah!” (which is translated Christ).
42 Andrew brought Simon to Jesus. Jesus looked at him and said, “You are Simon, the son of John. You will be called Cephas” (which is translated Peter).
4 When he had finished speaking, he said to Simon, “Put out into the deep water and lower your nets for a catch.”
5 Simon answered, “Master, we worked hard all night and caught nothing! But at your word I will lower the nets.”
6 When they had done this, they caught so many fish that their nets started to tear.
7 So they motioned to their partners in the other boat to come and help them. And they came and filled both boats, so that they were about to sink.
8 But when Simon Peter saw it, he fell down at Jesus’ knees, saying, “Go away from me, Lord, for I am a sinful man!”
9 For Peter and all who were with him were astonished at the catch of fish that they had taken,
10 and so were James and John, Zebedee’s sons, who were Simon’s business partners. Then Jesus said to Simon, “Do not be afraid; from now on you will be catching people!”
11 So when they had brought their boats to shore, they left everything and followed him.
43 On the next day Jesus wanted to set out for Galilee. He found Philip and said to him, “Follow me.”
44 (Now Philip was from Bethsaida, the town of Andrew and Peter.)
45 Philip found Nathanael and told him, “We have found the one Moses wrote about in the law, and the prophets also wrote about—Jesus of Nazareth, the son of Joseph.”
46 Nathanael replied, “Can anything good come out of Nazareth?” Philip replied, “Come and see.”
47 Jesus saw Nathanael coming toward him and exclaimed, “Look, a true Israelite in whom there is no deceit!”
48 Nathanael asked him, “How do you know me?” Jesus replied, “Before Philip called you, when you were under the fig tree, I saw you.”
49 Nathanael answered him, “Rabbi, you are the Son of God; you are the king of Israel!”
17 Now on one of those days, while he was teaching, there were Pharisees and teachers of the law sitting nearby (who had come from every village of Galilee and Judea and from Jerusalem), and the power of the Lord was with him to heal.
18 Just then some men showed up, carrying a paralyzed man on a stretcher. They were trying to bring him in and place him before Jesus.
19 But since they found no way to carry him in because of the crowd, they went up on the roof and let him down on the stretcher through the roof tiles right in front of Jesus.
20 When Jesus saw their faith he said, “Friend, your sins are forgiven.”
21 Then the experts in the law and the Pharisees began to think to themselves, “Who is this man who is uttering blasphemies? Who can forgive sins but God alone?”
22 When Jesus perceived their hostile thoughts, he said to them, “Why are you raising objections within yourselves?
23 Which is easier, to say, ‘Your sins are forgiven,’ or to say, ‘Stand up and walk’?
24 But so that you may know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins”—he said to the paralyzed man—“I tell you, stand up, take your stretcher and go home.”
25 Immediately he stood up before them, picked up the stretcher he had been lying on, and went home, glorifying God.