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Matthew 4: ¹⁸While Jesus was walking along the shore.... he saw two brothers. One was Simon, also known as Peter, and the other was Andrew. They were fishermen, and they were casting their net into the lake. ¹⁹Jesus said to them, "Come with me! I will teach you how to bring in people instead of fish." ²⁰Right then the two brothers dropped their nets and went with him.
    ²¹Jesus .... saw James and John, the sons of Zebedee. They were in a boat with their father, mending their nets. Jesus asked them to come with him too. ²²Right away they left the boat and their father and went with Jesus. ²³Jesus went all over Galilee, teaching .... the good news about God's kingdom. He also healed every kind of disease and sickness. (CEV)
1. What was there about Jesus that caused rough fishermen to drop their nets & follow Him?

Matthew 9: ⁹As Jesus was leaving, he saw a tax collector named Matthew sitting at the place for paying taxes. Jesus said to him, "Come with me." Matthew got up and went with him. ¹⁰Later, Jesus and his disciples were having dinner at Matthew's house. Many tax collectors and other sinners were also there. ¹¹Some Pharisees asked Jesus' disciples, "Why does your teacher eat with tax collectors and other sinners?"
    ¹²Jesus heard them and answered, "Healthy people don't need a doctor, but sick people do. ¹³Go and learn what the Scriptures mean when they say, 'Instead of offering sacrifices to me, I want you to be merciful to others.' I didn't come to invite good people to be my followers. I came to invite sinners." (CEV)
2. Why were the religious experts so mad at Jesus when He accepted the "scum" of society?

Luke 6: ¹⁷Jesus and his apostles went down from the mountain .... Many other disciples were there to meet him. Large crowds of people from all over Judea, Jerusalem, and the coastal cities of Tyre and Sidon were there too. ¹⁸These people had come to listen to Jesus and to be healed of their diseases. All who were troubled by evil spirits were also healed. ¹⁹Everyone was trying to touch Jesus, because power was going out from him and healing them all. (CEV)
3. How did Jesus reach out to outsiders [Gentiles] as well as coming to His own People?

Luke 7: ¹¹Soon Jesus and his disciples were on their way to the town of Nain, and a big crowd was going along with them. ¹²As they came near the gate of the town, they saw people carrying out the body of a widow's only son. Many people from the town were walking along with her. ¹³When the Lord saw the woman, he felt sorry for her and said, "Don't cry!" ¹⁴Jesus went over and touched the stretcher on which the people were carrying the dead boy. They stopped, and Jesus said, "Young man, get up!" ¹⁵The boy sat up and began to speak. Jesus then gave him back to his mother.
    ¹⁶Everyone was frightened and praised God. They said, "A great prophet is here with us! God has come to his people." ¹⁷News about Jesus spread all over Judea and everywhere else in that part of the country. (CEV)
4. When we read about Jesus raising people from death, how does that give us hope?

Please study above references and questions and then add your observations and applications:
Observations                                                                 Applications

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