eard Jesus teach by the shore and in
the market-place, and longed to follow Him. He saw the Teacher stop at
his open door, and heard Him say,

"Follow Me."

That was enough; Matthew left all, rose up and followed Jesus. He had
a business that made him rich, but he was ready to leave it all to be a
disciple of Jesus.

He wanted all to know that he had chosen a new life, and so he gave a
great dinner to his friends, and invited Jesus and His five disciples
that he might confess before them all his faith in Jesus.

The Pharisees looked down upon the publicans and thought them a people
unfit to associate with, and when they passed by and saw Jesus sitting
in Matthew's house at the feast they asked His disciples as they went
in and out why their Master ate with "publicans and sinners," a thing
they felt themselves too good to do.

Jesus Himself answered them in words that have helped many sinful
people to come to Him since.

"They that are whole need not a physician, but they that are sick. I
came not to call the righteous but sinners to repentance."

And then He turned to talk with Matthew and his friends, who listened
to every word that fell from His lips, and did not try to find fault
with Him as the Pharisees did.

Matthew had made a rich feast, and his table was no doubt piled with
the beautiful fruits of the plain of Gennesaret, but the eyes of all
and the thoughts of all were fixed upon the wonderful Teacher, and
Matthew, the publican, who had become His disciple.

CHAPTER XVII.

FRIENDS OF JESUS.

Jesus had a good and true reason for choosing just twelve men to help
Him to begin to build the first Christian Church, or the Kingdom of
Heaven on the earth. We cannot yet understand the reason for
everything He did, but quite enough to help us to believe in Him, and
to give us a place in His kingdom. He had called half that number and
soon He called six more to join them, and named them apostles.

Before He called them He went up into a mountain to be alone. He left
Capernaum and went up through a rocky vale to a high plain where the
grass lay thick and the wild flowers were coming up among it, for it
was spring-time. Two hills, or peaks rose out of this plain, and there
was a grassy hollow between. They were called the "Horns of Hattin."
From one of these hills Jesus could see the lake with its cities, and
the plain dotted with villages below, and beyond them the great Mount
Hermon crowned w