tting a net into the water, for Andrew and Simon were
fishermen.

Jesus said to them,

"Come and follow me, and I will make you fishers of men."

Fishing was good business, but Simon and Andrew were ready to give it
up to follow the man John had called "the Lamb of God." They came away
with him at once.

[Illustration]

[Illustration]

Farther along the shore was another pair of brothers. One of them had
also been with John the Baptist. Their names were James and John, and
they were with their father, Zebedee. They had done so well at fishing
that they could afford to have servants to help them. But when Jesus
called them they also came at once, and left their father and the
servants behind.

That was four to start with, and soon he had eight others. But no one
of them was a very important person, and people said that one of them
was wicked. That was Levi, who was also called Matthew. The trouble
with Levi was that he was a taxgatherer. Everybody hated taxgatherers.
They were called "publicans," and it was thought that no one could be
much lower than a publican.

The publicans worked for the Roman government. They were not Romans
themselves, but Jews, which made it all the worse. They were looked
upon as traitors, for they collected the taxes for the hated Romans,
and made a fortune for themselves by cheating the people.

Levi's job was to collect the fee for traveling along the road, and
what he could collect over and above the amount he ought to have
charged, he kept for himself. Then Levi heard Jesus preaching. He
heard him say that he ought to give up his sins, and begin to live a
new life. When Jesus came to Levi's table one day, and said, "Follow
me," just as he had said it to the honest fishermen by the lake shore,
Levi was ready to come away. Without a word Levi got up and left his
taxgathering behind, and all his fortune. Levi became a disciple like
the other eleven, and was treated like the rest.

But other people were shocked when they saw a publican with Jesus, and
tongues began to wag. No one seemed to notice that Levi had stopped
collecting taxes. He had been a publican once, and no one except Jesus
was ready to give him a second chance.

Other publicans sometimes came to have dinner with Jesus and his
disciples, along with many people who were looked down upon in the
community.

The Pharisees in particular were angry when they saw the company that
Jesus kept. One day they came to one of t