Once again Jesus went to teach the people at the shore of Lake Galilee and a massive crowd surrounded him. The crowd was so huge that he had to get into a boat and teach the people from there.
Soon there were so many people crowded inside the house to hear him that there was no more room, even outside the door. While Jesus was preaching the word of God,
But no sooner did the man leave than he began to proclaim his healing publicly and tell the story everywhere. Jesus’ growing fame prevented him from entering the villages openly, which forced him to remain in isolated places. Even so, a steady stream of people flocked to him from everywhere.
As Jesus left Capernaum he came upon a tax-collecting station, where a Jewish man named Matthew was collecting taxes for the Romans. “Come, follow me,” Jesus said to him. Immediately Matthew jumped up and began to follow Jesus.
Then Jesus left the region and went into the district of Judea, across from the Jordan River, and again, massive crowds flocked to him, and Jesus, as was his custom, began to teach the people.