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Jesus Called DisciplesDear Parents,
Thank you for continuing this journey of The Gospel Project® for Kids. Today’s Bible story takes place immediately after Jesus’ baptism. After Jesus was baptized, the Holy Spirit led Him into the wilderness. Jesus fasted for 40 days, and He was hungry. The Devil (the agent of temptation and the father of lies) said to Jesus, “If You are the Son of God, tell these stones to become bread.” If You are the Son of God? The Devil knew who Jesus was. He challenged Jesus to prove it. The Devil wanted to ruin God’s plan of redemption which was set in motion in Genesis 3. In the garden of Eden, Satan used a seemingly innocent question to arouse doubt in Eve: “Did God really say, ‘You can’t eat from any tree in the garden’?” (Gen. 3:1). Adam and Eve ate the fruit God had forbidden them to eat, and sin entered the world. Jesus came to reverse the curse, to succeed where Adam failed. The Devil’s aim was to get Jesus to sin, to disqualify Him from the role of sinless Savior. Jesus did not give in to temptation. Each time Jesus was tempted, He remembered God’s Word. The Bible includes several verses about temptation. For example, God does not tempt anyone. (Jas. 1:13) We can pray to resist temptation. (Matt. 26:41) When we resist the Devil, he will flee from us. (Jas. 4:7) But what happens when we do give in to temptation? We can boldly approach God’s throne to receive grace to help us through temptation, and mercy and forgiveness when we sin. (See Heb. 4:14-16.) The writer of Hebrews said that our high priest—Jesus—can sympathize with our weaknesses because He was tested in every way we are, yet He never sinned. Jesus was tempted, but He never sinned. Jesus is perfect and righteous. A perfect sacrifice was required to take away sin. Jesus was that perfect sacrifice. He died on the cross to free us from sin and to give us the power to say no to temptation. |
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Jesus Called Disciples
Matthew 4:18-22; 9:9-13; Mark 1:16-20; 2:13-14; 3:13-19; Luke 5:27-32; 6:12-16
Jesus’ ministry had begun. Jesus traveled around, preaching about God and telling people to turn away from their sins. People were interested in what Jesus had to say. Large crowds of people followed Jesus around and listened to Him teach.
One day, Jesus was walking along the Sea of Galilee. He saw two brothers: Simon—who was called Peter—and Andrew. Peter and Andrew were shermen, and they were casting their nets into the sea.
Jesus called out to them. “Follow Me,” He said, “and I will teach you to sh for people!” Right away, Peter and Andrew dropped their nets and followed Jesus.
Jesus kept walking, and He saw two more brothers. Their names were James and John. They were in a boat xing nets with their father, Zebedee. Jesus called out to them, and right away they got up, left their father and the boat, and followed Jesus.
Jesus went on, and He saw a man named Matthew (who was also called Levi). Matthew was sitting at the tax of ce. Jesus called out to him, “Follow Me!” So Matthew got up, left everything behind, and followed Jesus.
Matthew hosted a big feast for Jesus at his house. A large crowd
of tax collectors and sinners came to eat with Jesus and His disciples. The Pharisees saw this, and they didn’t think Jesus should be friends with people who did wrong things. They complained to the disciples and said, “Why does your Teacher eat and drink with tax collectors and sinners?”
Jesus heard the Pharisees talking, and He said to them, “People who are healthy don’t need a doctor, but people who are sick do. Go and learn what this means: I want mercy, not sacri ce. I did not come to invite good people; I came to invite sinners to turn back to God.”
Some time later, Jesus went up to the mountain to pray. He stayed on the mountain all night and prayed to God. In the morning, Jesus called for His disciples. He chose 12 of them to be His apostles. Jesus’ apostles would work closely with Jesus.
These are the men Jesus chose: Simon (who was called Peter), Simon’s brother Andrew, James and John (who were called the “Sons
of Thunder”), Philip and Bartholomew, Matthew and Thomas, James the son of Alphaeus (al FEE uhs), Thaddaeus (THAD ih uhs), Simon the Zealot, and Judas Iscariot (iss KAR ih aht).
Christ Connection: Jesus taught His disciples to teach others about Him. The good news about Jesus is too great to not share with the entire world! Jesus came to save people from their sin.
Matthew 4:18-22; 9:9-13; Mark 1:16-20; 2:13-14; 3:13-19; Luke 5:27-32; 6:12-16
Jesus’ ministry had begun. Jesus traveled around, preaching about God and telling people to turn away from their sins. People were interested in what Jesus had to say. Large crowds of people followed Jesus around and listened to Him teach.
One day, Jesus was walking along the Sea of Galilee. He saw two brothers: Simon—who was called Peter—and Andrew. Peter and Andrew were shermen, and they were casting their nets into the sea.
Jesus called out to them. “Follow Me,” He said, “and I will teach you to sh for people!” Right away, Peter and Andrew dropped their nets and followed Jesus.
Jesus kept walking, and He saw two more brothers. Their names were James and John. They were in a boat xing nets with their father, Zebedee. Jesus called out to them, and right away they got up, left their father and the boat, and followed Jesus.
Jesus went on, and He saw a man named Matthew (who was also called Levi). Matthew was sitting at the tax of ce. Jesus called out to him, “Follow Me!” So Matthew got up, left everything behind, and followed Jesus.
Matthew hosted a big feast for Jesus at his house. A large crowd
of tax collectors and sinners came to eat with Jesus and His disciples. The Pharisees saw this, and they didn’t think Jesus should be friends with people who did wrong things. They complained to the disciples and said, “Why does your Teacher eat and drink with tax collectors and sinners?”
Jesus heard the Pharisees talking, and He said to them, “People who are healthy don’t need a doctor, but people who are sick do. Go and learn what this means: I want mercy, not sacri ce. I did not come to invite good people; I came to invite sinners to turn back to God.”
Some time later, Jesus went up to the mountain to pray. He stayed on the mountain all night and prayed to God. In the morning, Jesus called for His disciples. He chose 12 of them to be His apostles. Jesus’ apostles would work closely with Jesus.
These are the men Jesus chose: Simon (who was called Peter), Simon’s brother Andrew, James and John (who were called the “Sons
of Thunder”), Philip and Bartholomew, Matthew and Thomas, James the son of Alphaeus (al FEE uhs), Thaddaeus (THAD ih uhs), Simon the Zealot, and Judas Iscariot (iss KAR ih aht).
Christ Connection: Jesus taught His disciples to teach others about Him. The good news about Jesus is too great to not share with the entire world! Jesus came to save people from their sin.