7L

7L

Yeshua said, "The taxes  flow to  Rome, Barthulumawus,  and the occupiers  deflect the  anger  of  those who  pay  the taxes  by directing it against our brothers who gather it for them. Yet it is not the righteous I am calling to repentance."

As they dined in the house of Mattiyahu he asked, "Teacher, what signs will we observe when God begins to rule the Earth?"

Yeshua replied, "Only the faithless demand a sign.  They seek a spectacle that overcomes their disbelief. When the Kingdom comes it will already  exist within your hearts. But do  not think the coming of the Kingdom of God  will change the law. Every precept of the  Law written in  the books of  Moshe shall stand  for the duration  of  Earth  itself.  But God  expects  much  more  than performing  the written  obligations. He  sees into  your heart. Both your interior righteousness and your exterior righteousness must exceed that of the scribes and Pharisees."

Hearing all these things, Matthiyahu begged to be numbered with Yeshua's disciples. Yeshua replied, "You must abandon your work as a publican before you may follow me."

"Done," said Mattiyahu, and the objection of Barthulumawus over dining with a  tax collector  was answered  quite neatly. Then Yeshua led his disciples to Lake Kinneret  that Mattiyahu might be baptized,  and he  asked  Barthulumawus  to do  the  honors. Yeshua seemed to  watch Yohanan's  former disciple  closely but Barthulumawus thought it to be unnecessary. He knew the meaning of the ritual cleansing. And when Mattiyahu was come again out of the waters of the lake he was fully accepted by Barthulumawus and all of the disciples as one of their own.

Then was seen in the eleventh hour the boat owned by Shimon the brother of Andreia bringing to  shore the day's catch  of fish. With Yeshua and his disciples laboring in the final hour of the day, the fish was packed onto wagons to be driven to the city of Magdala for salting and packing. Yeshua knew that much of the fish would never get that far, but would be lost to toll takers on the road and in the city.

Through the evening they all went north across Lake Kinneret in Shimon's  boat. Seated at the  rudder,  with canvas  unfurled, Shimon sailed to his home in Capernaum on a gentle wind, guided by the lights on the  shoreline he  knew so well. And Shimon's wife Concordia, hearing that he drew near to the house, went out to greet him. But she seemed to be much less happy than he would have liked. Concordia said, "My mother has been stricken with a fever these past three days."