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And Jesus, walking by the Sea of Galilee, saw two brothers, Simon called Peter, and Andrew his brother, casting a net into the sea; for they were fishermen. Ten He said to them, "Follow Me, and I will make you fishers of men." They immediately left their nets and followed Him. Going from there, He saw two other brothers, James the son of Zebedee, and John his brother, in the boat with Zebedee their father, mending their nets. He called them, and immediately they left the boat and their father, and followed Him.
And Jesus went about all Galilee, teaching in their synagogues, preaching the gospel of the kingdom, and healing all kinds of sickness and all kinds of disease among the people. Then His fame went through all Syria; and they brought to Him all sick people who were afflicted with various diseases and torments, and those who were demon-possessed, epileptics, and paralytics; and He healed them. Great multitudes followed Him -- from Galilee, and from Decapolis, Jerusalem, Judea, and beyond the Jordan.
- Matthew 4:18-25
Yesterday, we read that when Jesus heard that John the Baptist had been put in prison, He departed to Galilee. And leaving Nazareth, He came and dwelt in Capernaum, which is by the sea, in the regions of Zebulun and Naphtali, that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by Isaiah the prophet, saying: "The land of Zebulun and the land of Naphtali, / By the way of the sea, beyond the Jordan, / Galilee of the Gentiles: The people who sat in darkness have seen a great light, / And upon those who sat in the region and shadow of death / Light has dawned." From that time Jesus began to preach and to say, "Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand."
And Jesus, walking by the Sea of Galilee, saw two brothers, Simon called Peter, and Andrew his brother, casting a net into the sea; for they were fishermen. Ten He said to them, "Follow Me, and I will make you fishers of men." They immediately left their nets and followed Him. Going from there, He saw two other brothers, James the son of Zebedee, and John his brother, in the boat with Zebedee their father, mending their nets. He called them, and immediately they left the boat and their father, and followed Him. We note the details: James and John Zebedee are sitting in the boat with their father, mending their nets, at the family business of fishing. Simon and Andrew are also brothers and fishermen; as Jesus walks by the Sea of Galilee, He sees them casting a net into the sea. My study bible says that these first disciples follow Jesus immediately because they'd already heard the preaching of John the Baptist and were prepared to accept Christ in such a fashion. We note the metaphors from daily life that Jesus uses so well and strikingly, "Follow Me, and I will make you fishers of men." My study bible says that although illiterate and unlearned in religion, these "people of the land" whom Jesus calls will be revealed at Pentecost to be wisest of all.
And Jesus went about all Galilee, teaching in their synagogues, preaching the gospel of the kingdom, and healing all kinds of sickness and all kinds of disease among the people. Then His fame went through all Syria; and they brought to Him all sick people who were afflicted with various diseases and torments, and those who were demon-possessed, epileptics, and paralytics; and He healed them. Great multitudes followed Him -- from Galilee, and from Decapolis, Jerusalem, Judea, and beyond the Jordan. My study bible points out here that the crowds don't swarm Jesus when He commands repentance, but only after He begins to heal and to work miracles. This shows that people do not really understand the true nature of His Kingdom. It also shows His concession to "give credibility to what He teaches" among the fickle multitudes (according to Theopylact of Bulgaria). Although it is a few brief verses, this is a summing up of His ministry.
We note the details: the men are casting a net into the sea (brothers Peter and Andrew), the family of Zebedee (John, James, and their father) are mending their nets. This is a day by the shore of the Sea of Galilee, where fishermen are working. And Jesus passes by. We're told what Jesus sees. His brilliant use of metaphor immediately grabs us 2,000 years later, and in particular these fishermen. "Follow Me, and I will make you fishers of men." This is Jesus, with an eye for the details of the world, and a personality that knows how to use language more effectively than anyone we can recall. He is, after all, the Word, Logos. He knows these men, knows they've followed John the Baptist, and knows probably much more about them than we can say. But this most effective speaker doesn't start with long-winded philosophies. He doesn't even preach to them at all. His language is drawn from every day life -- and even more importantly, their every day life. They skillfully use their nets; some are casting their nets, others mending. And they understand then what it is to be fishers of men, casting a net. We can think of all kinds of metaphors for a net. The Spirit is like a net, the messages of heaven working as a great net-work through the angels (whose name means messenger). This Kingdom will be made up of a communion of saints, another great kind of net of prayer in all of Creation, the God of the living a God of those who are eternally present in this great communion or network of those who live to Him. But Jesus knows how to reach into us, and gives us language and metaphor to use even thousands of years later, meaningful and immediate, a word used so often to describe the response to Jesus throughout the Gospels. The slightest details are given here in the briefest of passages, and yet they are so much for us, so vivid and suggestive of so many things. Most of all today we note the mind of Jesus; it's the beginning of ministry which will take Him and these apostles everywhere. We read His story, we hear the message, and we let His words take us as well. We hear He's looking for "a few good men," to quote a modern phrase. But that's not really it; in the Greek this word for men doesn't mean "men only." The word is "anthropos," and it means human being (like the word "men" as it is traditionally used in English to mean people, or persons, as in "mankind"). They are to be fishers of people, of those who are able to respond to His message. Where do we fall in that crowd? Do we have ears to hear His word? What is our immediate response to His vivid language?
