Matthew 4: 18 – 22
Called
18 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. 19 Then He said to them, “Follow Me, and I will make you fishers of men.” 20 They immediately left their nets and followed Him. 21 Going on 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, 22 and immediately they left the boat and their father, and followed Him.
Now before we begin to look at Matthew’s Gospel, let me tell you that there are two other Gospels that speak about this same event. So, let’s take a look at these other Gospels written by Luke and also Mark.
Luke 5, “1 So it was, as the multitude pressed about Him to hear the word of God, that He stood by the Lake of Gennesaret, 2 and saw two boats standing by the lake; but the fishermen had gone from them and were washing their nets. 3 Then He got into one of the boats, which was Simon’s, and asked him to put out a little from the land. And He sat down and taught the multitudes from the boat. 4 When He had stopped speaking, He said to Simon, “Launch out into the deep and let down your nets for a catch.” 5 But Simon answered and said to Him, “Master, we have toiled all night and caught nothing; nevertheless at Your word I will let down the net.” 6 And when they had done this, they caught a great number of fish, and their net was breaking. 7 So they signaled to their partners in the other boat to come and help them. And they came and filled both the boats, so that they began to sink. 8 When Simon Peter saw it, he fell down at Jesus’ knees, saying, “Depart from me, for I am a sinful man, O Lord!” 9 For he and all who were with him were astonished at the catch of fish which they had taken; 10 and so also were James and John, the sons of Zebedee, who were partners with Simon. And Jesus said to Simon, “Do not be afraid. From now on you will catch men.” 11 So when they had brought their boats to land, they forsook all and followed Him.”
Mark 1: 16 – 20, “16 And as He walked by the Sea of Galilee, He saw Simon and Andrew his brother casting a net into the sea; for they were fishermen. 17 Then Jesus said to them, “Follow Me, and I will make you become fishers of men.” 18 They immediately left their nets and followed Him. 19 When He had gone a little farther from there, He saw James the son of Zebedee, and John his brother, who also were in the boat mending their nets. 20 And immediately He called them, and they left their father Zebedee in the boat with the hired servants, and went after Him.
You might be thinking to yourself, ‘I already know about this story in the bible, so perhaps we can skip to some other portions of Scripture which have more meat for me to digest.’
Well, if you even considered this position, let me tell you ‘straight up’ that you will probably miss some of the greatest biblical insight that you ever derived.
Do I have your attention now?
I am sure that you will take with you some great and enjoyable findings from these wonderful Gospels of our Lord Jesus Christ as penned by the faithful disciples Matthew, Mark, and Luke.
Let me start you out with a great point. The Gospel of Matthew was written before the Gospel of Luke. In chapter 4 the former IRS agent spoke about an incident which at first may seem similar to Luke’s description. In fact let me say that they are separate incidents. Let’s look at what Matthew wrote;
Matthew 4 “12 Now when Jesus heard that John had been put in prison, He departed to Galilee. 13 And leaving Nazareth, He came and dwelt in Capernaum, which is by the sea, in the regions of Zebulun and Naphtali, 14 that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by Isaiah the prophet, saying: 15 “ The land of Zebulun and the land of Naphtali,by the way of the sea, beyond the Jordan, Galilee of the Gentiles: 16 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.” 17 From that time Jesus began to preach and to say, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.” 18 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. 19 Then He said to them, “Follow Me, and I will make you fishers of men.” 20 They immediately left their nets and followed Him. 21 Going on 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, 22 and immediately they left the boat and their father, and followed Him.
Can you see any difference here? What is happening here in Matthew version. Well, you have Peter and his brother Andrew still fishing by casting their nets near land. And nearby were John and his brother James mending their nets.
Now if we look at Mark’s gospel we read the same facts as Luke’s. – ‘16 And as He walked by the Sea of Galilee, He saw Simon and Andrew his brother casting a net into the sea; for they were fishermen. 17 Then Jesus said to them, “Follow Me, and I will make you become fishers of men.” 18 They immediately left their nets and followed Him. 19 When He had gone a little farther from there, He saw James the son of Zebedee, and John his brother, who also were in the boat mending their nets. 20 And immediately He called them, and they left their father Zebedee in the boat with the hired servants, and went after Him.’
Now, some may say, so what’s the big deal anyway? Matthew and Mark weren’t eyewitnesses for they had not yet been selected as a disciples. And of course Luke had come back interviewing the people who had heard the story first hand and got their rendition. True, but here is why I think that this is important as being separate occasions.
I believe that all three recording these events accurately. These were separate incidents. In Matthew’s and Mark’s account our Lord Jesus had just moved His ministry headquarters to Capernaum. He spoke to all 4 and they left their stuff and followed him. However, they did not fully all out pack up and stay with our Lord at all times. They went back to their professions which were fishing.
They were from Capernaum and worked the sea of Galilee as their trade. By the way, the Sea of Galilee is also known as the Lake Gennesaret and the Sea of Tiberias for your bible knowledge.
I believe our Lord is going to do this amazing miracle to once and for all convince these men that He Is Truly God’s Anointed Holy One.
Luke tells us, ‘1 So it was, as the multitude pressed about Him to hear the word of God, that He stood by the Lake of Gennesaret, 2 and saw two boats standing by the lake; but the fishermen had gone from them and were washing their nets.
Now that I gave you the background do you think our Lord was aware whose boats these belonged to? Of course because He Is going to directly speak to Peter to push his boat off a little from shore because of the multitude. Also, please note that they are no mention of any multitude in Matthew’s account of the interaction by the Sea of Galilee.
3 Then He got into one of the boats, which was Simon’s, and asked him to put out a little from the land. And He sat down and taught the multitudes from the boat.
Now, we are going to come across something that I consider pretty significant. I think many teachers do not catch the significance of what we are about to witness.
After He finished speaking, our Lord instructed Peter that He wanted to help the guys catch some fish. You do not want to miss this first point in how great a humor our Precious Lord has. Do you think He knew that these guys didn’t catch anything? Of course He did. Peter and the three have been up all night and caught nothing. How would you feel if you spent the whole night and wound up without even a nibble on your line?
4 When He had stopped speaking, He said to Simon, “Launch out into the deep and let down your nets for a catch.”
This is how I view this incident. The Lord is all smiles after having taught a multitude so He wants to go out for a boat ride. Peter and the other three hear Him say what? – Let down all our nets? Are You kidding? We are the professional fishermen. You fish during the evening not during the day time when all the fish go into deeper waters. And also you fish by the shore not the deep waters. So, since we kind of like You we will humor You and go out and put out a net. Notice they will only put out a net, not to the correct instructions of the Lord, let down all your nets.
5 But Simon answered and said to Him, “Master, we have toiled all night and caught nothing; nevertheless at Your word I will let down the net.”
Now, look at what happened.
6 And when they had done this, they caught a great number of fish, and their net was breaking. 7 So they signaled to their partners in the other boat to come and help them. And they came and filled both the boats, so that they began to sink.
With just one net they had collected enough fish that almost sank both boats. What do you think would have happened if they let down all their nets? You can just imagine the bounty.
Do you remember the story of Elisha when a widow came to him begging his help because her sons were about to be sold into slavery because of debt. We read this amazing findings in the book of 2 Kings chapter 4, “1 A certain woman of the wives of the sons of the prophets cried out to Elisha, saying, “Your servant my husband is dead, and you know that your servant feared the LORD. And the creditor is coming to take my two sons to be his slaves.”2 So Elisha said to her, “What shall I do for you? Tell me, what do you have in the house?” And she said, “Your maidservant has nothing in the house but a jar of oil.” 3 Then he said, “Go, borrow vessels from everywhere, from all your neighbors—empty vessels; do not gather just a few. 4 And when you have come in, you shall shut the door behind you and your sons; then pour it into all those vessels, and set aside the full ones.” 5 So she went from him and shut the door behind her and her sons, who brought the vessels to her; and she poured it out. 6 Now it came to pass, when the vessels were full, that she said to her son, “Bring me another vessel.” And he said to her, “There is not another vessel.” So the oil ceased. 7 Then she came and told the man of God. And he said, “Go, sell the oil and pay your debt; and you and your sons live on the rest.”
As long as the woman kept producing jars the oil kept flowing. It wasn’t until she ran out of jars that the oil stopped flowing. With all the oil she was able to sell the commodity free her sons and live off the rest which means possibly for the rest of their lives. Not bad. Just imagine if Peter and the others were obedient to the Lord’s directions what they could have accomplished. Do you see now the shock on Peter?
8 When Simon Peter saw it, he fell down at Jesus’ knees, saying, “Depart from me, for I am a sinful man, O Lord!” 9 For he and all who were with him were astonished at the catch of fish which they had taken; 10 and so also were James and John, the sons of Zebedee, who were partners with Simon. And Jesus said to Simon, “Do not be afraid. From now on you will catch men.”
Simon didn’t want the Lord to leave him. His eyes were opened to see the One Who had asked Him earlier to follow him. He had given a half-hearted commitment to follow the Lord and with just putting out a net, he was also giving a half-hearted gesture. Sure, he was somewhat convinced that Jesus was the Promised Messiah. Now, however, his eyes were opened to the One Who can do the miracles like He just ordered. Peter realized that he was near El Olam – The Everlasting God.
Having been convinced that Jesus was the Messiah, he is now convicted that he only gave a token commitment of following. Now he would truly leave all behind and follow the One Who will help him catch men with the Gospel.
11 So when they had brought their boats to land, they forsook all and followed Him.
Now for us dear friends what is hindering from you casting all aside and truly giving you heart and soul to follow our Lord Jesus Christ?
