Bible Study Series: Matthew 4:18-22. How did they respond? How about you?
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In the next link to the original chapter, I comment more and offer the Greek text. At the bottom you will find a “Summary and Conclusion” section geared toward discipleship. Check it out!
In this post, links are provided for further study.
Let’s begin.
Scripture: Matthew 4:18-22
18 Walking along the Lake of Galilee, he saw two brothers, Simon called Peter and Andrew his brother, casting their net into the lake, for they were fishermen. 19 Then he said to them, “Come after me, and I will make you fishers of people.” 20 And they left their nets and followed him. 21 Then he went ahead from there and saw two other brothers, James the son of Zebedee and John his brother, in the boat with Zebedee their father, repairing their net, and he called them. 22 And instantly they left the boat and their father and followed him. (Matthew 4:18-22)
Comments
18:
These three men—Peter, James and John—will form the inner circle of Jesus’s twelve apostles (see Matt. 17:1; 26:37). Apparently, he saw something in them that was special. Peter will turn out to be the lead apostle. Sidebar comment: I wonder how it would feel to be Peter’s brother, Andrew? Let’s hope Andrew admired his brother and was not jealous.
Jesus, James (Jacob), and John may have been cousins. Here’s the evidence:
Were Jesus, James and John First Cousins? Was Clopas Jesus’ Uncle?
Jesus Calls Certain Disciples in Four Gospels. Do the Accounts Contradict?
19:
“Come after me”: Etiquette required the disciples of a rabbi to walk behind him, literally. That social reality is revealed in the Greek construction: “come after me.” Many translations say “follow me,” which also shows people walking behind the leader. “The call to discipleship … is an unconditional, unexplained demand, not a polite, reasoned invitation. For the first disciples the following of Jesus entails both literally traveling with him and ethically obeying his teaching and modeling God’s will, which leads to hardship and peril (8:19, 22; 10:38; 16:24; 19:21)” (Turner in his comment son 4:19).
Jesus practice of itinerancy (traveling around) goes back to the OT prophets (1 Sam. 7:16-17; 2 Kings 4:8-10) (Keener p. 155).
Matthew compressed his narrative. If you want to read an expanded version, go to Luke 5:1-11. In Luke’s version, the four men were business partners. In his version, Jesus performed a miracle. That’s why Peter and Andrew and James and John were convinced to follow Jesus instantly.
When Simon Peter saw this, he fell at the knees of Jesus, saying, “Depart from me, because I am a sinful man, Lord!” 9 For fear overcame him and everyone with him at the catch of fish which they caught. 10 Likewise also for James and John, sons of Zebedee, who were partners with Simon. (Luke 5:8-10)
No wonder they followed him.
“Discipleship is a life of obedience (this is not a suggestion but an absolute demand) and following the example of Jesus” (Osborne on 4:19).
20:
In the previous pericope (pronounced puh-RIH-koh-pea) or unit or section of Scripture, Jesus was the great light. Light shining out of the soul and spirit of Jesus can draw people. They felt something coming from him. Add the miraculous catch of fish, and of course their response was “instant.”
21-22:
I wonder, however, how Zebedee felt about his two sons leaving him with the fishing business. Sometimes people just have to make great sacrifices. It could be that Zebedee appreciated Jesus and his miracles. Or it could be that Zebedee was surprised to see his sons walk on down the path near the lake, going out of sight.
His wife followed Jesus too, with other women from Galilee (Luke 8:2-3). On route to Jerusalem she asked Jesus if her two sons could sit on Jesus’s right and left hands, when he comes in his kingdom (Matt. 20:20-28). Of course, he replied that he could not guarantee it. It was a mild rebuke or push back. She went all the way to Jerusalem to see Jesus be crucified and then resurrected (Matt. 27:56). She was bold and committed.
“In Matthew, following Jesus is repeatedly put in tension with family relationships (cf. 8:21-22; 10:21, 34-37; 12:46-50; 19:20)” (Turner in his comments on 4:21-22).
GrowApp for Matt. 4:18-22
1. How did Jesus call you to follow him? Has he called you into formal ministry, or is your ministry reaching out to your needy neighbors?
2. How do you carry out his calling on your life?
RELATED
9. Authoritative Testimony in Matthew’s Gospel
1. Church Fathers and Matthew’s Gospel
2. Archaeology and the Synoptic Gospels
14. Similarities among John’s Gospel and the Synoptic Gospels
1. The Historical Reliability of the Gospels: Introduction to Series
SOURCES
To see the bibliography, please click on this link and scroll down to the bottom.
Dr. Jim's Essential Bible Teaching 