Matthew 4:18-22
Chapter 4
18
He Calls His First Disciples
As Jesus walked by the lake of Galilee, he saw two brothers, Simon called Peter and Andrew his brother, casting a net into the lake because they were fishermen.19
He said to them:
“Follow me, and I will make you fish for people.”
20
At once, they left their nets and followed him.
21
He continued on from there and saw two other brothers, James, the son of Zebedee, and his brother John, in a boat with their father Zebedee, repairing their nets. Jesus called them,
22
and immediately they left the boat and their father and followed him.
Commentaries
He Calls His First Disciples.
Jesus calls, and in this he differs from the teachers of his time, whose disciples he chose. Jesus chooses his own. The call is clear and direct; the response is quick and unconditional: they respond to his call and, leaving everything behind, begin to follow him.
With these qualities, a new form of discipleship begins: the Christian discipleship—an unavoidable and binding calling, a lifelong commitment involving all aspects of the Master’s life and mission: “I will make you fishers of men” (19).