Event 37 — Jesus Calls Four Fishermen
Two words on a beach — “Follow Me” — and four working men walk away from their boats, their nets, and their father. The kingdom comes with a call, and it asks for everything.
The Rabbi who seeks His disciples — and asks for everything
Walking the shore of the Sea of Galilee, Jesus calls four fishermen — Simon Peter and Andrew, James and John. In that world, a student normally went hunting for a rabbi to follow; here the Rabbi comes hunting for them. And He does not ask them to fit Him into their lives around the fishing. He says, “Follow Me,” and promises to remake their very trade: “I will make you fishers of men.” The response is stunning in its speed — immediately they leave their nets, and the second pair leave the boat and their father, and follow. They had met Jesus before; now comes the call to drop everything and go. The kingdom arrives as a summons, and the only fitting answer is open hands.
The text
Underlined words (like Follow Me) link down to their original-language card in Word secrets below.
18Now as Jesus was walking by the Sea of Galilee, He saw two brothers, Simon who was called Peter, and Andrew his brother, casting a net into the sea; for they were fishermen. 19And He said to them, “Follow Me, and I will make you fishers of men.” 20Immediately they left their nets and followed Him.
21Going 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; and He called them. 22Immediately they left the boat and their father, and followed Him.
Mark adds: 20And they left their father Zebedee in the boat with the hired servants, and went away to follow Him.
Matthew 4:18–22; Mark 1:20 (NASB95)📖 Read both accounts
Read Matthew 4:18–22 and Mark 1:16–20. This is not their first meeting — Andrew and Peter had already encountered Jesus through John the Baptist (John 1:35–42, Event 23). This is the call to leave their livelihood and follow full-time.
What the original words mean
Five words at the heart of the call.
To “come after” a rabbi was to attach your whole life to his — to walk where he walked and become like him. The shock is the direction: students chose teachers, but here Jesus chooses fishermen. Discipleship begins not with our search for God but with His call to us: “You did not choose Me, but I chose you” (John 15:16).
↑ Back to the passageJesus doesn’t discard their old skill; He repurposes it. The patience, teamwork, and persistence of fishing become the work of gathering people into the kingdom. Grace takes who we already are and aims it at something far greater. Their nets had caught fish; now their lives will catch people for life.
↑ Back to the passageThe same word means to “forgive” or “release.” They release their grip on the nets — their income — and the second pair release even their father and the family business. Following Jesus costs something real: not because He is harsh, but because He must be first. Open hands are the posture of a disciple.
↑ Back to the passageOrdinary working men — not scholars, priests, or nobles. Mark notes Zebedee had “hired servants,” so the family wasn’t destitute, but these were laborers, not the religious elite. Jesus builds His movement out of common people. The kingdom’s first leaders are men with calloused hands and fishy nets.
↑ Back to the passageTwice the text says “immediately.” No bargaining, no “let me finish the season first.” The authority in Jesus’ call is such that the fitting response is instant. (Mark’s favorite word, “immediately,” will keep the action of his Gospel moving at a run.) When the King calls, delay is its own answer.
↑ Back to the passageTwo pairs of brothers, one call
🏺 Fishing on the Sea of Galilee — the world they left
Fishing was a real industry on the Sea of Galilee, supporting whole lakeside towns like Capernaum and Bethsaida. Crews used casting nets from shore and larger dragnets from boats; nets had to be constantly washed and mended — which is just what James and John are doing when Jesus calls. It was hard, smelly, weather-dependent work, but a stable livelihood; Zebedee even employed “hired servants” (Mark 1:20). So leaving the nets was not walking away from nothing — it was walking away from a trade, an income, and (for the second pair) a family business and a father. The detail that they left “immediately” tells us how compelling the call of Jesus was: it outweighed everything that had organized their lives until that morning.
📜 Leaving the nets — echoes of Elisha
The scene rhymes with the call of Elisha. When Elijah threw his cloak over him, Elisha was plowing with twelve yoke of oxen; he ran after Elijah, said goodbye to his parents, slaughtered the oxen, burned the plow, and followed (1 Kings 19:19–21). The prophet’s call meant leaving the family work to take up God’s. Jesus stands in — and beyond — that prophetic line: the One who calls fishermen from their nets is the Lord Himself, gathering the leaders of the new Israel. And the prophet Jeremiah had even foretold a day when God would “send for many fishermen” to gather His people (Jeremiah 16:16).
How it ties to the rest of Scripture
| Passage | Connection |
|---|---|
| 1 Kings 19:19–21 | Elisha leaves the oxen to follow Elijah — the prophetic call to drop everything. |
| Jeremiah 16:16 | God promises to send “fishermen” to gather His people — the image Jesus takes up. |
| John 15:16 | “You did not choose Me, but I chose you” — the initiative is always the Lord’s. |
| Luke 14:25–33 | The cost of discipleship — giving up all to follow Jesus. |
Resources to explore
Play the video here, then dig into the text and its background.
🎬 Watch & listen
- Video: BibleProject — Matthew 1–13Overview with study notes and downloads.
- Podcast: An Intro to Reading the GospelsHow the Gospels present Jesus and His first followers.
📖 Study tools
- Matthew 4:19 interlinear + Strong’sSee “Follow Me… fishers of men” in the Greek.
- Full passage (Matthew 4:18–22, NASB95)Read the whole text on Bible Gateway.
🔗 Cross-reading
- Luke 5:1–11The miraculous catch — “from now on you will catch men.”
- Mark 10:28–31“We have left everything to follow You” — and Jesus’ promise.
Discussion questions
- In that culture students sought out a rabbi, but here the Rabbi seeks the fishermen. What does it change to know that discipleship begins with Jesus’ call, not our search?
- Jesus reshapes their trade — “fishers of men.” How does He take what we already are and aim it at the kingdom?
- The text says “immediately” twice, and notes they left nets, boat, and father. What does the speed and the cost together reveal about the authority in His call?
- These were ordinary laborers, not scholars or priests. Why might Jesus deliberately build His movement out of common people?
- Only after all that does the question reach us: following Jesus meant open hands with their livelihood. What is in our hands that He may be calling us to hold loosely?