Nazarene Commentary Matthew 4:18-22 – The Calling of the First Disciples

Matthew 4:18-22 – The Calling of the First Disciples

|| Mark 1:16-20; Luke 5:1-11; John 1:35-42

MT4:18 Walking by the Sea of Galilee Jesus saw two brothers, Simon[1] (who is also called Peter[2]) and Andrew[3] his brother. They were fishermen and were casting their fishing-nets into the sea. MT4:19 And Jesus said to them, “Come here and follow me, and I will make you fishers of humans.” MT4:20 And these immediately dropped their nets[4] and they followed Jesus. MT4:21 And leaving there, Jesus saw two other brothers, James[5] the son of Zebedee and John[6] his brother. They were in the fishing boat with their father Zebedee repairing their nets. Jesus called them. MT4:22 At once these left the boat and their father and they followed Jesus.

[1] Simon: The first disciple called or invited. The name means “Listen” and occurs 80 times in the Christian Bible. Others are also called by this name.

Simon Peter and Andrew with Christ. Mortier. In the Bowyer Bible in Bolton Museum, England. Print 3543. From “An Illustrated Commentary on the Gospel of Mark” by Phillip Medhurst. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

[2] Peter: The name means “Rock” and occurs 175 times (most often in the Book of Acts) in the Christian Bible. Peter is most often listed first in the list of the apostles.

[3] Andrew: The second called. The name means “Manly” and occurs 13 times in the Christian Bible.

[4] Immediately dropped their nets: It is possible these men were baptized disciples of John the Baptist. It is also possible Jesus had known these men as he had grown up in the area of Galilee. One notes how quickly they were willing to quit their trade and follow the Messiah.

[5] James: The names means “Surplanter” and equals Jacob and occurs 54 times in the Christian Bible. It is possible that James was a cousin or kinsman of Jesus of Nazareth.

[6] John: The name means “Yah Favors; God’s Gift” and occurs 140 times in the Christian Bible.

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Preceding

Nazarene Commentary Matthew 4:1-4 A Wilderness Temptation

Nazarene Commentary Matthew 4:5-7 – A Temptation to Test God

Nazarene Commentary Matthew 4:8-11 – A Temptation to Gain World Rule

Nazarene Commentary Matthew 4:12-17 – Galilee Saw A Great Light

Jehovah God Maker of the entire universe served by a well-trained army

Next:

Nazarene Commentary Matthew 4:23-25 – Kingdom Preaching and Healing Draws Crowds

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Additional reading

1. Counterfeit Gospels
2. Truth, doubt or blindness
3. Good Morning January 25 We are theologians
4. The Pastor Theologian
5. Perishable non theologians daring to go out to preach
6. A call easy to understand

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Further reading

1. Man’s true destiny
2. God’s Plumb Line
3. Surrender
4. Having Faith in God 
5. Scripture at Sunrise 2.7.2017
6. God’s Faithful Are Forever Blessed
7. Only Jesus Will Give You Eternal Life
8. Choose good over evil – February 01, 2017
9. What is your goal in publishing Christian Pharisees?
10. Our God is a Holy God
11. Two Selves: One Cannot Be Improved, the Other is Perfect in Christ (Part 1)
12. “Repent and Believe in the Good News”
13. Repent While You Can
14. Guilt — Why won’t it go away?
15. Jesus sends you out for your sake
16. Living in the Light
17. Why A Christian Should Not Say “This” To A Non-Christian – Part II
18. Do You Really Love Jesus?
19. Stones Into Bread
20. 3rd Sunday After Epiphany, January 22, 2017
21. Third Sunday of Epiphany 2017 – Matthew 4:21-22
22. 40 days
23. 40 days and 40 nights
24. Jesus Keeps Walking, God Keeps Moving
25. Light to the Nations?
26. Follow
27. Follow Me
28. Invited To Follow
29. Immediate
30. Repentance – Sermon on Matthew 4:12-23
31. Jesus calls his first disciples
32. Answering the Call (Mt 4:12-23)
33. Called Together
34. What Does ‘Fish for Men’ Mean?
35. Are You Really Following?
36. Faith & Fisherman
37. Shout for joy, all you whose hearts are pure!

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Related articles

• Daily Mass: Following Christ in the face of opposition. Catholic Inspiration
• Sunday reflection: Matthew 4:12 – 23
• Distinguishing Between Biblical Vs Man-Made Doctrine

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Nazarene Commentary Matthew 4:12-17 – Galilee Saw A Great Light

Matthew 4:12-17 – Galilee Saw A Great Light

|| Mark 1:14, 15; Luke 4:14

MT4:12 Now, having heard John [the Baptist] was arrested, Jesus retired into Galilee.[1] MT4:13 Leaving Nazareth[2] Jesus took up residence in Capernaum[3] by the sea in the districts of Zebulun[4] and Naphtali,[5] MT4:14 so that it might be fulfilled as it as spoken by Isaiah[6] the prophet, saying, MT4:15 “Land of Zebulun and land of Naphtali, by the sea on the other side of the Jordan, Galilee[7] of the nations, MT4:16 those people[8] sitting in a region of death’s dark shadow saw a great Light rise upon them.” [Isaiah 9:1, 2] MT4:17 From that time[9] Jesus started preaching, saying, “Repent,[10] for the Realm of the heavens[11] has drawn near.”

Wooden longboat in the large freshwater lake Sea of Chinneret (Lake of Gennesaret, or Lake Tiberias) Sea of Galilee, Tiberias.

[1] Galilee: The place occurs 76 times in the Bible with the region first mentioned at Numbers 34:11 (Joshua 20:7). The fresh water “lake” is also called the Sea of Chinnereth (Numbers 34:11), the Lake of Gennesaret (Luke 5:1), and the Sea of Tiberias (John 6:1). Jesus begins his ministry here and essentially ends it also at Galilee (John 21:1, 4-19). The lake is green/blue 13 miles long and 7 miles wide. “The density of the shoals of fish in the Sea of Galilee can scarcely be conceived by those who have not witnessed them. Frequently these shoals cover an acre or more of the surface and the fish, as they slowly move along in masses, are so crowded, with their back fins just appearing on the level of the water, that the appearance at a little distance is that of a violent shower of rain pattering on the surface.” (The Natural History of the Bible, H. B. Tristram, 1889, p. 285) All of Jesus’ faithful apostles came from this area.

[2] Nazareth: Probably just after Luke 4:28-30.

[3] Capernaum: The name means “Comforting Place.” The place occurs 16 times in the Christian Bible. Mark 2:1 calls this Jesus’ “home.” (“his house”)

[4] Zebulun: The territory named after a son of Israel occurs 48 times in the Bible with the first at Genesis 30:20. Compare Psalm 68:27. The name means perhaps “Toleration” or “Lofty Abode.” Compare Revelation 7:8.

[5] Naphtali: The name means “My Wrestlings.” The territory named after a son of Israel occurs 55 times in the Bible with the first at Genesis 30:8. Compare Revelation 7:6.

[6] Isaiah: Isaiah 9:1, 2. The prophet Isaiah is named 22 times in the Christian Bible (Matthew, 6; Mark, 2; Luke, 2; John, 4; Acts, 3; Romans, 5). In addition to direct quotations there are many allusions which are subtle paraphrases (Compare John 5:29 with Isaiah 26:19 LXX).

[7] Galilee: A prophecy indicating where Messiah would begin his ministry. It is in this area where the Nazarene sees his greatest fruitage – the foundation of Christianity.

[8] Those people: Note Acts 1:11; 2:7. We have a great spiritual debt to these folks.

[9] From that time: About a year after John the Baptist began his own ministry.

[10] Repent: The first words of the “Gospel” in the mouth of Jesus. Repentance is part of the Lord’s Gospel.

[11] Realm of the heavens: Or, “kingdom of the heavens.” The meaning is two fold: a) the King is present; and, b) the opportunity to enter the Nazarene’s realm of profession by confessing him as Lord.

Capernaum, Sea of Galilee (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

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Preceding

Nazarene Commentary Matthew 4:1-4 A Wilderness Temptation

Nazarene Commentary Matthew 4:5-7 – A Temptation to Test God

Nazarene Commentary Matthew 4:8-11 – A Temptation to Gain World Rule

Next:

Nazarene Commentary Matthew 4:18-22 – The Calling of the First Disciples

Nazarene Commentary Matthew 4:23-25 – Kingdom Preaching and Healing Draws Crowds

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Additional reading

1. Invitation for the Studyday about Isaiah Messenger of joy
2. God showing how far He is willing to go to save His children
3. John 4 exhortation: The one that broke the mould
4. Repentance and conversion are not milestones which we pass on the way of life and never see again
5. Salvation, Baptism and Re-baptism
6. Together tasting a great promisse
7. God receives us on the basis of our faith
8. Doest thou well to be Angry?

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Further reading

1. Man’s true destiny
2. My People Do Not Know
3. The carnal mind – January 25, 2017
4. We Have Sinned
5. God’s Plumb Line
6. Surrender
7. Having Faith in God 
8. Scripture at Sunrise 2.7.2017
9. God’s Faithful Are Forever Blessed
10. Only Jesus Will Give You Eternal Life
11. Choose good over evil – February 01, 2017
12. What is your goal in publishing Christian Pharisees?
13. Our God is a Holy God
14. Two Selves: One Cannot Be Improved, the Other is Perfect in Christ (Part 1)
15. Repent
16. “Repent and Believe in the Good News”
17. Repentance is More than saying I’m Sorry
18. Am I Wired To Repent?
19. Embracing Repentance
20. Hold Fast In The Lord and Repent
21. Repent While You Can
22. Guilt — Why won’t it go away?
23. How Does One Repent?
24. Ask The Lord To Cast Away Your Sins
25. Jesus sends you out for your sake
26. Living in the Light
27. Why A Christian Should Not Say “This” To A Non-Christian – Part II
28. Do You Really Love Jesus?
29. Stones Into Bread
30. 3rd Sunday After Epiphany, January 22, 2017
31. Third Sunday of Epiphany 2017 – Matthew 4:21-22
32. 40 days
33. 40 days and 40 nights
34. Jesus Keeps Walking, God Keeps Moving
35. Light to the Nations?
36. Follow
37. Follow Me
38. Invited To Follow
39. Immediate
40. Repentance – Sermon on Matthew 4:12-23
41. Jesus calls his first disciples
42. Answering the Call (Mt 4:12-23)
43. Called Together
44. What Does ‘Fish for Men’ Mean?
45. Are You Really Following?
46. Faith & Fisherman
47. Shout for joy, all you whose hearts are pure!

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Related articles

• Sunday reflection: Matthew 4:12 – 23
• Daily Mass: Following Christ in the face of opposition. Catholic Inspiration
• Life and death…choose Life!
• Distinguishing Between Biblical Vs Man-Made Doctrine
• Your Word for This Day: “Rest in your True Position”
• Gospel-Centered Reading of Psalms
• Who Do You Say He Is? – Sunday Thought For The Day
• John 14.5 John – Do you want there to be a God?
• Sunday, 8 January 2017 : Solemnity of the Epiphany of the Lord (Gospel Reading)

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Hebrew inscriptions on ancient slab of marble near Lake Kinneret

Israeli archaeologists find Hebrew inscriptions on ancient slab of marble near the Galilean Sea

In December 2015 Hebrew inscriptions were discovered on an ancient piece of rare marble discovered by Israeli archaeologists during an excavation on the shores of Lake Kinneret [which is 64 sq mi (166 sq km), extending 13 miles (21 km) from north to south and 7 miles (11 km) from east to west, it is pear-shaped]. The lake is c.700 ft (210 m) below sea level and occupies a downwarped basin being fed and drained by the Jordan River.

The finding of the 1,500-year-old slab in the great depression of the Jordan, dug up by scientists in Kursi confirms historians’ belief that the ancient village of Kursi was inhabited either by Jews or Christians.

Tilapia zilli (redbelly tilapia, “St. Peter’s fish”), typical serving in a Tiberias restaurant (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Kursi lies on the eastern shore of Israel’s most important source of drinking water. Today it is also known for the Talmudic site which is located near the eastern shore of the Sea of Galilee (also Sea of Chinnereth or Chinneroth, Kinneret, from the Old Testament or Hebrew Tanakh “sea of Kinneret” in Numbers 34:11 and Joshua 13:27, also known as Lake of Gennesaret, or Lake Tiberias) on the bank of a river bed, Nahal Samakh, descending from the Golan Heights, where one can find the ruins of a 5th century monastery and its church, staying in use throughout the Byzantine period (in Israeli-Judaic terms: the Mishnaic and Talmudic periods). In the New Testament the lake is named variously from nearby geographical features – Galilee, Gennesaret, or Tiberias. The lake was the source of a thriving fishing industry in the time of Christ. The fish life of the Sea of Galilee has an affinity with that of the East African lakes. Fish species to be found today include damselfish, scaleless blennies, catfish, mouthbreeders, tilapia or ‘St. Peter’s fish‘ and barbels.

Tiberias, Tveria, Tiveria, Israeli city on the western shore of the Sea of Galilee

The Jewish historian Flavius Josephus wrote of nine cities on the shores of the lake in ancient times, but of those only one of the four Jewish holy cities, the Israeli city on the western shore Tiberias has survived. Kefar Naḥum (ancient Capernaum), near the northwestern shore, has preserved one of the most beautiful synagogues of the Galilee region, dating from the 2nd and 3rd centuries ce. A sanctuary for the Druze (an independent sect founded in the 11th century with a creed containing elements of Islam, Judaism, and Christianity) is located near the Moshav shitufi Kefar Ḥittim near the western shore.

The finding of the 1,500-year-old slab with Hebrew text is the first indication that there was a Jewish presence, and it reinforces the belief that the town of Kursi was the place where Jesus performed the ‘Miracle of the Swine.’ At this place Jesus healed one or two men possessed by demons by driving these into a herd of pigs (Mark 5:1-20, Matthew 8:28–34, Luke 8:26-39). The apostle look at the miracle from a different angle and as such details differ somewhat in the three gospels dealing with the episode, and again some more in different ancient manuscripts of those same gospels. The events take place in the land of either the Gerasenes, Gadarenes or Gergesenes located near the modern city of Jerash, Jordan (Mark 5:1, Matthew 8:28, Luke 8:26). Exorcised was either one man (Mark and Luke) or two (Matthew). The whole herd of swine subsequently ran into the Sea of Galilee and perished.

Kursi, Israel (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

The Israeli archaeologist Dan Urman started his research when in 1970 by road construction the labourers bumped on the ruins of a monastery. The major excavation took place between 1971 and 1974. Dan Urman and his Greek colleague Vassilios Tzaferis for the Israel Antiquities Authority excavated the largest Byzantine monastic complex found in Israel. Further excavations have since been taking place, the marble-lined bath-house being one of the more recent discoveries.

Prof. Michal Artzi of Haifa University and Dr. Haim Cohen in concert with the Israel Antiquities Authority and the Israel Nature and Parks Authority supervised the recent excavations and finding of the stone slab.

Slab of marble with Hebrew inscription found in Kursi – Haifa University/Jennifer Munro

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Further reading

1. 1,500-year-old marble tablet at the Sea of Galilee suggesting place was once a Jewish or Jewish-Christian settlement
2. Kursi, Northeast Shore of the Sea of Galilee: Hebrew inscriptions found
3. Excavations Near the Sea of Galilee Uncover Evidence of Where Jesus Miraculously Cast Out Legions of Demons Into a Herd of Pigs
4. The Five Most Beautiful Places in Israel
5. Murals I created for a sukkah: panels 1, 2, 3, showing Sea of Galilee, Golan Heights
6. The Golan Trail
7. ‘Israel concerned with build-up of Iranian forces in Syria near Golan border’
8. Islamic State gaining ground on Golan border as moderate rebels wither
9. Giant Oil Deposit Found in Southern Golan
10. Let me understand: Rothschild takes the Oil in the Golan, Israel takes the Middle East and we Europeans should take the immigrants?
11. Why don’t they bargain like this: The Russian Federation keeps Crimea, Israel keeps the Golan and Assad keeps the rest of Syria. And the war ends.
12. Israel is braced for Russian aerial intrusions over its Golan border
13. Israel to annex Golan Heights after ‘billion barrel’ oil find
14. The IDF starts training drill on Golan Monday night

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• Archaeologists Make INCREDIBLE Biblical Discovery Where Jesus Performed 1 of His Miracles
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• Hugh Naylor of the Washington Post: on Israel