THE GOSPELS: LESSON 19:

JESUS CALLS “FISHERS OF MEN”

TEXT: MATT. 4: 12 - 22; MARK 1: 14 - 34; LUKE 4: 31 - 41

          After his rejection at Nazareth, Jesus goes to Capernaum, where the people eagerly receive him. While in the area Jesus performs many miracles to convince the people that he is indeed sent from God. He reminds the disciples whom he has called that they now have a higher calling – the gathering of souls.

MATTHEW 4: 12 - 16: JESUS MOVES TO CAPERNAUM.

“. . . leaving Nazareth, he came and dwelt in Capernaum, which is upon the sea coast. . .” Nazareth will no longer be Jesus’ city, Capernaum will be. This is in fulfillment of the prophecy of Isaiah 9: 1, 2:

“But there will be no gloom for her that was in anguish. In the former time he brought into contempt the land of Zebulun and the land of Naphtali, but in the latter time he will make glorious the way of the sea, the land beyond the Jordan, Galilee of the nations. The people who walked in darkness have seen a great light; those who dwelt in a land of deep darkness, on them has light shined.”

MARK 1: 14 - 20: "I WILL MAKE YOU FISHERS OF MEN."

Verse 14, 15: Mark sees the arrest of John as the beginning point of Jesus’ ministry. Now Jesus begins preaching in earnest: “The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand; repent, and believe in the gospel." This message is called the “gospel of God (or Christ, or the kingdom).”

Gospel – from Old English god spel, meaning “good message.” The Greek is euaggelion, meaning “good message” (good news). From this Greek word we get our English words “evangelist” and “evangelism.”

NOTE THAT JESUS’ MESSAGE (GOSPEL) HAS SOME IMPORTANT POINTS:

1. The time is fulfilled – it was the chosen time for the Messiah to appear. Jesus didn’t just burst upon the human scene unexpected, he came at just the right time to fulfill all the prophecies of the Old Testament (over 300). See Rom. 5: 6; Eph. 1: 9, 10; I Tim. 2: 5, 6; Titus 1: 1 - 3;

2. The kingdom of God is at hand – It is so close it can be touched. Do you realize that many denominations teach that the kingdom of God has not yet come? If so, then Jesus was a liar. See Mark 9: 1; Acts 1: 5 - 8; Acts 2: 17ff; and Col. 1: 13.

3. Repent – A necessary step to entering God’s kingdom. See Luke 13: 3, 5; Acts 2: 38, 47; Acts 17: 30.

4. Believe in the gospel – We cannot enter the kingdom of God without believing Christ’s message.

          So, what is the kingdom of God? Those persons (souls) who have believed in and been converted to Christ. In the beginning, the kingdom consisted of the faithful patriarchs and their believing families; under the Jewish Age, the kingdom of God consisted of the faithful Jews and such proselytes as converted to Judaism; now, in the Christian Age, the kingdom of God is expressed in the church. In eternity, the kingdom of God will be the saved of all times, drawn to God to live with him forever.

VERSES 16 - 20: “FOLLOW ME.”

          Jesus is walking along the Sea of Galilee, near Capernaum when he sees Peter and Andrew fishing. Later he also sees James and John mending their nets after (or before) fishing. His call to Peter and Andrew was simple and compelling, “Follow me and I will make you fishers of men.”

          These four men had already become Jesus’ disciples (John1: 35 - 42), but apparently, they thought of their positions as a “part-time” calling. Here, Jesus makes it clear that their full-time occupation will not be catching fish, but men. In other words, they were charged to take Jesus’ message to the people and bring them into the kingdom of God. These four were all related and had the same occupation: fishermen. They were all from the Galilee region. Peter and Andrew were originally from Bethsaida (John 1: 44), so it is likely that James and John were also. Notice the nature of their following: “. . . immediately they left their nets and followed him.”

          Apparently, Jesus disciples did not follow him everywhere after their initial contact with him. Most likely some time had elapsed after they had accompanied him back from Judea and Samaria, and so, while Jesus went to be with his family, they had gone back to their homes as well. (Peter, at least must have had a house in Capernaum. See note below.) While the Bible narrative may seem to progress instantly from one episode to the next, there are actually many unspecified gaps of time that may range from days to months.

VERSES 21 - 28: A DEMONIAC HEALED

Verses 21, 22: NOW, after being called to be fishers of men, the disciples are following Jesus everywhere he goes, and they go with him to Capernaum.

NOTE: Peter must have lived in Capernaum at this time, for after the events in the synagogue Jesus goes to his house, which means it was less than a Sabbath day’s journey away. On the Sabbath, no Jew could walk more than 2000 cubits (about 3/4 mile) and Bethsaida, Peter’s childhood home, was more than 5 miles away.

          In Capernaum Jesus taught in the synagogue on the Sabbath, and the people were very impressed, “for he taught them as one who had authority, and not as the scribes.”

WHO WERE THE SCRIBES?

          They are mentioned many times in the gospels. The word is from the Greek grammateus, meaning a copyist or secretary or writer. Ezra was a scribe – Ezra 7: 6, 10.

In Jesus’ day the scribes had three duties:

1. Make copies of the scriptures and see that they were distributed to all the synagogues.

2. Study the scriptures thoroughly and teach them to the people. This teaching could be either public (in the synagogues) or private (in the schools of religion). A scribe named Gamali-el was one of the teachers of Paul. (Acts 5: 34 and 22: 3)

3. They were called upon to settle disputes when there were differences of interpretation concerning the scriptures. (As in Acts 5: 34 - 39.) Almost all the scribes were of the sect of the Pharisees.

Verses 23, 24: A man with an “unclean spirit” comes into the synagogue and the “spirit” confronts Jesus: "What have you to do with us, Jesus of Nazareth? Have you come to destroy us? I know who you are, the Holy One of God." The term “Holy One of God” is synonymous with Messiah. (See also James 2: 19.)

WHAT IS AN UNCLEAN SPIRIT?

          In Luke 4: 33 (the parallel of this passage in Mark) it says he had an “unclean demon.” The unclean spirits were demonic beings which sometimes inhabited humans, bringing with them all manner of disease and madness. They are most likely the “angels” of Satan mentioned in Matt. 25: 41. Do they still afflict men? I don’t know. Unclean spirits are NOT mental illnesses, as liberal theologians would have us believe. They are actual demonic beings which sometimes inhabit the bodies of humans. This “possession” results in severe physical and mental harm.

Verse 25, 26: Jesus reprimands the foul spirit being and compels it to come out of the man. Jesus’ power to “exorcize” demonic spirits is mentioned many times in the gospels.

Verses 27, 28: This was a “new teaching!” Jesus was the first to cast out demons and so his fame grew.

VERSES 29 - 31: PETER’S MOTHER-IN-LAW HEALED

          Jesus and his disciples go to Peter’s house and he heals Peter’s mother-in-law of a fever. As soon as she was well, she got up and waited on them. (Fixed them food, most likely.)

NOTE: Peter WAS married, contrary to what the Catholics teach. The Greek word penthera means (definitely) “wife’s mother.”

VERSES 32 - 34: MIRACLES AS THE SUN SETS

          In the evening of the day (after the end of the Sabbath), while at Capernaum, with the “whole city” watching, Jesus heals the sick and those who were demon-possessed. “. . . and he would not permit the demons to speak, because they knew him.” Why wouldn’t he want the demons to declare who he was? (For a possible clue, see Luke 11: 14 - 20.)

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