Matthew 4:18-2518And Jesus, walking by the sea of Galilee, saw two brethren, Simon called Peter, and Andrew his brother, casting a net into the sea: for they were fishers. 19And he saith unto them, Follow me, and I will make you fishers of men. 20And they straightway left their nets, and followed him. 21And going on from thence, he saw other two brethren, James the son of Zebedee, and John his brother, in a ship with Zebedee their father, mending their nets; and he called them. 22And they immediately left the ship and their father, and followed him. 23And Jesus went about all Galilee, teaching in their synagogues, and preaching the gospel of the kingdom, and healing all manner of sickness and all manner of disease among the people. 24And his fame went throughout all Syria: and they brought unto him all sick people that were taken with divers diseases and torments, and those which were possessed with devils, and those which were lunatick, and those that had the palsy; and he healed them. 25And there followed him great multitudes of people from Galilee, and from Decapolis, and from Jerusalem, and from Judea, and from beyond Jordan. (Matthew 4:18‑25)
The home of Jesus was not far from the sea (or lake) called Galilee, on the border of the country of Galilee. There were many people in that part, as several towns were near or on its shores.
The Jordan River flows through the sea of Galilee, bringing fresh water from the mountain streams, so the water is clear and deep, and has many fish. Men with boats and nets made fishing their work.
One day Jesus walked along the shore, and talked with two-men who were putting their net into the water. These men were brothers, Simon Peter and Andrew. Jesus told them to follow Him, and He would make them “fishers of men.” Then He spoke to two other fishermen near, to follow Him; they were of another family and brothers, also.
Matthew did not write much about the fishermen, but Luke wrote that Jesus was in the boat of Peter, and told him to cast the net into the deep water, and so many fish were caught that they called for the men near to help them to land. The men were astonished at the great number of fish caught, and were certain that Jesus was Lord, with power over all.
These men had before this heard the prophet John, and believed him about the mighty One to come. Andrew had seen Jesus where John was baptizing, and he had gone for Peter to come to see Him. (See John 1:35-4235Again the next day after John stood, and two of his disciples; 36And looking upon Jesus as he walked, he saith, Behold the Lamb of God! 37And the two disciples heard him speak, and they followed Jesus. 38Then Jesus turned, and saw them following, and saith unto them, What seek ye? They said unto him, Rabbi, (which is to say, being interpreted, Master,) where dwellest thou? 39He saith unto them, Come and see. They came and saw where he dwelt, and abode with him that day: for it was about the tenth hour. 40One of the two which heard John speak, and followed him, was Andrew, Simon Peter's brother. 41He first findeth his own brother Simon, and saith unto him, We have found the Messias, which is, being interpreted, the Christ. 42And he brought him to Jesus. And when Jesus beheld him, he said, Thou art Simon the son of Jona: thou shalt be called Cephas, which is by interpretation, A stone. (John 1:35‑42)).
So when Jesus told those men to follow Him; they knew Who He was that they should follow. To become “fishers of men,” meant that they should tell others of the Lord, that they should know Him, also.
After that, Peter, Andrew, James, and John went with Jesus to the towns around, and saw the wonderful things He did for the people, and heard His words. It was one of these men, John, who wrote one of the Gospels. They were not sorry that they followed Jesus, but loved and hored Him, as the Son of God, and their Lord, even to death.
People of other countries outside of Palestine heard of the power of Jesus to cure the sick, and Matthew told that from Syria, people with all kinds of diseases were brought to Jesus and He healed them. The people came from Jerusalem and from across the Jordan, to see and hear Jesus.
You can read of the great net full of fish in Luke 5:1-111And it came to pass, that, as the people pressed upon him to hear the word of God, he stood by the lake of Gennesaret, 2And saw two ships standing by the lake: but the fishermen were gone out of them, and were washing their nets. 3And he entered into one of the ships, which was Simon's, and prayed him that he would thrust out a little from the land. And he sat down, and taught the people out of the ship. 4Now when he had left speaking, he said unto Simon, Launch out into the deep, and let down your nets for a draught. 5And Simon answering said unto him, Master, we have toiled all the night, and have taken nothing: nevertheless at thy word I will let down the net. 6And when they had this done, they inclosed a great multitude of fishes: and their net brake. 7And they beckoned unto their partners, which were in the other ship, that they should come and help them. And they came, and filled both the ships, so that they began to sink. 8When Simon Peter saw it, he fell down at Jesus' knees, saying, Depart from me; for I am a sinful man, O Lord. 9For he was astonished, and all that were with him, at the draught of the fishes which they had taken: 10And so was also James, and John, the sons of Zebedee, which were partners with Simon. And Jesus said unto Simon, Fear not; from henceforth thou shalt catch men. 11And when they had brought their ships to land, they forsook all, and followed him. (Luke 5:1‑11),
Look for the Sea of Galilee on a map.
Galilee was also called Gennesarat, because land of that name was on one side. It was also called the sea of Tiberias, for a large town of that name on its shore.
ML 02/07/1943