And going on thence he saw other two brothers, James the [son] of Zebedee and John his brother, in the ship with Zebedee their father, mending their trawl-nets, and he called them;
Two brothers are mending nets in the family boat with their father when Jesus walks past and calls them. Everything looks ordinary — so what is this call, why did it come to men like these, and what did it cost?
James and John already knew Jesus. Writers see this moment as something further — a summons into His work.
It is one thing for Christ to reveal Himself to a soul; it is another to make that soul a fisher of men. It takes a special faith to act upon the souls of others. The simple saving faith that lays hold of Christ for one's own soul is not at all the same thing as understanding the call of Christ. That call summons a man away from all the natural objects of this life to do His work... They had already believed in Him, and had everlasting life. But even with everlasting life a man may still be following a good deal of the world. He may be taken up with what makes his own life here comfortable, and remain one more member of the society of men.
Some readers hear "Follow Me" as the call to believe.
It is not the first acquaintance these four men had with the Lord. They knew Him before. Here it is the definite call which comes to them to be fishers of men... The "Follow Me" here does not mean, as often wrongly stated, the call of the gospel. Gospel preaching never asks people to follow the Lord, but to "believe in the Lord Jesus." This is the "Follow Me" for service.
One writer sees the plainness of this scene as deliberate.
God does not choose His human instruments because the instrument itself is uniquely and naturally fit for the work. He chooses them because He sees in them material that He can make fit for His purpose... We just have the Lord walking by the sea; the fishermen at their work; His call, holding out to them no alluring prospects; their immediate response. Such simplicity was a deathblow to the pride of the Jew. He would have loved to see their family line traced back to some ancient and honourable family in Israel. It was a deathblow to the pride of the Gentile too, who would have wished to see them trained in the philosophy of the schools, or in the arts of war and legislation.
Peter and Andrew were casting their net; James and John were repairing theirs. The word for repair has another use.
The word for restoring a fallen believer is applied to mending nets (Matt. 4:21). The broken ends are joined and restored to their proper place and function in the whole. So with the failing saint as a member of the body of Christ.
One writer weighs casting against mending.
Each service has its place; some were "mending" the nets, others "casting" the nets. Some seem to think casting is everything, and that no mending is required. If you don't look after your nets you won't catch fish. Unless you read, and grow in the truth, you are exposed to danger.
The verse names Zebedee, and that name carries the weight of the moment.
Faith enables them to give up the very means of their material support for the Lord's sake. More than this, they give up their dependence on a natural relationship. Yet they did not disregard their father's needs, for Mark 1:20 tells us that hired servants were in the boat too.
The father left behind is not shown as a victim of the call.
As the Lord walked on the shore of the lake, He spoke the words no one could resist. They made his two sons give up their ordinary trade. Zebedee was in the boat with them at the time, all busy mending their nets. The words of Christ were few and simple, with no promise of earthly reward attached to them. Yet they were enough... Zebedee, it seems, was quite satisfied with how quickly they obeyed the call of Christ. We read of no word of complaint or objection. He continued his occupation, not called to leave it as they were, while his two sons began the career that will lead them to sit on thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel.
- Seen. The Lord came to these men at work in the family boat, mending nets.
- Called. Faith in Christ and a call into His service are two different steps. They already had life; this was the summons to leave the rest behind for His work.
- Chosen. He did not pick them for learning or family standing. He picked material He could make fit, so no one can boast in the instrument.
- Mending. The word means putting something back in working order. It is used of setting a fallen believer right again. Casting is not the whole of service — unrepaired nets catch nothing.
- Cost. They left the income and the family tie. Hired servants stayed in the boat, and their father raised no objection.
and they, having left the ship and their father, immediately followed him.
Jesus calls the second pair of brothers as they sit in the family boat, mending nets beside their father. One word from Him ends that life, and commentators ask what the call cost and who has the right to make it.
Knowing Christ is one step. Being sent to reach others is another.
It is one thing for Christ to reveal Himself to a soul; it is another to make that soul a fisher of men. There is a special faith needed in order to act on the souls of others. Simple saving faith takes Christ for one's own soul. That is not at all the same thing as understanding the call of Christ, which summons a person away from all the natural aims of this life to do His work... They had already believed in Him and had eternal life. But even with eternal life, a man may be following a good deal of the world. Many godly people still stay mixed up with the world. The Lord must call them away, to make them the companions of His own service and to fit them for carrying out His own objects. But they have a father: what should they do? It makes no difference; the call of Christ outweighs every other claim.
These were not men with time on their hands. One writer finds what moved them in a single word.
Some of us, I fear, prefer the word "claim"; but as for me I love that word "charm." But I think I hear you say, Does not the Lord claim you? Ah! but does He not charm you? They were charmed... and immediately they left property, ship, father, nets, everything. Now take particular note of this. Do not think for a moment that those men were idle, men who had nothing to do... they were all engaged with their nets, or their fishing, or with their father.
The boat was their income. Their father was their place in a family. They left both, and one writer shows they did not leave him uncared for.
They leave the ship and their father. For the Lord's sake, faith enables them to give up the very means of their material support. More than this, it enables them to give up their dependence on a natural relationship. There was no disregard for their father's needs in this matter, however, for Mark 1:20 tells us that there were hired servants also in the boat.
Children owe a duty to their parents. So who can set that duty aside? One writer answers by placing these two sons beside a man who used his father as a reason to delay.
God alone established the responsibility of children to their parents. He alone can set that responsibility aside... At the call of Jesus, James and John left their father Zebedee in the ship with their hired servants and went after Him. It was so with others. Peter said, "See, we have left everything and followed you." But we read that the Lord said to another, "Follow me," and he was ready with an excuse. He took refuge in his responsibilities as a son, and asked to be allowed to wait until his father was dead and buried.
The word for what they were doing has a wider use. One writer follows it through the New Testament.
The word "set to rights" first appears in the New Testament in Matthew 4:21. There the Lord found James and John with their father in a ship, mending their nets — "putting them to right"... It is also used for setting a broken bone, putting it to rights. So, even if a man should fall, you, the spiritual ones, set him to rights.
The same writer sees their mending as a picture of their later work: "a restorative, pastoral work, to revive one's energy for effective service" (Leslie M. Grant).
The father stays behind in the boat. One writer looks at how he took it.
Zebedee was in the boat with his two sons, all busy mending their nets. Then the Lord walked along the shore of the lake and spoke the words no one could resist — the words that made his two sons give up their ordinary work. Few and simple were the words of Christ, and with no promise of earthly reward attached. Yet they were enough... Apparently Zebedee was quite satisfied with their immediate obedience to the call of Christ. We read of no word of complaint or protest. He continued his occupation, not called to leave it as they were.
- Call. Saving faith and a call to serve are not the same step. The Lord called these believing men away from their comfort to make them useful to Him.
- Charm. These were busy men, not idle ones. What emptied the boat was the charm of Christ's voice, not only His claim on them.
- Cost. They gave up two things at once: their income and their place in a family.
- Care. Leaving was not neglect. Hired servants stayed in the boat, and Zebedee, never called away, kept working without a word of complaint.
- Craft. The word for mending nets means setting a thing to rights. It is also used of restoring people who have fallen. Their old trade pictured their new one.