An exploration of how the call on the shores of Galilee encompasses the whole of discipleship and the theology of mission, with a focus on Matthew 4:18–22.
“As Jesus walked along the Sea of Galilee, he saw two brothers, Simon called Peter and his brother Andrew, casting a net into the sea, for they were fishermen. He said to them, ‘Follow me, and I will make you fishers of men.’”
Matthew 4:18–19
“Immediately they left their nets and followed Jesus.”
Matthew 4:20
Matthew 4 is where Jesus’ public ministry begins in earnest. After the temptations in the wilderness (Matthew 4:1–11), Jesus returns to Galilee and proclaims, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven has drawn near” (Matthew 4:17). Immediately afterward, he walks along the shore and calls four fishermen.
The Sea of Galilee, where this scene takes place, is an inland lake approximately 210 meters below sea level. With fertile surrounding land and a thriving fishing industry, first-century Galilee was an important fishing center within the Roman Empire. Peter and Andrew, James and John were ordinary fishermen who earned their living within this fishing economy. Jesus did not seek out philosophers. He did not seek out synagogue leaders. He sought out fishermen casting their nets. This is the first startling aspect of the call, “Follow me.”
In the structure of Matthew’s Gospel, chapter 4 is a decisive turning point. Chapters 1–2 recount Jesus’ birth and infancy, chapter 3 his baptism and the presence of the Holy Spirit, and chapter 4 his temptation and the beginning of his public ministry. Within this unfolding account, Matthew 4:18–22 records the first official act of that ministry. The very first thing Jesus did as he began his public ministry was to call disciples. He did not work alone. He first established those who would work alongside him. This is the method of mission and the starting point of discipleship.
The original Greek, “δεῦτε ὀπίσω μου” (deute opisō mou), literally means, “Come here, behind me.” More than a simple invitation, it is a command that identifies both a direction and a person. This brief sentence contains the very heart of discipleship.
The call is not to follow the law or a set of teachings. It is a call to follow the person who says, “Me.” Jesus is not merely one who taught the truth; he is the truth (John 14:6).
To follow is to walk behind the one who goes ahead. Rather than choosing the path ourselves, we walk in the footsteps of the one leading the way. As in Luke 9:62, it is a life that does not look back.
The call is not an endorsement of our present condition but a promise of transformation. Jesus uses fishermen as fishermen, but what they catch changes. Their existing way of life becomes an instrument of a new mission.
In the Jewish rabbinic culture of the time, disciples sought out their own teachers. Jesus, however, did the exact opposite. He took the initiative to seek them out and call them. John 15:16 says, “You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you.” The initiative in the call belongs entirely to Jesus. This is grace. We come not because we are qualified, but because we have been called.
The response of Peter and Andrew to Jesus’ call is recorded: “Immediately they left their nets and followed Jesus” (Matthew 4:20). James and John responded in the same way: “Immediately they left the boat and their father and followed Jesus” (Matthew 4:22).
The Greek word translated “immediately,” eutheōs (εὐθέως), appears repeatedly throughout Matthew’s Gospel to describe action taken at once, without delay. This immediacy reflects the same principle as the servant in the parable of the talents who “went at once and traded” (Matthew 25:16). The mark of faithfulness lies not in the extent of one’s ability but in the swiftness of one’s response.
For a fisherman, a net was more than a tool. It was his livelihood, his identity, and his future. The nets used by Galilean fishermen in those days were valuable assets, comparable to the entire set of business equipment owned by a self-employed person today. Peter and Andrew “left them behind.” The Greek word aphiēmi (ἀφίημι) means “to let go completely” or “to give up.” They did not sell the nets or entrust them to someone else. They left them where they were and walked away.
James and John went further. They followed Jesus, leaving not only their nets but also “the boat and their father” (Matthew 4:22). Their father, Zebedee, was in the boat mending the nets. They left the family business behind. Their decision placed the call above family ties. This is a living illustration of the second principle of discipleship in Luke 9: give greater importance to God’s call than to family ties.
| Disciples | What They Left Behind | Principle of Discipleship (Luke 9) |
|---|---|---|
| Peter · Andrew | Nets — livelihood and occupational identity | Overcome attachment to possessions |
| James · John | Boat and father — the family business and family ties | Put the call before family ties |
| All four | No looking back | Respond immediately and look only ahead |
“I will make you fishers of men” (Matthew 4:19). These words are more than a simple metaphor. They are a command to devote the full range of a fisherman’s skills and experience to a new mission. Yet there is a decisive difference between catching fish and fishing for people.
| Category | Fishers of Fish | Fishers of Men |
|---|---|---|
| Purpose | To take fish out of the water and put them to death | To bring people out of death and into life |
| Those Caught | Fish — without volition | People — beings with free will |
| Method | Nets · fishing lines · traps | The Word · one’s life · the witness of love |
| Outcome | Death | Life |
| Biblical Background | — | Jeremiah 16:16 / Ezekiel 47:9–10 |
In the Old Testament, the language of “fishing” is also used to describe judgment. Jeremiah 16:16 says, “I will summon many fishermen, and they will catch them.” Jesus’ use of the image, however, is different. In Ezekiel 47:9–10, the scene of fishermen standing beside a river of life-giving water and spreading their nets is an image of restoration and life. Fishers of men are instruments not of judgment but of salvation. To fish for people is to rescue those drowning in the sea of sin and death and bring them into life.
The parable of the sower in Matthew 13 and the parable of the fish and the net (Matthew 13:47–50) show how the ministry of fishers of men unfolds. The sower is a fisher of men who proclaims the Word (Romans 10:14). The net is cast across the whole world, gathering both the good and the bad. Judgment belongs to God. The fisherman’s task is to cast the net. “How can anyone hear without someone to proclaim the message?” (Romans 10:14).
Luke 9:57–62 presents three scenes that give concrete expression to a life lived in response to the call, “Follow me.” Each scene shows a practical demand placed upon those who say they will follow Jesus.
“Foxes have dens, and the birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay his head” (Luke 9:58). To the person who said he would follow him, the Lord did not promise guaranteed comfort. Like Peter and Andrew leaving their nets, discipleship begins with letting go of life’s safety net. The command in the parable of the talents to “go at once and trade” is likewise a call not to remain in a place of security.
“Allow me first to go and bury my father” (Luke 9:59). The Lord’s answer was firm: “Let the dead bury their own dead, but you go and proclaim the kingdom of God” (Luke 9:60). This is the same principle embodied by James and John when they left their father Zebedee in the boat and followed Jesus. The stronger the bonds of family, the more sharply this demand is felt. Yet the call takes precedence over every other bond.
“No one who puts a hand to the plow and looks back is fit for the kingdom of God” (Luke 9:62). When someone plowing a field looks back, the furrow becomes crooked. A disciple’s life is a life that looks only ahead. The words “left their nets” in “They left their nets and followed Jesus” express this principle. Discipleship means not looking back at one’s former life, former identity, or former safety net.
The call “Follow me” in Matthew 4:19 finds its fulfillment in “Go and make disciples of all nations” in Matthew 28:19. The structures of these two passages correspond exactly.
| Matthew 4:19 | Matthew 28:19–20 |
|---|---|
| “Follow me” | “Go and make disciples of all nations” |
| Jesus calls disciples | The disciples are commanded to make other disciples |
| The shores of Galilee — within Israel | The whole world — all nations |
| Four fishermen | Disciples throughout the world |
| “I will make you” — the promise of transformation | “I will be with you to the end of the age” — the promise of his presence |
“All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Therefore, go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to observe everything I have commanded you. Behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.”
Matthew 28:18–20
“All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me” (Matthew 28:18). This is the authority to make disciples, to teach, and to baptize. No ruler in this world can exercise this authority. The promise made on the shores of Galilee, “I will make you fishers of men,” is fulfilled in the command of the Lord, who received all authority after his resurrection. The church’s pattern of kerygma (proclamation) → koinonia (fellowship) → diakonia (service) is the way this Great Commission is put into practice.
Who is the one who says, “Follow me”? John 1:1 declares, “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.” John 1:14 says, “The Word became flesh and dwelt among us.” The one who called the fishermen on the shores of Galilee is truly God and truly human (Vere Deus Vere Homo). The one who came through the kenosis, or self-emptying, described in Philippians 2:6–8 took the initiative to seek out and call the fishermen. The call itself is an extension of that kenosis.
Why must we fish for people? Romans 1:18 and the verses that follow declare that humanity, unwilling to acknowledge God, has fallen into every kind of sin. As a result, God “gave them over” (Romans 1:24, 26, 28). Being given over is the most terrifying judgment, leading toward destruction. The mission of fishers of men is to rescue people from that sea of judgment. “The Son of Man came to seek and to save the lost” (Luke 19:10). Fishers of men participate in this work of salvation.
The final promise of the Great Commission is, “I am with you always, to the end of the age” (Matthew 28:20). This presence is realized through the Holy Spirit. John 16:7 says, “Unless I go away, the Helper will not come to you.” When Jesus called the fishermen with the words “Follow me,” they were not setting out alone. Fishers of men cast their nets together with the Holy Spirit. The strength that draws in the net is not the fisherman’s strength but the strength of the Holy Spirit.
That morning on the shores of Galilee, Jesus walked up to ordinary fishermen casting their nets. He did not ask about their education. He did not ask about their record of devotion. He simply said, “Follow me.” And they “immediately” left their nets.
That scene is repeated today. The Lord still comes into our everyday lives. Where we cast our nets, plow our fields, or sit at our desks, he speaks: “Follow me.” Those who respond “immediately” to that call become fishers of men. Just as the four fishermen of Galilee came to embrace the whole world, today’s response shapes tomorrow’s history.
“Behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.”
Matthew 28:20