Category:Call of the First Disciples (subject)
The Call of the First Disciples refers to an episode in the life of Jesus of Nazareth. The episode is narrated in the Gospel of Mark (1:16-20), and in the Gospel of Matthew (4:18-22), and according to different narratives, in the Gospel of Luke (5:1-11) and in the Gospel of John (1:35-51)
< People: Jesus of Nazareth -- Peter -- Andrew -- James son of Zebedee -- John -- Philip -- Nathanael >
Overview
In the Synoptics the first disciples of Jesus were Peter and his brother Andrew, and then James son of Zebedee and his brother John. When they were called by Jesus, they were fishermen in Galilee.
According to the Gospel of Mark (and Matthew) Jesus met Peter and Andrew while "passing along the Sea of Galilee" (Mk 1:16). Jesus invited them to follow him and "fish for people" (Mk 1:17). They "immediately left their nets and followed him" (Mk 1:18). The same did, immediately later, the sons of Zebedee, James and John. Then they all went to Capernaum, where "the house of Simon and Andrew" was (Mk 1:29).
In the Gospel of Luke, the Call of the First Disciples occurred after (not before) Jesus preached in Capernaum and healed Peter's Mother-in-Law. The Gospel of Luke also adds to the scene the story of a Miraculous Catch of Fish, which preceded the call. It also state that Simon was the owner of the boat and the sons of Zebedee were his partners.
In the Gospel of John, Judea is the setting. The first disciple to be called was Andrew. He was with another unnamed disciple when John the Baptist gave testimony to Jesus in Judea. Andrew convinced his brother Peter also to follow Jesus. Later, in Galilee, two more disciples joined Jesus, Philip and Nathanael.
The Call of the First Disciples in ancient sources
Gospel of Mark
...-> Baptism of Jesus -> Temptation of Jesus -> Beginning of Galilean Ministry -> Call of the First Disciples -> Man with an Unclean Spirit -> Peter's Mother-in-Law -> Preaching Tour ->...
Mk 1:16-20 (NRSV) -- [16] As Jesus passed along the Sea of Galilee, he saw Simon and his brother Andrew casting a net into the sea--for they were fishermen. 17 And Jesus said to them, "Follow me and I will make you fish for people." 18 And immediately they left their nets and followed him. 19 As he went a little farther, he saw James son of Zebedee and his brother John, who were in their boat mending the nets. 20 Immediately he called them; and they left their father Zebedee in the boat with the hired men, and followed him.
Gospel of Matthew
... -> Baptism of Jesus -> Temptation of Jesus -> Beginning of Galilean Ministry -> Call of the First Disciples -> Ministering to a Great Multitude -> Beatitudes -> Salt and Light ...
Matthew 4:18-22 (NRSV) -- [18] As he walked by the Sea of Galilee, he saw two brothers, Simon, who is called Peter, and Andrew his brother, casting a net into the sea--for they were fishermen. 19 And he said to them, "Follow me, and I will make you fish for people." 20 Immediately they left their nets and followed him. 21 As he went from there, he saw two other brothers, James son of Zebedee and his brother John, in the boat with their father Zebedee, mending their nets, and he called them. 22 Immediately they left the boat and their father, and followed him.
Gospel of Luke
Luke 5:1-11 (NRSV) -- [1] Once while Jesus was standing beside the lake of Gennesaret, and the crowd was pressing in on him to hear the word of God, 2 he saw two boats there at the shore of the lake; the fishermen had gone out of them and were washing their nets. 3 He got into one of the boats, the one belonging to Simon, and asked him to put out a little way from the shore. Then he sat down and taught the crowds from the boat. 4 When he had finished speaking, he said to Simon, "Put out into the deep water and let down your nets for a catch." 5 Simon answered, "Master, we have worked all night long but have caught nothing. Yet if you say so, I will let down the nets." 6 When they had done this, they caught so many fish that their nets were beginning to break. 7 So they signaled their partners in the other boat to come and help them. And they came and filled both boats, so that they began to sink. 8 But when Simon Peter saw it, he fell down at Jesus' knees, saying, "Go away from me, Lord, for I am a sinful man!" 9 For he and all who were with him were amazed at the catch of fish that they had taken; 10 and so also were James and John, sons of Zebedee, who were partners with Simon. Then Jesus said to Simon, "Do not be afraid; from now on you will be catching people." 11 When they had brought their boats to shore, they left everything and followed him.
Gospel of John
John 1:35-51 (NRSV) -- [35] The next day John again was standing with two of his disciples, [36] and as he watched Jesus walk by, he exclaimed, "Look, here is the Lamb of God!" [37] The two disciples heard him say this, and they followed Jesus. [38] When Jesus turned and saw them following, he said to them, "What are you looking for?" They said to him, "Rabbi" (which translated means Teacher), "where are you staying?" [39] He said to them, "Come and see." They came and saw where he was staying, and they remained with him that day. It was about four o'clock in the afternoon. [40] One of the two who heard John speak and followed him was Andrew, Simon Peter's brother. [41] He first found his brother Simon and said to him, "We have found the Messiah" (which is translated Anointed). [42] He brought Simon to Jesus, who looked at him and said, "You are Simon son of John. You are to be called Cephas" (which is translated Peter). [43] The next day Jesus decided to go to Galilee. He found Philip and said to him, "Follow me." [44] Now Philip was from Bethsaida, the city of Andrew and Peter. [45] Philip found Nathanael and said to him, "We have found him about whom Moses in the law and also the prophets wrote, Jesus son of Joseph from Nazareth." [46] Nathanael said to him, "Can anything good come out of Nazareth?" Philip said to him, "Come and see." [47] When Jesus saw Nathanael coming toward him, he said of him, "Here is truly an Israelite in whom there is no deceit!" [48] Nathanael asked him, "Where did you get to know me?" Jesus answered, "I saw you under the fig tree before Philip called you." [49] Nathanael replied, "Rabbi, you are the Son of God! You are the King of Israel!" [50] Jesus answered, "Do you believe because I told you that I saw you under the fig tree? You will see greater things than these." [51] And he said to him, "Very truly, I tell you, you will see heaven opened and the angels of God ascending and descending upon the Son of Man."
The Call of the First Disciples in Scholarship
The Call of the First Disciples in Literature & the Arts
External links
Pages in category "Call of the First Disciples (subject)"
The following 4 pages are in this category, out of 4 total.