Mark 1:20

CHAPTER 12

THE MIRACULOUS DRAUGHT OF FISHES

Luk 5:1-11. “And it came to pass, while the multitudes were pressing on Him to hear the word of God, and He was standing near the Lake Genesareth [i.e., the Sea of Galilee], and He saw two ships standing by the lake, and the fishermen having gone from them were washing their nets, and entering into one of the ships, which belonged to Simon, He requested him to shove out a little from the land, and sitting down, He was teaching the multitudes from the ship. And when He ceased speaking, He said to Simon, Lead out into the deep, and spread your nets for a draught. And Simon, responding, said to Him, Master, toiling through the whole night, we caught nothing; but at Thy word I will spread the net. And doing this, they caught a great multitude of fishes; and their net was breaking, and they beckoned to their comrades in the other ship, having come to assist them; they came, and filled both the ships, so that they were sinking. Simon Peter, seeing, fell before the knees of Jesus, said to Him, Depart from me, because I am a sinful man, Lord; because affright took hold of him, and all those who were with him, on account of the draught of fishes which they received; likewise, James and John, the sons of Zebedee, who were companions of Simon. And Jesus said to Simon, Fear not; from now you shall be catching men. And hauling their ships up on the land, leaving all, they followed Him.” Mark (Mar 1:20) says: “Immediately He called them. And leaving their father Zebedee in the ship, with the hired hands, they departed after Him.” The beautiful sea of Galilee, clear as a crystal, limpid and bright, sixteen and a half miles long, seven and a half miles wide, with seventy miles of coast, one hundred and thirty feet deep, this day abounds in a vast variety of most excellent fish. My hotel-keeper said he caught five thousand pounds at a single draught. The prophetic desolation has been on that country so long — being mainly given up to the wandering Arabs, who exhibit but little skill in fishing — they have accumulated in vast quantities, ready for the returning children of Abraham, who are fast coming back, and quite a number have recently gathered about this beautiful sea, so memorable in the history of our Lord. This scene took place near Capernaum, headquarters of our Savior and His disciples, and resulted in the call of Peter and Andrew who were brothers, sons of Jonah, and James and John, who were brothers, the sons of Zebedee and Salome. They were professional fishermen, and, as we see before, owned ships — i.e., fishing-boats — and hired hands, to serve them in their business. Hence it seems that they were doing well. While this wonderful and miraculous draught of fishes, looking like they had struck such a run of luck that they would certainly get rich quickly, was calculated so to encourage them in their business that they would certainly hold on; but grace prevails and gets the victory. They leave their ships, and their hired hands — their livelihood, and with no prospect of temporal support, relying only on the good providence of God, they forsake all and follow Jesus, who has already assured them that He will make them fishers of men. How magnificantly true! Who can count the numberless host that had been won for Jesus through the living ministry of these four apostles, and their words of steel and lightning left shining in God’s blessed Book? This wonderful miracle, right on the spot where they had fished all night (a better time than the day) and caught nothing; now they catch so many that they fill both ships, and they are sinking under the intolerable quantity of large and splendid fishes — no wonder they tare overwhelmed with the realization that they are in the presence of a Superhuman Being; the very consciousness of the Almighty inundates them with reverential awe, and appalls them with the apprehension of the Divine presence and power. Consequently, Peter naturally deeply sensitive and excitable, shouts:

“Lord depart from me, because I am a sinful man.” Peter was not sanctified till Pentecost, three years subsequently; hence he is affrighted with the realization of his sinful nature. O what a happy choice did these four bright young men make when they exchanged their fishing-boats for the silver trumpet! The manner of their lives, inured to the hardships of sea and land, toiling all night, exposed to the chilly waters and the arduous, constant toil, had proved to them a most valuable gymnasium, which had developed in them an iron constitution, and eminently prepared them for the conflicts, exposures, privations, burdens, and toils of missionary life, far better than any theological curriculum they could have gone through. While intellectual culture is not to be depreciated, but continued through this life and, doubtless, coming eternity, the physical constitution and the spiritual experiences and enduements constitute the preponderant qualifications of a gospel preacher.

William B. Godbey, Commentary on the New Testament (1896–1900) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Mar 1:20. Μισθωτῶν, the hired servants) It is probable from this that Zebedee was not a poor man.

Bengel's Gnomon of the New Testament — English translation (T&T Clark, Edinburgh, 1860) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Mar 1:20 . μετὰ μισθωτῶν : they left their father with the hired assistants . This is taken by some as a merely pictorial trait, but others justly regard it as a touch of humanity. It comforted Mk. and probably his voucher Peter that the two brothers did not need to leave their father alone . He could do without them.

The Expositor's Greek Testament, edited by W. Robertson Nicoll (1897–1910) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

(20) With the hired servants.—Peculiar to this Gospel, and of some interest as throwing light on the relative social position of the sons of Zebedee.

A Bible Commentary for English Readers, edited by Charles John Ellicott (1878–1897) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

20. straightway] Notice the frequency of this formula of transition. It has occurred just before, Mar_1:18.

the hired servants] The mention of these, of the two vessels employed (Luk_5:7), and the subsequent allusion to St John’s acquaintance with a person in so high a position as the high priest (Joh_18:15), seem to indicate that Zebedee, if not a wealthy man, was at any rate of some position at Capernaum.

went after him] For the miraculous draught of fishes which accompanied or followed this incident see Luk_5:2-11. Observe how gradually the Four had been called to their new work; (1) first they were disciples of the Baptist (Joh_1:35); (2) then they were directed by him to the Lamb of God (Joh_1:36); (3) afterwards they were invited by our Lord to see where He dwelt (Joh_1:39); (4) then they became witnesses of His first miracle (Joh_2:2); (5) now after a further exhibition of His power over nature they are enrolled amongst His attached followers. The still more formal call was yet to come.

The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges (gen. ed. J. J. S. Perowne; Cambridge University Press, 1878–1918) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

And straightway he called them,.... As soon as he saw them; for he was looking out for them, having appointed them long before to the service he now called them to;

and they left their father Zebedee with the hired servants, and went after him. It might seem unnatural, had they left their father alone in the ship, to have taken the care and management of it, and therefore it is added, "with the hired servants"; who were hired for that purpose, to assist in mending the nets, and casting them, and managing the ship, and conducting it from place to place, and therefore were not to be charged with want of humanity; and such was the power that went along with Christ's call, that notwithstanding natural affection to their parents, and the gain they might get by these servants and their trade, they cheerfully quitted all, and followed Christ; See Gill on Mat 4:22.

John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

20 And straightway he called them: and they left their father Zebedee in the ship with the hired servants, and went after him.

Ver. 20. {See Trapp on "Mat 4:21"}

John Trapp, A Commentary or Exposition upon All the Books of the Old and New Testament (1647–1656) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

20. καὶ εὐθὺς ἐκάλεσεν. As soon as He saw them, being certain of success, He called them. Mt. again preserves the εὐθύς, but employs it, as before, to mark the immediate response to Christ’s invitation. James and John apparently had more to leave than Peter and Andrew had, but in each case all was left (Mar 10:28). Mk does not repeat the words of invitation and he varies the description of the response. To follow Christ is a call superior even to parental claims (Mat 8:22; Mat 10:37; Luk 14:26). “With the hired servants” is one of the unessential details in Mk which Mt. omits; cf. Mar 1:29, Mar 4:38, Mar 5:13, Mar 6:37, Mar 14:5, etc.

The Messiah has chosen four simple fishermen with whom to begin the work of converting the world. Piscatores et illitterati mittuntur ad praedicandum, ne fides credentium, non in virtute Dei, sed eloquentia atque doctrina putaretur (Bede). But Christ did not prefer ignorance to education. There was much in the patient endurance necessary for a fisherman’s calling that was good training for the work of converting the world.

Cambridge Greek Testament for Schools and Colleges (Cambridge University Press, 1896; 21 vols, various authors incl. Carr, Maclear, Plummer, Farrar, Lumby, Moule, M. R. James, Simcox) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

20.] μετὰ τῶν μισθ. is inserted for particularity, and perhaps to soften the leaving their father alone. It gives us a view of the station of life of Zebedee and his sons; they were not poor fishermen, but had hired servants.

Matt. has ἠκολούθης. αὐτ.

Now may we not venture to say that both these accounts came from Peter originally? Matthew’s an earlier one, taught (or given in writing perhaps) without any definite idea of making it part of a larger work; but this carefully corrected and rendered accurate, even to the omitting the name Peter, which though generally known, and therefore mentioned in the oral account, was perhaps not yet formally given, and was therefore omitted in the historical.

Henry Alford, The Greek Testament (1849–1861) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

20. Καὶ εὐθὺς ἐκάλεσεν αὐτούς—And immediately he called them. The immediateness here attaches to the call itself, in the former case to the response. He called them immediately, i.e., without any preliminary or preparatory act on his part.

εὐθὺς is here again substituted for εὐθέως. In brief it is so substituted in most of the cases where it is used in Mk. It is unnecessary to cite the authorities in each case.

ἀπῆλθον ὀπίσω μου—they went away after him. This is a very good illustration of the way in which this act of following acquires its figurative meaning, and in which also the original and figurative meanings may be combined. Here the outward act was going away after Jesus, but the meaning of it was following in the sense of discipleship.

The accounts of this call in the Synoptics furnish a good example of the varying relations of these gospels. Between Mat 4:18-22 and Mk., there is the close verbal resemblance which can be explained only by their interdependence. Lk., on the other hand, presents a different version, evidently from an independent source, and it differs from the others just as we should expect independent accounts of the same event to differ. The points of difference in Lk.’s account are: (a) he found the boats empty; (b) the fishermen belonging to both were washing their nets; (c) the different occasion of the promise about catching men, which is in this case addressed to Peter alone; (d) the introduction of the discourse to the multitude from the boat, and of the miraculous draught of fishes, which can be brought into the account of Mt. and Mk., but not in the connection given by Lk.; (e) he makes the whole a single event in which all four men participated, while Mt. and Mk. give two calls addressed successively and independently to the men in each boat.

THE FIRST MIRACLE

International Critical Commentary — older volumes (1896–1929), various authors — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

With the hired servants

Peculiar to Mark. It may imply that Zebedee carried on his business on a larger scale than ordinary fishermen.

Marvin R. Vincent, Word Studies in the New Testament (1887–1900) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.