Matthew 4:18-22 - Jesus Calls His First Disciples

¹⁸ As Jesus was walking along the shore of the Sea of Galilee, he saw two brothers--Simon, also known as Peter, and his brother Andrew--casting a net into the Sea; for they were fishermen. ¹⁹ "Come and follow me," Jesus said, "and I will set you to fish for men." ²⁰ The two men left their nets at once and followed him.

²¹ Going further on, he saw two other men who were also brothers, James, Zebediah's son, and his brother John, in their boat with their father, mending their nets. Jesus called them, ²² And they at once left their boat and their father, and followed him.

¹⁶ As Jesus was going along the shore of the Sea of Galilee, he saw Simon and his brother Andrew casting a net in the Sea, for they were fishermen.

¹⁷ "Come and follow me," Jesus said, "and I will set you to fish for men." ¹⁸ They left their nets at once, and followed him. ¹⁹ Going on a little further, he saw James, Zebediah's son, and his brother John, who also were in their boat mending the nets. ²⁰ Jesus at once called them, and they left their father Zebediah in the boat with the crew, and went after him.

²¹ And they walked into Capernaum. On the next Sabbath Jesus went into the Synagogue and began to teach.

¹ Once, when the people were pressing round Jesus as the listened to God's Message, he happened to be standing by the shore of the Lake of Gennesaret, and saw two boats close to the shore. ² The fishermen had gone away from them and were washing the nets. ³ So, getting into one of the boats, which belonged to Simon, Jesus asked him to push off a little way from the shore, and then sat down and taught the people from the boat.

⁴ When he had finished speaking, he said to Simon: "Push off into deep water, and throw out your nets for a haul."

⁵ "We have been hard at work all night, Sir," answered Simon, "and have not caught anything, but, at your bidding, I will throw out the nets."

⁶ They did so, and enclosed such a great shoal of fish that their nets began to break. ⁷ So they signaled to their partners in the other boat to come and help them; and they came and filled both the boats so full of fish that they were almost sinking.

⁸ When Simon Peter saw this, he threw himself down at Jesus' knees, exclaiming: "Master, leave me, for I am a sinful man!" ⁹ For he and all who were with him were lost in amazement at the haul of fish which they had made; ¹⁰ And so, too, were James and John, Zebediah's sons, who were Simon's partners. "Do not be afraid," Jesus said to Simon; "from to-day you shall catch men." ¹¹ And, when they had brought their boats to shore, they left everything, and followed him.