Peter and Andrew Matthew 4:18

Matthew shared how Jesus was “baptized” and “tempted” by the “devil”, and he continued, “Then the devil left him, and, behold, angels came and ministered unto him. Now when Jesus had heard that John was cast into prison, he departed into Galilee. And leaving Nazareth, he came and dwelt in Capernaum, which is upon the sea coast, in the borders of Zabulon and Nephthalim: That it might be fulfilled which was spoken by Isaiah the prophet, saying, The land of Zabulon, and the land of Nephthalim, by the way of the sea, beyond Jordan, Galilee of the Gentiles; The people which sat in darkness saw great light; and to them which sat in the region and shadow of death light is sprung up. From that time Jesus began to preach, and to say, Repent: for the kingdom of heaven is at hand”, and in chapter four and verse eighteen of his book, Matthew shared how Jesus, “saw two brethren … Peter, and Andrew” where we read:

And Jesus, walking by the sea of Galilee, saw two brethren, Simon called Peter, and Andrew his brother, casting a net into the sea: for they were fishers.

The verse reads, “And Jesus, walking by the sea of Galilee, saw two brethren, Simon called Peter, ...” Matthew began with the words, “and Jesus” which means “Jehovah is Salvation” and is “the Son of God, the Savior of mankind and God incarnate” “walking” which means “making his progress and due use of opportunities” “by the sea” which means “beside the seawaters” “of Galilee” or “belonging to the region of northern Palestine bounded on the north by Syria, on the west by Sidon, Tyre, Ptolemais and their territories and the promontory of Carmel which is on the south by Samaria and on the east by the Jordan”, “saw” or “noticed, discerned and discovered” “two brethren” which refers to “two brothers”, “Simon” whose name means “a little stone or shifting sand” “called Peter” or “named a rock or stone”. Jesus “noticed” “Simon Peter” who was the first of “two brothers” mentioned by Matthew.

The verse goes on to say, “... and Andrew his brother, casting a net into the sea: for they were fishers.” Matthew continued with the words, “and Andrew” which means “a native of Bethsaida in Galilee who was the brother of Simon Peter and a disciple of John the Baptist who was afterwards an apostle of Christ. He is said to have been crucified at Patrae in Archaia.” “his brother” or “Simon Peter's brother”; “casting a net” which means “throwing and letting go of a fishing net” “into the sea” or “in the seawater”: “for” which means “because, since and on account that” “they were fishers” or “Simon Peter and Andrew were fishermen”. Matthew shared how the other brother seen with “Simon Peter” was “Andrew”, and both of the men were “fishing” with nets. .

When we consider Matthew's words in this verse, we notice how Jesus bagan to see men whom He would choose to be His disciples. “Simon Peter” and “Andrew” were “two” brothers who were among the first men Jesus chose, and they made their living by “fishing”. They were active in their service for life when Jesus noticed them, and they were being faithful to the task at hand. God desires to “call” many people unto repentance, and He often “calls” them while they are busy about their normal lives. As we consider Jesus “walking by the sea” and noticing “Peter and Andrew”, let us make ourselves available to Jesus to use in any manner that He sees best.

Next time Matthew shares how Jesus told Peter and Andrew, “follow me, and I will make you fishers of men” so read ahead, and we shall join together then.

Until tomorrow…there is more…

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