Jesus · c. AD 28
Chapter 17
Fishers of People
He said to them, “Come after me, and I will make you fishers for men.”They immediately left their nets and followed him.
For parents
In the synagogue at Capernaum an unclean spirit cries out, throws a man down and shakes him, then comes out of him without harming him (Luke 4:33–35; Mark 1:23–26). Jesus drives out many demons in this chapter; it is told plainly, without frightening detail.
came down to the town of in . As soon as the came, he went into the and taught the people there.
His teaching amazed them, because there was authority in his words. He taught them like someone who had authority, not the way the did.
Right then, in the synagogue, a man with the spirit of an shouted at the top of his voice, “Ah! What do we have to do with you, Jesus of ? Have you come to destroy us? I know who you are: the Holy One of God!”
Jesus spoke sharply to him. “Be silent, and come out of him!”
The demon threw the man down in the middle of them. The unclean spirit made him shake all over. It gave a loud cry and came out of him, leaving him unharmed.
Everyone was amazed. “What is this?” they asked one another. “What is this new teaching? What is this word of his? He commands even the unclean spirits with authority and power, and they obey him and come out!”
At once the news about him spread to every place in the whole region of Galilee and the country around it.
Jesus got up and left the synagogue, and he went to the house of . Mark calls it the house of Peter and , and says that two brothers, and , ’s sons, went there with them.
Peter’s mother-in-law lay sick with a high fever. Right away they told Jesus about her, and they begged him to help her. Matthew says that Jesus saw her lying there sick when he came into the house.
Luke says that Jesus stood over her and spoke sharply to the fever. Mark says he came and took her by the hand and raised her up. Matthew says he touched her hand. And the fever left her. At once she got up and served them. In Matthew, she served him.
That evening, at sunset, people brought to Jesus everyone they had who was sick with any kind of disease. They brought those who had demons too. The whole town gathered at the door.
Luke says that Jesus laid his hands on every one of them and healed them. In Mark, he healed many people who were sick with all sorts of diseases, and drove out many demons. Matthew says that he drove out the spirits with a word, and he healed all who were sick.
Demons came out of many of them too, crying out, “You are the , the Son of God!” But Jesus spoke sharply to them and didn’t allow them to speak, because they knew that he was the Christ. Mark says it was because they knew him.
Matthew says this happened so that the words spoken through the would come true: “He took our sicknesses and carried our diseases.”
Jesus got up early in the morning, while it was still dark, and went out. He went away to a deserted place and prayed there. Luke says he left when day came.
Peter and the others with him went searching for Jesus. When they found him, they told him, “Everyone is looking for you.”
“Let’s go elsewhere, into the next towns, so that I can preach there too,” Jesus said to them, “because this is the reason I came out.”
In Luke, it was the crowds who looked for him. They came to him and held on to him so that he would not go away from them. But he told them, “I must preach the good news of God’s Kingdom to the other towns too. This is the reason I was sent.”
He went all through Galilee, teaching in their synagogues, preaching the Good News of the Kingdom, driving out demons, and healing every disease and every sickness among the people.
Word about him went out all through . People brought him everyone who was sick with all sorts of diseases and pains. They brought those who had demons, or had seizures, or were paralyzed, and he healed them.
Great crowds followed him from Galilee and the , from and , and from the other side of .
Mark and Matthew tell of Jesus calling these four men before he came to Peter’s house, and they tell it like this. Walking by the Sea of Galilee, Jesus saw two brothers, Peter and Andrew, throwing their net into the sea, because they were fishermen.
“Come after me, and I will make you fishers for men,” Jesus said to them.
Right away they left their nets and followed him.
A little farther on, he saw two more brothers, Zebedee’s sons James and John. They were in the boat with Zebedee their father, mending their nets. At once Jesus called them. Right away they left the boat. They left their father Zebedee in it with the hired workers, and went after Jesus.
Luke goes on to tell of a day by the lake of . As Jesus stood beside the water, the crowd pressed in around him and heard the word of God.
He saw two boats there by the lake, but the fishermen had gone ashore and were washing their nets.
One of the boats was Peter’s. Jesus got into it and asked Peter to move it out a little from the land. He sat down there and taught the crowds from the boat.
When he had finished speaking, he said to Peter, “Go out where the water is deep, and let down your nets for a catch.”
“Master,” Peter answered, “we worked all night and caught nothing. But since you tell me to, I will let down the net.”
They did, and they caught a huge number of fish. Their net was breaking. They waved to their partners in the other boat. The partners came to help them, and they filled both boats until the boats began to sink.
When Peter saw it, he fell at Jesus’ knees. “Depart from me,” he said, “for I am a sinful man, Lord.”
Peter and everyone with him were amazed at the catch of fish. So were Peter’s partners, Zebedee’s sons James and John.
Jesus said to Peter, “Don’t be afraid. From now on you will be catching people alive.”
When they had brought their boats to land, they left everything and followed him.