Matthew 4:19-22

4:19 He said to them, “Follow me, and I will turn you into fishers of people.” ¹  4:20 They ²  left their nets immediately and followed him. ³  4:21 Going on from there he saw two other brothers, James the son of Zebedee and John his brother, in a boat ⁴  with Zebedee their father, mending their nets. Then ⁵  he called them. 4:22 They ⁶  immediately left the boat and their father and followed him.

Matthew 9:9

The Call of Matthew; Eating with Sinners

9:9 As Jesus went on from there, he saw a man named Matthew sitting at the tax booth. ⁷  “Follow me,” he said to him. And he got up and followed him.

Matthew 16:24

16:24 Then Jesus said to his disciples, “If anyone wants to become my follower, ⁸  he must deny ⁹  himself, take up his cross, ¹⁰  and follow me.

¹ tn The Greek term ἄνθρωπος (anqrwpos) is used here in a generic sense, referring to both men and women, thus “people.”

² tn Here δέ (de) has not been translated.

³ sn The expression followed him pictures discipleship, which means that to learn from Jesus is to follow him as the guiding priority of one’s life.

⁴ tn Or “their boat.” The phrase ἐν τῷ πλοίῳ (en tw ploiw) can either refer to a generic boat, some boat (as it seems to do here); or it can refer to “their” boat, implying possession. Mark assumes a certain preunderstanding on the part of his readers about the first four disciples and hence the translation “their boat” is justified (cf. also v. 20 in which the “hired men” indicates that Zebedee’s family owned the boats), while Matthew does not.

⁵ tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “then” to indicate the implied sequence of events within the narrative.

⁶ tn Here δέ (de) has not been translated.

⁷ tn While “tax office” is sometimes given as a translation for τελώνιον (telwnion, so L&N 57.183), this could give the modern reader a false impression of an indoor office with all its associated furnishings.

⁸ tn Grk “to come after me.”

⁹ tn This translation better expresses the force of the Greek third person imperative than the traditional “let him deny,” which could be understood as merely permissive.

¹⁰ sn To bear the cross means to accept the rejection of the world for turning to Jesus and following him. Discipleship involves a death that is like a crucifixion; see Gal 6:14.