Matthew 4:18-22

The Call of the Disciples

4:18 As ¹  he was walking by the Sea of Galilee he saw two brothers, Simon (called Peter) and Andrew his brother, casting a net into the sea (for they were fishermen). ²  4:19 He said to them, “Follow me, and I will turn you into fishers of people.” ³  4:20 They ⁴  left their nets immediately and followed him. ⁵  4:21 Going on from there he saw two other brothers, James the son of Zebedee and John his brother, in a boat ⁶  with Zebedee their father, mending their nets. Then ⁷  he called them. 4:22 They ⁸  immediately left the boat and their father and followed him.

Matthew 4:1

The Temptation of Jesus

4:1 Then Jesus was led by the Spirit into the wilderness ⁹  to be tempted by the devil.

Matthew 19:19-21

19:19 honor your father and mother, ¹⁰  and love your neighbor as yourself.” ¹¹  19:20 The young man said to him, “I have wholeheartedly obeyed ¹²  all these laws. ¹³  What do I still lack?” 19:21 Jesus said to him, “If you wish to be perfect, go sell your possessions and give the money ¹⁴  to the poor, and you will have treasure ¹⁵  in heaven. Then come, follow me.”

Galatians 1:16

1:16 to reveal his Son in ¹⁶  me so that I could preach him ¹⁷  among the Gentiles, I did not go to ask advice from ¹⁸  any human being, ¹⁹ 

[4:18]  ¹ tn Here δέ (de) has not been translated.

[4:18]  ² tn The two phrases in this verse placed in parentheses are explanatory comments by the author, parenthetical in nature.

[4:19]  ³ tn The Greek term ἄνθρωπος (anqrwpos) is used here in a generic sense, referring to both men and women, thus “people.”

[4:20]  ⁴ tn Here δέ (de) has not been translated.

[4:20]  ⁵ 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.

[4:21]  ⁶ 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.

[4:21]  ⁷ tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “then” to indicate the implied sequence of events within the narrative.

[4:22]  ⁸ tn Here δέ (de) has not been translated.

[4:1]  ⁹ tn Or “desert.”

[19:19]  ¹⁰ sn A quotation from Exod 20:12-16; Deut 5:16-20.

[19:19]  ¹¹ sn A quotation from Lev 19:18.

[19:20]  ¹² tn Grk “kept.” The implication of this verb is that the man has obeyed the commandments without fail, so the adverb “wholeheartedly” has been added to the translation to bring out this nuance.

[19:20]  ¹³ tn Grk “these things.” The referent of the pronoun (the laws mentioned by Jesus) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[19:21]  ¹⁴ tn The words “the money” are not in the Greek text, but are implied. Direct objects were often omitted in Greek when clear from the context.

[19:21]  ¹⁵ sn The call for sacrifice comes with a promise of eternal reward: You will have treasure in heaven. Jesus’ call is a test to see how responsive the man is to God’s direction through him. Will he walk the path God’s agent calls him to walk? For a rich person who got it right, see Zacchaeus in Luke 19:1-10.

[1:16]  ¹⁶ tn Or “to me”; the Greek preposition ἐν (en) can mean either, depending on the context.

[1:16]  ¹⁷ tn This pronoun refers to “his Son,” mentioned earlier in the verse.

[1:16]  ¹⁸ tn Or “I did not consult with.” For the translation “I did not go to ask advice from” see L&N 33.175.

[1:16]  ¹⁹ tn Grk “from flesh and blood.”