Mark 1:16

Now as he walked by the sea of Galilee, he saw Simon and Andrew his brother casting a net into the sea: for they were fishers.

EXPOSITORY (ENGLISH BIBLE)

Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers

(16) As he walked by the sea of Galilee.—See Notes on Matthew 4:18-22. St. Mark names Simon without the addition of Peter.

Matthew Henry's Concise Commentary

1:14-22 Jesus began to preach in Galilee, after that John was put in prison. If some be laid aside, others shall be raised up, to carry on the same work. Observe the great truths Christ preached. By repentance we give glory to our Creator whom we have offended; by faith we give glory to our Redeemer who came to save us from our sins. Christ has joined these two together, and let no man think to put them asunder. Christ puts honour upon those who, though mean in this world, are diligent in their business and kind to one another. Industry and unity are good and pleasant, and the Lord Jesus commands a blessing on them. Those whom Christ calls, must leave all to follow him; and by his grace he makes them willing to do so. Not that we must needs go out of the world, but we must sit loose to the world; forsake every thing that is against our duty to Christ, and that cannot be kept without hurt to our souls. Jesus strictly kept the sabbath day, by applying himself unto, and abounding in the sabbath work, in order to which the sabbath rest was appointed. There is much in the doctrine of Christ that is astonishing; and the more we hear it, the more cause we see to admire it.

Barnes' Notes on the Bible

See the notes at Matthew 4:18-22.

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary

Mr 1:14-20. Christ Begins His Galilean Ministry—Calling of Simon and Andrew, James and John.

See on [1399]Mt 4:12-22.

Matthew Poole's Commentary

Ver. 16-20. We heard of the call of these four apostles before, in Matthew.

See Poole on "Matthew 4:18", and following verses to Matthew 4:22, upon which may be found whatsoever is necessary for the explication of these verses, (having nothing new in them), as also the reconciling of what John saith, John 1:40, about the calling of Andrew and Simon, to what these two evangelists say about it.

Gill's Exposition of the Entire Bible

Now as he walked by the sea of Galilee,.... The same with the sea of Tiberias, John 6:1,

he saw Simon: whose surname was Peter, the son of Jonas:

and Andrew his brother; the brother of Simon,

casting a net into the sea; of Galilee, in order to catch fish:

for they were fishers: by occupation, this was their trade and business, by which they got their livelihood; See Gill on Matthew 4:18.

Geneva Study Bible

{8} Now as he walked by the sea of Galilee, he saw Simon and Andrew his brother casting a net into the sea: for they were fishers.

(8) The calling of Simon and Andrew.

EXEGETICAL (ORIGINAL LANGUAGES)

Meyer's NT Commentary

Mark 1:16-20. See on Matthew 4:18-22 (Luke 5:1 ff.). The narrative of Mark has the brevity and vividness of an original. Observe, however, how, according to all the evangelists, Jesus begins His work not with working miracles, but with teaching and collecting disciples.[54] This does not exclude the assumption that miracles essentially belonged to His daily work, and were even from the very beginning associated with His teaching, Mark 1:21 ff.

παράγων (see the critical remarks), as He passed along by the sea. This as well as ἀμφιβάλλ. ἐν τ. θαγ. (casting around) is part of the peculiar vividness of representation that Mark loves.

Mark 1:19. καὶ αὐτούς] et ipsos in nave, likewise in the ship. It does not belong to καταρτίζοντας (the usual view, in which there is assumed an imperfect comparison, which contemplates only the fishers’ occupation generally, comp. on Matthew 15:3), but merely to ἐν τῷ πλοίῳ, so that καταρτ. κ.τ.λ. then subjoins a further circumstance. The former explanation in the sense assigned to it would only be possible, if ἀμφιβάλλ., in Mark 1:16, and καταρτ. were included under one more general idea.

Mark 1:20. μετὰ τ. μισθωτ.] peculiar to Mark. Any special purpose for this accuracy of detail is not apparent. It is an arbitrary supposition that it is intended to explain how the sons might leave their father without undutifulness (Paulus, Kuinoel, de Wette, Bleek, and others), in reference to which de Wette charges Mark with taking away from their resolution its nobleness.[55] It may, moreover, be inferred, that Zebedee carried on his business not altogether on a small scale, and perhaps was not without means. Comp. Mark 16:1; Luke 8:3; John 19:27; Only no comparison with the “poverty of Peter” (Hilgenfeld) is to be imported.

[54] Comp. Weizsäcker, p. 364. But the teaching begins with the announcement of the kingdom, which has as its presupposition the Messianic self-consciousness (Weizsäcker, p. 425). Without reason Schenkel maintains, p. 370, that Jesus could not at all have regarded Himself at the beginning of His work as the Messiah. He might do so, without sharing the political Messianic hopes. See Schleiermacher, L. J. p. 250 f.; Keim, Geschichtl. Chr. p. 44 f. But the view which makes the beginning of the teaching and miracle-working even precede the baptism (Schleiermacher) has absolutely no foundation in the N. T., not even in the history of the marriage feast at Cana. Nor yet can it be maintained, with Keim (p. 84), that the conviction of being the Messiah gained strength in Jesus gradually from His first emergence up to the decisiveness, which first makes itself manifest at Matthew 11, where He announces the present kingdom, no longer merely that which is approaching. For the approaching kingdom is throughout—only according to a relative conception of time—from the beginning onward to Luke 21:31 to be taken in an eschatological reference; and it presupposes, therefore, a Messianic self-certainty in the Son of man, who with this announcement takes up the preaching of the Baptist.

[55] With greater truth, because more naturally, it might be said that that trait places in so much stronger a light the resignation of those who were called, seeing that they forsook a business so successfully prosecuted. Comp. Ewald, p. 192. We may more surely affirm that it is just a mere feature of the detailed description peculiar to Mark. Comp. Weiss, l.c. p. 652.

Expositor's Greek Testament

Mark 1:16. ἀμφιβάλλοντας, just because different from Mt.’s expression, to which the T. R. assimilates Mk.’s, is likely to be the true reading, and is very expressive: casting about (their nets understood, here only).

Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges

16–20. Call of the first Four Disciples

16. as he walked] The Saviour had come down (Luke 4:31; John 4:47; John 4:51) from the high country of Galilee, and now made His permanent abode in the deep retreat of the Sea of Galilee at Capernaum “His own city” (Matthew 4:13; Luke 4:31), whence He could easily communicate, as well by land as by the Lake, with many important towns, and in the event of any threatened persecution retire into a more secure region.

the sea of Galilee] called (i) in the Old Testament “the Sea of Chinnereth” or “Cinneroth” (Numbers 34:11; Joshua 12:3) from a town of that name which stood on or near its shore (Joshua 19:35), in the New (ii) “the Sea of Galilee” from the province which bordered on its western side (Matthew 4:18; Mark 7:31), (iii) “the Lake of Gennesaret” (Luke 5:1), (iv) “the Sea of Tiberias” (John 21:1), and sometimes (v) simply “the Sea” (Matthew 4:15).

he saw Simon] whom He had already invited to His acquaintance (John 1:40-42); He now calls him to the Apostleship. The recent cure of the son of the officer in Herod’s court had roused much interest at Capernaum, and many pressed upon the Saviour to “hear the Word of God” (Luke 5:1). It became clear, therefore, that an opportunity was offered for an active and systematic ministry in Galilee, and four of the number afterwards known as “the Twelve” were now permanently attached to the Saviour’s Person, and invested with power to become “fishers of men.”

a net] The net here spoken of and in Matthew 4:18 was a casting-net, circular in shape, “like the top of a tent,” in Latin funda or jaculum. The net spoken of in Matthew 13:47-48 is the drag-net or hauling-net, the English seine or sean, sometimes half a mile in length; that alluded to in Luke 5:4-9 is the bag-net or basket-net, so constructed and worked as to enclose the fish out in deep water.

Bengel's Gnomen

Mark 1:16. Σίμωνα, Simon) Mark writes of Peter in such a style, and with such fulness, that he might easily seem as if he wrote by dictation from the mouth of that apostle [comp. Mark 1:1, last note].—αὐτοῦ τοῦ Σίμωνος) Either we should read thus,[9] or only τοῦ Σίμωνος; others, only αὐτοῦ, in agreement with the parallel passages in the other Evangelists.[10] Mark sometimes repeats names, ch. Mark 3:17, Mark 5:37; sometimes he adds a relative pronoun to them, ch. Mark 2:20, Mark 3:24, etc., Mark 16:14; and decidedly, ch. Mark 6:22, ΑὐΤῆς Τῆς ἩΡΩΔΙΆΔΟς.—ἈΜΦΙΒΆΛΛΟΝΤΑς ἈΜΦΊΒΛΗΣΤΡΟΝ) So LXX., Habakkuk 1:17 : ἈΜΦΙΒΑΛΕῖ ἈΜΦΊΒΛΗΣΤΡΟΝ in the best MSS. Whence Isaiah 19:8, ΟἹ ἈΜΦΙΒΟΛΕῖς, the fishermen.

[9] This is preferred in the margin of both Editions of Bengel, to the omission of the reading τοῦ Σίμωνος, and is therefore marked with the sign ε; with which also the Germ. Vers, agrees on this passage.—E. B.

[10] See Matthew 4:18, the Greek. This makes αὐτοῦ look like a harmonist’s reading here.—ED. ABLa have Σίμωνος (and A prefixes τοῦ). Dbc Vulg. and Rec. Text read αὐτοῦ. Only later Uncial MSS. and later Syr. Version read αὐτοῦ τοῦ Σίμωνος.—ED.

Pulpit Commentary

Verse 16. - Now as he walked by the sea of Galilee; a better reading is (καὶ παράγων), and passing along. Our Lord came up from the south, passing through Samaria, till he reached Cana of Galilee. He then passed along by the seashore towards Capernaum; and on his way found the four disciples whom he had previously nominated, but who were now engaged in their calling of fishermen. St. Mark then relates the circumstances of their call in the exact words of St. Matthew, which were in all probability those of apostolical tradition ('Speaker's Commentary'). It will be seen that St. Mark's account, in this introductory portion of his Gospel, is very concise, and that there are many things to be supplied from the first chapter of St. John; as, for example, that after our Lord's baptism by John, and afar his fasting and temptation in the desert, the Jews sent messengers to the Baptist, to inquire of him whether he were the Christ. John at once confessed that he was not the Christ, but that there was One even then among them, though they knew him not, who was indeed the Christ And then, the very next day after, Jesus came to him, and John then said to those around him, "Behold the Lamb of God!" Upon this two of John's disciples at once betook-themselves to Jesus. The first was Andrew, who forthwith brought his own brother Simon, afterwards called "Peter," to our Lord. Again, the day after the, our Lord called Philip, a fellow-citizen with Andrew and Peter, of Bethsaida. Then Philip brought Nathanael. Here, then, we have some more disciples nominated, who were with Jesus at the marriage in Cana of Galilee. Then Jesus retched again into Judaea; and those disciples "nominate," as we might call them, went back for a time to their occupation of fishermen. Meanwhile our Lord, while in Judaea, wrought miracles and preached, until the envy of the scribes and Pharisees constrained him to return again into Galilee. And then it was that he solemnly called Andrew and Peter, and James and John, as recorded by St. Mark here. So that St John alone gives some account of the events of the first year of our Lord's ministry. The three synoptic Gospels give the narrative of his public ministry, commencing from the second year. He saw Simon and Andrew, the brother of Simon casting a net in the sea. (βάλλοντας ἀμφίβληστρον ἐν τῇ θαλάσση). Such was the text underlying the Authorized Version; but a better reading is (ἀμφιβάλλοντας ἐν τῇ θαλάσση). St. Mark thinks it unnecessary to mention the net at all; though doubtless it was the ἀμφίβληστρον, or casting-net. When our Lord likens his gospel to a net, he uses the figure of the drag-not (σαγήνη), a net of a much larger size. But whether it be the casting-net or the drag-net, the comparison is a striking one. It is plain that, in the pursuit of his calling, the fisherman has no power to make any separation between the good fish and the worthless. He has little or no insight into what is going on beneath the surface of the water. So with the "fisher of men." He deals with the world spiritual and invisible; and how, then, can he be fully conscious of the results of his work? His work is pre-eminently a work of faith. It may be observed here that St. Mark, in this earlier part of his narrative, speaks of St. Peter as Simon, though afterwards (Mark 3:16) he calls him Peter. We may also notice here, once for all, St. Mark's constant use of the word "straightway" (εὐθέως or εὐθὺς). This word occurs no less than ten times in this chapter. In the Authorized Version the word (εὐθέως)is rendered indifferently by various English synonyms, as "forthwith," "immediately," etc.; whereas in the Revised Version it has been thought fit to note this peculiarity or mannerism in St. Mark's Gospel by the use of the same English synonym, "straightway," throughout this Gospel. The Holy Spirit, while guiding the minds of those whom he moved to write these records, did not use an overpowering influence, so as to interfere with their own natural modes of expression. Each sacred writer, while guarded against error, has reserved to him his own peculiarities of style and expression. Mark 1:16

Vincent's Word Studies

Casting a net (ἀμφιβάλλοντας)

See on Matthew 4:18. Mark here uses, more graphically, only the verb, without adding net. Lit., throwing about in the sea. Probably a fisher man's phrase, like a east, a haul.