fishermen

January 22, 2019

They follow Jesus (Lk 5:11-5:11)

“When they had brought

Their boats

To land,

They left everything.

They followed Jesus.”

 

καὶ καταγαγόντες τὰ πλοῖα ἐπὶ τὴν γῆν, ἀφέντες πάντα ἠκολούθησαν αὐτῷ.

 

Luke has a simple statement compared to Mark and Matthew.  He said that when these fishermen had brought their boats to land (καὶ καταγαγόντες τὰ πλοῖα ἐπὶ τὴν γῆν), they left everything (ἀφέντες πάντα).  They followed Jesus (ἠκολούθησαν αὐτῷ).  This is like Mark, chapter 1:19-20, or Matthew, chapter 4:19-20.  There Jesus said to them to come and follow after him, since he was going to make them fishers of human people.  They immediately left their nets and followed or accompanied Jesus, like an Israelite prophetic call, since Jesus had spoken directly to these two men.  He issued an invitation that seemed like a command at the same time.  They followed after Jesus, no matter what.  Like the Hebrew prophets, their response was immediate, without any hesitation.  They left their fishing nets, as both Simon Peter and Andrew, his brother, became disciples of Jesus.  The other two brothers, James and John left both their boat and also their father Zebedee.  However, in Luke, there was no mention of Andrew, the brother of Simon, or any direct formal call to these fishermen.  The results were the same.  There were either 3 or 4 new full disciples of Jesus.

January 22, 2019

Catchers of people (Lk 5:10-5:10)

“There were also

James

And John,

The sons of Zebedee,

Who were partners

With Simon.

Then Jesus said

To Simon.

‘Do not be afraid!

From now on

You will be

Catching people.’”

 

ὁμοίως δὲ καὶ Ἰάκωβον καὶ Ἰωάνην υἱοὺς Ζεβεδαίου, οἳ ἦσαν κοινωνοὶ τῷ Σίμωνι. καὶ εἶπεν πρὸς τὸν Σίμωνα ὁ Ἰησοῦς Μὴ φοβοῦ· ἀπὸ τοῦ νῦν ἀνθρώπους ἔσῃ ζωγρῶ

 

Suddenly, Luke introduced two other people, the sons of Zebedee, James and John, who are companions or partners of Simon.  There is no mention of Simon’s brother Andrew here, but he played a major role in the other 3 gospels.  In John, chapter 1:35-42, Andrew, Simon’s brother, was a disciple of John the Baptist.  There is a major difference between Luke here and Matthew, chapter 4:18-22, and Mark, chapter 1:17-18, who were very similar.  They did not have the elaborate story about the fishing in the Sea of Galilee that is here.  Mark and Matthew had the brothers Simon and Andrew being fishermen that Jesus saw along the Sea of Galilee, casting or dropping a net into the sea.  Mark did not mention the other name of Simon as Peter, like Matthew did.  However, it was common for people to have both a Hebrew name like Simon and a Greek name like Peter.  John, chapter 1:40-42, had these two brothers from the town of Bethsaida.  Mark and Matthew also introduced John and James, the fisherman sons of Zebedee.  Zebedee might have been fairly successful, since he was explicitly mentioned and seemed to own a boat.  These two brothers, James and John, were in a boat mending their fishing nets with their father, not casting them out to sea.  Luke said that James and John, the sons of Zebedee (ὁμοίως δὲ καὶ Ἰάκωβον καὶ Ἰωάνην υἱοὺς Ζεβεδαίου), were partners or companions with Simon (οἳ ἦσαν κοινωνοὶ τῷ Σίμωνι), so that they may have shared a boat or boats.  Then Jesus told Simon (καὶ εἶπεν πρὸς τὸν Σίμωνα ὁ Ἰησοῦς) not to be afraid (Μὴ φοβοῦ).  From now on, he would be catching people or men, not fish (ἀπὸ τοῦ νῦν ἀνθρώπους ἔσῃ ζωγρῶ).  They were no longer going to fish for marine life, but human life.  They were to be on the hunt for humans, and not fish.

August 14, 2018

Jesus sees Simon and Andrew (Mk 1:16-1:16)

“As Jesus

Passed along

The Sea of Galilee,

He saw Simon,

And his brother

Andrew.

They were casting a net

Into the sea.

They were fishermen.”

 

Καὶ παράγων παρὰ τὴν θάλασσαν τῆς Γαλιλαίας εἶδεν Σίμωνα καὶ Ἀνδρέαν τὸν ἀδελφὸν Σίμωνος ἀμφιβάλλοντας ἐν τῇ θαλάσσῃ· ἦσαν γὰρ ἁλεεῖς.

 

Mark, as well as the other 3 canonical gospels, has Jesus meeting Simon for the first time at the beginning of his ministry.  Luke, chapter 5:1:11, has an elaborate story about Simon, where there was no mention of his brother Andrew, as Jesus and Simon went out fishing together.  In John, chapter 1:35-42, Andrew and Simon were disciples of John the Baptist, from the town of Bethsaida, about 5 miles north of Capernaum, near the Sea of Galilee.  However, here as in Matthew, chapter 4:18, which is almost word for word, there are only the simple comments about the brothers Simon and Andrew being fishermen.  Mark recounts that as Jesus was passing by, walking, or strolling along the Sea of Galilee (Καὶ παράγων παρὰ τὴν θάλασσαν τῆς Γαλιλαίας), he saw Simon and his brother Andrew (εἶδεν Σίμωνα καὶ Ἀνδρέαν τὸν ἀδελφὸν Σίμωνος) casting or dropping a net into the sea (ἀμφιβάλλοντας ἐν τῇ θαλάσσῃ), since they were fishermen (ἦσαν γὰρ ἁλεεῖς).  Mark did not mention the other name of Simon as Peter, like Matthew did.  However, it was common for people to have both a Hebrew name like Simon and a Greek name like Peter.  Both these brothers were casting their large fishing nets into the Sea of Galilee, which was about 13 miles long by 8 miles wide, about 80 miles north of the Dead Sea, at the north end of the Jordan River.

April 7, 2018

Jesus goes home (Mt 9:1-9:1)

“After getting

Into a boat,

Jesus crossed

The sea.

He came

To his own town.”

 

Καὶ ἐμβὰς εἰς πλοῖον διεπέρασεν, καὶ ἦλθεν εἰς τὴν ἰδίαν πόλιν.

 

There is something similar to this in Mark, chapter 2:1.  Both here and there, there is an indication that Capernaum has become the home of Jesus.  He went back into the boat (Καὶ ἐμβὰς εἰς πλοῖον) and sailed across (διεπέρασεν) the Sea of Galilee, although this sea is not explicitly mentioned.  He then came to his own home town (καὶ ἦλθεν εἰς τὴν ἰδίαν πόλιν) on the northwest side of the sea.  There is no indication of whose boat they were traveling in.  Perhaps it was the boat of one of his disciples since they were fishermen.

March 12, 2018

The two brother fishermen, Simon and Andrew (Mt 4:18-4:18)

“As Jesus walked

By the Sea of Galilee,

He saw two brothers,

Simon,

Who is called Peter,

With Andrew,

His brother.

They were casting a net

Into the sea.

They were fishermen.”

 

Περιπατῶν δὲ παρὰ τὴν θάλασσαν τῆς Γαλιλαίας εἶδεν δύο ἀδελφούς, Σίμωνα τὸν λεγόμενον Πέτρον καὶ Ἀνδρέαν τὸν ἀδελφὸν αὐτοῦ, βάλλοντας ἀμφίβληστρον εἰς τὴν θάλασσαν· ἦσαν γὰρ ἁλεεῖς.

 

Matthew, as well as the other 4 canonical gospels, has Jesus meeting Simon Peter for the first time at the beginning of his ministry.  However, here Matthew is following the simple comment of Mark, chapter 1:16, rather than the elaborate story of Luke, chapter 5:1:9, where there is no mention of Peter’s brother Andrew.  As Jesus was walking or strolling along the Sea of Galilee (Περιπατῶν δὲ παρὰ τὴν θάλασσαν τῆς Γαλιλαίας), he saw two brothers (εἶδεν δύο ἀδελφούς).  One of these men was called Simon or Peter (Σίμωνα τὸν λεγόμενον Πέτρον), since it was common for people to have both a Hebrew name like Simon and a Greek name like Peter.  His brother, on the other hand seemed to have only a Greek name, Andrew.  This may account for the different names of the apostles in the various gospel stories.  Both these brothers were casting their large fishing nets into the sea (βάλλοντας ἀμφίβληστρον εἰς τὴν θάλασσαν).  Thus, they were called fisherman (ἦσαν γὰρ ἁλεεῖς).  John, chapter 1:40-42, had these two brothers from the town of Bethsaida, about 5 miles north of Capernaum, where the Jordan River runs into the Sea of Galilee.

August 2, 2016

Drying up of the Nile River (Isa 19:5-19:10)

“The waters of the Nile

Will be dried up.

The river

Will be parched.

It will be dry.

Its canals will become foul.

The branches of Egypt’s Nile

Will diminish.

They will dry up.

Reeds will rot away.

Rushes will rot away.

There will be bare places

By the Nile,

On the brink of the Nile.

All that is sown

By the Nile

Will dry up.

It will be driven away.

It will be no more.

The fishermen will mourn.

All who cast hooks

In the Nile

Will lament.

Those who spread nets

On the water

Will languish.

The workers in flax

Will be in despair.

The carders,

Those at the loom,

Will grow pale.

The weavers

Will be dismayed.

All who work for wages

Will be grieved.”

Next this oracle takes on a river, the Nile River. The waters will dry up with dire consequences to follow. The Nile River canals and branches will be foul smelling like dry wells. All the reeds, rushes, and plants along the river will dry up and rot away also. The fishermen will have a problem, since their hooks and nets will not catch anything. The flax and cotton looms will be useless. The weavers will be distraught. In fact, anyone who works for any kind of wages will be upset since the Nile River was so important for all kinds of commerce in Egypt.