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Ver. 3-11. Here is a plain and orderly story, related with many circumstances, tending to show us the power and influence of God upon men’s successes, in their honest and ordinary callings, and also that God hath a command upon the fish in the sea; together with an account of Christ’s call of Simon Peter to be a preacher of the gospel. The only difficulty is to reconcile this to what Matthew tells us, Mat_4:18,19, &c. Matthew’s words are these: And Jesus, walking by the sea of Galilee, saw two brethren, Simon called Peter, and Andrew his brother, casting a net into the sea: for they were fishers. And he saith unto them, Follow me and I will make you fishers of men. And they straightway left their nets, and followed him. And going on from thence, he saw other two brethren, James the son of Zebedee, and John his brother, in a ship with Zebedee their father, mending their nets; and he called them. And they immediately left the ship, and their father, and followed him. Mark’s relation doth much agree with Matthew’s. The differences are in these things:
1. Matthew and Mark speak of Christ’s calling these disciples as he was walking by the sea. Luke seems to mention it as done in the ship.
Answer: Luke doth not say that Christ spake so to Simon in the ship, though he doth indeed mention those words to Simon, before he mentions their bringing the ship to land, because possibly he would give account of all that Christ did or spake together.
2. a) They might be out of the ship, walking by the sea, before he called James and John, whose call Luke doth not mention, but Matthew and Mark alone.
b) Matthew and Mark mention no ships, nor going of Christ into any, nor any draught of fishes.
Answer: Matthew saith that he saw Simon and Andrew casting their nets into the sea. But there is nothing more ordinary than for one evangelist to relate more fully what another repeateth summarily.
3. Matthew and Mark speak of Andrew being with Simon; Luke mentions Simon alone.
Answer: Luke denies not that Andrew was there, and we are sure Simon alone could not manage the nets with such a draught of fishes.
4. Matthew and Mark speak of the calling of Simon, Andrew, James, and John; Luke only of the calling of Simon.
Answer: It doth not follow from thence that they were not called during Christ’s walk by the sea after he came out of the ship: Matthew and Mark assure us they were.
5. Matthew and Mark say that James and John were mending their nets.
Answer: Luke saith nothing to the contrary, for he doth not mention their call at that instant when Simon was. That immediately after such a draught of fishes their nets should want mending, and they be so employed, is nothing at all strange. So as it was like there was a little distance of time between the call of Peter and the others; yet Luke, omitting some circumstances mentioned by Matthew and Mark, as well as adding much to this history by them omitted, saith (at least) of more than one, they forsook all, and followed him. Hence appeareth that there may be a coherent history, taking in what all three evangelists say, only allowing that Christ came upon the shore, and walked by the sea side some short time, before he called James and John.
The history instructs us:
1. How good a thing it is for men to be employed in their honest callings, though never so mean. There God meets people with blessings.
2. How much it is our duty to yield obedience to God’s commands, and how advantageous it will prove, how contrary soever they appear to our sense and reason.
3. Upon whom our blessing depends, let our labour be what it will.
4. That it is the work of the ministers of the gospel to catch men, to gain souls to God.
5. How powerful God’s calls are: They forsook all, and followed him.
For the difference between what John saith, Joh_1:40,41, of the call of Andrew and Simon, from what the other three evangelists say, we have spoken something in our notes:
See Poole on "Mat_4:18", and shall add more when we come to that place in John. In short, John speaketh of another time, before that either of them were called to follow Christ.