PSEUDO-CHRYSOSTOM . He did wisely in making now the beginning of His preaching, that He should not trample upon John’s teaching, but that He might the rather confirm it and demonstrate him to have been a true witness.
JEROME . Shewing also thereby that He was Son of that same God whose prophet John was; and therefore He says, Repent ye.
PSEUDO-CHRYSOSTOM . He does not straightway preach righteousness which all knew, but repentance, which all needed. Who then dared to say, ‘I desire to be good, but am not able?’ For repentance corrects the will; and if ye will not repent through fear of evil, at least ye may for the pleasure of good things; hence He says, the kingdom of heaven is at hand; that is, the blessings of the heavenly kingdom. As if He had said, Prepare yourselves by repentance, for the time of eternal reward is at hand.
REMIGIUS . And note, He does not say the kingdom of the Canaanite, or the Jebusite, is at hand; but the kingdom of heaven. The law promised worldly goods, but the Lord heavenly kingdoms.
CHRYSOSTOM . Also observe how that in this His first address He says nothing of Himself openly; and that very suitably to the case, for they had yet no right opinion concerning Him. In this commencement moreover He speaks nothing severe, nothing burdensome, as John had concerning the axe laid to the root of the condemned tree, and the like; but he puts first things merciful, preaching the glad tidings of the kingdom of heaven.
JEROME . Mystically interpreted, Christ begins to preach as soon as John was delivered to prison, because when the Law ceased, the Gospel commenced.
4:18–22
18. 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.
19. And He saith unto them, Follow Me, and I will make you fishers of men.
20. And they straightway left their nets, and followed Him.
21. 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.
22. And they immediately left the ship and their father, and followed Him.
PSEUDO-CHRYSOSTOM . Before He spoke or did any thing, Christ called Apostles, that neither word nor deed of His should be hid from their knowledge, so that they may afterwards say with confidence, What we have seen and heard, that we cannot but speak. (Acts 4:20.)
RABANUS . The sea of Galilee, the lake of Gennesareth, the sea of Tiberias, and the salt lake, are one and the same.
GLOSS . (ord.) He rightly goes to fishing places, when about to fish for fishermen.
REMIGIUS . Saw, that is, not so much with the bodily eye, as spiritually viewing their hearts.
CHRYSOSTOM . He calls them while actually working at their employment, to shew that to follow Him ought to be preferred to all occupations. They were just then casting a net into the sea, which agreed with their future office.
AUGUSTINE . (Serm. 197. 2.) He chose not kings, senators, philosophers, or orators, but he chose common, poor, and untaught fishermen.
AUGUSTINE . (Aug. Tract. in Joann. vii. 17.) Had one learned been chosen, he might have attributed the choice to the merit of his learning. But our Lord Jesus Christ, willing to bow the necks of the proud, sought not to gain fishermen by orators, but gained an Emperor by a fisherman. Great was Cyprian the pleader, but Peter the fisherman was before him.
PSEUDO-CHRYSOSTOM . The operations of their secular craft were a prophecy of their future dignity. As he who casts his net into the water knows not what fishes he shall take, so the teacher casts the net of the divine word upon the people, not knowing who among them will come to God. Those whom God shall stir abide in his doctrine.
REMIGIUS . Of these fishermen the Lord speaks by Jeremiah. I will send my fishers among you, and they shall catch you. (Jer. 16:16.)
GLOSS . (interlin.) Follow me, not so much with your feet as in your hearts and your life.
PSEUDO-CHRYSOSTOM . Fishers of men, that is, teachers, that with the net of God’s word you may catch men out of this world of storm and danger, in which men do not walk but are rather borne along, the Devil by pleasure drawing them into sin where men devour one another as the stronger fishes do the weaker, withdrawn from hence they may live upon the land, being made members of Christ’s body.
GREGORY . (Hom. in Evan. v. 1.) Peter and Andrew had seen Christ work no miracle, had heard from him no word of the promise of the eternal reward, yet at this single bidding of the Lord they forgot all that they had seemed to possess, and straightway left their nets, and followed Him. In which deed we ought rather to consider their wills than the amount of their property. He leaves much who keeps nothing for himself, he parts with much, who with his possessions renounces his lusts. Those who followed Christ gave up enough to be coveted by those who did not follow. Our outward goods, however small, are enough for the Lord; He does not weigh the sacrifice by how much is offered, but out of how much it is offered. The kingdom of God is not to be valued at a certain price, but whatever a man has, much or little, is equally available.
PSEUDO-CHRYSOSTOM . These disciples did not follow Christ from desire of the honour of a doctor, but because they coveted the labour itself; they knew how precious is the soul of man, how pleasant to God is his salvation, and how great its reward.