Page:Lives of the apostles of Jesus Christ (1836).djvu/62

 great work for which he came into the world,—preaching repentance and making known the near approach of the reign of heaven on earth. In pursuance of this great object, it would seem that he went forth from the city which he made his home, and walked by the sea of Galilee, not for the sake of merely refreshing his body with the fresh air of that broad water, when languid with the confinement and closeness of the town, but with the higher object of forwarding his vast enterprise. On this walk he saw two brothers, Simon and Andrew, casting their net, or rather seine, into the sea; for they were fishermen by trade, and not merely occupied in this as an occasional employment, by way of diversion in the intervals of higher business. Jesus directly addressed them in a tone of unqualified command, "Follow me, and I will make you fishers of men." And they, without questioning his authority or his purpose, immediately left their business at its most interesting and exciting part, (just at the drawing of the net,) and followed him, as it here seems at once, through Galilee, on his pilgrimage of mercy and love. Matthew gives no other particulars whatever, connected with the call of these two brothers; and had we been left to obtain the whole gospel-history from him alone, we should have supposed that, before this, Peter had no acquaintance, of a personal character at least, with Jesus; and that the call was made merely in a private way, without the presence of any other than ordinary accidental witnesses. From Matthew we hear nothing further respecting Peter, until his name is mentioned in the apostolic list, in the tenth chapter, except the mention in chapter eighth, of the illness of his mother in-law at his house. But the other gospel-writers give us many interesting and important particulars in addition, which throw new light on the previous circumstances, the manner and the consequences of the call.

2. Mark, in his first chapter, makes it appear as if, immediately after the temptation of Christ, and before his entrance into Capernaum, he met and summoned the two pairs of brothers, of which call the immediate circumstances are given there, in words which are a very literal transcript of those of Matthew, with hardly the slightest addition. But the events which followed the summons are given in such a manner, as to convey an impression quite different from that made by Matthew's brief and simple narrative. After the call, they, both Jesus and his four disciples, entered into Capernaum, of which place Mark has before made