1Start
Two pairs of brothers left their fishing nets in one day to follow Jesus (Matthew 4:18–22).
2Read Together
Peter and Andrew, then James and John, were working on the Sea of Galilee when Jesus called them. James and John left their father Zebedee in the boat with the hired servants (Mark 1:19–20).
Matthew 4:19–20 · King James Version
19And he saith unto them, Follow me, and I will make you fishers of men. 20And they straightway left their nets, and followed him.
Luke 5:27–28 · King James Version
27And after these things he went forth, and saw a publican, named Levi, sitting at the receipt of custom: and he said unto him, Follow me. 28And he left all, rose up, and followed him.
3What It Teaches
Jesus said, “Follow me, and I will make you fishers of men” (Matthew 4:19). “And they straightway left their nets, and followed him” (Matthew 4:20). Straightway means right away.
Later Jesus called Levi, also known as Matthew, a publican who sat collecting taxes (Matthew 9:9). Levi “left all, rose up, and followed him” (Luke 5:27–28). Many people looked down on publicans.
Levi held a great feast for Jesus, and many publicans came. When some complained that Jesus and his disciples ate with sinners, he said, “They that are whole need not a physician; but they that are sick” (Luke 5:29–31).
Jesus said he came to call sinners to repentance (Luke 5:32). He calls fishermen, tax collectors, and every kind of person, and his invitation to follow him reaches each of us.
4Talk About It
Peter, Andrew, James, John, and Levi each left something behind to follow Jesus. What is one thing we could set down this week to follow him more closely?