Olga Bakhtina: "Jesus and Peter Fishing" (2017)
Not even John the Baptist knew the relationship between Jesus and the Messiah until God revealed this to him after he baptized Jesus. In the case of Jesus, baptism marked an inversion of his public and private identities, ‘Son of God’ superseding ‘son of Joseph and Mary’:
The next day John saw Jesus coming toward him and said, “Look, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world! This is the one I meant when I said, ‘A man who comes after me has surpassed me because he was before me.’ I myself did not know him, but the reason I came baptizing with water was that he might be revealed to Israel Chosen One.” (Jn 1:29–34)
This testimony of John moved two of his disciples to follow the one whose way John was preparing. Their testimony in turn brought others to Jesus:
The next day John was there again with two of his disciples. When he saw Jesus passing by, he said, “Look, the Lamb of God!” When the two disciples heard him say this, they followed Jesus. Turning around, Jesus saw them following and asked, “What do you want?” They said, “Rabbi” (which means “Teacher”), “where are you staying?” “Come,” he replied, “and you will see.” So they went and saw where he was staying, and they spent that day with him. It was about four in the afternoon. Andrew, Simon Peter’s brother, was one of the two who heard what John had said and who had followed Jesus. The first thing Andrew did was to find his brother Simon and tell him, “We have found the Messiah” (that is, the Christ). And he brought him to Jesus. (Jn 1:35–42)
The earliest disciples of Jesus (including John, Andrew, Simon Peter, Phillip and Nathaniel) followed Jesus to Cana (for a wedding) and then to Jerusalem (for Passover) after which they remained with him for a time in Judea before returning to Capernaum by way of Samaria Nazareth , after which he appeared one day on the banks of the Sea of Galilee :
As Jesus walked beside the Sea of Galilee , he saw Simon and his brother Andrew casting a net into the lake, for they were fishermen. “Come, follow me,” Jesus said, “and I will send you out to fish for people.” At once they left their nets and followed him. When he had gone a little farther, he saw James son of Zebedee and his brother John in a boat, preparing their nets. Without delay he called them, and they left their father Zebedee in the boat with the hired men and followed him. (Mk 1:16–20)
Simon Peter, Andrew, James, and John did not abandon their nets to follow a stranger. They had come to know Jesus initially through the testimony of John the Baptist and subsequently by lingering with him in Judea . They now followed Jesus as he preached to crowds in the Galilean countryside:
Now when Jesus saw the crowds, he went up on a mountainside and sat down. His disciples came to him, and he began to teach them. He said: “Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted. Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth. Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled. Blessed are the merciful, for they will be shown mercy. Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God. Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called children of God. Blessed are those who are persecuted because of righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are you when people insult you, persecute you and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of me. Rejoice and be glad, because great is your reward in heaven, for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you.” (Mt 5:1–12)
This vivid account is recorded by a former tax collector named Levi Matthew whom Jesus did not call until sometime later:
As Jesus went on from there, he saw a man named Matthew sitting at the tax collector’s booth. “Follow me,” he told him, and Matthew got up and followed him. (Mt 9.9)
Levi Matthew records this sermon rather than the nearly identical sermon preached the morning Jesus ordained him an apostle, which suggests that Levi Matthew was present on the earlier occasion—one which he considered even more memorable.
One of those days Jesus went out to a mountainside to pray, and spent the night praying to God. When morning came, he called his disciples to him and chose twelve of them, whom he also designated apostles: Simon (whom he named Peter), his brother Andrew, James, John, Philip, Bartholomew, Matthew, Thomas, James son of Alphaeus, Simon who was called the Zealot, Judas son of James, and Judas Iscariot, who became a traitor. He went down with them and stood on a level place. A large crowd of his disciples was there and a great number of people from all over Judea, from Jerusalem, and from the coastal region around Tyre and Sidon, who had come to hear him and to be healed of their diseases. Those troubled by evil a spirits were cured, and the people all tried to touch him, because power was coming from him and healing them all. Looking at his disciples, he said: “Blessed are you who are poor, for yours is the kingdom of God
The transformation of Simon Peter was more gradual but ultimately more astonishing. He had received reliable testimony concerning Jesus, whom he heard and followed and observed perform wondrous healings, but a fearful understanding suddenly gripped Simon Peter only when Jesus demonstrated divine authority even over ordinary work.
When he had finished speaking, he said to Simon, “Put out into deep water, and let down the nets for a catch.” Simon answered, “Master, we’ve worked hard all night and haven’t caught anything. But because you say so, I will let down the nets.” When they had done so, they caught such a large number of fish that their nets began to break. So they signaled their partners in the other boat to come and help them, and they came and filled both boats so full that they began to sink. When Simon Peter saw this, he fell at Jesus’ knees and said, “Go away from me, Lord; I am a sinful man!” For he and all his companions were astonished at the catch of fish they had taken, and so were James and John, the sons of Zebedee, Simon’s partners. Then Jesus said to Simon, “Don’t be afraid; from now on you will fish for people.” So they pulled their boats up on shore, left everything and followed him. (Lk 5:1–11)
What happened to this miraculous catch of fish? We don’t know, but it would ordinarily have required payment of a tax to Levi Matthew, whose booth was by the shore. That Jesus later called Levi Matthew must have perplexed Simon Peter, but the legacies of the two men are now closely intertwined because it is the former tax collector who has left us the most vivid record of the faith of the former fisherman. Mark and Luke tell us that Jesus walked on the water, but Levi Matthew tells us that Peter did too:
Shortly before dawn Jesus went out to them, walking on the lake. When the disciples saw him walking on the lake, they were terrified. “It’s a ghost,” they said, and cried out in fear. But Jesus immediately said to them: “Take courage! It is I. Don’t be afraid.” “Lord, if it’s you,” Peter replied, “tell me to come to you on the water.” “Come,” he said. Then Peter got down out of the boat, walked on the water and came toward Jesus. But when he saw the wind, he was afraid and, beginning to sink, cried out, “Lord, save me!” Immediately Jesus reached out his hand and caught him. “You of little faith,” he said, “why did you doubt?” And when they climbed into the boat, the wind died down. Then those who were in the boat worshiped him, saying, “Truly you are the Son of God.” (Mt 14:25–33)
