Matthew 4:21

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. AND GOING ON FROM THENCE, HE SAW OTHER TWO BRETHREN, JAMES THE SON OF ZEBEDEE, AND JOHN HIS BROTHER, IN A SHIP, [ en (G1722) too (G3588) ploioo (G4143)] - rather, 'in the ship,' their fishing boat - "with Zebedee their father, mending their nets; and he called them....

18-22 When Christ began to preach, he began to gather disciples, who should be hearers, and afterwards preachers of his doctrine, who should be witnesses of his miracles, and afterwards testify concerning them. He went not to Herod's court, not to Jerusalem, among the chief priests and the elders, but to the sea of Galilee, among the fishermen. The same power which called Peter and Andrew, could have wrought upon Annas and Caiaphas, for with God nothing is impossible. But Christ chooses the foolish things of the world to confound the wise. Diligence in an honest calling is pleasing to Christ, and it is no hinderance to a holy life. Idle people are more open to the temptations of Satan than to the calls of God. It is a happy and hopeful thing to see children careful of their parents, and dutiful. When Christ comes, it is good to be found doing. Am I in Christ? is a very needful question...

AND GOING ON FROM THENCE - From the place where he had found Peter and Andrew, Matthew 4:18. SAW TWO OTHER BROTHERS - They were men engaged in the same employment, as it is probable that there were many such in the neighborhood of the lake. IN A SHIP - A small vessel. In fact, it was little more, probably, than a sail-boat. MENDING THEIR NETS - A very common employment when they were not actually engaged in fishing....

EXPOSITION MATTHEW 4:1 THE TEMPTATION. The Father's acceptance of the Lord's consecration of himself for the work of the kingdom does not exclude temptation, but rather necessitates it. Psychologically, the reaction from the ecstasy of joy in hearing the announcement of Matthew 3:17 was certain; ethically, such testing as would accompany the reaction was desirable. Even the Baptist was, as it seems, not without a special temptation during this period (cf. John 1:19; and Bishop Westcott's note). At the very commencement of his official life the Lord is led consciously to realize that he has entered on a path of complete trust (even as his brethren in the flesh

AND GOING ON FROM THENCE, HE SAW OTHER TWO,.... When he had gone but a little way further, Mark 1:19 he spied two other persons he was looking for, and had designed to call to the office of apostleship; and these are also described as "brethren", and by name, JAMES, THE SON OF ZEBEDEE, AND JOHN HIS BROTHER. The Jews make mention in their writings h, of one ר יעקב בר זבדי, "R. James, the son of Zebedee": which Capellus i conjectures is the very same person here mentioned: but the James they speak of as a disciple of Jesus, they call יעקב מינאה, "James the heretic" k; who, they say, was of the village of Secaniah, and sometimes of the village of Sama. His brother's name was John, who was the Evangelist, as well as Apostle: these were IN A SHIP WITH ZEBEDEE THEIR FATHER. Men of this name, and sons of men of this name, were very common among the Jewish Rabbins; b

4:12. _Now when Jesus had heard that John was cast into prison, he departed into Galilee;_ Notice that there were at that time only two great ministers of God, John the Baptist, he must go to prison and to death; Jesus, the Son of God, he must go to the desert to be tempted of the devil. If any Christians escape temptation, they will not be the leaders of the hosts of God. Those who stand in the van must bear the brunt of the battle. Oh, that all who are called to such responsible positions might be as prepared to occupy them as John was, and as Jesus was! Matthew 4:13. And leaving Nazareth, he came and dwelt in Capernaum, which is upon the sea coast, in the borders of Zabulon and Nephthalim: that it might he fulfilled which was spoken by Esaias the prophet, saying, The land of Zabulon, and the land of Nephthalim, by the way of the sea, beyond Jordan, Gali

JAMES Two persons are called by this name in the New Testament. (1) James the son of Zebedee, an apostle (Matthew 10:2) and the brother of the apostle John, apart from whom he is never mentioned, and with whom, together with Peter, he was admitted to the especial intimacy of our Lord. (Matthew 17:1); (Mark 5:37); (Mark 9:2); (Mark 14:33) He was martyred by Herod. (Acts 12:2). (2) A son of Alphaeus (or Cleopas) and Mary the sister of Mary the mother of Jesus....

4. THE TESTING OF THE KING AND HIS TESTIMONY. _ 1. The Testing by the Devil. (Matthew 4:1 .) 2. His Testimony and His Disciples. (Matthew 4:12 .) 3. The Powers of the Kingdom. (Matthew 4:23 .)_ CHAPTER 4 The first part of this chapter gives us the history of the temptation of the King. This is a most important topic, many-sided in its applications; large volumes have been written on it without exhausting it. We will therefore have to confine ourselves to the bringing out of some of the most important teachings, without attempting to go into many of the precious details and applications to the believer. The baptism marked, as we saw in the last chapter, our Lord's entrance upon

THE CALL OF THE FIRST DISCIPLES (Mark 1:16 *; contrast Luke 5:1 and John 1:35). _Cf._ p. 665. The account is almost identical with that in Mk., except that Mt. omits the mention of the hired servants left with Zebedee. He also transfers Mk.'s straightway from the call of Jesus to the response of the brothers....

JAMES THE SON OF ZEBEDEE. James (same as Jacob). He was. son of Zebedee; his mother's name was Salome. Compare Matthew 27:56, with Mark 15:40. He probably resided at Bethsaida; joined Jesus, with his brother John, at the Sea of Galilee (Matthew 4:21); is never mentioned in the gospels except in connection with his brother John; was martyred under Herod Agrippa, A. D. 44 (Acts 12:2). There is reason to believe that he and his brother John were own cousins of our Lord.--_ Abbott._ JOHN. He was. brother of James, and, of course, is not to be confounded with John the Baptist. Several references in the New Testament indicat