JESUS' FIRST DISCIPLES

The Calling of the First Apostles by 
Domenico Ghirlandaio, 1481

John 1:35-51

Again the next day after, John stood and two of his disciples and looking upon Jesus as he walked, he said, “Behold the Lamb of God!”

And the two disciples heard him speak, and they followed Jesus.

Then Jesus turned, and saw them following, and said to them, “What seek you?”

They said to him, “Rabbi, (which is to say, being interpreted, Master,) where dwell you?”

He said to them, “Come and see.”

They came and saw where he dwelt, and abode with him that day for it was about the tenth hour. [4:00 PM]

One of the two, which heard John speak, and followed him was Andrew, Simon Peter's brother. He first found his own brother Simon, and said to him, “We have found the Messiah?” (which is, being interpreted, the Christ.)

And he brought him to Jesus. And when Jesus beheld him, he said, “You are Simon the son of Jona [John], you shall be called Cephas,” which is by interpretation, a stone.

So Jesus gave Simon the name Peter well in advance of Peter’s declaration in Matthew 16:16.

Now when Jesus came into the district of Caesarea Philippi, he asked his disciples, “Who do people say that the Son of Man is?” And they said, “Some say John the Baptist, others say Elijah, and others Jeremiah or one of the prophets.” He said to them, “But who do you say that I am?” Simon Peter replied, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.” [Matthew 16:13-16 ESV]

 This makes sense because Simon is referred to from this first meeting on as Peter or Simon Peter. I think at the moment of Peter’s declaration, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.”, Jesus was not giving him the name “rock”, but emphasizing that it was Jesus the Large Rock (petra) on which the church would be build, not on Peter, the lesser stone (petros).

The other disciple of John the Baptist who followed Jesus that day was John, brother of James, the sons of Zebedee.

It is important to note the author (John the Apostle) begins this passage with, “the next day”. This is the day after John the Baptist was asked by the Pharisees why he baptized. John the Baptist is now standing with two of his disciples. These two men are Andrew and John. They are Galileans, but this fact does not mean this is taking place in Galilee. These men are seekers and they are seeking the Messiah. They have become followers of John the Baptist, whether they, like the Pharisees wondered if John the Baptist was the Christ or they thought he would help them find The Christ we don’t know. 

At any rate, Jesus suddenly comes walking by the spot. Perhaps Jesus has just returned from the temptations in the wilderness, perhaps it is some time after that event. We are not told. We know Jesus came and was baptized, then immediately went into the wilderness for 40 days thus we know more than a month has passed since Jesus was baptized and when these first Apostles-to-be questioned Him. Since Jesus answers their question by taking them to where he is staying, we can probably assume he has been back from the wilderness at least a couple days, long enough to get some form of lodging. 

The two men go with Him and spend the day. Now here is another place that can be confusing, because it says the first thing Andrew did was find his brother, Simon, and bring him to Jesus. I do not think it means Andrew ran to get Simon immediately after asking Jesus where he lived. I think Andrew and John had a long discussion with Jesus and then Andrew, feeling strongly they had found the Messiah, went to find Simon. His going came after the tenth hour, which would have been 4:00 in the afternoon.

Jesus Calls Philip and Nathanael

The next day Jesus decided to leave for Galilee. (NIV)

Again a passage begins with “the next day.” Here is the count. Day one, John the Baptist answers the questions of the Pharisees. Day two, Jesus comes by and is joined by Andrew and John, then Simon Peter. Day three, Jesus decides to go to Galilee.

In the King James Version, the translation reads, “The day following Jesus would go forth into Galilee, and found Philip…” Some critics argue Jesus could not have traveled the distance as it is reported in scripture in the time frame given. This is a misinterpretation of what it says. The word “thelo” translated “would” in the KJV means “intend, to be determined or resolved, to desire, to like to do a thing”. The NIV is closer to how this should be read, “The next day, Jesus decided to leave…” It is more likely that Jesus then found Philip and Nathanael before setting out on the journey, than his finding them in Galilee. They then traveled the distance to Galilee over the next three days arriving in Cana in time for a wedding.

The day following Jesus would go forth into Galilee, and found Philip, and said to him, “Follow me.”

Now Philip was of Bethsaida, the city of Andrew and Peter.

Philip found Nathanael, and said to him, “We have found him, of whom Moses in the law, and the prophets, did write, Jesus of Nazareth, the son of Joseph.”

And Nathanael said to him, “Can there any good thing come out of Nazareth?”

Philip said to him, “Come and see.”

Jesus saw Nathanael coming to him and said of him, “Behold an Israelite indeed, in whom is no guile!”

Nathanael said to him, “Whence knows you me?”

Jesus answered and said to him, “Before that Philip called you, when you were under the fig tree, I saw you.”

Nathanael answered and said to him, “Rabbi, you are the Son of God; you are the King of Israel.”

Jesus answered and said to him, “Because I said to you, I saw you under the fig tree, believe you? You shall see greater things than these.” And he said to him, “Verily, verily, I say to you, hereafter you shall see heaven open, and the angels of God ascending and descending upon the Son of man.”

We are told, “finding Philip”, but little more. We do not know if Jesus had prior contact with Phillip, if one of the others had suggested Philip to Him, or if he had come across Philip on the way to Galilee. Philip is from the same town, Bethsaida, as James, John, Andrew and Simon Peter. It seems quite probable these men had come together to John the Baptist or at least knew each other. At any rate, Jesus tells Philip to follow.

Philip follows, but also goes and finds Nathanael Bartholomew (Nathanael son of Tholmai). Philip says something similar to what Andrew said to Simon Peter when he said “we found the Messiah.” Philip says, “We found the one Moses wrote about in the law”. This refers us back to our discussion of The Prophet in the Pharisees’ questioning of John the Baptist.

The nations you will dispossess listen to those who practice sorcery or divination. But as for you, the LORD your God has not permitted you to do so. The LORD your God will raise up for you a prophet like me from among your own brothers. You must listen to him. For this is what you asked of the LORD your God at Horeb on the day of the assembly when you said, "Let us not hear the voice of the LORD our God nor see this great fire anymore, or we will die." Deuteronomy 18:14-16 (NIV)

 [Keep in mind that the Jewish expectations of the Messiah were different from what we know as Christians today. I think it is important we remember the Apostles were not expecting a suffering Savior Messiah, who would die and be resurrected and then promise to return to fulfill God’s promises. They expected a Warrior-King Messiah who would defeat Rome.]

Nathanael was from Cana, but it is implied from Philip’s statement that he was part of this group and they were seeking the Messiah together.

Nathanael is a bit incredulous when he hears this Messiah is supposedly from Nazareth. Nazareth did not have a highly regarded reputation. We find throughout the Gospels that Nazareth was not accepting of Jesus and it is thought to have been a place of meanness. Another aspect of Nathanael’s question is the Jews expected the Massiah to come from Bethlehem, David’s city, not from Nzareth. Of course, Jesus did come originally from Bethlehem.

So Philip doesn’t just say take my word for it, he says come and see for yourself.

Jesus greets Nathanael, “Behold an Israelite indeed, in whom is no guile!” (John 1:47 KJV).

Nathanael was probably a little suspicious when he asked, “How do you know me?”

When Jesus says he saw him under the fig tree before Philip called him, Nathanael declares Jesus is the Messiah. Nathanael must have realized two things. One, Jesus knew his character, although they had never met, for he recognized Nathaniel had no guile; that is, was an honest man. Two, Jesus must not have been where he could have physically seen Philip approach Nathanael under a fig tree or overhear their conversation, otherwise there is nothing to make Nathanael jump to his conclusion. This reminds me of Jesus with the Samaritan woman at the well (reference John 4). Here was a person he had never met before, but he knew how many husbands she had had and what kind of person she was. It is the same here.

JESUS CALLS HIS FIRST DISCIPLES

Christ calling St. Peter and St. Andrew, 1681 Diego Quispe Tito

Matthew 4:18-22, Mark1:16-20, Luke 5:1-11

By the Sea of Galilee (AKA Lake of Gennesaret and Lake Tiberias)

The town of Gennesaret was not far to the west of Capernaum. Both sat on the shores of the Sea of Galilee and this body of water was also called Lake of Gennesaret. In this instance, Matthew and Mark refer to it as the Sea of Galilee, while Luke uses the name Lake of Gennesaret. So there is no contradiction here. There is a statement some, who like to do the “gotcha moments”, may claim is a contradiction, if a minor one. This is that Luke says Jesus saw the fishermen on shore washing their nets while Matthew and Mark say Simon and Andrew were casting a net into the sea, and James and John were in a ship mending a net. Actually all these observations are true, not contradictory at all, when you know the whole story.

This passage is titled, “Jesus Calls His First Disciples” in many Bibles. In popular culture portrayals of this instance we never get the entire action and so we have a common misunderstanding about this Calling.

The image we may have from films is Jesus comes walking along the seashore and sees these fishermen at work. He calls to them, “Follow me” and they immediately drop everything and go with this charismatic stranger. Jesus was hardly a stranger to these men and this was far from some impulsive spur of the moment behavior.

And it came to pass, that, as the people pressed upon him to hear the word of God, he stood by the lake of Gennesaret and saw two ships standing by the lake: but the fishermen were gone out of them, and were washing their nets.

And Jesus, now as he walked by the Sea of Galilee, saw two brethren. Walking he saw Simon called Peter, and Andrew his brother, casting a net into the sea: for they were fishers.

Jesus had settled in Capernaum after those in Nazareth tried to kill him. Here he began to preach and gained fame. We are not told how much time passed since he first began this preaching, but by now he had become known enough that people were “pressed upon him to hear the Word”. So Jesus isn’t strolling along the shore alone at all. He is standing by the lake and he is looking about for some space between him and those mobbing him. We see him do this in other passages of scripture.

He sees a couple ships anchored by the lake and some fishermen washing their nets, after a hard night of fishing. The fishermen are at the waters edge, tossing the nets in the water to clean them. See, just because Matthew said Peter and Andrew were “casting a net into the sea: for they were fishers” didn’t mean they were standing on the deck of the ship fishing. They were standing at the shore washing the nets.

And he entered into one of the ships, which was Simon's, and prayed him that he would thrust out a little from the land. And he sat down, and taught the people out of the ship.

These are not strangers to Jesus. He knows these men very well. So Jesus goes up the plank onto Simon’s boat and asked Simon to take him a bit offshore. Why? As we said, Jesus wanted some space between himself and all those people who had been pressing up against him. Simon and Andrew grab their nets and clamber aboard and row out a bit.

Jesus sits down and finishes teaching the crowd.

Now when he had left speaking, he said to Simon, “Launch out into the deep, and let down your nets for a draught.”

(A British definition of “draught” is “the drawing in of a fishing net; the fish taken in one draft). Jesus has finished teaching and now he tells Simon to go out to deeper water and he’ll catch a bunch of fish. Perhaps Jesus is rewarding Simon for his loan of the boat and his time.

And Simon answering said to him, “Master, we have toiled all the night, and have taken nothing: nevertheless at your word I will let down the net.”

Simon doesn’t see much reason to do this. He moans they have worked all night and caught nothing. He’s just finished washing the nets. He is probably tired and wants to pack up and go home, but he does it anyway. Why? Note he calls Jesus “Master”. Maybe he would call him this out of respect having heard about Jesus’ preaching and considers him something of a rabbi, yet he does what is asked because it is “nevertheless” Jesus’ word. Would he really go to a lot of useless bother for some itinerant rabbi? You see Simon knows Jesus and has certain opinions about him that compel him to do what Jesus says.

And when they had this done, they enclosed a great multitude of fishes: and their net brake. And they beckoned to their partners, which were in the other ship, that they should come and help them. And they came, and filled both the ships, so that they began to sink.

When Simon Peter saw it, he fell down at Jesus' knees, saying, “Depart from me; for I am a sinful man, O Lord,” for he was astonished, and all that were with him, at the draught of the fishes, which they had taken.

And he, Jesus, said to them, Come you after me, Follow me, and I will make you to become fishers of men.

And they straightway left, forsook their nets, and followed him.

A miraculous catch happens. Where before they caught nothing, now so many fish fill their nets that the nets are breaking. They can’t handle it all themselves, so they call their business partners, Zebedee and his sons, James and John, to help. The other boat is rowed over to them and the two teams of fishermen upload the bounty, so much so both boats are in danger of sinking.

As they have filled the holds of the boats and started to the shore, Simon falls on his knees, telling Jesus to go away because he, Simon, is too sinful to be in his presence. He addresses Jesus as Lord.

It is at this point Jesus says to Simon and Andrew, “Follow me and I will make you fishers of men.”

Notice the difference here than the portrayal of this scene in The History Channel’s, “The Bible.” Jesus did not wade out to Peter’s boat to be pulled aboard where he was alone with Peter and he does not tell Peter to come with him because they will “change the world.” They are not going off to change the world; they going out to save people from it.

And going on from thence, when he had gone a little farther, he saw other two brethren, James the son of Zebedee, and John his brother, who also were in a ship with Zebedee their father, mending their nets; and straightway he called them.

And they immediately left the ship and their father Zebedee in the ship with the hired servants, and went after and followed him.

They debark Simon’s boat; leaving everything behind. Simon and Andrew follow Jesus a short distance down the beach. Jesus stops as he looks out at Zebedee’s crew mending their nets aboard their boat. They are mending their nets because that huge catch of fish had torn the nets up. Jesus calls to James and John. The two brothers now stop mending, come to shore and follow Jesus, leaving behind father, servants and their occupation.

Let’s ask a couple questions. Why did Jesus only call these four guys from those on the boats? Why didn’t he include Zebedee or any of the servants? Why did Simon, Andrew, James and John follow so quickly?

I don’t think there was anything spur of the moment about this. It wasn’t a sudden impulse. The four men were probably waiting for this call. Although this is titled, “Jesus Calls His first Disciples”, that title is a bit deceiving. This isn’t where he made his first Disciples, simply where he has called them to action.

These four fishermen were devout Jews and seekers of the Messiah even before they ever heard of Jesus. Remember, we met them about a year before this calling. They had been following John the Baptist in Bethany. It was there they first saw, followed and spent a day with Jesus. Phillip and Nathanael Bartholomew also joined them there. These men were from the same area as Jesus. They traveled back home in his company and stopped at a wedding in the town where Nathanael lived. There at Cana they had witnessed his changing of water to wine during a wedding celebration. Later they had traveled with Jesus to a Passover Feast in Jerusalem where he turned over the tables and chased the moneychangers from the Temple. They had been in the desert with him, baptized others with him, traveled through Samaria with him and lived near him in Capernaum. They had probably heard him preach many times by now, spend evenings with him listening to his lessons and so awaited him to bid them to be missionaries. Now that moment had come. Of course they immediately followed.

Duccio di Buoninsegna, The Calling of the Apostles Peter and Andrew, 1809-11

HEALINGS ON THE SABBATH, INCLUDING SIMON’S MOTHER-IN-LAW

“Christ Healing Peter’s Mother-in-Law”, Church of St. Savior, Choram Istanbul, C.1310

Matthew 8:14-17, Mark 1:21-34, Luke 4:31-41

Capernaum

Then he, they, went down to Capernaum, a town in Galilee, and when the Sabbath came on, Jesus went into the synagogue and began to teach. He taught the people. They, the people, were amazed at his teaching, because his words had authority. He taught them as one who had authority, not as the teachers of the law.

This is immediately after Jesus called these fishermen to follow. They went the short distance to Capernaum, where Jesus had made his home. The “they” at this time was a small group, Jesus, Simon Peter, Andrew, James and John. We aren’t given what day of the week it was that Jesus called these men. It was probably not Saturday, because that would have been a Sabbath and they would not have been working. The previous passages said they had been fishing all night, so it is possible this happened on a Sunday morning. These men may have set sail after sundown on Saturday, which by the Jewish calendar would have been the first day of the week.

At any rate, the next statement does bring us to the next Sabbath, so it is possible much of a week had passed. We are not told what they did during this time. Perhaps Jesus was preparing these men for what lay ahead for them.  We are also not told if all four of the fisherman went with him to the service. It simply says, “When the Sabbath came on, Jesus went into the synagogue and began to teach.” 

Just then in their synagogue there was a man who was possessed by a demon, an impure spirit. He cried out at the top of his voice, “Go away! What do you want with us, Jesus of Nazareth? Have you come to destroy us? I know who you are—the Holy One of God!”

“Be quiet!” said Jesus sternly. “Come out of him!” The impure spirit shook the man violently. Then the demon threw the man down before them all and came out without injuring him and came out of him with a shriek.

All The people were all so amazed that they asked and said to each other, “What is this?  “What words these are! A new teaching—and with authority and power! He even gives orders to impure spirits and they obey him and come out!”.  And the News about him spread quickly over the whole region of Galilee throughout the surrounding area.

This man was not suffering from a mental disease; he did not have a multiple-personality disorder. He was possessed by a Demon. In fact, possibly by more than one, for the Demon asks, “What do you want with us.” We will see similar questions and statements later when Jesus sends the Demons out of another possessed man into a herd of pigs. The exact number of indwelling Demons is not clear in this instance, though. The Demon could be referring to himself and his victim rather than other Demons.

We should note two things about this. First of all, the Demon obeys Jesus. We must never lose sight of the fact that what we call Demons are actually Angels. They are fallen Angels, but still very powerful creatures. Still, rebels against God and powerful or not, they still obey the commands of Jesus.

Second, Demons know exactly who Jesus is. There is no doubt or rationalizing or denying on the Demon’s part. He knows this is the Messiah, “the Holy One of God”. That should give us pause, for obviously simply believing in Jesus as the Christ is not enough to save a creature. Nor is obedience to a command. Knowing who Christ is is essential, but obedience must come from devotion to who he is, not simply out of fear. This Demon did as he was told, but none too gently. He violently shook the man and threw him down before leaving, and when he left it was with a shriek.

I do not think the Demon repented his ways at that point. I think the Demon went looking for a new place to dwell and possess.

The effect of this stunned the people. They recognized this was different from what their Priests and Rabbis had said or done. This was not only new teaching they were hearing from Jesus, but his words were backed up with authority and power.

Note that in his early ministry he does things that spread his name, but he constantly says to be quiet about who he is. There will come a time when he will say openly who he is, but it isn’t time for that yet.

 As soon as they left the synagogue, they went with James and John to the home of Simon and Andrew. Jesus went. When Jesus came into Peter’s house, he saw Peter’s mother-in-law lying in bed. Now Simon’s mother-in-law was suffering with a high fever, and they immediately told Jesus about her and they asked Jesus to help her. So he went to her, took her hand and helped her up.  He bent over her, touched her hand and rebuked the fever, and it left her and she got up at once and began to wait on them.

The Sabbath began at sundown on Friday evening and lasted until sundown on Saturday. This was a day of rest and in Exodus 31 and 35 we can find definitions of what one was permitted and forbidden to do on the Sabbath. In Jesus day the Jewish people would basically do two things during the Sabbath, go to services at the synagogue or rest at home. We can see this is exactly the practice of Jesus and his disciples. They went to the synagogue and Jesus took part. Services were different from what most of we Christians think of as church. The men and boys of age would gather for a study of the Jewish sacred scrolls. Several of those gathered together would take a turn moving to the front and reading passages.

When not at a synagogue, people basically stayed at home and rested.  So after attending the service, we find Jesus going to the home of Simon Peter and Andrew. Here is what we can gather from this passage about who was with him at the Synagogue and why. Jesus goes to Peter’s home accompanied by the brothers, James and John, so they must have been to service with him. Simon Peter and Andrew apparently were not. Why?

Peter’s mother-in-law is very sick. She is lying in bed suffering from a serious fever. Notice that when Jesus enters he sees the woman in bed. They, most likely Peter and Andrew, immediately tell him about her and ask his help. If they had been with him at synagogue they probably would have told him of the woman’s illness then. Jesus now helps the woman up, indicating she may have been very weak and ill. He cures her of the fever and she gets right up and begins to wait on them. Not only was the fever gone, she was back in full vim and vigor.

One of the interesting aspects of this Sabbath day is how Jesus was not hassled by anyone for what he did. He was gaining some fame, especially locally, but people were still questioning who he was and why he had the powers he had. Although he had upset things in Jerusalem, literally, the Jewish authorities were not yet hounding him everywhere he went. Notice he drove a demon out of a man and then cured Simon Peter’s mother-in-law on the Sabbath and no one accused him of breaking the Law by working. We will see how this changes later in his ministry and he is confronted on this issue several times.

When that evening came after sunset the people brought to Jesus all the sick, who had various kinds of sickness, and many who were demon-possessed were brought to him and he drove out the spirits with a word. The whole town gathered at the door, and Jesus laying his hands on each one healed many who had various diseases. He healed them, all the sick. This was to fulfill what was spoken through the prophet Isaiah:

“He took up our infirmities and bore our diseases.” [Isaiah 53: 4]

Moreover He also drove out many demons. Demons came out of many people, shouting, “You are the Son of God!” but he rebuked them, would not let the demons speak because they knew who he was, they knew he was the Messiah.

Saturday evening has come and the Sabbath is over. Now the people were free to move about and they flocked to Peter’s house to be cured. Here we have people not seeking Jesus out of any spiritual desire, no thoughts of being forgiven of sins, of gaining salvation, but to be cured of whatever physical ailments pestered them. He healed them all without demanding anything from them.

He continued to tell any Demons he dispossessed to be quiet about whom he was. This passage ends with the statement by Matthew that it was to fulfill a prophesy by Isaiah,  “He took up our infirmities and bore our diseases.”

This is found in Isaiah 53:1-6 in the famous description of the Suffering Messiah.

Who has believed our report? and to whom is the arm of the LORD revealed? For he shall grow up before him as a tender plant, and as a root out of a dry ground: he has no form nor comeliness; and when we shall see him, there is no beauty that we should desire him. He is despised and rejected of men; a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief: and we hid as it were our faces from him; he was despised, and we esteemed him not. Surely he has borne our griefs, and carried our sorrows: yet we did esteem him stricken, smitten of God, and afflicted. But he was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities: the chastisement of our peace was upon him; and with his stripes we are healed. All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned every one to his own way; and the LORD hath laid on him the iniquity of us all.

 Note the double meaning of that line, “Surely he has borne our griefs, and carried our sorrows.”  In the passage just finished, he took up the pain and suffering of those who came for healing and cured them. He also took on our pain and suffering, upon his own body upon the Cross to pay the penalty for our failings.

SETTING OFF TO TOUR GALILEE WITH THE FIRST FOUR

“Beginning the Galilean Ministry”, Artist and date unknown (from mydivinemercy.blogspot.com)

SETTING OFF TO TOUR GALILEE WITH THE FIRST FOUR

Matthew 4:23-24, Mark 1:35-39, Luke 4:42-44

Jesus is about to start his first great campaign. It is known as the Great Galilean Ministry and for good reason. It stretches over a period of a year and a half and is mostly conducted in Galilee or to areas further north, such as Syria. We often associate Jesus with Jerusalem, but he actually spends the smaller part of his life in Judea. He was born in Bethlehem, which is a stones throw from Jerusalem, but as an infant was hustled off to Egypt and then settled for his youth in Nazareth in Galilee.

There were certainly pilgrimages to Jerusalem during the holy feast days, but we don’t find him spending a lot time in southern Israel during his adulthood. He goes south to be baptized, where he meets some of his future Apostles. He returns home for a while, and then goes to Jerusalem for Passover where he causes a ruckus at the Temple. This basically makes him something of an outlaw. He flees into the wilderness until John the Baptist is arrested, then he fleas through Samaria back to Galilee.

He will have a brief ministry in Judea during the fall of 29 A.D., but then the remainder of his preaching travels will be across the border in Perea. Finally he will enter Jerusalem again for the Passion Week. It is clear that for most of his ministering life he stayed away from the center of Jewish religious and secular power. From the time he upset the Moneychangers tables he was a man with a target on his back and lived a life of at least a semi-fugitive.

Now having set up his base in Capernaum and called four of his followers to him, he has indulged in some very localized preaching and healings. His popularity in the region has grown and word of his deeds has begun to spread. He is ready to widen the circle, to take the message further and as a result his fame will grow even greater.

And when in the morning, rising up a great while before it was day, he went out, and departed into a solitary desert place and there prayed. And the people sought him, and came to him, and stayed him that he should not depart from them. And Simon and they that were with him followed after him and when they had found him, they said to him, “All men seek for you.”

This is the Sunday after the Sabbath. The first day of the week, and it on this day Jesus makes a decision for another change. Before he does and before he announces it, he does what we Christians should, but often neglect to do. Jesus goes to a place alone and prays about it. When it says he “departed into a desert place”, this may not mean he went into a literal desert, it could simply mean a deserted or solitary place. He rises and goes to this place before dawn, probably an attempt not to be seen.

Whether anyone saw him leave or not doesn’t matter, he wasn’t solitary for long because the people came looking for him, found him and wouldn’t leave; in fact, attempted to not let him leave either.

“Simon and they that were with him” most likely includes Andrew, James and John, the four fishermen who had been at Simon’s mother-in-law the evening before. They did not accompany him to this place. Jesus probably slipped out while the others were still sleeping so he could be alone with God the Father. Note it says they followed and found him. Their comment that, “All men seek for you” applies to them as well.

And he said to them, “Let us go into the next towns, that I may preach there. I must preach the kingdom of God to other cities also: for therefore am I sent forth.

There are several things we see here and an interesting question. First, there has been a definite progression or widening of the events in Jesus’ ministry through this point. Secondly, there has been an indication that each such as been directed by God. It raises a question, which we can’t really answer, of how Jesus all man coexisted in communication with Jesus all God. Third, there has been a pattern of withdrawal before each new moving forth. Jesus.

Now after praying, he says to his four followers that he must preach the Kingdom of God to other cities and that he is sent forth. This would be the direction he received during his prayer session.

 And Jesus went about all Galilee, teaching in their synagogues, preaching the gospel of the kingdom. And he preached in the synagogues throughout all of Galilee, healing all manner of sickness and all manner of disease among the people and cast out devils.And his fame went throughout all Syria: and they brought unto him all sick people that were taken with divers diseases and torments, and those which were possessed with devils, and those which were lunatic, and those that had the palsy; and he healed them.

He has widened the circle again and he began in the same manner as when he came down to live in Capernaum, where we are told: “Then he, they, went down to Capernaum, a town in Galilee, and when the Sabbath came on, Jesus went into the synagogue and began to teach.”

At this point of his ministry, Jesus is staying within the traditions of the religious practices of his day and he is doing his teaching in the synagogues. Obviously there has not yet rose animosity against him from the local Rabbis or congregations. We are not given a time period for this initial period of preaching where he is moving about freely in the countryside from town to town. We see word of him is spreading because the sick are coming to him and people are bringing those too ill or possessed to come on their own.

It is probably safe to say these people were not yet honing in on his message. The passages have constantly emphasized his healings. Although we have statements where people noted he spoke with authority, there is no indication of anyone disputing his preaching’s as outside the Jewish canon of the times. No one is commenting on it being a new way yet. It is not that Jesus may not be saying anything of a radical nature, for perhaps he was. It would appear that he has not made any stunning declaration along the line of what he said in Nazareth again. Most likely his miraculous healings are the cause of his spreading fame at this point.

Jesus is also moving about freely. The people might flock to him at the synagogues or seek him out when he goes off to a private place, but they have not reached a point where he can’t go wherever he wishes when he wishes. This is about to soon change.