LESSON III.—SABBATH, APRIL 15, 1899
CALLING OF FOUR DISCIPLES; HEALING OF A DEMONIAC.
18 "AND walking by the Sea of Galilee, He saw two brethren, Simon who is called Peter, and Andrew his brother, casting a 19 net into the sea; for they were fishers. And He saith unto them, Come ye after Me, and I will make you fishers of men. 20 And they straightway left the nets, and followed Him. And 21 going on from thence He saw other two brethren, James the son of Zebedee, and John his brother, in the boat with Zebedee 22 their father, mending their nets; and He called them. And 23 they straightway left the boat and their father, and followed Him." 16 "And passing along by the Sea of Galilee, He saw Simon and Andrew his brother of Simon casting a net in the sea; for they 17 were fishers. And Jesus said unto them, Come ye after Me, 18 and I will make you to become fishers of men. And straight- 19 way they left the nets, and followed Him. And going on a 20 little further, He saw James the son of Zebedee, and John his brother, who also were in the boat mending the nets. And 21 straightway He called them; and they left their father Zebedee 22 in the boat with the hired servants, and went after Him. 23 And they go into Capernaum; and straightway on the 24 Sabbath day He entered into the synagog and taught. And they were astonished at His teaching: for He taught them as 25 having authority, and not as the scribes. And straightway 26 there was in their synagog a man with an unclean spirit; 27 and He cried out, saying, What have we to do with Thee, 28 Thou Jesus of Nazareth? art Thou come to destroy us? I know Thee who Thou art, the Holy One of God. And Jesus rebuked him, saying, Hold thy peace, and come out of him. And the unclean spirit, tearing him and crying with a loud voice, came out of him. And they were all amazed, insomuch that they questioned among themselves, saying, What is this? a new teaching! with authority He commandeth even the unclean spirits, and they obey Him. And the report of Him went out straightway everywhere into all the region of Galilee round about." 1 "Now it came to pass, while the multitude pressed upon Him and heard the Word of God, that He was standing by the 2 Lake of Gennesaret; and He saw two boats standing by the lake; but the fishermen had gone out of them, and were wash- 3 ing their nets. And He entered into one of the boats, which was Simon's, and asked him to put out a little from the land. 4 And He sat down and taught the multitudes out of the boat. And when He had left speaking, He said unto Simon, Put out 5 into the deep, and let down your nets for a draught. And Simon answered and said, Master, we toiled all night, and 6 took nothing; but at Thy word I will let down the nets. And 7 when they had done this, they inclosed a great multitude of fishes; and their nets were breaking; and they beckoned unto 8 their partners in the other boat, that they should come and help them. And they came, and filled both the boats, so that 9 they began to sink. But Simon Peter, when he saw it, fell down at Jesus' knees, saying, Depart from me; for I am a sin- 10 ful man, O Lord. For he was amazed, and all that were with 11 him, at the draught of the fishes which they had taken; and so were also James and John, sons of Zebedee, which were partners with Simon. And Jesus said unto Simon, Fear not; from henceforth thou shalt catch men. And when they had brought their boats to land, they left all, and followed Him." NOTE.—The texts inclosed in marks of parentheses, while not essential to the lesson study, will be found to throw much light upon the lesson, and are suggested for those who wish to study further. - As Jesus walked by the seashore near Capernaum, whom did He see? Matt. 4:18. See note 1. (Luke 5:1.)
- What were these men doing? See note 2.
- For what reason did the Lord address one of these fishermen? Luke 5:1, 3.
- After His discourse, what did the Saviour ask Simon to do? Verse 4. (John 21:6.)
- What objection did Simon interpose? Verse 5. See note 3.
- Tell what resulted from obeying Christ's command. Verses 6, 7.
- Recognizing that a most wonderful miracle had been wrought, what did Peter do? Verse 8. See note 4. (Isa. 6:5, 7; Dan. 10:8.)
- What assuring and comforting words were then spoken to Peter? Verse 10. (Matt. 4:19; Jer. 16:16.)
- What four disciples were called at that time? Mark 1:16-20. (Luke 5:10, 11; Matt. 4:18-22.)
- Where did they first go? Verse 21.
- How did Christ's words on that occasion affect the people? Verse 22. (Matt. 7:28, 29.)
- What interruption occurred while Jesus was speaking? Verses 23, 24. (Luke 4:33, 34.)
- With what words did Jesus rebuke this acknowledgment of His Messiahship? Verse 25. See note 5. (Acts 16:18.)
- What then took place at the command of Jesus? Verse 26. (Mark 9:26.)
- How was the scene regarded by those present? Verse 27.
- How far did the knowledge of this affair extend? Verse 28.
1. "Sea of Galilee;" so called because of the province of that name which formed its western shore. It was also known as Lake Gennesaret, because of a most beautiful and fertile plain by that name, which bordered on one of its northwestern indentures; it was called the Sea of Tiberias, from the city of Tiberias, which was located on its western shore; and, in ancient times, it was called the Sea of Chinnereth, from a town of that name near it. See Num. 34:11; Josh. 12:3; 19:35. 2. Some months before this, these men had voluntarily, but temporarily, it seems, joined themselves to Christ, as related in John 1:35-42. No one had, as yet, fully united as colaborer with Christ. These men had listened to His teaching and witnessed His miracles; but, having also seen the combination of religious leaders against Christ, they had found relief in assuming their former occupation. 3. These were words only of discouragement. All night Peter had toiled in vain. "During the lonely hours he had thought of the fate of John the Baptist, who was languishing alone in his dungeon. He had thought of the prospect before Jesus and His followers, of the ill success of the mission to Judea, and the malice of the priests and rabbis. Even his own occupation had failed him, and as he watched by the empty nets, the future had seemed dark with discouragement."—Desire of Ages, p. 245. 4. Conflicting emotions overcame the erring disciple. He had, in great measure, lost sight of Christ's calling, of which he had been convinced a few months before. His was now the cry of self-loathing, as his true self of unbelief and unholiness was clearly revealed by the flash of supernatural illumination. 5. A strong expression, literally, "be thou muzzled." The Lord would not recognize this satanic testimony to His office and work. See "Desire of Ages," pp. 255, 256.