who lived in the village of Cana, at no great dis- tance from his own home at Bethsaida, and informed liiiu of the discovery of the Messiah, in the person of Jesus of Jsazareth. Nathanael hesitated, but he came and saw and heard, and the knowledge which Jesus displayed of his character and of his inmost life convinced him that He was indeed what Philip had declared Him to be (v.''^*-). How many of these disciples accompanied Jesus to Cana and witnessed His first miracle (2'"-) is not certain; possibly the majority, if not all. The same un-
witnessed the expulsion of the traffickers from the temple, heard the mysterious words spoken regard- ing the destruction of the temple, or saw the many miracles which He performed in the capital (v. "'''•), baptized at His command when He laboured in Juda?a in the vicinity of the Baptist, and accom- panied Him through Samaria on His return to Galilee (4"f-). It would seem as if thereafter the disciples returned to their usual occupations, and our Lord retired for a little from public life.
2. Beginning of our Lord's Gcdilcean ministry. — After a short interval our Lord resumed His labours, and continued them \\-ithout interruption until His death. The Baptist had just been im- prisoned (Mk 1" and |!), and He seemed to regard his imprisonment as a call to attempt more than He had j"et done. So long as the Baptist laboured, the work done by Jesus does not seem to have differed much from his. Now that he was in prison, our Lord proceeded to develop a ministry of His own. This new type of ministry was marked by a change of residence from Nazareth to Capernaum (Mt 4'^). He wished to influence as many of the inhabitants of Galilee as He could, and there was no better centre from which to approach them than Capernaum. The town was large, and was near many others of the same char- acter. It lay on several great roads, and was therefore easily reached from all quarters. The people were genuinely Jewish, and not given to Gentile tastes or customs. No more suitable posi- tion from which to command Galilee could have been chosen. It was soon after He settled in Capernaum that He renewed His summons to four of the men whom He had already chosen as His disciples. Walking along the sliore of the Sea of Galilee, He saw the brothers Simon and Andrew, who were fishermen, engaged in casting their net. In words the significance of which they could not fail to discern. He commanded them to follow Him and become fishers of men. Proceeding a little farther. He found James with his brother John repairing their nets, and addressed to tlieni the same command. They, like Peter and Andrew, instantly obeyed (Mk V'-'^). It is clear that our Lord had a definite aim in calling these four dis- ciples. Tlie duty to which He now invited them was an advance on their former relationship. They were to be no longer fisliermen. They must exchange theii' former calling for a new one. And the nature of that new calling was not wholly obscure. The allusion to the occupation which they were bidden to leave illustrated the character of the labours to which they were invited. They were to capture men instead of fish. Not one of the four could fail to perceive that they were to be employed continuously in the service of Jesus. The call would till them with the less surprise because they had already served an apprenticeship to Jesus, when they baptized in obedience to His conuiiands. It need not be inferred that Jesus intended to send the four immediately on a special mission. No particular time is specified in His command ; and though St. Luke (o'") marks the
capture of men as beg
with the moment
AfOSTLES
APOSTLES
103
of the call, this can only mean that their new career began as soon as they obeyed the call ad- dressed to them. Only one other call of the same kind is related in the Gospels, that of Levi or Matthew (Mk 2'i', Mt 9"). It, too, occurred in Capernaum. To the four fishermen a tax-gatherer was added. Capernaum was the seat of a custom- house, and the collector of customs, liCvi by name, was called precisely as the two pairs of brothers had been. What previous acquaintance existed between Matthew and our Lord, what special fjualities commended him we cannot tell ; but the instant obedience he rendered to so extraordinary a command, and the feast which he gave in our Lord's honour as he bade farewell to his fellow- officials, suggest that they had known one another for some time. The interval which separated the call of Matthew from the call of the four cannot be ascertained, but as it is unlikely that he was a disciple of the Baptist, and as it is probable that he was not brought into contact with our Lord till He settled in Capernaum, some little time must have elapsed between his first knowledge of our Lord and his call. He could hardly have been with Jesus from the outset of His career in Galilee.
3. Choice of the Twelve.— \t might have been supposed that our Lord would continue as He had begun, and summon disciple after disciple to His side until He had obtained the number He required for His purpose. But this was not to be. He had detei-mined to make a formal selection of a definite number from the body of His disciples (Mk 3'^ Lk 6"). The importance of the step He was about to take is shown by the fact that He spent the pre- ceding night in prayer (Lk 6'-), doubtless seeking to learn His Father's will regarding the intention He had formed and the mode in which it was to be accomplished. One of the critical hours of His life was before Him. The nature of the selection He was about to make was of supreme consequence. A serious mistake would be followed by calamitous results. No wonder then that He sought specific guidance. He may even have gone over the names of all whom He judged competent, and have made His final choice.