Mark 1:16

Jesus Calls His First Disciples

16 And [as he]^[a] was passing by along the Sea of Galilee, he saw Simon and Andrew, Simon's brother, casting [a net]^[b] into the sea (for they were fishermen).

Mark 1:16 Meaning and Commentary

Mark 1:16

Now as he walked by the sea of Galilee
The same with the sea of Tiberias, ( John 6:1 ) ,

he saw Simon:
whose surname was Peter, the son of Jonas:

and Andrew his brother;
the brother of Simon,

casting a net into the sea;
of Galilee, in order to catch fish:

for they were fishers:
by occupation, this was their trade and business, by which they got their livelihood; (See Gill on Matthew 4:18).

Mark 1:16 In-Context

14 And after John {had been taken into custody}, Jesus went into Galilee proclaiming the gospel of God

15 and saying, "The time is fulfilled and the kingdom of God has come near. Repent and believe in the gospel!"

16 And [as he] was passing by along the Sea of Galilee, he saw Simon and Andrew, Simon's brother, casting [a net] into the sea (for they were fishermen).

17 And Jesus said to them, "{Follow} me and I will make you become fishers of people."

18 And immediately they left their nets [and] followed him.

Footnotes

• [a]. *Here "[as]" is supplied as a component of the participle ("was passing by") which is understood as temporal
• [b]. *Here the direct object is supplied from context in the English translation