Walking by the sea of Galilee one morning, Jesus saw two brethren,
Simon who is called Peter, and Andrew his brother, . . . and two
other brethren, James, the son of Zebedee, and John his brother, with
their nets, for they were fishermen. And he called them: "Come ye
after me and I will make you fishers of men." These four became his
first disciples. (Matt. 4:18-22.)
_Zimmermann, Plate 47,_ has seized upon the moment when Jesus makes
that extraordinary statement. Peter and John are nearest Jesus, the
other two in the background. "Fishers of men;" the phrase is
mysterious; they cannot understand it. Nevertheless, they leave all
and follow Him.
[Illustration: Christ and the Fishermen.]
Plate 47. _Christ and the Fishermen._ Zimmermann. 1832-
Luke gives the account of a miracle between the morning sermon of
Jesus to the crowd upon the beach, and this call of the four
fishermen: "When he had finished speaking he said to Simon, Push off
into deep water, and then all throw out your nets for a haul." "We
have been hard at work all night, sir," Simon answered, "and have not
caught anything, but as you say so, I will throw the nets out." They
did so, and they enclosed such a great shoal of fish that their nets
began to break. So they signalled to their mates in the other boat to
come and help them; which they did, filling both the boats so full of
fish that they were almost sinking.
_Raphael, Plate 49,_ illustrates the moment, a little later, when
Peter threw himself down at Jesus' knees, exclaiming: "Depart from
me, for I am a sinful man, O Lord." (Luke 5:8.) Raphael made this as
a design for a tapestry for the Sistine Chapel, Rome.
[Illustration: The Miraculous Draught of Fishes.]
Plate 49. _The Miraculous Draught of Fishes._ Raphael. 1483-1520.