Verse from Matthew

“Immediately they left their nets and followed Him.”

‭‭Matthew‬ ‭4‬:‭20‬ ‭

The Sermon on the Mount (Matthew 5–7) is often viewed as the beginning of Jesus’ ministry. While this was clearly His first major teaching block, His ministry had begun earlier. In Matthew 4, we read how Jesus preached about the imminence of the kingdom of heaven (v. 17), selected His first disciples (vv. 18–22), and performed His first public miracles (vv. 23–25).

Matthew’s recording of Jesus calling the first disciples is different from John’s account, leading some to believe that there were several callings and that John’s account was the first to occur. In the gospel of John, Christ’s first disciples were Andrew and, apparently, John, who’d been followers of John the Baptist (1:35–40). Andrew then brought Simon, Jesus sought out Philip, and Philip brought Nathanael (vv. 41–49). These were the disciples that witnessed the miracle at the wedding in Cana (2:1–12).