Matius 4:19

4:19 He said to them, “Follow me, and I will turn you into fishers of people.” ¹ 

Matius 9:29

9:29 Then he touched their eyes saying, “Let it be done for you according to your faith.”

Matius 14:20

14:20 They all ate and were satisfied, and they picked up the broken pieces left over, twelve baskets full.

Matius 27:34

27:34 and offered Jesus ²  wine mixed with gall to drink. ³  But after tasting it, he would not drink it.

[4:19]  ¹ tn The Greek term ἄνθρωπος (anqrwpos) is used here in a generic sense, referring to both men and women, thus “people.”

[4:19]  sn The kind of fishing envisioned was net – not line – fishing (cf. v. 18; cf. also BDAG 55 s.v. ἀμφιβάλλω, ἀμφίβληστρον) which involved a circular net that had heavy weights around its perimeter. The occupation of fisherman was labor-intensive. The imagery of using a lure and a line (and waiting for the fish to strike) is thus foreign to this text. Rather, the imagery of a fisherman involved much strain, long hours, and often little results. Jesus’ point may have been one or more of the following: the strenuousness of evangelism, the work ethic that it required, persistence and dedication to the task (often in spite of minimal results), the infinite value of the new “catch” (viz., people), and perhaps an eschatological theme of snatching people from judgment (cf. W. L. Lane, Mark [NICNT], 67). If this last motif is in view, then catching people is the opposite of catching fish: The fish would be caught, killed, cooked, and eaten; people would be caught so as to remove them from eternal destruction and to give them new life.

[27:34]  ² tn Grk “him”; the referent (Jesus) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[27:34]  ³ sn It is difficult to say for certain who gave Jesus this drink of wine mixed with gall (e.g., the executioner, or perhaps women from Jerusalem). In any case, whoever gave it to him most likely did so in order to relieve his pain, but Jesus was unwilling to take it.