Meeting Jesus For The First Time

A reader writes:

Hi Jimmy,
You’re the only one I know who can answer this question:
In last week’s Gospel from John we read:

35 The next day John was there again with two of his disciples,
36 and as he watched Jesus walk by, he said, "Behold, the Lamb of God."
37 The two disciples  heard what he said and followed Jesus.
38 Jesus turned and saw them following him and said to them, "What are you looking for?" They said to him, "Rabbi" (which translated means Teacher), "where are you staying?"
39 He said to them,"Come, and you will see." So they went and saw where he was staying, and they stayed with him that day. It was about four in the afternoon.
40 Andrew, the brother of Simon Peter, was one of the two who heard John and followed Jesus.

But this week, we read from Mark:

14 After John had been arrested, Jesus came to Galilee proclaiming the gospel of God:
15 "This is the time of fulfillment. The kingdom of God is at hand. Repent, and believe in the gospel."
16 As he passed by the Sea of Galilee, he saw Simon and his brother Andrew casting their nets into the sea; they were fishermen.
17 Jesus said to them, "Come after me, and I will make you fishers of men."
18 Then they abandoned their nets and followed him.
19 He walked along a little farther and saw James, the son of Zebedee, and his brother John. They too were in a boat mending their nets.
20 Then he called them.

So: were the first disciples called before, or after, John’s arrest?  Were the disciples with John at the time, or were they fishing?  (Could it be that John the Evangelist is compressing time in verses 36-38?)

There are a couple of things to keep in mind here. First, the Gospels are not complete accounts of what Jesus said and did. This is something that (a) obvious from how short they are and (b) John is explicit about the point (John 21:24-25).

Second, the Gospels–like ancient books of history in general–are MUCH more flexible about chronology than modern ones are. Often ancient writers would arrange events topically rather than chronologically. SEE HERE FOR MORE INFO.

What we seem to have in this case is a statement by John about how certain apostles first met Jesus and a statement by Mark about how he formally called them to his service full-time.

I know that I wouldn’t be inclined to drop everything and follow someone full-time if I’d only just met him, even if he was held by friends of mine to be a prophet. That kind of commitment is only likely to develop over time, after you’ve known someone and gotten to trust him. It’s a significant decision that one doesn’t make on the spur of the moment.

Since this is how human relationships normally work, it’s most naturally assumed by the Gospels.

You’ll note that John doesn’t say (and neither does Mark, for that matter) that the disciples in question started following Jesus full-time. John only says that they followed him to see where he was staying that day. John even mentions that it was toward evening (about four in the afternoon). Andrew then introduces Peter to Jesus the next day (immediately after the part of John 1 that you quoted).

So the likely chronology is:

  1. Andrew and another disciple of John the Baptist meet Jesus for the first time and follows him to where he is staying.
  2. Andrew introduces Peter to Jesus for the first time. Andrew and Peter may or may not have been working as fishermen at this time, though Andrew was clearly a disciple of John the Baptist.
  3. John gets arrested.
  4. Jesus calls Andrew and Peter (together with James and John) to be disciples on a more stable and possibly a full-time basis. Andrew and Peter were both clearly working as fishermen at this time and left their profession here or soon afterwards to follow Jesus as full-time disciples.

Author: Jimmy Akin

Jimmy was born in Texas, grew up nominally Protestant, but at age 20 experienced a profound conversion to Christ. Planning on becoming a Protestant seminary professor, he started an intensive study of the Bible. But the more he immersed himself in Scripture the more he found to support the Catholic faith, and in 1992 he entered the Catholic Church. His conversion story, "A Triumph and a Tragedy," is published in Surprised by Truth. Besides being an author, Jimmy is the Senior Apologist at Catholic Answers, a contributing editor to Catholic Answers Magazine, and a weekly guest on "Catholic Answers Live."

2 thoughts on “Meeting Jesus For The First Time”


  1. Andrew and Peter were both clearly working as fishermen at this time and left their profession here or soon afterwards to follow Jesus as full-time disciples.

    In John 21:1-14, were Simon Peter and the other disciples going fishing for leisure purposes, or had they returned to their profession when Jesus (after the Resurrection) calls them back to discipleship and following him?
    Just curious.

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