When the Lord appeared to James and John, they were not fishing, but mending their nets. The word “mending” is a good translation, but it is not as good as the original text. This word is the same as that used in Ephesians 4:12 for “perfecting” the saints. Then in 1 Corinthians 1:10 this word is translated “attuned,” the only difference being that one is in the active voice and the other in the passive.
In 1 Thessalonians 3:10 this word is translated “perfect,” that we may “perfect what is lacking in your faith.” It would be correct to translate this verse in this way: that we may “mend up the deficiencies in your faith.” We do have some deficiencies in our faith, and these deficiencies need mending. Then Galatians 6:1 says, “If ever a man is overtaken in some offense, you who are spiritual restore such a one in a spirit of meekness.” “Restore” is the same word.
It is difficult for this Greek word to be translated into any other language. All of these different words have been used to translate this one word: to prepare, to mend, to equip, to perfect, to complete, to fix, to join together, and to restore.
All this means that James and John were not necessarily mending their nets because they were broken. They may have been broken, but it does not mean exactly that. It means that they were fixing or equipping their nets. They were adding something to the nets to perfect them. They were perfecting the nets, equipping them, and adding something to make the nets more complete.
Why did Matthew mention these four persons in giving us a record of those whom Jesus had called to follow Him? If we read John 1, we will see that there were others who were also called by Jesus to follow Him; yet Matthew mentioned only these: Peter and Andrew, James and John. The reason is that Matthew is giving us the purpose for following Jesus. It is not for going to heaven, as we may have been taught in the past. To follow Jesus is for either of these two kinds of ministries: to fish for men, or to mend the nets.
The first kind of ministry is to fish for men—this means to bring men into the kingdom of God. The second ministry is to mend men. The first ministry is to bring them in, and the second ministry is to build them up, to prepare them, to fix them, to equip them, and to make them more complete.
In these two groups of brothers, Peter is mentioned first, and John is mentioned last. If we read the New Testament, we will see that Peter was the first in the New Testament ministry and that John was the last. Peter began the ministry by bringing people in. He opened the door for the Jewish people to come in, and he also opened the door for the Gentiles to come in. He brought in all kinds of people; he was a real fisher.
Peter, however, was not a mender. John mended both in his Gospel and in the last book of the Bible. The book of Acts is a fishing book, whereas the book of Revelation is a mending book. God’s building, the New Jerusalem, is in the book of Revelation. Peter brought people in, and John built them up by mending. We have seen that mending includes fixing, equipping, framing together, perfecting, restoring, and completing. When we speak of the mending ministry, we include all of these meanings.
To follow the Lord is simply for these two ministries. The Lord Jesus called Peter and Andrew to participate in the fishing ministry. Then following this, the Lord called James and John to take care of the mending ministry. The fishing ministry is to bring people in, and the mending ministry is to fix, frame together, perfect, prepare, complete, add to, adjust, equip, make suitable, and attune that we all might be built up together with others. To follow Jesus is for these two ministries. We need to remember that these two ministries are outside of religion.
After John the Baptist was put into prison, Jesus did not call anyone to follow Him from the temple, but went instead to Galilee to call some from the sea. We need to realize that while Peter and Andrew were fishing and James and John were mending, there were many priests praying in the temple. No doubt if we were the Lord seeking someone to follow us, we would all go to the praying group. Jesus, however, did not go to the temple. He withdrew from religion and went to the Sea of Galilee. No one there was praying; those by the sea were either fishing or mending. They did not have Jerusalem; they had the sea. They did not have a temple; they had a boat. They did not have an altar; they merely had a net. This is contrary to the religious concept. Jesus did not go anywhere near the temple, but He caught a good number of people by the sea. We all need to change our mind, to change our concept. Jesus did not call anyone to follow Him for offering sacrifices to God, but He called some fishers to fish for men, and some menders for the mending ministry. All of this is different from our concept.
The principle here is very important. The Lord Jesus did not begin His ministry from the temple. He did not begin His ministry from Jerusalem, but from Galilee, and even from the Sea of Galilee. He did not begin His ministry by calling the priests, the religious ones, the learned ones, the refined ones. He began His ministry by calling some rough, unlearned, and uneducated fishermen. Would you do such a thing if you were Jesus? We would not, but He did.
Are you refined? Are you learned? We may be, but we need to see that His first followers were not the learned, but the unlearned. They were not the refined, but the unhewn, without education or attainment in schooling.