Immediately Jesus called them, and they left their father Zebedee in the boat with the hired men and followed Him.
Parallel translations
- WEB Immediately he called them, and they left their father, Zebedee, in the boat with the hired servants, and went after him.
- KJV And straightway he called them: and they left their father Zebedee in the ship with the hired servants, and went after him.
- NKJV And immediately He called them, and they left their father Zebedee in the boat with the hired servants, and went after Him.
- NASB Immediately He called them; and they left their father Zebedee in the boat with the hired men, and went away to follow Him.
- NLT He called them at once, and they also followed him, leaving their father, Zebedee, in the boat with the hired men.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org
Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Quick answer
Jesus calls James and John, and they leave their father and the boat to follow Him. Following Christ may mean leaving even close ties.
Overview
Their immediate departure, leaving their father Zebedee, underscores the priority Jesus rightly claims over all other loyalties. The mention of hired servants suggests they left a settled livelihood, not destitution. Such ready obedience illustrates the all-surpassing worth of following the Lord.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 8
- Matt 10:37Anyone who loves his father or mother more than Me is not worthy of Me; anyone who loves his son or daughter more than Me is not worthy of Me;
- Mark 10:29“Truly I tell you,” Jesus replied, “no one who has left home or brothers or sisters or mother or father or children or fields for My sake and for the gospel
- Luke 14:26“If anyone comes to Me and does not hate his father and mother and wife and children and brothers and sisters—yes, even his own life—he cannot be My disciple.
- Matt 8:21–22Another of His disciples requested, “Lord, first let me go and bury my father.”
- 2 Cor 5:16So from now on we regard no one according to the flesh. Although we once regarded Christ in this way, we do so no longer.
- 1 Kgs 19:20So Elisha left the oxen, ran after Elijah, and said, “Please let me kiss my father and mother goodbye, and then I will follow you.” “Go on back,” Elijah replied, “for what have I done to you?”
- Matt 4:21–22Going on from there, He saw two other brothers, James son of Zebedee and his brother John. They were in a boat with their father Zebedee, mending their nets. Jesus called them,
- Deut 33:9He said of his father and mother, ‘I do not consider them.’ He disregarded his brothers and did not know his own sons, for he kept Your word and maintained Your covenant.
Themes, concepts, people & topics
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Christ at the center
Mark drives urgently to the cross, showing Jesus the Son of God as the suffering Servant who 'came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.'
How Mark 1:20 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.
Original language
Each word below is tagged with its Strong’s number — tap one to see the underlying Greek word, its meaning, and every verse that uses it.