Why were so many of Jesus’ first followers fishermen?

Sep 22, 2023

By Anil Netto
Ever wondered why many of Jesus’ first followers were fishermen? Something was happening when Jesus was growing up in the early First Century.

Judea and Galilee had fallen under the control of the Roman Empire, either directly through a local client king or ruler, or through a Roman governor.

These rulers ensured that the economy of the region served the needs of the empire foremost. Their model was an early prototype of the economic globalisation we are familiar with today.

Under Roman rule, local agriculture and fisheries — two key sectors of the economy — grew commercialised to boost the food supply of the empire while reaping profits for local elites.

This was part of the Roman ‘globalisation’ of the Mediterranean region.

By the time Jesus arrived on the scene, many of the farmers and fishermen were no longer independent. Many farmers had lost their family land — which the Jews considered as belonging to God. Their land had been placed as collateral for loans to pay heavy taxes.

The confiscated plots of land were then combined into large estates.

Now the farmers had become casual workers or day labourers working for landlords or other tenant farmers. The new owners of the land produced cash crops like grain and wine for export to Rome and regional markets. Many of the grain shipments were made through the new port that King Herod constructed in Caesarea — an architectural marvel.

Under the local rulers, even the fisheries sector was turned into an industry, again to supply the region. Fish was salted and pickled and fish products were shipped to markets in the empire. Today, we see the ruins of fish processing plants around the Sea of Galilee in places like Magdala.

But the fishermen were now struggling as even the Sea of Galilee was commercialised to secure profits for the elite class. Many fishermen now had to combine their resources as collectives to secure fishing rights and even to afford a boat.

These independent fishermen were reduced to struggling to earn a living, as the middlemen and concessionaires reaped handsome profits. They had to work long hours to make ends meet.

Meanwhile, the local elite and the aristocrats were content to indulge in the trappings of Greco-Roman civilisation in the cities of Sepphoris and Caesarea.

These elites — many of them Sadducee families — owned much of the land and some were also in the Sanhedrin court. They lived off the profits from estates producing cash crops.

They also had great say over the Temple treasury in Jerusalem, which functioned like a central bank. Many of these elites cooperated with the Roman imperial overlords, especially in putting down any rebellions. So, both the farmers and the fishermen were losing their economic independence and gradually becoming casual workers. Or they turned to other jobs like construction work, stone masonary or carpentry to work on Herod’s string of mega-construction projects.

This process eroded the farmers’ and fishermen’s self-sufficiency in food supply, as many sank into poverty and even destitution. Some even had to wait at town squares for casual day jobs for a day’s wages – “Kais pagi, makan pagi, kais malam, makan malam,” (a hand-tomounth subsistence existence), as they say in Malaysia.

All this took a toll on their health in a land that was once described as one of “milk and honey”. Little wonder then that Jesus had so many people to heal.

Many of these dispossessed farming and fishing families turned to John the Baptist. John spoke of God’s justice and an impending catastrophe if people did not repent. He warned of an impending divine clean-up to sort out this mess.

By then it was clear that a rebellion from the restless people against Roman rule would cause tremendous suffering, devastation and bloodshed.

When John was executed, many of his followers gravitated to Jesus, whose message had a different emphasis. Jesus told them that God was inviting us to collaborate in building up his kingdom. He was inviting us to change the course of history by wiping out injustice, promoting inclusiveness and ending greed. His way was not the way of the world.

Today, the global and local economies face challenges that are not much different from Jesus’ time. Greed still rules. The Commons — the sea, the forests, the hills and the land, which rightfully belongs to the public — is still being coveted by the elite.

How often have we seen public assets and resources — whether farmland, fishing waters, forests and hills — being destroyed, to profit a small elite group of political and business interests. Such wanton destruction is taking a terrible toll on our ecosystems. Let's pray for the courage and the vision to see the world anew.

Let’s regard Creation as a gift from God that should be treasured and not destroyed due to unbridled Greed.

(Anil Netto is a freelance writer and activist based in Penang. He believes we are all called to build the kingdom of God in this world)