Andrew
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Introduction: If Peter was bold, brash, and unpredictable, Andrew, Peter’s younger brother, was the opposite. In the group of apostles that was closest to Jesus we know the least about Andrew. We probably know so little about Andrew because much of what he did he seems to have done in the background. One thing we do know, however is that Andrew had a close relationship with Jesus.
Andrew was the first apostle to follow Jesus. ().
Again, the next day, John stood with two of his disciples. And looking at Jesus as He walked, he said, “Behold the Lamb of God!”
The two disciples heard him speak, and they followed Jesus. Then Jesus turned, and seeing them following, said to them, “What do you seek?”
They said to Him, “Rabbi” (which is to say, when translated, Teacher), “where are You staying?”
He said to them, “Come and see.” They came and saw where He was staying, and remained with Him that day (now it was about the tenth hour).
One of the two who heard John speak, and followed Him, was Andrew, Simon Peter’s brother.
He was eager to follow Christ, and his personal eagerness to follow Christ bled over into his eagerness to bring others to follow Christ. Peter and Andrew had obviously been life long companions with the other set of fishermen brothers James and John. Andrew, Peter, James, and John apparently had spiritual interests before following Jesus since they must have taken time off of fishing to go hear the preaching of John the Baptist and became followers of John.
All four of these men displayed qualities of leadership. Peter obviously displayed the greatest amount of leadership, but there were times that they would fight about who among them was the greatest. Of the four leaders, Andrew was the least noticeable. In fact, Andrew’s name only appears in the New Testament nine times (besides when his name appears in a list). Mostly, Andrew lived his life in the shadow of his older brother Peter. Even when John introduces him in his gospel he introduces him as Simon Peter’s brother (as if his significance hinged on the fact that Peter was his brother). Surprisingly, Andrew shows very little resentment towards Peter. In fact it was Andrew who brought Peter to Christ in the first place ().
He first found his own brother Simon, and said to him, “We have found the Messiah” (which is translated, the Christ). And he brought him to Jesus.
Now when Jesus looked at him, He said, “You are Simon the son of Jonah. You shall be called Cephas” (which is translated, A Stone).
Being Peter’s brother, Andrew knew Peter’s tendency to take over. Andrew would have known that by bringing Peter to Christ he could kiss his chances of being the leader of the group goodbye. This alone tells us a good deal about what kind of man Andrew was.
Almost everything the Bible tells us about Andrew shows us that Andrew had the heart and character necessary for effective ministry. He did not seek to be the center of attention. He was free from resentment towards Peter. He was happy to use the good gifts that God had given him and allowed the other disciples to freely do the same.
Andrew also appears to be the disciple that is the most thoughtful. Compared to the other disciples, Andrew is the center of the least amount of conflict. Peter was likely to rush ahead foolishly and say the wrong thing at the wrong time, James and John were nicknamed “Sons of Thunder, “ but whenever Andrew speaks he always says the right thing and whenever he acts he does the right thing. Obviously he was not perfect, but his imperfections are not recorded for us except for those mistakes he makes along with the other disciples. He is never personally credited for leading dishonorably. Even though he never took the spotlight, he was an effective leader.
Andrew serves as a model for us to follow today. Like Andrew, most of us will serve the Lord in obscurity. Book will not likely be written about you or me and it is our faithfulness in the little things that make a huge difference in the end.
Fittingly, Andrew’s name means “manly.” He was bold, decisive, and deliberate. He dedicated himself to truth and was willing to endure whatever he had to in the pursuit of and in service to the truth.
One of the First
One of the First
Looking back at , Andrew was one of the first disciples with John.
Again, the next day, John stood with two of his disciples. And looking at Jesus as He walked, he said, “Behold the Lamb of God!”
The two disciples heard him speak, and they followed Jesus. Then Jesus turned, and seeing them following, said to them, “What do you seek?”
They said to Him, “Rabbi” (which is to say, when translated, Teacher), “where are You staying?”
He said to them, “Come and see.” They came and saw where He was staying, and remained with Him that day (now it was about the tenth hour).
One of the two who heard John speak, and followed Him, was Andrew, Simon Peter’s brother.
After being convinced that Jesus was the Messiah, Andrew, without hesitation, went and found the person he loved the most - Peter - and brought him to Christ ().
He first found his own brother Simon, and said to him, “We have found the Messiah” (which is translated, the Christ). And he brought him to Jesus.
Now when Jesus looked at him, He said, “You are Simon the son of Jonah. You shall be called Cephas” (which is translated, A Stone).
The brothers then went back to continue their fishing business until Jesus found them again and called them into a more permanent full-time discipleship ()
And Jesus, walking by the Sea of Galilee, saw two brothers, Simon called Peter, and Andrew his brother, casting a net into the sea; for they were fishermen. Then He said to them, “Follow Me, and I will make you fishers of men.” They immediately left their nets and followed Him.
Going on from there, He saw two other brothers, James the son of Zebedee, and John his brother, in the boat with Zebedee their father, mending their nets. He called them, and immediately they left the boat and their father, and followed Him.
Andrew was so unassuming that when Luke recorded ’s parallel passage Andrew’s name was not even mentioned. Again, highlighting the fact that Andrew was content to live in the background. It is this humility that gives Andrew the wisdom to see the significance of seemingly small things.
Seeing the Value of People
Seeing the Value of People
Andrew was known, not for bringing crowds to Jesus, but individual people to Jesus. His first act after discovering who Jesus was was to go and get his brother Peter. His first response to Jesus was to reach out to an individual.
At the feeding of the five thousand, it was Andrew who introduced the boy with the loaves and fishes to Jesus. It was Andrew who introduced the Greeks to Jesus in
Now there were certain Greeks among those who came up to worship at the feast. Then they came to Philip, who was from Bethsaida of Galilee, and asked him, saying, “Sir, we wish to see Jesus.”
Philip came and told Andrew, and in turn Andrew and Philip told Jesus.
Why didn’t Philip take these men to Jesus himself? I don’t know. However, Philip knew that Andrew was the one who was gifted at making personal introductions to Jesus. So, when someone needed a personal introduction to Jesus Philip sought out the leadership of Andrew. Andrew seemed to always know what to do in these situations. If someone wanted to see Jesus, Andrew was happy and comfortable making the introduction.
This is the most effective type of evangelism. Effective evangelism often takes place on an individual, personal level.
Question: How did you guys come to know Jesus?
It would be awesome if we had a church populated with Andrews. Andrew realized the value and the power of seeking out just one relationship at a time and bringing people one by one to Christ. Never think that because you are uncomfortable speaking in front of people that you aren’t responsible to evangelize. If you have friends, you can evangelize.
Seeing the Value of Small Gifts
Seeing the Value of Small Gifts
After these things Jesus went over the Sea of Galilee, which is the Sea of Tiberias. Then a great multitude followed Him, because they saw His signs which He performed on those who were diseased. And Jesus went up on the mountain, and there He sat with His disciples.
Now the Passover, a feast of the Jews, was near. Then Jesus lifted up His eyes, and seeing a great multitude coming toward Him, He said to Philip, “Where shall we buy bread, that these may eat?” But this He said to test him, for He Himself knew what He would do.
So here is this huge crowd and Jesus asked Philip, knowing what kind of response he would give, where they might be able to buy bread. After some calculations Philip finds that they have about 8 months wages ($33,000) and they need a year’s wages ($50,000; based on the lowest possible numbers). Philip concludes that there is no possible way to buy enough food. They might as well not worry about where to buy it because they can’t afford it.
Philip answered Him, “Two hundred denarii worth of bread is not sufficient for them, that every one of them may have a little.”
Matthew records the conversation this way
Matthew
When it was evening, His disciples came to Him, saying, “This is a deserted place, and the hour is already late. Send the multitudes away, that they may go into the villages and buy themselves food.”
But Jesus said to them, “They do not need to go away. You give them something to eat.”
It is at this point that Andrew speaks up (
One of His disciples, Andrew, Simon Peter’s brother, said to Him, “There is a lad here who has five barley loaves and two small fish, but what are they among so many?”
One of His disciples, Andrew, Simon Peter’s brother, said to Him,
One of His disciples, Andrew, Simon Peter’s brother, said to Him,
While all the other disciples must have been dumbstruck, Andrew knows that Jesus is not going to ask them to do something that they can’t do and so he looks around and finds the best he can come up with and trusts Jesus with the rest. John then continues the story.
John 6:
Then Jesus said, “Make the people sit down.” Now there was much grass in the place. So the men sat down, in number about five thousand. And Jesus took the loaves, and when He had given thanks He distributed them to the disciples, and the disciples to those sitting down; and likewise of the fish, as much as they wanted. So when they were filled, He said to His disciples, “Gather up the fragments that remain, so that nothing is lost.” Therefore they gathered them up, and filled twelve baskets with the fragments of the five barley loaves which were left over by those who had eaten.
The disciples learned that day that, in the hands of God, little can be used to accomplish much, and, even today, God chooses to work that way. He uses small people and small gifts to accomplish much. This illustrates that God does not need our gifts, he chooses to use our small gifts because He is a great God.
Seeing the Value in Service
Seeing the Value in Service
As we mentioned earlier, Peter, James, and John would, at times, get caught up in the debate of who was the greatest. Not Andrew. He seemed to be more concerned about bringing people to Christ than about who would get the credit for bringing people to Christ. In fact, we never see Andrew speak unless he is bringing someone to Christ. He was not impressive like his older brother Peter and he probably liked it that way. He isn’t bothered by the fact that he is living in someone else’s shadow as long as the work for Christ was getting done. Andrew was a leader with a servant’s heart.
Andrew never appeared in Acts, never wrote an epistle, never founded a church. Like in the gospels, he probably played a behind the scenes role in the formation of the early church. After the filling at Pentecost we have no idea what happened to Andrew. According to the historian Eusebius he was ultimately crucified in Achaia. Tradition says he led the wife of a prominent Roman official to Christ. Infuriated this Roman governor demanded she recant her faith. She refused and so the governor had Andrew crucified. He was then lashed to the cross so that he would last longer on it. He hung there for two days. He died bringing individuals to Christ.
Conclusion: Andrew’s ministry was extremely effective and it shows us that so often it is the little things that count - the individual people we touch or the unnoticeable life we live. Andrew’s life is a testimony of .
But God has chosen the foolish things of the world to put to shame the wise, and God has chosen the weak things of the world to put to shame the things which are mighty; and the base things of the world and the things which are despised God has chosen, and the things which are not, to bring to nothing the things that are, that no flesh should glory in His presence.
Andrew’s life is an encouragement to us who live ordinary lives. Reach out to your neighbor, listen for those who are seeking, introduce people to Christ. By consistently being faithful in the little things, God can take something ordinary and make it extraordinary.