THE
STORY OF ANDREW
(The
Master’s-12) John 1:35-42
We have been on a journey to learn
about the lives of the twelve disciples of Jesus Christ. We call these band of
disciples, “The Master’s Twelve” They were just like you and me, ordinary
people with regular lives. For about three years Jesus trained them in matters
pertaining to life, death and the eternal life to come after death. During that training Jesus noted how slow
these team members were so he was patient with them.
Jesus
saw how fearful and lacking in faith they were, at times he had to rebuke them,
encourage, correct and bring their focus back to the mission of winning the
world for him. On one occasion they even
slept through his training session. Yet our Lord saw the potential beyond their
weaknesses. One of the main lessons from the lives of the original twelve
disciples is that if God can use them, then he can use us. And God will use us
to the degree to which we yield to Him, cooperate with Him, and work with one
another.
Let
me introduce the Master’s 12. “These are the twelve he appointed: Simon (to
whom he gave the name Peter), James son of Zebedee and his brother John (to
them he gave the name Boanerges, which means “sons of thunder”), Andrew,
Philip, Bartholomew, Matthew, Thomas, James son of Alpheus, Thaddaeus, Simon
the Zealot and Judas Iscariot, who betrayed him.” Mark 3:16-19. So far we have
learned how Jesus turned, Peter the impulsive, the go getter into an empowered
preacher and a world changer. We saw how Jesus turned another disciple into an
“Apostle of Love.” Today we will look at another disciple though he was the
first one called to follow Jesus, he remained humble, serving Jesus in the
background. The story of Andrew. John
1:35-42
I. ANDREW’S EARLY LIFE
In
John 1:40-42, “Andrew, Simon Peter’s brother, was one of the two who heard what
John had said and who had followed Jesus. 41 The first thing Andrew did was to
find his brother Simon and tell him, “We have found the Messiah” (that is, the
Christ). 42 And he brought him to Jesus.
According to these scriptures we know that Simon Peter and Andrew are brothers.
It has been
said that the Apostle Andrew's father's name was Jona and his mother's name,
Joanna. In Greek “Andreas means
"manly." The name has also been interpreted as "the mighty one,
or conqueror" Like their father, Andrew and Peter were also fishermen on
the Sea of Galilee. In fact, the
apostles Andrew, Peter, James and John were all partners in a fishing business.
What has changed what seemed to be a normal life of Andrew? It was the call of Jesus to follow him.
II. ANDREW’S
CALL:
There are three
stages in the call of Andrew to the apostleship. The first is described in John
1:28-31. Andrew had spent his earlier years as a fisherman on the Sea of
Galilee, but on learning of the fame of John the Baptist, he departed along
with a band of his countrymen to "Bethany" beyond the Jordan, where
John was baptizing (John 1:28).
There Andrew learned for the first
time that there is someone who is greater than John when John made this
reference.
John
1:29, “The next day John saw Jesus coming toward him and said, “Look, the Lamb
of God, who takes away the sin of the world!
Those words may have given Andrew hope for the future. He came to take
care of his personal sins, but now he was being introduced to someone who can
take care of the sins of the whole world. It is natural for people to follow
great leaders, but if you follow Jesus you will be following someone who is the
greatest of all the great leaders of all time. When it comes to think of it how
cool is it to follow Jesus?
The
second stage in Andrew’s calling, we read in John 1:35-39, “The next day John
was there again with two of this disciples. When he saw Jesus passing by, he
said, “Look, the Lamb of God! When the two disciples heard him say this they
followed Jesus.” On the third day a wedding took place at Cana in Galilee. Jesus
and his disciples had also been invited to the wedding. Andrew was probably present
at the marriage in Cana of Galilee (John 2:2).
On
his return to Galilee, Andrew resumed for a time his old vocation as fisherman,
till he received his second call. This happened after John the Baptist was cast
into prison and is described in Mark 1:16-18 Matthew 4:18, 19. The two accounts
are practically identical, and tell how Andrew and his brother were now called
on definitely to forsake their mundane occupations and become fishers of men
(Mark 1:17).
After
a period of companionship with Jesus, during which, in the house of Simon and
Andrew, Simon's wife's mother was healed of a fever (Mark 1:29-31; the call of
Andrew was finally consecrated by his election as one of the Twelve Apostles
(Matthew 10:2) Andrew was the first of the Apostles to follow Jesus and just as
John the Baptist introduced Jesus to the nation of Israel, so Andrew is noted
for having introduced Jesus to individuals. Let’s see how Andrew’s life changed
living with Jesus.
III. ANDREW’S LIFE WITH JESUS.
For
Andrew, living with Jesus must have been very exciting. There was never a dull
moment. On many occasions Andrew accompanied Jesus especially when he performed
miracles or to some significant events during the ministry of Jesus. For
example: Changing water into wine at the wedding of Canaan (John 2:1) Healing
of Peter’s mother in law (Mark 1:29). At the Feeding of the five thousand, it
was Andrew who spoke up and said, here is a boy with five small barley loves
and two small fish (John6:8).
At
the feast of the Passover, the Greeks who wished to "see Jesus"
inquired of Philip, who turned for advice to Andrew, and the two then told
Jesus (John 12:20-36). On the Mount of Olives, Andrew along with Peter, James
and John, questioned Jesus regarding the destruction of Jerusalem and the end
of the world (Mark 13:3). Though his name Andrew means "manly" or
"courageous" which he had to be to face the hurdles of an apostle.
From
the information we have available in the gospels and Acts, Andrew must not have
been much of a talker, as only a dozen or so of his words are preserved in the
Bible. Nor did he write any epistles to his credit or perform any miracles, yet
through his humility Andrew still speaks.
IV.
ANDREW’S LAST DAYS:
Andrew
was the first of the Apostles to follow Jesus and just as John the Baptist
introduced Jesus to the nation of Israel, so Andrew is noted for having introduced
Jesus to individuals. In his latter ministry, it is believed that Andrew went
to the foothills of the Caucasus Mountains (present day Georgia in Eastern
Europe.) While there, he preached to the
Scythians as far as the Caspian Sea. In the church of St. Andrew in Patros,
Greece, there is a book written in Greek which sheds light on his
martyrdom. The following is written:
"Aigeatis who was the governor of Patros became enraged at Andrew for his
preaching and ordered him to stand before the tribunal in his attempt to do
away with the Christian Faith.
When
Andrew resisted the tribunal, the governor ordered him crucified. Andrew remained tied to the cross with thick
tight ropes for three days and his last words were: "Accept me, O Christ
Jesus, whom I saw, whom I love, and in whom I am; accept my spirit in peace in
your eternal realm." An ancient writer also speaks of the apostle's
martyrdom as such: "Andrew hung upon the cross three whole days, suffering
dreadful pain but continuing constantly to tell the people around him of the
love of Jesus Christ.
The
people, as they listened to him, began to believe his words and asked the
governor to let him be taken down from the cross. Not liking to refuse them, he at last ordered
the ropes to be cut but when the last rope was severed, the body of the apostle
fell to the ground quite dead." It is believed that Andrew died on the last
day of November, 69 AD
What
can we take away from the story of Andrew? Andrew was a man of strong
conviction, enabling him not only to accept Jesus as the Messiah, but also to
encourage Peter to become a disciple. Christ probably chose Andrew knowing that
He could develop genuine humility in him, making him a useful instrument in
God's church. Andrews’s
keen sense of perception, his ability to make quick and reasonable decisions,
his interest in others and his unassuming nature are some of the qualities that
true disciple of Jesus Christ must aspire.
The
story of Andrew is contrary to millions of Americans who want to be the best,
and the greatest. Andrew stands in contrast to all those who boast and brag
about their victories and successes. Andrew is known for his humility. After
accepting the call to follow Jesus, one of the first things Andrew did was to
introduce his brother Peter to Jesus. The rest is History!
The
concept of “reaching out to one person at a time” has been increasingly used by
mission’s experts and churches. It is known as the “Operation Andrew”
principle. It simply means, that like Andrew, we too are encouraged to reach
out to one person at a time and bring them to Jesus. Who knows that person may become the next Peter.
Can you imagine what our church would look like, for the next one year if each
of us pray and intentionally reach out to one person and bring that person to
Jesus, and hope, that he or she will join our church?
Our
church will double up in size. I think this model of evangelism is very
effective and it works. My prayer is that we will follow the example of Andrew
in serving Jesus whole heartedly. We will be humble! Be interested in others!
We will try to introduce one person at a time Jesus! Amen
