The Apostle Andrew

Who immediately comes to mind when you hear the words, “The Twelve Apostles”? Is it the one whose name is always listed first, who walked on water, who confessed Jesus as the Christ, the Son of the living God, and who also denied Him three times? Of course, that would be Peter. Or perhaps you think of those two brothers, James and John, fishermen by trade, sons of Zebedee, who were also called “sons of thunder,” and who also desired positions of prominence at the right and left side of Jesus? Maybe it was Matthew the tax collector, or perhaps Thomas, the one who will forever be called a “doubter.” Maybe you think of Simon the Zealot, who desired to get rid of the Romans from his homeland. His slogan may have been, “Make Israel Great Again!” Then there is the one whose name always comes last, who was not only the treasurer of the group, but also a thief, the one who betrayed Jesus with a kiss. Jesus said of Judas, “It would have been good for that man if he had not been born” (Mark 14:21). 

Among the other apostles who do not have the notoriety of the ones mentioned above stands one who still teaches us a great lesson. His name is Andrew. Although he was one of the first two disciples of Jesus, he was not in what is called the “Inner Circle.” There were three in that special group: Peter (the brother of Andrew), James, and John. The Inner Circle had some special opportunities with Jesus that were not afforded to the other nine apostles. For example, they were present at the raising of Jairus’ daughter (Mark 5:37). They received the very high distinction of witnessing the Transfiguration (Matthew 17:1ff.) They also went with Jesus further into the Garden of Gethsemane on the night Jesus prayed and was arrested (Mark 14:33). 

I’ve often wondered, “Why not Andrew?” Since he was among the first disciples, why didn’t he rise higher in the apostolic ranks? When you think of other apostles who failed or messed up along the way, Andrew never seemed to be one of those. He didn’t deny or betray Jesus like Peter or Judas. Andrew didn’t doubt like Thomas. There isn’t any specific confrontation with Jesus where he gets a special rebuke over something. On the contrary, Andrew seems to have a special gift, which is seen clearly in John’s Gospel. He no doubt stayed very busy employing this gift throughout the ministry of Jesus as well. 

Andrew had the gift of Evangelism. He seems to excel in an area all of us should strive to develop and improve. As John records it, Andrew had a unique capability of bringing people to Jesus. John tells us some things about Andrew that teach a valuable lesson: Andrew desired to introduce people to Christ. As we think about evangelism, growing the Church, and bringing the news of salvation through Christ to others, we can learn this important lesson from Andrew. 

In the Gospel of John, we observe three specific occasions where Andrew was bringing people to Jesus. You’ll see him bringing a family member to Christ. You’ll see him bringing a young lad to Jesus, who just happened to have five loaves and two fish. Finally, two Greek proselytes were in Jerusalem for the Passover. They had heard about this man named Jesus and wanted to meet Him. Their plea was simple: “Sir, we would see Jesus” (John 12:21). Interestingly, they made their request to the apostle Philip, who promptly took the men to Andrew, who then took them to Jesus. 

Before Jesus began His own public ministry, John the Baptist was preaching in the wilderness of Judea. The Scriptures tell us that all Jerusalem and Judea were going out to him, confessing their sins, and being baptized for the forgiveness of their sins. Two Galileans, one was Andrew and the other was probably John, had come down from their town of Bethsaida to hear John the Baptist preach and had become disciples of John (John 1:35). John the Baptist had identified Jesus as “the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world (John 1:29). The next day Jesus came to John the Baptist again, and invited these two disciples to come with Him, and, apparently, they spent most of the day with Jesus (John 1:39). 

What an impact that day with Jesus made on Andrew. He had been familiar with the preaching of John, and John had identified Jesus as the “Lamb of God.” Now, Andrew was excited. That’s what being in the presence of Jesus can do for you. Andrew wanted others to know Christ, the Lamb of God, as well, and he found his brother Simon to tell him what he had found. 

He said to Simon, “We have found the Messiah … [and] He brought him to Jesus” (John 1:41, 42). Andrew wanted his brother to know the Savior. He wanted him to meet the fulfillment of God’s Old Testament promise to send the Messiah. Those few hours that Andrew had spent in the presence of Jesus had convinced him that Jesus was indeed the Messiah. Of course, you would want your family to know this, and he reached out first to his brother. 

While Andrew will never be known as “first among the apostles,” or the one who was given “the Keys of the Kingdom,” he should be remembered for bringing the man who would have those distinctions to Jesus. Because Andrew reached out to his brother, Simon Peter would be introduced to Jesus and have a place of prominence among the disciples. Peter would preach that first Gospel sermon on the day of Pentecost and pen two epistles found in the New Testament. 

The application is obvious: If you know Jesus, introduce him to your family. First of all, we want them to be saved. We want them to know the forgiveness of sins as well as the abundant life which is only found in Jesus. But there’s more. They have potential. They will have a gift that will make them useful to Christ (1 Peter 4:10). There’s an old saying that goes, “Evangelism begins at home.” That has been used in a lot of ways, but remember that because Andrew introduced his brother to Jesus, great things happened in the Kingdom. 

How important it is to introduce our family members to Jesus. From the pages of the Old Testament, we learn the truth which Jesus called The Greatest Commandment: “Hear, O Israel! The Lord is our God; the Lord is one! And you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might” (Deuteronomy 6:4, 5). However, the following verses demonstrate the importance of introducing God to your family. The people of God were to “teach them diligently to your sons and shall talk of them when you sit in your house and when you walk by the way and when you lie down and when you rise” (Deuteronomy 6:7). Andrew models that same spirit of reaching out to his brother Peter. 

The second instance that John records concerning Andrew is at the time of the feeding of the 5,000. Let’s not miss the significance of this event. Think of the miracles of Jesus. Perhaps you recall the turning of water into wine at a wedding feast in Cana of Galilee, which John calls the first of Jesus’ miraculous signs (John 2:11), or the raising of Lazarus, who had been dead for four days, when Jesus raised Him. Then there are all the miracles of healing that Scripture records: the blind, lame, deaf, paralyzed, those with leprosy, and the list goes on. Jesus did some amazing things, but besides the resurrection of Christ, how many of His miracles are actually recorded by all four gospels? Only one: the feeding of the 5,000. The sheer magnitude of this many men (plus women and children) is so notable that all four Gospel writers chose to include it, and Andrew plays a key role in it. 

The Scriptures tell us the crowd had been with Jesus for the day, which was now growing late. The disciples seemed to think that Jesus should just send them all home but Jesus told the apostles to feed them (Luke 6:13). The Scriptures tell us that Jesus already knew what He was going to do (John 6:6). Some of the disciples talked about how much money it would take to feed them (John 6:7), but it was Andrew who found the lad who had the makings for this miracle of multiplication. Andrew said to Jesus, “There is a lad here, who has five barley loaves, and two fish; but what are these for so many people?” (John 6:8). That small amount of food, offered by the boy who Andrew found and brought to Jesus, was exactly what Jesus would use to feed all those people, and even have twelve baskets full of leftovers when the meal was over (John 6:13). 

Sometimes we overlook people when we think we’re busy for the Lord; maybe we feel too busy to be bothered or interrupted. Children are sometimes seen as in the way and are overlooked. Young people can be easily dismissed as an interruption when you have an important problem to solve. The problem was feeding thousands of hungry people. Yet the solution was about to be found in this young boy who possessed exactly what the Lord would use to solve the problem. 

We can wonder what might have happened if Andrew hadn’t taken that boy and said to Jesus, “He’s got something. Not sure how it will help, but here he is.” That boy had great potential for use. Jesus performed one of His greatest miracles because this boy and his fish and loaves were discovered by Andrew. Andrew ventured to introduce him to Jesus, and the miracle commenced. Had this youth been overlooked, dismissed as a nuisance, and deemed unworthy of having a conversation, we wonder how Jesus would have proceeded. However, Christ knew that the boy was out there, and Andrew facilitated his meeting with Jesus. 

For whatever potential and use I may have to the Lord, I often credit my preacher, and especially my Sunday School teachers, back home in Mt. Pleasant, MI, because they introduced me to Jesus. Long before I ever went to Bible College or began vocational ministry, I had godly men and women who influenced my life as a young boy, taught me the truths of God’s Word, gave me opportunities to serve, and encouraged me to continue my training. While I recognized early in my training that my gifts were not those of a youth minister, I continue to be thankful for the essential role of youth ministers, along with godly volunteers, in the lives of young people. All because someone once introduced these youth ministers to Jesus. 

I’m reminded of an old Gospel song which says, “Little is Much When God is in It.” Here was a boy who had a few loaves and a couple of fish, and still Andrew seemed to think that the Lord could do something with this young man. Christ indeed used what he had to feed thousands. When we introduce people to Jesus, He can use whatever they have and do amazing things through them as well. 

I had my first interim ministry after moving to teach at a Bible college in North Carolina. I had been asked to fill in at the Colonial Heights Church of Christ in Norfolk, VA. My stay there wasn’t too long, but I sure grew to love that Church. I have a lot of memories of that time, all these many years later, but one thing that still sticks out to me and challenges me to be better as a preacher is a plaque that was affixed to the inside of the pulpit at the time. It simply stated, “Sir, we would see Jesus.” To this day, those five words remind me how important the preaching event is. Preaching is my opportunity to introduce people to Jesus who don’t know Him yet. 

While those five words seemed familiar at the time, I didn’t immediately place them. They are found in John 12:20-23. The background to this passage is that some Greek proselytes (converts to Judaism) had come to Jerusalem to celebrate the Passover. This would be the last Passover that Jesus would attend, right before His arrest and crucifixion. Had these men witnessed the triumphal entry just a couple of days before? Had they seen Jesus overturn the tables of the money changers and those selling animals? Had they listened intently to the debate Jesus had with the religious leaders? Jesus was no doubt the major topic of conversation in this climactic week, and perhaps these two men overheard some of them and began to wonder what was so special about Him. 

Whatever the specifics were, one thing is certain: they had heard enough; they wanted to have an opportunity to meet Him. They were interested, they were curious, they were motivated, but they needed someone to make the meeting happen. This is the third instance John records of Andrew introducing someone to Jesus, but the odd thing here is that these men didn’t go to Andrew at first. Rather, they found Philip. It was actually to Philip they uttered those five words, “Sir, we would see Jesus.” The interesting thing is that Philip did not take them to Jesus himself; rather, he took them to Andrew. I’ve often wondered why Philip needed a “middle man” in Andrew. Philip was an apostle and could have done it, but perhaps it was because they were Greeks that he was a bit reluctant, not knowing how that might go. 

Regardless of their nationality, ethnicity, or current religious affiliation, Andrew introduced these Greeks to Jesus. They wanted to meet Christ, and Andrew was all for it. How significant was this introduction? Very. Look at what Jesus said upon meeting these two men who were obviously interested in knowing Him. Jesus said, “The hour has come for the Son of Man to be glorified” (John 12:23). 

These two Greek men represent what would soon take place: The Gospel was to go out to all the world (Matthew 28:19, 20). The message of salvation would be offered to the Jews first and then to the Greeks (Romans 1:16). This worldwide mission and message bring glory to God through Jesus. I believe that Jesus meeting with these men demonstrates His love for all mankind. John will later write, “And He Himself [Jesus] is the propitiation for our sins; and not for ours only, but also for those of the whole world” (1 John 2:2). Three days after meeting these two Greeks, Jesus would give His life on the cross and shed His blood for them and for all of mankind. Andrew dared to introduce people who were different from him to Jesus, and Christ was glorified because of that. 

Andrew was passionate about introducing people to Jesus. Whether it was a family member, a young person, or a foreigner, he brought them all. I wonder how many others we may learn about one day that came to know Jesus because Andrew made the introductions. 

Andrew may not stand out among the more prominent apostles, but what a tremendous servant he was. The application for us is obvious, isn’t it? We will have our own opportunities to introduce people to Jesus. Whether or not we are ever remembered generations from now, the impact we make for Christ and His Kingdom can have an eternal impact. Who do you know that needs to be introduced to Jesus?