12 Disciples - Andrew Series

12 Disciples – Andrew – Monday 2nd October 06

Whenever you find Andrew in John’s Gospel, he is bringing somebody to Jesus: his brother, the lad with the loaves and fishes (John 6:8), and the Greeks who wanted to see Jesus (John 12:20-21). No sermons from Andrew are recorded, but he certainly preached great sermons by his actions as a personal soul winner!

The name ‘Andrew’ is the Greek word for ‘manly’ or ‘the strong one’

1. Occupation.

Andrew was a fisherman like his brother, wealthy as they had their own house (Mark 1:29 – 31; Matt. 8:14-15; Luke 4:38-39).

2. John Points the Way (John 1:35 – 39)

Andrew was seeking God – here we see that he is one of John the Baptist’s disciples. He knew John was a man of God and he followed him.

John points to Christ “Behold the Lamb of God”

The two disciples of John who followed Jesus were John, the writer of the Gospel, and his friend Andrew. John the Baptist was happy when people left him to follow Jesus, because his ministry focused on Jesus. “He must increase, but I must decrease” (John 3:30).

When Jesus asked them, “What are you seeking?” He was forcing them to define their purposes and goals. Were they looking for a revolutionary leader to overthrow Rome? Then they had better join the Zealots! Little did Andrew and John realize that day how their lives would be transformed by the Son of God.

“Where are You dwelling?” may have suggested, “If You are too busy now, we can visit later.” But Jesus invited them to spend the day with Him and no doubt He told them something of His mission, revealed their own hearts to them, and answered their questions.

They were both so impressed that they found their brothers and brought them to Jesus. Andrew found Simon and John brought James. Indeed, they were their brothers’ keepers! (Gen. 4:9)

3. Andrew Tells His Brother (John 1:40 – 42)

He was a soul winner. He had found the answer, he had found the Messiah. He could not and would not keep it to himself. He told his brother.

It is worth noting that Andrew and John trusted Christ through the faithful preaching of John the Baptist. Peter and James came to Christ because of the compassionate personal work of their brothers.

Later on, Jesus would win Philip personally; and then Philip would witness to Nathanael and bring him to Jesus. Each man’s experience is different, because God uses various means to bring sinners to the Saviour. The important thing is that we trust Christ and then seek to bring others to Him.

4. Called to full time service (Matthew 4:18 – 20 / Mark 1:16)

Jesus had four and possibly seven men in the band of disciples who were professional fishermen (see John 21:1-3). Why would Jesus call so many fishermen to His side? For one thing, fishermen were busy people; usually professional fishermen did not sit around doing nothing. They either sorted their catch, prepared for a catch, or fixed their equipment. The Lord needs busy people who are not afraid to work.

Fishermen have to be courageous and patient people. It certainly takes patience and courage to win others to Christ. Fishermen must have skill; they must learn from others where to find the fish and how to catch them. Soul-winning demands skill too. These men had to work together, and the work of the Lord demands cooperation. But most of all, fishing demands faith: fishermen cannot see the fish and are not sure their nets will enclose them. Soul-winning requires faith and alertness too, or we will fail.

Peter, Andrew, James, and John had met Jesus a year before (John 1:35-42), had followed Him a short time, and then had returned to their fishing business. In Luke 5:10 Jesus called His disciples to leave everything and follow Him permanently as His helpers. Fishermen know how to work together, they do not give up easily, they have courage, and they labour diligently. These are ideal qualities for disciples of Jesus Christ. The fact that the men were planning to go out again after washing their nets is proof that they were not dismayed by a night of failure.

By faith, the men left all and followed Christ. They had been catching living fish and, when they caught them, the fish died. Now they would catch dead fish—sinners—and the fish would live!

5. Feeding the 5000 (Mt14:14-21; Mk6:34-44; Lk9:11-17; Jn6:1-13)

This miracle is mentioned in all four Gospels. The miracle of the feeding of the 5,000 was a sermon in action.

The problem, of course, was how to meet the needs of such a vast crowd of people. Four solutions were proposed.

First, the disciples suggested that Jesus send the people away (Mark 6:35-36). Get rid of the problem (see Matt. 15:23). But Jesus knew that the hungry people would faint on the way if somebody did not feed them. It was evening (Matt. 14:15), and that was no time for travel.