Andrew, The Friendly Apostle

Nov. 27, 1999

A. Andrew’s First Meeting with Christ

1. He had been listening to John the Baptist

2. He was one of those who had gone out to hear the wilderness prophet

3. He heard John point to Jesus saying: “Behold the Lamb of God which takes away the sin of the world.”

4. Intrigued and interested, he followed Jesus

5. Jesus saw them following and asked what they wanted.

6. Jesus invited them to stay.

7. His first meeting with Christ was so memorable for they even remembered the time it happened—it was about the tenth hour—an hour of decision, an hour of opportunity, and hour that was to change his life.

8. And when he departed from Christ, Andrew had one conviction—Jesus is the Lamb of God.

A. Andrew Introduced Peter to Christ

1. With his conviction, Andrew could think of only one thing thing—he must share his conviction.

2. And he could think of one person—his brother, Peter.

3. Andrew was living under the shadow of his brother Peter.

4. Every time he is mentioned in the Bible, he is always identified as Simon Peter’s brother.

5. Andrew was the first disciple to follow Jesus, yet he is never mentioned first in any list of the twelve disciples. Peter is always first, Andrew is second.

6. Peter is always at the center, always in the spotlight, always the star.

7. But Andrew knew that Peter had gifts that he does not have. Therefore Peter must see Jesus, Peter must come to the Messiah.

8. As we know, Peter is a kind of person who is hard to persuade.

9. Had Andrew been doubtful, Peter would have not listened.

10. But Andrew was perfectly sure. There was no doubt in his mind. Andrew was positive to the point when he said, “We have found the Messiah.”

11. Today, how many of us could go without any doubts in our mind, no question marks, and say, “We have found the Messiah. Behold the Lamb which takes away the sin of the world.”

12. Now Peter listened to his brother. Not asking any questions, he went along to find out. Andrew brought him to Jesus.

13. You see, we might never have had a Peter if there had not first been an Andrew.

B. Andrew Introduced the Boy to Jesus (John 6:8-9)

1. A crowd had listened to Jesus for a long afternoon. The hour was late, and the people had to return home. Every body was tired and hungry, and there was no food to serve to the people or money to buy food. So the apostles wondered what to do.

2. Andrew came and introduced the boy to Jesus.

3. There was one incident in the life of Jesus where the disciple prevented the children to come to Jesus. But Andrew was always interested in children. And with five thousand men in the crowd, not including the children and the women, Andrew saw this boy in the crowd of around 7,000.

4. And when Andrew saw this boy, he approached him in a nice and friendly way. Maybe Andrew told the boy about his fishing experience—how to look for fish, how to clean the fish, what can of bait is good for a particular fish, etc.

5. With his friendly way, the boy had invited him to share with his lunch

6. We have met Andrew thrice in the Scripture. First, he introduced himself to Jesus; second, he brought his brother Peter to Jesus; third, he brought the boy to Jesus.

C. Andrew Introduced the Greeks to Jesus (John 12:20-22)

1. Once more we meet Andrew in the gospels. On Palm Sunday, the last week of the Savior’s life.

2. Some men of Greek birth have come to Jerusalem. They have come to the feast of the Passover. They have heard about Jesus, and wanted to meet Him.

3. They asked Philip, but Philip does not know what to do.

4. Philip asked Andrews.

5. Andrew, besides being listed with the other disciples, there is no other mention of his name. He appears only four times in the gospels. But whenever he is mentioned, he is always doing the same thing—bringing somebody to Jesus.

D. Peter and Andrew

1. The Andrews bring the Peters to Christ. They are not those who get the praise and publicity. They are not the stars, but the extras. They are ordinary men and women. They don’t have five or ten talents, but one. But that one talent is given to Christ, to serve and not be kept to himself.

2. We remember the Peters, but we forget the Andrews. The Andrews don’t write stirring epistles, they don’t preach great sermons, they don’t win three thousand souls with one message. They work no miracles.