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.
The second solution came from Philip in response to our Lord’s “test question” (John 6:5): raise enough money to buy food for the people. Philip “counted the cost” and decided they would need the equivalent of 200 days’ wages! Too often, we think that money is the answer to every need. Of course, Jesus was simply testing the strength of Philip’s faith.
The third solution came from Andrew, but he was not quite sure how the problem would be solved. He found a little boy who had a small lunch: two little fish and five barley cakes. Once again, Andrew is busy bringing somebody to Jesus (see John 1:40-42; 12:20-22). We do not know how Andrew met this lad, but we are glad he did! Though Andrew does not have a prominent place in the Gospels, he was apparently a “people person” who helped solve problems.
The fourth solution came from our Lord, and it was the true solution. He took the little boy’s lunch, blessed it, broke it, handed it out to His disciples, and they fed the whole crowd! The miracle took place in the hands of the Saviour, not in the hands of the disciples. He multiplied the food; they only had the joyful privilege of passing it out. Not only were the people fed and satisfied, but the disciples salvaged twelve baskets of fragments for future use. The Lord wasted nothing.
The practical lesson is clear: whenever there is a need, give all that you have to Jesus and let Him do the rest. Begin with what you have, but be sure you give it all to Him.
It is significant that twice John mentioned the fact that Jesus gave thanks (John 6:11, 23). Matthew, Mark, and Luke all state that Jesus looked up to heaven when He gave thanks. By that act, He reminded the hungry people that God is the source of all good and needful gifts. This is a good lesson for us: instead of complaining about what we do not have, we should give thanks to God for what we do have, and He will make it go farther.
Christ, through His Word, is the Bread of Life on whom we feed. It is the privilege—and responsibility—of His servants to give this bread to the hungry multitudes. The servants receive that bread personally from Christ, and then pass it on to others.
6. There are some Greeks to see you? (John 12:20 – 22)
These men asked Phillip if they could see the Lord, he eventually asks Andrew and he takes the request to the Lord.
Two things
i. Andrew brings people to the Lord.
ii. Andrew wasn’t sure what to do so he asked the Lord.
7. Martyred
Andrew is said to have been responsible for spreading the Gospel though Asia Minor and Greece. Tradition suggests that Andrew was crucified by the Romans in Patras, Southern Greece. Unworthy to be crucified like the Lord Jesus Christ he was placed on an X shape cross. The diagonal shape of this cross is said to be the basis for the Cross of St. Andrew which appears on the Scottish Flag.
Andrews bones were entombed, and around 300 years later were moved by Emperor Constantine (the Great) to his new capital Constantinople (now Istambul in Turkey). Legend suggests that a Greek Monk called St. Rule was warned in a dream that St. Andrews remains were to be moved and was directed by an angel to take those of the remains which he could to the "ends of the earth" for safe-keeping. St. Rule dutifully followed these directions, removing a tooth, an arm bone, a kneecap and some fingers from St. Andrew’s tomb and transporting these as far away as he could. Scotland was close to the extremities of the know world at that time and it was here that St. Rule was shipwrecked with his precious cargo.
St. Rule is said to have come ashore at a Fife settlement on the East Coast of Scotland and this later became St. Andrews. Thus the association of St. Andrew with Scotland was said to have begun.
Spiritual Lessons from Andrew.
Andrew did not permit his loyalty to a human leader to keep him from following Christ (family members stop us?)
Andrew had found the Saviour he wanted to tell those closest to him
No matter how little we have to give the Lord, He will take what we freely give Him and bless it abundantly – and there’ll be plenty left over as well.
