Our Savior Lutheran Church

Introduction

Last week we looked at John, the third of the inner circle of Jesus’ disciples. We learned from his example that an arrogant, self-promoting young man can become a champion of love if he maintains a close personal relationship with Jesus. This week we turn our attention to Andrew who introduced his brother Peter to Jesus. Andrew was, in fact, the first of the apostles who discovered and believed in the Lord.

To Get Us Started

Andrew must have lived in Simon Peter’s shadow all his life. Peter was an outspoken man of action and a natural leader. Andrew seems to have been more introspective and given to following strong leaders. Even when Andrew led the way to Jesus, it wasn’t long before Peter was in charge.

1. When you were a boy, who did you look up to and hang around with in an effort to be like him? Was that a positive or negative experience? Why?

2. When you were in high school, were you primarily a leader or a follower? Give an experience that illustrates this.

3. Describe a memory of someone getting or taking credit for something you did? How did you feel?

The Word

Andrew may have been the most spiritual of the apostles. He followed John the Baptist before he followed Jesus (John 1:35-36, 40). But after he spent a day with the Lord, he believed Jesus was the Messiah. He immediately brought his brother Simon (Peter) to meet him (vv. 40-42). Andrew was officially the second disciple Jesus selected (Mark 1:16-17), but he is usually listed fourth among the Twelve (Mark 3:16-18). Occasionally the inner circle of disciples included Peter, James, John, and Andrew (Mark 13:3-4). Usually, however, Andrew had to be content as a behind-the-scenes Christ-follower.

An Eager Follower – John 1:35-42a

The next day John was there again with two of his disciples. [36] When he saw Jesus passing by, he said, "Look, the Lamb of God!"

[37] When the two disciples heard him say this, they followed Jesus. [38] Turning around, Jesus saw them following and asked, "What do you want?"

They said, "Rabbi" (which means Teacher), "where are you staying?"

[39] "Come," he replied, "and you will see."

So they went and saw where he was staying, and spent that day with him. It was about the tenth hour.

[40] 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.

Melting Into The Background – Mark 1:16-20, 29-37

As Jesus walked beside the Sea of Galilee, he saw Simon and his brother Andrew casting a net into the lake, for they were fishermen. [17] "Come, follow me," Jesus said, "and I will make you fishers of men." [18] At once they left their nets and followed him.

[19] When he had gone a little farther, he saw James son of Zebedee and his brother John in a boat, preparing their nets. [20] Without delay he called them, and they left their father Zebedee in the boat with the hired men and followed him. …

[37] As soon as they left the synagogue, they went with James and John to the home of Simon and Andrew. [30] Simon's mother-in-law was in bed with a fever, and they told Jesus about her. [31] So he went to her, took her hand and helped her up. The fever left her and she began to wait on them.

[32] That evening after sunset the people brought to Jesus all the sick and demon-possessed. [33] The whole town gathered at the door, [34] and Jesus healed many who had various diseases. He also drove out many demons, but he would not let the demons speak because they knew who he was.

[35] Very early in the morning, while it was still dark, Jesus got up, left the house and went off to a solitary place, where he prayed. [36] Simon and his companions went to look for him, [37] and when they found him, they exclaimed: "Everyone is looking for you!"

Helping With Philip – John 6:5-11

When Jesus looked up and saw a great crowd coming toward him, he said to Philip, "Where shall we buy bread for these people to eat?" [6] He asked this only to test him, for he already had in mind what he was going to do.

[7] Philip answered him, "Eight months' wages would not buy enough bread for each one to have a bite!"

[8] Another of his disciples, Andrew, Simon Peter's brother, spoke up, [9] "Here is a boy with five small barley loaves and two small fish, but how far will they go among so many?"

[10] Jesus said, "Have the people sit down." There was plenty of grass in that place, and the men sat down, about five thousand of them. [11] Jesus then took the loaves, gave thanks, and distributed to those who were seated as much as they wanted. He did the same with the fish.

John 12:20-23

Now there were some Greeks among those who went up to worship at the Feast. [21] They came to Philip, who was from Bethsaida in Galilee, with a request. "Sir," they said, "we would like to see Jesus." [22] Philip went to tell Andrew; Andrew and Philip in turn told Jesus.

[23] Jesus replied, "The hour has come for the Son of Man to be glorified.

Observations

Andrew was a religious man. Spiritual issues had impelled him to follow John the Baptist while Peter, James, and John hauled fish out of the Sea of Galilee and made money. It probably didn’t surprise Andrew that his brother Peter became the most prominent apostle in Jesus’ band of followers. After all, he had walked in Peter’s shadow all his life. Watching James and John move ahead of him in the pecking order may have been harder to take for Andrew.

Andrew probably struggled with the anger and power consciousness of the Sons of Thunder. Jesus, however, saw qualities in the more worldly fishermen that He chose to nurture and develop. Andrew slipped to number four on the roster of disciples. Still, Andrew played a very important role among the apostles, finding ways to help people find Jesus. In many respects during the time the other apostles traveled with Jesus, Andrew illustrates Jesus’ lesson on servanthood more than the others (John 13:12-15).

Observation 1

Jesus Christ needs multiplied millions of men like Andrew, true servant-leaders who will build His church.

Few of us are willing to step aside when we see someone emerge who has more leadership abilities and skills than we do. It’s hard for us to imagine that less can be more. We’ve seen earlier that James and John faced this situation. When the Holy Spirit transformed their lives and they finally understood the spiritual nature of Christ’s kingdom, both of them willingly took a back seat to Peter.

Andrew faced the same challenge but to an even greater degree. He had not only played “second fiddle” all his life to his brother, Peter, but now he had to watch James and John move ahead of him. What is amazing is that he accepted his role, seemingly with a positive attitude. Perhaps Andrew learned this powerful lesson from John the Baptist. Prior to his imprisonment, John was baptizing in one place while Jesus was baptizing nearby in another. Some of John’s disciples came and reported that people were flocking to Jesus. Andrew, who at that time was a disciple of John, no doubt overheard John’s meek and humble reply: “He must increase, but I must decrease” (John 3:30).

Observation 2

Some of the strongest and most effective leaders in Christian ministry are men who are not up-front but who are operating behind the scenes.

In many respects, Andrew was this kind of man. If he hadn’t been there, he would have been terribly missed. Yet, even though he was there, he often went unnoticed. So it is today in God’s work. Support people are very important. They’re the people who help prominent leaders succeed. In fact, we need far more “Andrews” than we do “Peters.” Putting it another way, some ministries fail because there are too many “chiefs” and not enough “Indians.” When we practice this aspect of servant leadership, we are applying in a very special way what Paul taught the Roman Christians: to honor others above ourselves (Romans 12:10).

Observation 3

When people we introduce to Christ become strong, successful leaders, we will share in their rewards.

When Peter preached on the Day of Pentecost, thousands put their faith in Jesus Christ. However, the Lord used Andrew to introduce Peter to Jesus. I am confident that when both men stand before the judgment seat of Christ and receive rewards for their faithfulness, Andrew will share in all of Peter’s accomplishments.

Paul made this observation clear when he thanked the Philippians for their monetary gifts when he was in prison. He reminded them that their investment in the ministry work of others was yielding dividends in their accounts in heaven (Philippians 4:17). Never be discouraged when your spiritual children surpass you in maturity or ministry. Learn a lesson from Andrew and Peter.

To Discuss

1. Which of the following song titles best captures how you would have responded if you had fallen from number one to number four in the ranks of the disciples?

2. How did Andrew initially reach the decision that Jesus was the Messiah (John 1:35-41)?

3. What do you conclude about Andrew from the way he immediately brought his brother to meet Jesus (John 1:41-42).

4. In the account of the day Jesus formally called Andrew to become His disciple, what evidence do you find that Andrew was already moving into the background (Mark 1:16-39)?

5. How would you contrast the responses of Philip and Andrew to Jesus’ question about feeding the multitude (John 6:7-8)?

6. Why do you think Andrew bothered telling Jesus about the boy’s five loaves and two fish?

7. Why do you suppose Philip wanted Andrew’s support before taking the Greek seeks to Jesus (John 12:20-22)?

8. What qualities do these passages illustrate or hint at that made Andrew a respected, indispensable behind-the-scenes apostle?

9. Would you say that God has wired your personality and gifted you to be a behind-the-scenes kind of guy, or are you more of an up-front sort? What kinds of things make you think that?

10. If your are a behind-the-scenes follower of Jesus, how do you keep from losing motivation? How do you keep the up-front types from taking advantage of you?

11. If you are an up-front kind of disciple, how much attention do you pay to the behind-the-scenes people who support you? How could you express more appreciation? Do you need to move them up front sometimes?

The apostle Andrew showed a lot of character when he moved into the background without bitterness or complaint. Too often men get defensive and uncooperative when others succeed at their expense. We need to support and encourage one another whatever our level of public prominence.

12. Can you name someone who reminds you of Andrew? How?

13. Who in our church could we honor as a faithful, behind-the-scenes Andrew? How should we honor him/her?

Next Week

Next week we consider the character of Philip, the apostle often linked with Andrew. Like Andrew, pragmatic Philip was someone Jesus could depend on. Unlike Andrew, Philip wrestled with his faith. He didn’t pretend to be more spiritual than he was. When he didn’t understand, he asked blunt questions, and Jesus gave him blunt answers. Jesus was glad Philip asked. He’s also glad when we question Him and respond to His answers.