11-06-22 “Andrew! How big’s that fish you caught?”

Scripture                                                John 1:35-42

First Person monologue as Andrew

Bethsaida to Capernaum

Simon – Brash, bigger than life personality

James and John (Zebedee)

[reel in bible on fishing line]

          If evangelism were this easy – everyone would be doing it.

Matthew 4:18-20  As Jesus was walking beside the Sea of Galilee, he saw two brothers, Simon called Peter and his brother Andrew. They were casting a net into the lake, for they were fishermen. "Come, follow me," Jesus said, "and I will make you fishers of men."  At once they left their nets and followed him.

          If that is all you read or all you know it would seem like Jesus had cast a spell on these fishermen brothers. Not so. This was not their first encounter with Jesus!

Andrew introduces Peter to Jesus

John 1:35-42

          John was baptizing in the Jordan river then one day saw Jesus come and baptized him. The next day John was there again with two of his disciples. When he saw Jesus passing by, he said, "Look, the Lamb of God!"

          When the two disciples heard him say this, they followed Jesus. Turning around, Jesus saw them following and asked, "What do you want?" They said, "Rabbi" (which means Teacher), "where are you staying?" "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.

          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.

          Jesus looked at him and said, "You are Simon son of John. You will be called Cephas" (which, when translated, is Peter).

Andrew takes a back seat to Peter

Andrew quickly takes a back seat to his brother Simon - Peter

          Matthew 10:2-4 These are the names of the twelve apostles: first, Simon (who is called Peter) and his brother Andrew; James son of Zebedee, and his brother John; Philip and Bartholomew; Thomas and Matthew the tax collector; James son of Alphaeus, and Thaddaeus; Simon the Zealot and Judas Iscariot, who betrayed him.

          Mark 3:16-19  These are the twelve he appointed: Simon (to whom he gave the name Peter); James son of Zebedee and his brother John (to them he gave the name Boanerges, which means Sons of Thunder); Andrew, Philip, Bartholomew, Matthew, Thomas, James son of Alphaeus, Thaddaeus, Simon the Zealot and Judas Iscariot, who betrayed him.

          Who is the real author behind Mark? Peter! What does that say about how Peter (or Mark) view Andrew in relation to Peter as a great disciple?

Andrew introduces a boy and his lunch to Jesus

John 6:5-15

          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?"  He asked this only to test him, for he already had in mind what he was going to do. 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, "Here is a boy with five small barley loaves and two small fish, but how far will they go among so many?"

          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. 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.

          When they had all had enough to eat, he said to his disciples, "Gather the pieces that are left over. Let nothing be wasted."  So they gathered them and filled twelve baskets with the pieces of the five barley loaves left over by those who had eaten.

          After the people saw the miraculous sign that Jesus did, they began to say, "Surely this is the Prophet who is to come into the world." Jesus, knowing that they intended to come and make him king by force, withdrew again to a mountain by himself.

Andrew's act reminds us dramatically of how important children and their resources are to Christ and his church. Andrew's act shows us graphically how crucial it is for us in our words and deeds to bring children into the presence of Jesus.

Many years ago in Missouri, a minister made a bad mistake in moral judgment that later came back to haunt him and to hurt many others. Through trickery, conniving, and scheming, the minister stole a man's dog. That's bad enough, but to make matters worse, he included his two little boys in the deception. The two boys helped their dad disguise the dog so the rightful owner could not claim him. The boys enjoyed the trickery and plotting. The boys thought it was great fun to take away the man's dog.

Some years later, the minister realized that in that one deceitful act, he had taught his sons how to steal and turned them away from the Christ-like spirit of love and kindness and goodness and respect for others. And he said, regretfully: "it was a terrible mistake on my part. I was able to keep the dog, but I lost my sons."

Oh, by the way, the names of those two little boys were Frank and Jesse James! They grew up to become two of the most notorious outlaws and robbers of the old West. Their minister dad never forgave himself. That's a dramatic example, to be sure, but it is true, so true, that our children do indeed watch us closely and learn so much from what we do.

Rev. Robert Salle James (July 17, 1818 – August 18, 1850) was an American Baptist minister and one of the founders of William Jewell College in 1849 in Liberty, Missouri. He was the father of the outlaws Frank and Jesse James.

Andrew (and Phillip) Introduce some curious Greeks to Jesus

John 12:20-24

          Now there were some Greeks among those who went up to worship at the Feast. They came to Philip, who was from Bethsaida in Galilee, with a request. "Sir," they said, "we would like to see Jesus." 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. I tell you the truth, unless a kernel of wheat falls to the ground and dies, it remains only a single seed. But if it dies, it produces many seeds.”

ANDREW SCRIPTURE DESCRIPTION

Andrew saw the value in individual people

Brought Peter, a boy, a few Greeks to Jesus. Peter and Andrew had evangelistic hearts but very different approaches – Peter preached on Pentecost and 3000 people put their faith in Jesus. Remember, it was Andrew who introduced Peter to Jesus.

It was Edward Kimball who introduced D. L. Moody to Jesus.

Andrew was the first home missionary (brought Peter to Christ), the first foreign missionary (brought the Greeks to Christ), and the first children’s minister (brought a boy with a lunch to Jesus).

Andrew Saw the value in Insignificant gifts

          Each insignificant loaf fed about 500 people. Each little fish fed more than 2500 people. God continually takes the small things of the world to confound the strong. David & Goliath. Israel and the mighty armies in the promised land. Gideon’s 300 against the vast Midianites. Water turned into wine. A rock in the desert produces water for a nation. A little Jewish girl named Esther becomes a queen in a foreign land and saves the Jewish people. When Andrew saw the insignificant boy with an insignificant lunch, he didn’t know how they could help, but he still brought them both to Jesus.

 

Andrew saw the value in inconspicuous service

          Andrew never seemed to mind being more of a silhouette than a portrait in scripture, as long as kingdom work was getting done. He didn’t mind being in the shadow of his older brother or his business partners. He was thrilled to be serving however he best could for his savior, Jesus!

People like Boaz who let Ruth glean in his fields, Lydia, a seller of purple cloth who became valuable in Paul’s ministry, Lois & Eunice who taught the scriptures to Timothy when he was only a baby

 

1 Corinthians 12:22  Those parts of the body that seem to be weaker are indispensable.

 

1 Corinthians 1:27-31

          But God chose the foolish things of the world to shame the wise; God chose the weak things of the world to shame the strong. He chose the lowly things of this world and the despised things — and the things that are not — to nullify the things that are, so that no one may boast before him. It is because of him that you are in Christ Jesus, who has become for us wisdom from God — that is, our righteousness, holiness and redemption.   Therefore, as it is written: "Let him who boasts boast in the Lord."

First Person monologue as Andrew

Well, now you know my story

I didn’t need fame or glory, I wanted that for Jesus my Messiah!

I didn’t need to be center stage and get the applause, I was happy to let my brother get that.

I didn’t need to preach or sing on the praise team, I was happy to clean the bathroom or set up the tent.

I didn’t need a large group around me, I was thrilled to introduce an individual, be it a brother, a boy, or a few foreigners to Jesus. Any time I can do that, I experience all the pleasure of heaven in my soul – I hope your service, no matter how seemingly insignificant, brings you that same kind of joy as it brings glory to God through his son Jesus Christ!