By Jeffery M. Leonard, Ph.D.
Assistant Professor of Religion, Samford University
Andrew: Active Witness
John 1:35–42; 12:20–26
What must it have been like to meet Jesus for the first time? Although the Gospels give us four vivid pictures of Jesus in His earthly ministry, it can still be hard for us to get our heads around what Jesus was like. We are never told how Jesus looked, whether He was handsome or plain, tall or short, muscular or thin. We don’t know what His voice sounded like or what it might have been like to look into His eyes.
We do know there must have been something impressive in Jesus’ bearing. Repeatedly in the Gospels we find people who are outmatched by Jesus’ dominating presence. The woman at the well in John 4 told her kinsfolk, “He told me all that I ever did.” Those who heard Jesus teach in the synagogues in Mark 1 marveled at the way He taught them by His own authority and not the way the scribes did. The religious leaders in Mark 3 fell silent when Jesus questioned them about healing on the Sabbath. In Luke 4 a crowd of Jesus’ townspeople from Nazareth sought to throw Jesus from a cliff but could not. As Luke puts it, “He passed right through their midst and walked away.” We do not know what Jesus looked or sounded like, but we know there was something compelling about Him.
Invite those close to you to encounter Jesus. (1:35–42)
One of the places we see Jesus’ authority most vividly illustrated is in His calling disciples to follow Him. In the first chapter of Mark’s Gospel we find Jesus walking along the shores of the Sea of Galilee and coming across Andrew and Peter hard at their work as fishermen. With a word, He commands them, “Follow Me, and I will make you fishers of men.” With no indication at all that they knew who Jesus was or what He stood for, they drop their nets and follow Him.
John’s Gospel gives us more “behind the scenes” information about the call Jesus placed upon these two. In John 1 we learn that Andrew was a disciple of John the Baptist, and he was with the Baptizer one day when Jesus walked by. Seeing Jesus, John proclaimed, “Behold, the Lamb of God.” At this, Andrew had to know more. He followed Jesus and even ended up staying with Jesus and listening to what He had to say. Having spent time with Jesus, Andrew sought out his brother, Simon, and told him, “We have found the Messiah!” And then, John tells us, he took the next step and brought Simon face to face with Jesus.
Invite those seeking answers to encounter Jesus. (12:20–22)
This was not the last time Andrew would be found bringing people to Jesus. Later in John’s Gospel, we find a story in which some Greeks had come to Jerusalem to celebrate Passover. Some of these had come to Philip to ask if they could see Jesus. Philip knew right where to take them — to Andrew. With Andrew’s help these two took the Greeks to meet with Jesus.
Be clear about what it means to follow Jesus. (12:23–26)
Andrew and Philip’s request that Jesus meet with these Greek seekers is met with an interesting response. Here, Jesus reminded them what the heart of His mission really was. Unless a grain of wheat falls into the earth and dies, He tells them, it won’t produce fruit. Now it was time for Jesus to die. But in His death, He would produce spiritual fruit beyond their wildest imaginations. In essence, Jesus was confirming for Philip and Andrew and for the Greeks what Andrew had discovered and shared long ago: “We have found the Messiah!”
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