The Apostle
Andrew wasn’t one of the big three of the disciples, but he was certainly one of the key members of the all-star team. Like all the disciples, there are a lot of puzzle pieces that we can put together and begin to see who the disciple “probably” was.
We know that Andrew was most likely Peter’s brother. In most accounts, he is largely overshadowed by his brother, but his presence is still known and he was no doubt a key member of the early church. The Gospel of John notes that Andrew was a follower of John the Baptist and believed Jesus was the Messiah before his brother.
The fact that Andrew, not Peter, is referenced as a follower of John the Baptist, tells us that he was probably the thinker of the family—while his brother was a hard worker, he was philosophical; it’s no wonder that the apostle John, who was of the same temperament, remembers him more fondly than the other gospel accounts.
In the New Testament, Andrew is best known for introducing people to Jesus. In John 1:41, Andrew, upon meeting Jesus, goes to Peter so he can introduce him. In John 6:9, Andrew introduces Jesus to a child who has five barley loaves and two fish. In John 12:20-22, two Greeks wanted an introduction to Jesus; they go to Philip who in turn goes to Andrew, who in turn goes with Philip to Jesus.
By these three accounts, we know something very important about who Andrew was: he found important people and brought them to Christ. He finds Peter who is obviously the Rock that Jesus built his church; he finds the small child with the loaves who was a key component in the miracle—through him Jesus fed thousands. And he finds the Greeks; these were unclean people; a normal Jew would not have brought them to their teacher—their teacher would want nothing to do with them; but Andrew was able to understand—perhaps earlier than the other apostles—that Jesus was blind to races and skin colors—that these unclean people were key to his ministry and would be key to their own ministry.
There are lots of traditions about where Andrew went after the Ascension. We can assume he was very active in his missions work and started several churches.
More important than where he went was who he was. He was second string…but he was okay with that. While his brother was making a name for himself at the top of the pyramid, he was content in telling and bringing people to Christ. Through him, God shows us how he uses instruments—how our legacy is really in the people we bring to Christ—the role we played in the bigger picture. Without Andrew, then Peter would have never come to Christ. Think of all the most influential spiritual leaders in the world—someone introduced them to Christ; but those someone’ are rarely mentioned and when they are, people don’t know who they are. That was Andrew.
It is almost universally accepted that Andrew was martyred. Legends have formed about how and where. The most popular is that he was crucified, but refused to be crucified as Christ was, and requested instead an X-shaped cross, which is now known as St. Andrews Cross. Many country flags bear the symbol—notably Scotland, where Andrew is the Patron Saint.
We know that Andrew was most likely Peter’s brother. In most accounts, he is largely overshadowed by his brother, but his presence is still known and he was no doubt a key member of the early church. The Gospel of John notes that Andrew was a follower of John the Baptist and believed Jesus was the Messiah before his brother.
The fact that Andrew, not Peter, is referenced as a follower of John the Baptist, tells us that he was probably the thinker of the family—while his brother was a hard worker, he was philosophical; it’s no wonder that the apostle John, who was of the same temperament, remembers him more fondly than the other gospel accounts.
In the New Testament, Andrew is best known for introducing people to Jesus. In John 1:41, Andrew, upon meeting Jesus, goes to Peter so he can introduce him. In John 6:9, Andrew introduces Jesus to a child who has five barley loaves and two fish. In John 12:20-22, two Greeks wanted an introduction to Jesus; they go to Philip who in turn goes to Andrew, who in turn goes with Philip to Jesus.
By these three accounts, we know something very important about who Andrew was: he found important people and brought them to Christ. He finds Peter who is obviously the Rock that Jesus built his church; he finds the small child with the loaves who was a key component in the miracle—through him Jesus fed thousands. And he finds the Greeks; these were unclean people; a normal Jew would not have brought them to their teacher—their teacher would want nothing to do with them; but Andrew was able to understand—perhaps earlier than the other apostles—that Jesus was blind to races and skin colors—that these unclean people were key to his ministry and would be key to their own ministry.
There are lots of traditions about where Andrew went after the Ascension. We can assume he was very active in his missions work and started several churches.
More important than where he went was who he was. He was second string…but he was okay with that. While his brother was making a name for himself at the top of the pyramid, he was content in telling and bringing people to Christ. Through him, God shows us how he uses instruments—how our legacy is really in the people we bring to Christ—the role we played in the bigger picture. Without Andrew, then Peter would have never come to Christ. Think of all the most influential spiritual leaders in the world—someone introduced them to Christ; but those someone’ are rarely mentioned and when they are, people don’t know who they are. That was Andrew.
It is almost universally accepted that Andrew was martyred. Legends have formed about how and where. The most popular is that he was crucified, but refused to be crucified as Christ was, and requested instead an X-shaped cross, which is now known as St. Andrews Cross. Many country flags bear the symbol—notably Scotland, where Andrew is the Patron Saint.
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