John 1:35-42
Andrew
Encountering Christ in the Book of John #2
Introduction
There’s a man in the Bible with whom most of us are very familiar. His name was Simon Peter. Peter was a successful commercial fisherman before he became a disciple of the Lord Jesus. Although there were twelve disciples, Peter was a take charge kind of guy and appears to have been a real leader among the men. He is mentioned first in every listing of the twelve, and along with James and John, was one of Jesus’ closest friends. He was with Jesus when they went up the mountain where Jesus showed Himself to the three in all His glory, His transfiguration before them. As you read the gospels, you see Peter asking Jesus questions; giving the Lord unsolicited advice; boldly leaping into the sea and walking on water; affirming his conviction that Jesus was the Christ, the Son of God; expressing willingness to die with Jesus, and on the night before the crucifixion he drew his sword to protect the Lord. While Peter’s eagerness led him to go too far sometimes, his enthusiasm is attractive and compelling.
Peter was more than an enthusiast though. He was respected by the other disciples and was accepted as their leader. After the resurrection he became the spokesman for them all, preaching the first evangelistic sermons we find in the book of Acts. Peter exhibited courage before the Sanhedrin and he confronted the Hebrew Christians who objected to his preaching at the house of the Roman centurion Cornelius. He is the one Paul went to Jerusalem to get acquainted with long before he became the great leader he was.
Sometime later in his life, Peter wrote the two letters we have in our Bibles by his name, and he is mentioned by the name Peter 153 times in the New Testament. When Peter met Jesus, the Lord changed his name to Cephas, which means a stone, a name that is mentioned only 6 times in the Bible. Tradition has it that Peter was martyred, or murdered in Rome under the rule of Nero, some claiming that he was crucified upside down because he wasn’t worthy to be crucified like his Lord. Certainly he had his faults and made some real blunders, but all in all Peter was a great man of faith and was one to be admired for the life he gave to the Lord. We ought to respect Peter as a leader whose character we can admire, whose writings we can obey, and whose example we can gladly follow.
I say all of that about Peter this morning to lead up to a question about him that we’ll answer in our text. The question is simply this: Do you know who led Peter to Jesus? Let’s read John 1:35-42 now:
“Again the next day after John stood, and two of his disciples; and looking upon Jesus as he walked, he saith, Behold the Lamb of God! And the two disciples heard him speak, and they followed Jesus. Then Jesus turned, and saw them following, and saith unto them, What seek ye? They said unto him, Rabbi, (which is to say, being interpreted, Master,) where dwellest thou? He saith unto them, Come and see. They came and saw where he dwelt, and abode with him that day: for it was about the tenth hour. One of the two which heard John speak, and followed him, was Andrew, Simon Peter’s brother. He first findeth his own brother Simon, and saith unto him, We have found the Messiah, which is, being interpreted, the Christ. And he brought him to Jesus. And when Jesus beheld him, he said, Thou art Simon the son of Jona: thou shalt be called Cephas, which is by interpretation, A stone.”
Now I don’t know about you, but I find the fact that for all we know and admire about the apostle Peter, very little is said in the Scriptures about his brother Andrew, especially considering that Andrew brought him to Jesus. When Peter met Jesus, keep in mind that he had already been saved and baptized. In the first chapter of Acts, two of the requirements listed as being an apostle were that the men had to have John’s baptism and they were men who walked with Jesus throughout His entire ministry. Remember that John the Baptist had come to prepare a people for the Lord, and while that means several things, I believe it means that he had already prepared Andrew and Peter and others to take up their walk with Christ. When Andrew went to Peter and said, “We have found the Messiah,” there is a suggestion there that they had both been awaiting His coming, something they would only have been doing if they were prepared.
We began a series of messages last week in the book of John titled Encounters with Christ, and this morning I want us to take a close look at this man Andrew. He is only mentioned by name in twelve verses of your Bibles, and some of those are just lists of the disciples, but Andrew was a man who had a unique experience that none of us can ever know physically, which was to walk and talk with the Lord Jesus; to sit by His side and hear Him teach and talk and tell stories, to be in His presence as He turned water into wine and feed the 5,000. Andrew was a man of privilege – for he among the first to encounter Jesus and watch the Messiah move from His baptism by John in the Jordan to His baptism by God the Father upon the cross of Calvary. He saw it all – even to the day the Lord ascended to the heavens and told them to get busy with His work.
Andrew was in partnership with his brother in the fishing business. He had a successful profession, was probably a man of good means, and I would suppose that by our standards, was a man who enjoyed life. Knowing these things, a question arises in my mind that I want you to stew on this morning: What would lead a man to give it all up and live as one of Jesus disciples, a disciple that is virtually unknown? What would lead a man to leave his home, his job, his security and future and follow Jesus?
Now you might say to me, “Brother Kevin, that was Jesus. You just told us about all the wonderful things he saw and did with Jesus. It’s no wonder he left it all behind.” Is that a fair question? Then let me ask you a question. It’s still the same Jesus – why haven’t you left it all behind? I’m not asking you why you haven’t quit your job or left your home or anything like that, at least not physically, though I’ll throw this in: if God has called you to preach or to full time ministry, that’s exactly what you need to do or should have done. A man that claims God called him to preach but never forsakes himself enough to preach is a man who is either a liar or is a man who is disobedient. But supposing that’s not your situation, then what I am asking you is why you haven’t put all of that in its rightful place in your life and put Jesus first. You see, even though He may not be here in bodily form, His invitation to you is still the same as it ever was: “Follow me.” Jesus is still inviting you to walk and talk with Him; to sit and hear Him teach and talk and tell stories; to be in His presence as He works in your life and in the lives of others all around you. He may not be raising the dead or feeding the multitudes today, but He is working in the lives of people you know and He invites you to be a part of that work. “Follow me.”
So how do you follow Jesus? How do you learn to take all this stuff that we build our lives around and put it in its rightful place? If you’re honest with yourself – there is a longing deep in your heart that cries out to you – you don’t hear it all the time because its voice gets drowned out by the constant noise in your life. Its hard to hear your heart’s cry with the TV on, with the radio blaring, with the kids and spouse demanding attention and all the other stuff you have going on; but the voice is still there. You hear it from time to time, in those still, quiet moments that don’t come often enough, telling you that your life is not what it ought to be, that it is not what it could be.
Too often we hear that voice and we try to respond with some new thing in our life. We feel that itch, and we try to satisfy it on a shopping trip or a weekend retreat. I must need a new relationship or whatever, so we try to pinpoint what it is in our lives that isn’t right when all the while the longing is simply telling you that those things are in the wrong place. That longing deep within your heart is crying out for intimacy with Christ. It is crying out for a long drink from the source of living water. It is hungering for a taste of that bread of life. It is crying out for you to abandon your endless pursuits so you might follow Christ, so you might “know Him and the power of His resurrection.” It is the longing not for life, but for abundant life!
As we consider Andrew for the next few minutes, I want to approach the whole thing backwards. Let’s start with the results of an encounter with Christ, then we’ll talk about how to have an encounter with Christ.
The Results of an Encounter with Christ
When we looked at John the Baptist, we saw that his encounter with Christ produced the three results of self-denial, a servant’s heart, and absolute surrender. Those same three are true of Andrew and hopefully are true of you – but there are at least two more.
A genuine encounter with Jesus will produce a desire to tell others. Look at verses 40 & 41. “One of the two…was Andrew…He first findeth his own brother Simon, and saith unto him, We have found the Messiah!” Jesus didn’t have to twist any arms. He didn’t have to step on any toes or threaten them within an inch of hell. When Andrew encountered Jesus he went and got his brother!
There’s a story in 2 Kings 7 that you ought to read sometime. The people of Samaria were surrounded by the army of Syria, and they had been under siege so long and things had gotten so bad that the people were actually eating their own children for lack of food. I’m telling you these people were in bad shape! As the story goes on, there were four men who had leprosy who came up with a plan. They knew that if they stayed where they were they would die, so they decided to march over to the Syrian army. They reasoned that if the army accepted them, then they could eat and live, and if the army killed them, they were going to die any way. I want to read to you how it goes.
“And there were four leprous men at the entering in of the gate: and they said one to another, Why sit we here until we die? If we say, We will enter into the city, then the famine is in the city, and we shall die there: and if we sit still here, we die also. Now therefore come, and let us fall unto the host of the Syrians: if they save us alive, we shall live; and if they kill us, we shall but die. And they rose up in the twilight, to go unto the camp of the Syrians: and when they were come to the uttermost part of the camp of Syria, behold, there was no man there. For the Lord had made the host of the Syrians to hear a noise of chariots, and a noise of horses, even the noise of a great host: and they said one to another, Lo, the king of Israel hath hired against us the kings of the Hittites, and the kings of the Egyptians, to come upon us. Wherefore they arose and fled in the twilight, and left their tents, and their horses, and their donkeys, even the camp as it was, and fled for their life. And when these lepers came to the uttermost part of the camp, they went into one tent, and did eat and drink, and carried thence silver, and gold, and raiment, and went and hid it; and came again, and entered into another tent, and carried thence also, and went and hid it. Then they said one to another, We do not well: this day is a day of good tidings, and we hold our peace: if we tarry till the morning light, some mischief will come upon us: now therefore come, that we may go and tell the king’s household.”
What’s the point? I’ll tell you – they came across something that was too good to keep to themselves! They had to go and tell! They got to looting all that gold and silver and eating and drinking all that good stuff and said, “This isn’t right – this is a great day, let’s go tell somebody!”
I want to tell you that when Andrew spent a day with the Lord he said to himself, “This isn’t right, I’ve got to go tell Peter!” Listen, when you spend some time with the Lord, when you encounter the Jesus of the Bible, you’ll not be able to help but tell somebody what you’ve experienced! I shouldn’t have to beat people up to get them to talk about Jesus. I shouldn’t have to tell tear-jerkers and manipulate – and I’m not going to. I’m telling you that the reason you and I don’t talk about Jesus to the people we know and meet is because we haven’t been spending time with the Lord.
You don’t have to memorize some plan. You don’t have to memorize the New Testament. You don’t have to be licensed or ordained or have permission. All you have to do is spend some time with Jesus and tell somebody how it went. Are you saved? Then tell somebody your experience. Did Jesus meet your need? Then tell somebody who has a need. Did Jesus answer your prayer? Then tell somebody that’s been praying. I meet people all the time that tell me what they’re missing in their churches, so I tell them about ours.
People are talking all around you and they’re providing you with more opportunities to introduce Jesus to them than you’ll ever know. What they need is for you and me to spend time with the Lord so we’ll know what to do and what to say when those opportunities come up. Spending time with Jesus, genuinely encountering Jesus will produce a natural desire to tell others what you’ve experienced.
A genuine encounter with Jesus will produce an attitude of contentment in service. Think about Andrew’s life – what do you know about it? He introduced Peter to Jesus; in John 12 he was one of the disciples that introduced some Greek men to Jesus; and he was one of the disciples who asked Jesus what the signs of His second coming would be. Outside of that – we don’t know much. So what does that tell us? It tells me that Andrew was a man of great inner strength – a man who didn’t have to be in the spotlight, a man who didn’t care if he received any attention or not – he was content just to follow Jesus and serve Him however he could.
I want to tell you that that’s an attitude that’s all to often lacking in our churches today. Too many people are ambitious, believing that in our recognition and advancement, in being the leader, the director, or the boss leads to real happiness. There are to many people like Peter who are quick to shoot off at the mouth and want to run things when we need more Andrews.
The truth of the matter is that without the Andrews of the world, those nobodies who work in the shadows, very little would happen. You look at any company, organization, church or institution in the world and it is the people behind the scenes doing most of the work, unheralded, quietly pursuing the simple but important tasks they’ve been given. We need more people who are patient, humble, hard-working, low-key, and content with the work the Lord has given them to do.
Maybe you’ve heard the story of the farmer who had lived on the same farm all his life. It was a good farm, but with the passing years the farmer began to get bored. He longed for a change – for something better. Every day he found a new reason for criticizing some feature of the old place. Finally, he decided to sell, and so he listed the farm with a real estate broker who promptly prepared a sales ad. As you might expect, the ad emphasized all the farm’s advantages: ideal location, modern equipment, healthy stock, acres of fertile ground, and so on. But before placing the ad in the newspaper, the realtor called the farmer and read the copy to him for final approval. When he had finished, the farmer cried out, “Hold everything! I’ve changed my mind. I don’t want to sell my farm. I’ve been looking for a place like that all my life!”
When are we going to learn that the Lord has a way of placing us exactly where He wants us to be? Andrew’s life teaches us that we ought not covet or envy those with more ability, who are brighter, prettier, more of this or that. He was content to serve right where the Lord had him, and what was that place of service? Who knows! It doesn’t matter – because when you encounter Christ like Andrew did, you won’t care what He wants from you – you’ll gladly respond with contentment in your heart and do it.
Let me remind you of something Jesus said, “whoever will be great among you, shall be your servant: and whosoever of you will be the chiefest, shall be servant of all.”
Encountering the Christ of the Bible
So you’ve heard your heart’s cry this morning – it’s time for a fresh encounter with Christ – how do you do it? How does it happen? What are the steps? Let me show you something beautiful in verses 35-39.
“Again the next day after John stood, and two of his disciples; and looking upon Jesus as he walked, he saith, Behold the Lamb of God! And the two disciples heard him speak, and they followed Jesus. Then Jesus turned, and saw them following, and saith unto them, What seek ye? They said unto him, Rabbi, (which is to say, being interpreted, Master,) where dwellest thou? He saith unto them, Come and see. They came and saw where he dwelt, and abode with him that day: for it was about the tenth hour.”
The beauty of it is this: there is no plan! There are no simple 3 steps or 5 steps to encountering Jesus, encountering Jesus is a very personal experience that happens in different ways for different people! How did John the Baptist experience Him? He baptized Him and witnessed the fulfillment of a promise. How did Nathanael encounter Jesus? Jesus told him what he had been doing that afternoon. How did Paul encounter Jesus? As a bright light on the road to Damascus. Encountering Jesus may be different for every one of you according to your personalities, your interests and so forth, but it will always be in accordance with Scripture. You won’t experience Jesus talking audibly to you today. You won’t experience Jesus healing your body through my physical touch. You won’t see Him walking through your bedroom in the middle of the night.
However, you may experience Jesus as you study the Scriptures and you come to understand some great truth of the Bible and you break out in praise and joy. You may experience Jesus as you plead with Him in prayer for a long period of time and you see the prayer answered. You may experience Jesus as you walk along in the woods and witness the awesome handiwork of God in His creation.
How did it happen for Andrew? John the Baptist pointed Jesus out to him as the Lamb of God. The Passover feast was only days away, so the imagery would have been fresh – this was the long awaited Messiah who would take away the sin of the world. This was the One sent from God that Moses and the prophets had foretold. Andrew went to Jesus and began following Him, and Jesus asked Him a question that every one of you needs to answer today, “What do you want? What are you looking for? What seek ye?” In other words, Jesus says to Andrew and He says to you today, “Why are you following me?” Andrew and John were so surprised by the question that all they could think of to say was, “Where are you hanging out?” The Lord responded in form by saying “Come and see.” What a response!
Listen, you’ll never encounter Jesus until you’ve answered His question first. “What seek ye?” I daresay that most people, and most of you have never seriously thought about why you’re following Jesus. You attend church week after week, you may even read your Bible and pray and serve in some capacity, but you’ve never really given much thought about why you’re following Jesus. You see, you can do all the things “good Christians” do and never really follow Him, never really encounter Him because you’re just going through the motions. When you’re going through the motions there’s that heart’s cry again telling you that you’re missing something. Something’s just not right.
Folk, I want to tell you this morning that there’s good news. In a world where most people are living in Samaria and are starving to death, I feel like those lepers who have stumbled on to something so great that I’ve just got to tell you – you can satisfy that longing in your heart. It’s easy enough. Let me tell you how. Here it is – are you ready for this profound thought that could revolutionize your life?
You need to spend some time with Jesus.
That’s it! What did Andrew do when he followed Jesus and spent the day with Him? The Bible doesn’t say, but let me help you here – get into the Word and study it. Pray. Do lots of praying. Journal your prayers and spend some time thinking about what you’re studying. Get alone in a new environment and experience the handiwork of God. Sometimes my most special moments with the Lord come when I get out by a lake or river and just sit down and think on the Lord and His Word and pray.
Conclusion
After the death and resurrection of Jesus, tradition claims that Andrew went on to preach in southern Greece, then later in the Ukraine and in southern Russia. He too was crucified, a cruel death for a man who loved the Lord, and who faithfully and quietly served Him until his death. Why did he do it? He did it because he had experienced Christ and learned that there was something bigger in this world than just meeting out a daily existence.
I hope today that you’ve come to realize that same thing. Why spend your days existing and getting by when you can experience the fullness and the richness that only comes through absolute surrender to the Son of the living God? Listen to verses from the Psalms:
· “As the deer pants for the living water, so my soul longs after thee, O God. My soul thirsts for for God, for the living God: when shall I come and appear before Him?”
· “O God, you are my God; early will I seek you: my soul thirsts for you, my flesh longs for you in a dry and thirsty land, where no water is; to see your power and your glory…”
· “I stretch out my hands unto you: my soul thirsts for you, as a thirsty land.”
Do you thirst for Christ today? Jesus said, “If any man thirst, let him come unto me, and drink.” Did you get that? “Let him come unto me, and drink.” What did He tell Andrew? “Come and see.” What is His invitation today? “Come and spend some time with me.”
Works Cited:
The Revell Bible Dictionary (Fleming H. Revell: Grand Rapids, MI) 1994 p. 775-777
Many of the thoughts from this point are credited to Pastor Carl Lindquist of Morgantown First United Methodist Church of Morgantown, NC, in a message he preached titled, Andrew – Playing Second String.
Mark 10:43-44
http://www.ccel.org/bible/phillips/CN500APOSTLES%20FATE.htm
Psalm 42:1-2 my paraphrase
Psalm 63:1-2 my paraphrase
Psalm 143:6 my paraphrase
John 7:37
