Andrew The Twelve Apostles Sermon Series Part 3 of 14

Hello and welcome to Social Media Ministries, my name is Spencer Coffman. Thank you for being with us. Today we have got a great message available for you. We are talking about Andrew. He is one of the 12 apostles. We are in the middle of a series. This is a sermon series playlist about the 12 apostles, so if you have missed the last two messages then feel free to check them out. It will be on our YouTube channel in a playlist or on our website. You can find them there.

What have we talked about so far? We went into an overview about the 12 apostles and then last week we spoke about Simon Peter, the rock, the foundation of the apostles on which of course was Jesus and then Peter. He was the rock that Jesus built the church.

Today we are talking about Andrew who is Simon Peter’s brother, yes biological brother. These two were brothers. They were the son of Jonah or in some translations John, depending on the translation or the version. Where it is written, for example in The Book of Matthew, it is written as son of Jonah, and in John he says John.

Whether it is because John liked his own name and then stated John or because of a different translation or a different language, either way, Andrew was mentioned about a dozen times throughout the Bible, throughout the New Testament. 12 or 13 times and about 12 different verses, and you say wait a minute if he is in 12 verses how could it be 13 times? Well, could be mentioned twice in a verse.

He was Simon Peter’s brother. He was a fisherman. How do we know he was a fisherman? Well, we know Peter was a fisherman, so of course then Andrew, if Simon Peter was a fisherman then probably Andrew was a fisherman. But brothers do not always necessarily do the same thing, so we do not know but we also know that Jonah sounds like a pretty good fisherman’s name. He was their father, he was a fisherman and his sons worked with him.

If we go to Matthew chapter 4 verse 18, it says, ‘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.’

We know they were both fishermen. Andrew lived in Bethsaida and Capernaum originally. However, he was a disciple of John the Baptist. Andrew, he started out in the faith, he was a disciple of John the Baptist. He went out and followed John and then he eventually brought his brother to Jesus. Now of course, not like introduced him and became saved, because they were both religious and they both followed the Law, but it does not say Peter was a disciple of John the Baptist.

So Peter was probably fishing with his dad, working the business, or providing for his family, because we know Peter was married. Peter might have had more earthly responsibilities with his wife, maybe his children. Andrew was most likely the younger brother. He went out and was following John the Baptist. How do we know this?

Let’s go to Mark chapter 1 verses 16 through 18. ‘As Jesus was walking beside the Sea of Galilee, he saw Simon and his brother Andrew 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.’

Okay, there we go. We know that they were fishermen. How do we know that they were disciples or that Andrew was a disciple of John the Baptist? Let’s keep going to John 1 verse 40, we are going to read through verse 42. John 1:40-42, ‘Andrew, Simon Peter’s brother, was one of the two who had heard what John had said. The first thing Andrew did was to find his brother Simon and tell him, we have found the Messiah, that is the Christ, and he brought him to Jesus. Then Jesus looked at him and said, you are Simon, son of John, you will be called Cephas, which is translated as Peter.’

All right so what do we know about Andrew? Andrew is Simon Peter’s brother, we know he was a fisherman, son of a man named Jonah/John, we also know that he grew up in Bethsaida and Capernaum so was a Galilean, and originally Andrew was a follower of John the Baptist.

He traveled around with John the Baptist and when as a result of his ministry or his missionary-type work, he encountered another teacher, Jesus. He heard what Jesus was saying. When he heard what Jesus said, the first thing he did was run and get Peter and he said, Peter, I have found Him, this is the Messiah.

Peter probably did not believe him at first. No, no that is what you said about John the Baptist. No, that is what you are always doing. Some crazy things like that. Just meet Him. No, no. Finally, he went and met the guy and he met Jesus and was convinced. He said this is it. He was so convinced that he decided to travel around with Jesus. He left his wife and his children at home and went around and traveled and really started a great ministry.

So if Andrew was the one who was a disciple of John the Baptist, he discovered Jesus and then he brought Peter to Jesus. Why is it that Peter became the main thing, the main disciple? Peter is the one that everyone knows. Peter is the one that Jesus said, he will build His church on. What about Andrew? Andrew brought Peter here. Andrew was following John the Baptist. What about Andrew?

Peter is mentioned over 200 times, Andrew will be only a dozen. Big difference. What can we learn about that? Would you think Andrew might have been jealous? Maybe Andrew was a man of amazing character, he was amazing in his integrity, patience, in his devotion to Jesus. He was very content to be behind the scenes and in second place, second place to his brother Peter. Even though Andrew was the one who brought it all in, he was happy to be second place.

Andrew was a bringer, for lack of a better term. Andrew brought Peter over to Jesus. Andrew was happy to live his life sharing. To live his life behind the scenes. To bring others into the spotlight. People do not know this, but the feeding of the 5,000, Andrew is the one who brought the little boy with the loaves and the fish to Jesus. Then Jesus did the miracle. We know today that oh it was a little boy with his lunch that fed the 5,000 through Jesus’ miracle.

No one ever says anything about Andrew who brought the little boy. If not for Andrew, the boy would not have been found. Everybody would have starved. Andrew was very content to be kind of a behind-the-scenes type of person. He was the backstage worker. The guy that makes the whole show happen.

John chapter 6 verse 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. How far will this go among so many?’ Then Jesus took care of it. In addition, John chapter 12, Andrew had the courage to speak up. Again Andrew was courageous, it was not only Peter who was questioning Jesus and asking these questions.

Andrew was a guy who sat back and who was content to remain in the shadows, but he was always right there when a solution needed to be presented. Andrew spoke up again, John 12 verse 20 to 22, ‘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, then Andrew and Philip in turn told Jesus.’

So they went to Philip first. We will talk about Philip in the coming weeks, do not worry. But they went and told Philip, then Philip was like, okay wow, so he went and told Andrew. Why did he tell Andrew? Because he knew that Andrew was the type of person who sat back and who could take these requests and do something with them. So he told Andrew and then Andrew is like, we got to tell Jesus. Let’s go.

They tell Jesus and then Jesus has a response and they continue on. Andrew was not afraid. He was content to be in the shadows. He knew his role and he furthered the Kingdom by bringing things into the light. Hey, here is a boy with some fish, do a miracle. I am going to stay back here, do a miracle. Everyone remembers the boy. Everyone remembers Jesus in the miracle, but they forget that it was Andrew that brought him there.

Andrew was fine. Everyone knows that Andrew and Peter were fishermen and that Peter followed Jesus and was the rock, but they forget that it was Andrew that brought Peter to Jesus. Andrew was an introducer. He was the guy that had the connections, that made things happen. He said, hey I know this and this, you two get together, do great things and I will hang back. My work here is done.

Then he found others. Okay, we got to connect you and you do great things for the Kingdom. I am moving on. Andrew was content to travel around and introduce. He was a networker. The very first networker, an amazing person.

Andrew was claimed as the patron saint by Russia, Scotland, and Greece. Three countries claimed him as the patron saint. He was also the first to have the title of home and foreign missionary. He was a missionary at home and he traveled out to foreign lands and was a missionary there. He got the title home and foreign missionary.

Andrew eventually died of course as a martyr. Though in Greece he convinced Governor Aegeates’ wife and his son to convert to Christianity. Pretty bold. He spoke with the wife, he got her and then he got the son. The wife and son converted to Christianity. The governor was obviously upset. He was enraged. How dare you? He thought this was an act of betrayal by his wife and by his son, and so he kind of felt in our mind and understanding, he felt like an adultery was committed. His wife betrayed him.

What does he do? He sentences Andrew to die. He says, Andrew, you are to die on a cross, I will kill you just like your leader Jesus. Andrew says, no, I am not worthy to be crucified on the same shaped cross as Christ. So he begged that his cross would be different. The governor said fine, so be it. You are still going to be crucified. It is not like I am going to lighten up the torture. This is going to be miserable for you.

So he makes an X-shaped cross that Andrew is then crucified on. Which is called Saint Andrew’s cross and due to Governor Aegeates’ rage being so strong, he said to have Andrew tied to the cross rather than nailed, so that his suffering would be prolonged.

If you are nailed to the cross usually it was through your wrists and then through your ankles of your feet right through those bones where the joint would be. They pounded it right through. Not like here in the palm or the flesh, because that would have torn out with your weight. They had to be here before a joint so that your whole hand would hold it on there.

Usually what would happen is then your whole hand would dislocate and the nailing and everything, the blood loss and the flow, and you die sooner. It is still very agonizing obviously, but they said to tie Andrew to the cross. They tied him out in an X and then his suffering was lengthened. Andrew suffered for two whole days on the cross.

Then during that time however, because the cross is not some really high thing, this was probably on the ground in fact, his feet were maybe touching the ground or even maybe just a little bit off the ground like a foot off the ground. People could walk by and spit on him or kick him or punch him, slap him in the face, throw dirt on him, and dust on him. They did whatever they could. Walk by and all of that was there.

This was like a public humiliation execution and so during this time that it was happening it was recorded that Andrew preached to a passerby. As he is being crucified he was telling them about Jesus and about the good news and about how they can be saved.

He had an excellent outlook on life. This was a guy, like I said, he was content to be in the shadows but he was not afraid. He spoke up. He spoke up when people had requests, with the boy and the five loaves and the two fish. He spoke up. Or the boy with the loaves and the fish, he spoke up and said, hey Jesus what can we do with this? How far will this go among so many and Jesus said, leave it to me and He took care of it.

In addition, he continued on and he spoke up when someone had a request. When Philip came to him and said, hey I do not know what this is all about but this guy wants to see Jesus, and Andrew he says let’s go, come on. We got to tell Jesus and he speaks up and tells Jesus. What did Jesus say? Let’s get into that.

Jesus replied, verse 23, this is in John chapter 12, ‘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. The man who loves his life will lose it, while the man who hates his life in this world will keep it for eternal life. Whoever serves me must follow me, and where I am, my servant will also be. My father will honor the one who serves me.’

What in the world? What does that mean? You do not know, well that is okay. It could be a little confusing. Whoever serves me, must follow me. You gotta follow Jesus. Where I am my servant will also be. Okay, what does that mean? Well, it means you are with Jesus wherever you go. Because He is with you. He is with you.

This request, hey people would like to see Jesus. Andrew and Philip go and tell Jesus, hey some people want to see you and Jesus gives out this big reply and Andrew and Philip are probably standing there like, can we tell these people that Jesus can see him or are we going to tell him no? Are we going to go say the hour has come for the son of man to be glorified? What about the kernel of wheat? Hey guys, sorry but unless a kernel of wheat falls and dies to produce more seeds it will still be one seed, but it has to die to make more. What do we say?

They do not know. They do not know but Jesus is telling them even more than what they asked for and that is what Jesus did. He always gives more than what we ask for. That is a separate lesson. The point is Andrew and Philip spoke up and they said, hey Jesus, these people want to meet you. Jesus could have said, sure, bring him here or no I do not feel like it.

Instead, Jesus brings this whole thing about, this confusing verse. If a kernel dies it produces many more seeds, but if it does not die it remains a single seed. What does that mean? Well, we have to die and then we can produce more. How do we die? Well we kill our old self, we become a Christian and now we can go out and produce more by telling other people about Jesus and us, like that seed that died and regrew, re-sprouted, renewed, reborn, produced many more. We can go out and produce many more.

Andrew knew that Philip obviously got that too. These disciples, they get that. Andrew knew it so much he did it while he was dying. He was preaching to people saying, hey even though my seed right now is going to die and I will not be able to produce any more seeds, I am going to try to get one more seed produced, one more kernel produced before I die.

This is also the part in the Bible where Jesus gets onto, you are going to have me for just a little while longer. You will have it for a while before darkness and then it gets even more confusing and then later on of course a couple more chapters we get into even more where the disciples are like what does He mean in a little while He will see us and then He will not see us and then we will be happy and then we will be sad?

But anyway on and on it is a lot more, but Jesus is saying if these other people want to meet me, I do not need to be the one to introduce them. You do not need to come to me. With that request, He is saying it is time for me to be glorified so that when someone says they want to meet Jesus, you can introduce me.

Not like, you want to meet Jesus? All right, I will kill you and you are going to heaven right now to meet Jesus. No, you want to meet Jesus. Jesus is saying, all right people are starting to ask for me. I am going to be glorified even though I do not want to do this and they did not know what He was saying. But really He was saying He needs to go die, rise again so that now they can introduce more people to Him without them having to physically die and go meet Jesus. They can meet Jesus and have a relationship here on earth.

That is what Andrew knew. He understood this and he said, okay I get it, God, I get it, Lord, I need to introduce people to you rather than if someone says you want to meet Jesus, I do not say all right come on, let’s bring you to church and let me have you try to talk to the cross and you can meet Jesus. No, I need to do the part and introduce you to Jesus. That is what Andrew said, he realized that, he did not say that then but he realized it.

We see that evidence while he was dying. He even preached to a passerby. He converted people to Christianity. He introduced them to Jesus. Do you understand that? Do you understand that it is important in your life? What are you doing with your life? Are you introducing people to Jesus or are you the type of person, when someone says they want to know more about Jesus you say, all right here talk to this person and I am not going to introduce you?

Andrew was a connector, he was a networker, he introduced people, and was happy to be in the shadows. But then he realized a calling greater than that and he said, all right it is time for me to step into the light and be the person who makes that introduction and keeps going. When people wanted to know Jesus, Andrew stepped in and said, this is Jesus. Ask Him into your heart, ask Him to lead your life, ask Him to forgive you of your sins and he told them all about Jesus.

What are you doing? Are you introducing people to earthly people? Are you a connector like Andrew? Are you a networker, start networking for Jesus like Andrew. Start bringing more people to Christ, be that connector. Connect them with Jesus and get them into a relationship with Jesus.

Let’s pray. Lord thank you so much for Andrew, for everything he did, for everything that is written about him even though it is only in a few verses, a handful. Lord, I ask that people would be inspired to learn more about these apostles and that they would be inspired to identify with one or two of them and really start to live their life like they did. If they are networkers and connectors and influencers and the social butterflies, then please God inspire them to be like Andrew and start introducing and connecting people with you. In Jesus’ name. Amen.

Hey, another thing is, if you do not know Jesus, this is a great time because like Andrew I can introduce you to Jesus. It is really simple, all you need to do is say, Lord Jesus, please forgive me for my sins, thank you for dying for me, I want to live my life for you every single day. Amen. That is it and if you need help with that or you want more information, comment below or contact us, reach out, we would love to help you with that.

In addition, stay tuned, we have got more messages coming up. This was only part three. We have got 14, so we have got others over a couple months to go, another month and a half, almost two months to go. So stay tuned with that. Next week we are going to be talking about James. God bless.