In the name of Christ Jesus, dear friends:
John Ellis Bush was born on
He attended the University of
Texas at Austin, where he graduated Phi Beta
Kappa with a Bachelor's degree in Latin
American Studies, taking only two and a half years to complete his
work. He left a successful business career
to go into politics, and in 1988 he was elected governor of the state of
Perhaps you know John Ellis Bush better by his initials, J.E.B. Jeb Bush is the son of the former president and the brother of the current President George W. Bush. So what? So what is the reason for the biographical sketch? What is the connection between Jeb Bush and the minor festival we are observing today? What do Jeb Bush and St. Andrew have in common?
Like the younger Bush son, Andrew knew what it felt like to have a more popular, more powerful brother. Like Jeb, Andrew knew what it felt like to try to follow in his brother’s gigantic footsteps. Jesus had called Andrew to be one of his disciples, but no matter what he did he couldn’t measure up to Peter.
Peter was a natural born leader. Peter was the self-appointed spokesman for the disciples. Peter was the one who preached the Pentecost sermon that led to 3,000+ baptisms. Peter was the one who became a respected leader in the early Christian church. And even though it was never his intention, Peter’s almost permanent place in the spotlight forced his brother to stand in his shadow.
But not today. Today we give Andrew his moment in the spotlight. Today we devote our attention to the ministry of this disciple. Today we give thanks for the mission work of this apostle. And as we review what God’s Word says about Andrew, we will also rejoice to know that…
A LESSER LIGHT SHINES JUST AS BRIGHT
Before Andrew became a disciple of Jesus he was a devoted follower
of John the Baptist. He had embraced the
prophet’s message: “Repent, for the
kingdom of heaven is near” (Matthew 3:2), and there is a good possibility
that Andrew had been baptized by John in the
John the Baptist had been telling his followers that the
Messiah was coming, but it probably caught Andrew by surprise when that day
actually arrived. Without any warning,
without any words of introduction, John pointed at Jesus and declared: “Look, the Lamb of God” (John
The Lord took an immediate interest in Andrew. He took Andrew to the place where he was staying. And there they talked. They talked for the rest of the day. We are not told what they talked about, but I wouldn’t be surprised if their conversation focused on spiritual things: heaven and hell, prophecy and fulfillment, sin and salvation.
Perhaps Andrew didn’t fully comprehend the significance of this meeting. Perhaps he didn’t understand that this conversation would change his life forever. There is a good chance that he still thought of himself as a fisherman and not a fisher of men. But it was clear to him that he had just received an amazing gift. And he didn’t want to keep that gift to himself.
After Andrew left the first thing he did was to find Simon Peter. He told his brother what had happened. He told his brother that he too needed to meet this man. Even if Peter was skeptical, even if Peter was more used to giving orders than taking them, Andrew wouldn’t take “No” for an answer. He brought Peter to Jesus, and the rest is history.
The story is told of an aged Scottish minister who arrived at church on a Sunday morning to prepare for the service. He was met by one of his deacons who harshly criticized his preaching. He complained that in the past year the church had gained only one new member, a boy.
With a heavy heart, the preacher entered the pulpit that day and he preached as impressively as he could. But after the service, no one thanked him for his message. No one spoke a single word of encouragement. No one, except that small boy.
He asked the preacher: “Do you think that if I study hard, I might become a minister, perhaps a missionary?” The minister laid his hand on the boy’s head and said: “Robert, with God nothing is impossible. Pray and study hard and leave the rest to God.”
Many years later, long after the minister had received his eternal reward, the young boy returned to his home town, now an old man himself. When he addressed the congregation, there was complete silence. Every eye was focused on this revered and renowned missionary.
Robert Moffat had brought the gospel of Jesus Christ to the
darkest corners of
When Andrew introduced Peter to Jesus he had no idea that his brother would become a pillar of the Christian Church. He didn’t know that his actions would be preserved forever in the pages of Scripture. He didn’t even know if Peter would listen what this man had to say. All Andrew knew was that his brother was a sinner. All Andrew knew was that his brother needed a Savior. And he couldn’t wait to introduce Peter to Jesus.
This was not the only time Andrew brought someone to Jesus. When the Lord looked out and saw huge crowds of hungry people, he asked his disciples where they could go to get enough food to feed them all. The consensus among the disciples was that they couldn’t and that they should send the people away. But there was one dissenting voice.
Andrew spoke up and said: “Here is a boy with five small loaves and two small fish, but how far will they go among so many” (John 6:9)? Andrew’s words sound like a strange combination of doubt and faith. On the one hand, he wondered how one boy’s meal could feed so many people. But if Andrew didn’t believe that the Lord could do something miraculous then why did he bring the boy to Jesus in the first place?
During Holy Week some Greeks approached Philip and asked him if they could meet Jesus. Instead of taking their request directly to the Lord, Philip went first to Andrew. Why? Was Philip unsure of himself? Was Andrew the first disciple he met? Or did the other disciples recognize Andrew as someone with the gift of evangelism?
Andrew is recognized as the “first” of the twelve apostles, and not just because his name comes first alphabetically. He was the first disciple to be called by Jesus. He has been called the first home missionary and the first world missionary.
But I get the sense that Andrew wouldn’t want us to remember him that way. And he would probably object to our observance of a festival in his honor today. But Andrew isn’t here to stop us. And besides there is much that modern day disciples can learn from this sainted apostle…
From Andrew we learn that there every person is important in
the
Maybe you won’t become famous. Maybe your deeds of love will go unnoticed. I doubt that a special day will ever be held in your honor. But the Lord knows those who are his, and he knows everything you do to His glory.
From Andrew we learn the importance of Christian
witnessing. Years before the Lord
officially commissioned the disciples to “go
and make disciples of all nations” (Matthew 28:19), long before Paul ever told
the Romans that “faith comes from
hearing the message” (Romans
From Andrew we learn that witnessing begins at home. I’m sure that he had many opportunities to share the gospel with people he had never met before, but the first person Andrew brought to Jesus was someone he knew very well. And not much has changed in the last two thousand years.
There is still a place for outreach programs and evangelism
campaigns. There is nothing wrong with
taking out ads in the yellow pages or the newspaper (we have done both at
From Andrew we learn that when it comes to witnessing we still have a long ways to go. We are not always eager to bring people to Jesus. We are paralyzed by fear. We are handcuffed by laziness. We ignore what God’s Word clearly says and buy into the devilish idea that religion should be a private matter.
For our disobedience and our indifference, for our lack of caring and our lack of understanding, for our mixed up priorities and missed opportunities, we need to repent. We need to acknowledge our sin and ask for forgiveness.
From Andrew we learn to trust in the power of the gospel. Andrew was the first disciple of Jesus, and literally billions of disciples have followed. Not because of him, but because of his message. Andrew preached Christ crucified. And so do we.
We believe that Jesus Christ is true man and true God in one person. We believe that he lived a perfect life and died an innocent death in our place to take away our sins. We believe that Jesus rose from the dead on the third day, that he ascended on the fortieth day, and that he will return on the Last Day to take us to heaven.
In the meantime we believe that our Lord will never leave us or forsake us. We believe that he hears and answers our prayers. We believe that the Word of God is living and active. We believe that the Word always accomplishes what God desires. And we believe that Jesus continues to use flawed human beings like us to build his kingdom, one soul at a time.
Even if you don’t have the training to be a missionary, you do have a personal mission field. Even if you don’t convert thousands or hundreds or even a single soul, you can still be a witness for Jesus. Even if you never see the fruits of your labor, you can be like Andrew. Disciples of Jesus, live your faith. Apostles of Jesus, share your faith. Let your light shine with the Lord’s assurance that a lesser light shines just as bright. Amen.