Twelve Ordinary Men, Week 5

Twelve Ordinary Men  •  Sermon  •  Submitted   •  Presented   •  54:31
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John 1:40–41 ESV
40 One of the two who heard John speak and followed Jesus was Andrew, Simon Peter’s brother. 41 He first found his own brother Simon and said to him, “We have found the Messiah” (which means Christ).
What is the significance of Andrew’s statement?
Andrew recognized Christ as the Messiah - the one who had been foretold.
Andrew ordinarily is left very much in the background. He was not included in several of the important events where we see Peter, James, and John together with Christ.
Matthew 17:1 ESV
1 And after six days Jesus took with him Peter and James, and John his brother, and led them up a high mountain by themselves.
Mark 5:37 ESV
37 And he allowed no one to follow him except Peter and James and John the brother of James.
Mark 14:33 ESV
33 And he took with him Peter and James and John, and began to be greatly distressed and troubled.
There is no question that he had a particularly close relationship with Christ, because he often the source by which other people were personally introduced to the Master.
Andrew, actually was the first called disciple.
John 1:35–40 ESV
35 The next day again John was standing with two of his disciples, 36 and he looked at Jesus as he walked by and said, “Behold, the Lamb of God!” 37 The two disciples heard him say this, and they followed Jesus. 38 Jesus turned and saw them following and said to them, “What are you seeking?” And they said to him, “Rabbi” (which means Teacher), “where are you staying?” 39 He said to them, “Come and you will see.” So they came and saw where he was staying, and they stayed with him that day, for it was about the tenth hour. 40 One of the two who heard John speak and followed Jesus was Andrew, Simon Peter’s brother.
HE then went to his brother, Simon (Peter) and introduced him to Jesus.
John 1:42 ESV
42 He brought him to Jesus. Jesus looked at him and said, “You are Simon the son of John. You shall be called Cephas” (which means Peter).
Peter and Andrew had probably been lifelong companions with the other set of fishermen—brothers from Capernaum—James and John, sons of Zebedee. The four of them apparently shared common spiritual interests even before they met Christ. They evidently took a sabbatical from the fishing business, visited the wilderness where John the Baptist was preaching, and became disciples of John. That is where they were when they first met Christ. And when they returned to fishing (before Jesus called them to be full-time disciples), they remained together as partners. So it was quite natural that this little group formed a cohesive unit within the Twelve. In many ways these four seemed inseparable.
All four of them obviously wanted to be leaders. As a group, they exercised a sort of collective leadership over the other disciples. We have already seen that Peter was without question the dominant one of the group and the usual spokesman for all twelve—sometimes whether they liked it or not. But it is clear that the four disciples in the inner circle all aspired to be leaders. That is why they sometimes had those shameful arguments over who was the greatest.
Their eagerness to lead, which caused so many clashes when they were together as a group, ultimately became immensely valuable when these men went their separate ways as apostles in the early church. Jesus was training them for leadership, and in the end, they all filled important leadership roles in the early church. That is why Scripture likens them to the very foundation of the church: “Jesus Christ Himself being the chief cornerstone”
Ephesians 2:20 ESV
20 built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Christ Jesus himself being the cornerstone,
Of the four in the inner circle, however, Andrew was the least conspicuous. Scripture doesn’t tell us a lot about him. You can practically count on your fingers the number of times he is mentioned specifically in the Gospels. (In fact, apart from the places where all twelve disciples are listed, Andrew’s name appears in the New Testament only nine times, and most of those references simply mention him in passing.)
Andrew lived his life in the shadow of his better-known brother. Many of the verses that name him add that he was Peter’s brother, as if that were the fact that made him significant.
What is different about the personality of Andrew versus Peter?
Almost everything Scripture tells us about Andrew shows that he had the right heart for effective ministry in the background. He did not seek to be the center of attention. He did not seem to resent those who labored in the limelight. He was evidently pleased to do what he could with the gifts and calling God had bestowed on him, and he allowed the others to do likewise.
Of all the disciples in the inner circle, Andrew appears the least contentious and the most thoughtful. As we know already, Peter tended to be impetuous, to rush ahead foolishly, and to say the wrong thing at the wrong time. He was often brash, clumsy, hasty, and impulsive. James and John were nicknamed “Sons of Thunder” because of their reckless tendencies. They were also evidently the ones who provoked many of the arguments about who was the greatest. But there’s never a hint of that with Andrew. Whenever he speaks—which is rare in Scripture—he always says the right thing, not the wrong thing. Whenever he acts apart from the other disciples, he does what is right. Scripture never attaches any dishonor to Andrew’s actions when it mentions him by name.
Andrew and Peter, though brothers, had totally different leadership styles. But just as Peter was perfectly suited for his calling, Andrew was perfectly suited for his. In fact, Andrew may be a better model for most church leaders than Peter, because most who enter the ministry will labor in relative obscurity, like Andrew, as opposed to being renowned and prominent, like Peter.
Andrew’s personal encounter with Jesus took place the day after Jesus’ baptism (vv. 29–34). Andrew and John were standing next to the Baptist when Jesus walked by and John the Baptist said, “Behold the Lamb of God!” (John 1:35–36). They immediately left John’s side and began to follow Jesus (v. 37). Don’t imagine that they were being fickle or untrue to their mentor. Quite the opposite. John the Baptist had already expressly denied that he was the Messiah: “When the Jews sent priests and Levites from Jerusalem to ask him, ‘Who are you?’ He confessed, and did not deny, but confessed, ‘I am not the Christ’ ” (vv. 19–20). When people pressed John for an explanation of who he was, he said, “I am ‘The voice of one crying in the wilderness: “Make straight the way of the LORD,” ’ as the prophet Isaiah said” (v. 23).
So John had already said in the most plain and forthright terms that he was only the forerunner of the Messiah. He had come to prepare the way and to point people in the right direction. In fact, the very heart of John the Baptist’s message was preparation for the Messiah, who was coming speedily. Andrew and John would therefore have been caught up in the thrill of messianic expectation, waiting only for the right Person to be identified. That is why as soon as they heard John the Baptist identify Christ as the Lamb of God, the two disciples instantly, eagerly left John to follow Christ. They did the right thing. The Baptist himself surely would have approved of their choice.
The biblical account continues: “Then Jesus turned, and seeing them following, said to them, ‘What do you seek?’ They said to Him, ‘Rabbi’ (which is to say, when translated, Teacher), ‘where are You staying?’ He said to them, ‘Come and see.’ They came and saw where He was staying, and remained with Him that day” (vv. 38–39).
It was about four o’ clock in the afternoon (“the tenth hour,” according to verse 39) when they met Christ. They followed Him to the place where He was staying and spent the remainder of that day with Him. Since this was near John the Baptist in the wilderness, it was probably a rented house or possibly just a room in a rustic inn. But these two disciples were privileged to spend the afternoon and evening in private fellowship with Jesus, and they left convinced that they had found the true Messiah. They met, became acquainted, and began to be taught by Jesus that very day. Thus Andrew and John became Jesus’ first disciples.
Notice the first thing Andrew did: “He first found his own brother Simon, and said to him, ‘We have found the Messiah’ (which is translated, the Christ). And he brought him to Jesus” (vv. 41–42). The news was too good to keep to himself, so Andrew went and found the one person in the world whom he most loved—whom he most wanted to know Jesus—and he led him to Christ.
As we saw in the previous chapter, Peter and Andrew went back to Capernaum and continued their fishing career after that initial meeting with Christ. It was at a later time—perhaps several months later—that Jesus came to Galilee to minister. He had begun His ministry in and around Jerusalem, where He cleansed the temple and stirred the hostility of the religious leaders. But then He returned to Galilee to preach and heal, and He eventually came to Capernaum. There He encountered the four brothers again, while they were fishing.
This was where they left fishing for a more permanent, full-time discipleship.
A parallel account of this event is recorded in Luke 5:1–11. But in Luke’s account, Andrew’s name is not mentioned. We know he was there and was included, because Matthew’s record makes that clear. But Andrew was so much in the background that Luke doesn’t even mention his name. Again, he was the kind of person who seldom came to the forefront. He remained somewhat hidden. He was certainly part of the group, and he must have followed Christ as eagerly and as quickly as the others, but he played a quiet, unsung role in obscurity.
He had lived his whole life in the shadow of Peter, and he apparently accepted that role. This was the very thing that made him so useful. His willingness to be a supporting actor often gave him insights into things the other disciples had trouble grasping. Thus whenever he does come to the forefront, the thing that shines is his uncanny ability to see immense value in small and modest things.
MacArthur, John F., Jr. 2002. Twelve Ordinary Men: How the Master Shaped His Disciples for Greatness, and What He Wants to Do with You. Nashville, TN: W Pub. Group.
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