By DANIEL MCCABE—
“Go out into the highways and hedges, and compel them to come in, that my house may be filled.” Luke 14:23
As the youngest of four growing up in the piney woods of northeast Texas I lived in the shadow of my older brother and sisters. Going through Sunday School classes and twelve grades as David, Debbie and Diane’s little brother didn’t always thrill me.
One of Jesus’ twelve disciples, Andrew, knew about life in the shadows. Andrew lived in the shadow of his brother Peter—captain of the debate team, president of his class, and all-around big man on campus. We remember guys like Peter. They preach sermons. They write Bible books. They do public miracles. Guys like Andrew work quietly in the shade.
But Andrew would now have his moment in the sun. Finally, Andrew would enjoy being first at something. In John 1 we learn that Andrew is the first disciple to follow Jesus. This time he would even beat out his brother, and no one could fault Andrew for wanting to enjoy his new fame. As the first disciple, there were so many things to do. Set up an interview with the paper. Start work on his autobiography and build his new website—www.firstdiscipleofjesus.andrew.com
But the very first thing that Andrew does after he meets Jesus is to think about his brother—to find his brother and introduce him to Jesus. That’s Andrew for you. Always caring about others. In fact each of the three times we encounter Andrew in the Bible he is bringing someone to Jesus.
Andrew first humbly brings his brother to Jesus in John 1. Andrew, regularly called “Simon Peter’s brother” in the Bible, is mentioned second in the list of disciples in Matthew and Luke and fourth in the lists in Mark and Acts, but Peter is mentioned first in all four lists even though Andrew was the first one to follow Jesus. That’s just fine with Andrew, however; he’s just happy to be there.
Andrew next brings a little boy to Jesus. In John 6 he befriends a lad who has five barley loaves and two small fish. Thousands had gathered on a grassy knoll to hear Jesus preach, and, as you may know, God performs a miracle and multiplies these loaves and fishes so that the hungry crowd can eat. You may remember how at other times the disciples had tried to keep children from coming to Jesus, but Andrew cares about everyone.
In John 12 Andrew brings some strangers to meet Jesus. Fast forward now almost three years to meet Andrew for the last time. It is Palm Sunday, the last week of Jesus’ life, and some strangers from Greece had traveled a long way to meet Jesus. Andrew is once again eager to serve them and gladly introduces them to his master.
You, like Andrew, may not be a star like others around you, but you can bring others to Jesus. You too can be a caring disciple.
Further Reading: John 6:1-14
Dr. Daniel McCabe is the pastor of Faith Bible Church in Spring, Texas. He is a contributing editor for The Jerusalem Connection Report. He can be reached via email at danielmccabe@juno.com.
