Simon, (whom he also named Peter,) and Andrew his brother, James and John, Philip and Bartholomew,

Luke 6:14

Yesterday, I asked you to remember everything you remember about Peter. I imagine your list was very long! But what if I asked you the same thing about the Apostle Andrew? What do you remember?

(Crickets chirping…..)

Oh, yeah, wasn’t he Peter’s brother? He was a fisherman with Peter, wasn’t he?

It is true that we don’t learn much from Scripture about Andrew but what we do know is vital to understanding a specific need in our discipleship.

Andrew’s name “means man of valor.” I think this is truly awesome considering his important role among the Apostles. Andrew was first a disciple of John the Baptist (John 1:40). But when John pointed to Jesus as the Lamb of God, Andrew immediately followed the Lord. Moreover, Andrew went and got his brother, Peter (John 1:41), and brought him to Jesus telling him that Jesus was the Messiah for whom they had sought. Did you catch that? Without Andrew, there is no Apostle Peter! His work of one-on-one evangelism played a crucial role in the ministry of Jesus!

Later, we find there are several thousand followers of Jesus and they were hungry. Philip said it was impossible to raise enough money to feed them all, but Andrew brought a young boy with five loaves and two small fishes to Jesus (John 6:8-9). He knew it was not enough but he brought what he could to the Lord. And the Lord did a wondrous miracle!

Andrew and Philip were the ones who brought Greeks to Jesus who sought Him saying, “sirs, we would see Jesus.” (John 12:20-22)

Andrew also asked questions about the end of time, the kingdom of God, and the destruction of Jerusalem. These questions sparked one of the most important sermons we have from Jesus, the Olivet Discourse (Mark 13:3-4)!

We may not know much about Andrew but we know that it is not always the most outspoken person who is exemplifying the most faith. We also know that the  vital role of evangelism can be accomplished by any of God’s children – even if no one remembers who you are!

Andrew was content and happy just being with the Lord in His service. Perhaps we should seek the same in our own lives.