Encounters with Jesus are life changing. We saw that last time with the call of Peter – bold, rash, dedicated and used powerfully by God – I’m just finishing the first letter he wrote as I have my devotions. But Peter had a brother – Andrew. They grew up in the fishing village of Bethsaida – both brave men who plied the waters of the abyss in search of fish.
Whether you are bold and up front, or quieter and more interpersonal, encounters with Jesus can change your life and use it to see others encounter Him as well!
“Come, follow me,’ Jesus said, ‘and I will make you fishers of men” Matthew 4:19.
Encounters with Jesus are life changing. We saw that last time with the call of Peter – bold, rash, dedicated and used powerfully by God – I’m just finishing the first letter he wrote as I have my devotions. But Peter had a brother – Andrew. They grew up in the fishing village of Bethsaida – both brave men who plied the waters of the abyss in search of fish. We read later in Mark 1 that when they moved to Capernaum, they both lived in the same house – along with Peter’s wife and his mother-in-law. So Andrew was the single brother in a small place. I have been to the purported site of where they lived.
So here was the single brother living in the shadow of his bold, brave brother. Maybe you are like this too – you just don’t have the chutzpah you wish you had – quieter, less attached to the limelight.
Make no mistake – Andrew was just as tough as his brother, who he loved. They worked hard on the Sea of Galilee. But Andrew was also very spiritually minded. He was a follower of John the Baptist – the last Old Testament prophet. He helped him with baptizing many people for repentance of sins. But they were both looking for the Messiah, and when John pointed out Jesus – “Behold the Lamb of God”, Andrew followed Jesus and spent time with Him. When Jesus issued the disciple’s call, He gave the same call to Andrew as He did to Peter. Where Peter was proclamational – bold and outspoken, it seems that Andrew was very interpersonal instead. He wasn’t ‘up front’ but noticed people. When he became convinced that Jesus was the Messiah, he went right away and brought his brother Peter to Jesus. Later, when the disciples were faced with what to do with 5000+ hungry people, it was Andrew who brought the boy and his lunch to Jesus, and when the miracle was over, Andrew was one of the ones moving through the crowd picking up the 12 basketfuls that were left. When some devout Greeks asked Philip about seeing Jesus, Philip went to Andrew who went and told Jesus about it - he wanted to bring these seekers to the Master.
In Acts 1:13, here is Andrew (with his brother Peter and his fishing buddies James and John) waiting in the upper room for Jesus’ promise of the Comforter. When the Holy Spirit came, Andrew proclaimed the gospel in the tongues that God gave to him. Tradition says that Andrew preached in Ephesus and in Russia. Tradition also has him preaching in Greece where he offended the wrong people and was crucified, like his brother Peter was. They say that Peter was crucified upside down, not wanting to assume the right side up position of the Master’s crucifixion, and that Andrew also was crucified on a different style of cross – both grisly. In fact, the St. Andrews cross is the flag of Scotland. I like to think that Andrew brought people to Jesus through his whole life.
Whether you are bold and up front, or quieter and more interpersonal, encounters with Jesus can change your life and use it to see others encounter Him as well! Let Him work through the person that you are.
Pastor Leon Throness
