1/15/11- John 1:40-42 Andrew- Servant Behind the Scenes

40 Andrew, Simon Peter’s brother, was one of the two who heard what John had said and who had followed Jesus. 41 The first thing Andrew did was to find his brother Simon and tell him, “We have found the Messiah” (that is, the Christ). 42 And he brought him to Jesus.  Jesus looked at him and said, “You are Simon son of John. You will be called Cephas” (which, when translated, is Peter).

(Calling of Peter and Andrew- Michael Caravaggio d. 1610)

Thoughts: We know little about Andrew other than this one great act.  He is in his brother's shadow otherwise.  Often Jesus takes Peter, James, and John with him places but Andrew is somehow left out.  Yet Andrew remains fairly close for he leads a group of Greeks to Jesus (Jn. 12:20f.), and he counts the number of fish leftover after feeding the 5,000 (John 6:8).  All three of these recordings of Andrew's exploits come from the Gospel of John.  If John wrote this, it would make sense as Andrew and Peter were business/fishing partners with James and John.  Andrew is the patron saint of Scotland.  He is one who didn't mind being behind the scenes serving others.  We would not have had Peter as the leader without Andrew's getting him. We could learn a lesson from Andrew's humility, service, and sharing his faith with those he knew. 

Prayer: Show me today, O Lord, how I might serve you by reaching out to others.

John Calvin Abridged: The design of the Evangelist is to give us an idea of how the good news of Christ gradually spread.  This also tells us of the nature of faith which does not try to quench the light, but spreads it in every direction.  Andrew scarcely has a spark yet he enlightens his brother.  Woe to us if we do not spread the light after having known for so long.  Andrew does two things that Isaiah commends: 1) he takes his brother by the hand  and 2) says "come."  (Isa. 2:3,4).  Christ gives Simon the name Peter because of his unshaken courage. Peter should not be put in the place of Christ who is the Head of the Church.  All of us may be little Peters (stones) as we are stones that build up the temple of Christ.