John 1:35–42a

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. ⁴¹ He first found his own brother Simon and said to him, “We have found the Messiah” (which means Christ). ⁴² He brought him to Jesus.

In the name of Jesus. Amen.

As we consider the disciple Andrew tonight, let’s start with a pop quiz that consists of one question: How many of the twelve disciples can you name? I would guess the disciples fall into three tiers of recognize-ability. The top tier disciples consist of Peter, James, and John since those three are the ‘inner circle.’ The second tier probably consists of Thomas and Judas Iscariot, but they are both remembered for their shortcomings – and Judas has more shortcomings than Thomas. The remaining seven – Andrew, Phillip, Bartholomew (aka. Nathaniel), Matthew, the other James, Simon the Zealot, and the other Judas probably fall into the third tier.

Even though Andrew doesn’t get a lot of stage time in the Gospels, Andrew holds the title of being the first in at least three ways. Andrew is one of Jesus’ first two disciples. In the early Church, Andrew is often given the title, ‘first-called.’

In our Gospel text tonight (Jn. 1:35-42a), Andrew and John (the author of the Gospel) are both disciples of John the Baptizer. As Jesus walks by, they hear the Baptizer say, “Behold, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!” (Jn. 1:29, 35).

This little sermon must have had quite the impact on Andrew. Remember, John the Baptizer was the voice in the wilderness crying out, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand. The axe is laid to the root of the trees” (Mt. 3:2, 10). But now the preacher of repentance points Andrew to the One who takes away the sin of the world.

Andrew leaves John the Baptizer with his camel hair clothing and diet of locusts and honey and follows Jesus. When Jesus sees Andrew following Him, He asks, “What are you seeking?” Now, there is more to Jesus’ question there than we might expect. Since Andrew is following Jesus, we might anticipate that Jesus would ask, “Whom are you seeking?” but that isn’t what Jesus asks. He asks, “What, what are you seeking?”And the word translated ‘seeking’ is commonly used in the Old Testament to refer to studying and searching God’s Word (Ps. 119:33, 45; Ezr. 7:10). In short, Jesus’ question was a common way of asking, “What Scriptures are you searching/studying?”

Andrew and John said to Him, “Rabbi, where are You staying?” That response has always felt a bit odd to me. It sounds like they are interested in getting a room at the same hotel where Jesus is staying, but their response is more than a curiosity about Jesus’ lodging situation. Notice, they address Jesus as “Rabbi,” which means ‘teacher,’ and the word translated ‘staying’ means ‘remaining.’ And because rabbis typically taught while sitting, they are asking Jesus where He is teaching. In other words, the response to Jesus asking what Scriptures they are studying is them requesting to listen to Jesus teach the Scriptures. And Jesus invites them, “Come and you will see.”

And, boy, did they see. Christ gave them eyes to see more than they could have ever imagined.

Andrew and John sat and listened to Jesus teach from the tenth hour (which is about 4:00 in the afternoon) and on into the evening. We don’t know the content of that lesson, but we do know what Andrew took away from that lecture. Andrew runs off to tell his brother, Peter, “We have found the Messiah, the Christ, the Anointed One who has come to crush the serpent’s head and take away the sin of the world.”

So, Andrew was the ‘first-called,’ but he also becomes the first ‘home missionary’ because he recognized the joy of introducing those closest to him to the Savior. Later on, Andrew’s mission field expands (Jn. 12:20-22). After Jesus rides into Jerusalem on Palm Sunday, some Greeks ask Phillip if they can see Jesus. Phillip doesn’t quite know what to do with this request and goes to Andrew for help. Andrew and Phillip tell Jesus, so Andrew becomes the first ‘foreign missionary.’

Andrew might be a third-tier disciple, but he is a disciple who is used greatly by his Savior.

Sure, Peter gets more ink in the Scriptures than his kid brother, Andrew, but Peter doesn’t know about Jesus without Andrew first telling him about and bringing him to Christ. Peter has his great confession, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God,” and upon that confession, Jesus says He will build His church (Mt. 16:16-18). But Peter first heard that confession from his obscure brother, Andrew. Peter will catch many men even going to Rome to tell others about Jesus, but Andrew might have cast his nets even farther. Some histories record that Andrew went around the Black Sea in the countries of Romania and Georgia, even catching men with the net of the Gospel in modern-day Kyiv.

Dear saints, evangelizing others doesn’t need to be super organized, flashy, or gimmicky. In fact, it probably works better when it isn’t – especially when we consider how Andrew evangelizes Peter.

Evangelizing is simply having our eyes opened by Jesus, sitting under His teaching, and inviting others to come and see for themselves who this Jesus is. You’ve heard me say it before, but I’ll say it again: Eighty-six percent of Christians started attending church because a friend invited them. In other words, invite your friends to come here. Get them in the door and in the seats. Then let Jesus do His work on them through His Word. That’s it!

Andrew followed Jesus because he heard the Baptizer say, “Behold, the Lamb of God.” But Jesus is the One who sought and saved Andrew by His sacrifice on the cross. Jesus is the God who comes to us. He brings us into His fold with His invitation, “Come and see.” And Christ teaches us giving us eyes to see. Then we, in turn, joyfully invite others to join us to be where Jesus promises to meet with us and save us.

We have found the Messiah, the Savior, the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world. Come and see. Amen.

The peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus. Amen.