Do you introduce people to Jesus like Andrew?
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| Jesus, followed by Simon Peter and Andrew (Photo credit: Wikipedia) |
The twelve apostles included “Andrew” (Matt. 10:2).
Leading others to Christ should be a top priority in your life. Andrew was Peter’s brother and a native of Bethsaida of Galilee. From the very start we see him leading people to Christ—beginning with his own brother.
The Gospel of John records his first encounter with Jesus: “John [the Baptist] was standing, and two of his disciples [Andrew and John], and he looked upon Jesus as He walked, and said, ‘Behold, the Lamb of God!’ And the two disciples heard him speak, and they followed Jesus. … One of the two who heard John speak, and followed Him, was Andrew, Simon Peter’s brother. He found first his own brother Simon, and said to him, ‘We have found the Messiah’ (which translated means Christ). He brought him to Jesus” (John 1:35–37, 40–42). Later Jesus called both Andrew and Peter to become His disciples, and they immediately left their fishing nets to follow Him (Matt. 4:20).
Our next glimpse of Andrew is in John 6:8–9. It was late in the day, and thousands of people who were following Jesus were beginning to get hungry, but there wasn’t enough food to feed them. Then Andrew brought to Jesus a young boy with five barley loaves and two fish. From that small lunch Jesus created enough food to feed the entire crowd!
Andrew also appears in John 12:20–22, which tells of some Greeks who were traveling to Jerusalem to celebrate the Passover feast. They came to Philip and requested to see Jesus. Philip took them to Andrew, who apparently took them to Jesus.
Andrew didn’t always know how Jesus would deal with a particular person or situation, but he kept right on bringing them to Him anyway. That’s a characteristic every believer should have. Your spiritual gifts might differ from others, but your common goal is to make disciples (Matt. 28:19–20), and that begins with leading sinners to Christ. Make that your priority today!
When was the last time you told an unbeliever about Jesus? Pray for an opportunity to do so soon. Do you know how to present the gospel clearly and accurately? As a review read Romans 3:19–28, 1 Corinthians 15:1–8, Ephesians 2:8–10, and Titus 3:4–7.
