CHURCH 11 - Spiritual Leadership NT: Andrew

Andrew's family background

Andrew is the brother of Simeon or Simon Peter. Andrew in Greek means ‘manly’.
His father’s name was Jonah (Mth 16:17) or John (Jhn 1:42, 21:17).
He have no record whether he was married, we only know he had minimum one sister-in-law, Peter’s wife. There is no mention of any children, but likely they had.
He was a native of Bethsaida, a Greek city in the area of Gaulanitis on the shores of the sea of Galilee (Jhn 1:44). He also had a home in Capernaum in the area of Galilee, also on the shore of the sea of Galilee (Mrk 1:29). Either he or his family had two homes, or he moved from Bethsaida to Capernaum.
Andrew would have spoke with the same Galilean accent his brother also spoke with (Mrk 14:70). He would have been like his brother a common man, not trained in the law (Acts 4:13). As a good Jewish boy he would have definitely learned how to read and write, though. Since Galilee had quite a non-Jewish population, Andrew may have known some basic Greek.
He was a fisherman like his brother (Mrk 1:16), though there is no mention of him being a partner to Zebedee and his sons James and John like Peter (Luk 5:10)

Andrew's pursuit of John the Baptist and whom John indicates

Andrew listens to John the Baptist’s preaching and becomes one of his followers. He seems to have been close to John the Baptist (Jhn 1:35).
This seems to indicate that Andrew is probably the most open one, the most searching one, the most desperate one among the disciples’ first group.
He perceives truth in what John says. He becomes a follower, probably meaning a closer connection to John than somebody just coming for baptism once.
Andrew hears John preach about ‘one to come’ (Jhn 1:30), one whose sandals he is not worthy to untie (Jhn 1:27), the one for whom the voice in the desert is crying (Jhn 1:23), the one who will baptize with fire, not water (Mth 3:11).

Jhn 1:35-36 “The next day John again was standing with two of his disciples, 36 and as he watched Jesus weak by, he exclaimed, “Look, here is the Lamb of God!”

It seems Andrew is not there at the actual baptism of Jesus (otherwise he might have followed him straight away).
Maybe it is only now on the next day that he hears John speak again about the amazing events of yesterday and the declarations John made about Jesus yesterday ‘Here is the Lamb of Go who takes away the sin of the world!’ (Jhn 1:29) and ‘I myself have seen and have testified that this is the Son of God.” (Jhn 1:34).
Or possibly Andrew was there and heard and saw it all, but might have been wanting to talk things over with John or be released by him.
However that was, when on the 2nd day Jesus walks by, John selflessly points his two disciples on to Jesus, repeating yesterday’s announcement anew “Look, here is the Lamb of God!” (Jhn 1:36), they both follow Jesus straight away.

Jhn 1:37-38 The two disciples heard him say this, and they followed Jesus. 38 When Jesus turned and saw them following, he said to them, “What are you looking for?” they said to him, “Rabbi” (which translated means Teacher) “where are you staying?”

To ask where Jesus is staying is simply a way of inquiring how to find Jesus again, since itinerary preachers tend to move around. Andrew first wants to bring the momentous news to his brother and his friends. Also he might want to get back with John the Baptist to talk things over or to take leave of him.

Jhn 1:39 He said to them, “Come and see.” They came and saw where he was staying, and they remained with him that day. It was about four o’clock in the afternoon.

Jesus’ answer is an invitation to ongoing relationship, itinerant Jesus makes himself findable, also after going away and giving news to others. It’s a practical matter.
Jesus’ answer in Jewish culture is also an invitation to a long-term relationship, to a Rabbi-disciple sort of relationship (as other Rabbis also had).
‘Come and see’ is Jesus inviting them into his life, to see, hear, to co-live, to experience everything. This is very different then our 9am to 5 pm ministry time; or from our formal theology classes. It is an invitation to share life with all that means. No aloof leadership. No reserved leadership. It’s live and learn. It’s learning by osmosis.

Jhn 1:40-41 One of the two who heard John speak and followed him was Andrew, Simon Peter’s brother. 41 He first found his brother Simon and said to him, “We have found the Messiah” (which is translated the Anointed).

Andrew immediately finds his brother Simeon to bring him to Jesus. He is excited, decisive, not to be deterred. Based on John’s announcement, whom he trusts, he declares in a wild upfront conclusion that they (who is the other?) found the Messiah.
This fast and momentous conclusion is somewhat in contrast to Jesus’ slow invitation to share life and check him out. Before Jesus will let anything like that (his being the Messiah) slip out of his mouth he will invest years of discipleship and teaching as to what that means.
Andrew uses his closest relationships naturally and (in the emotion of the moment) a bit forcefully to point people to Jesus.

Jhn 1:42 He brought Simon to Jesus, who looked at him and said, “you are Simon son of John. You are to be called Cephas” (which is translated Peter).

Andrew is affirmed in his ‘dragging’ Peter to Jesus when Jesus addresses Peter with a vision and a prophecy that will change his life.
Does Andrew mind that Peter gets the more ‘special’ reception? Is he just happy they are in this together? Does that not matter in comparison with what is happening?
Andrew seems to have no inhibition here, no shame and no pride. He shares, he thinks others must hear this. He is successful in connecting people.
This was probably at the very beginning of Jesus’ Galilean ministry, before John the Baptist was arrested.

Andrew's call

After John the Baptist’s arrest, Peter and Andrew are fishing in Galilee, when Jesus calls them to follow him and become fishers of men (Mt 4:18, Mk 1:17).

Mrk 1:16-20 As Jesus passed along the Sea of Galilee, he saw Simon and his brother Andrew casting a net into the sea-for they were fishermen. 17 And Jesus said to them, ‘Follow me and I will make you fish for people.” 18 And immediately they left their nets and followed him. 19 As he went a little farther, he saw James son of Zebedee and his brother John … 20 immediately he called them’ and they left their father Zebedee in the boat with the hired men, and followed him.”

Jesus ‘officially’ calls Peter and Andrew (names are now in this sequence!), probably after the earlier encounter.
What happened in the meantime? Were Peter and Andrew eagerly hoping for a clear calling like that? Or was it a renewal of an excitement that had diminished some after the initial encounter? Or is it a signal from Jesus’ side that things are starting in earnest now? Or is it something Jesus feels the two need, though they are already orbiting around him?
Luke mentions more details of the events around Jesus’ call: Jesus teaches the people on the shore from Peter’s boat. Then Jesus tells them to fish again after they had a fruitless night, resulting in a a huge number of fish being caught (Luk 5:1-11).
The two pairs of brothers definitely know each other. Some say they are cousins and that James & John’s mother was Mary’s sister or cousin, based on a comparison of listings of women at the cross in Mth 27:52 and Jhn 19:25. But this is not conclusive.
Jesus clearly calls them as pairs of brothers, and he clearly calls them together. Later in the lists of apostles they will always be mentioned in this formation as well.
How would it have been for both families to have 2 sons each depart like this? Is this a great disaster for the families? Or a sacrifice they are prepared to make? Is seems that Zebedee had employees as well, a little business, maybe he is not too bad off? Or were the parents equally excited and proud for their sons to travel with Jesus? Probably there were mixed feelings, especially when things clarify further as to what all this will mean; like Mary, having to come to terms with her son.

Mrk 1:21-32 They went to Capernaum; and when the Sabbath came, he entered the synagogue and taught. 22 They were astounded at the teaching, for he taught them as one having authority, and not as the scribes. Just then there was in their synagogue a man with an unclean spirit …. 25 but Jesus rebuked him … 26 And the unclean spirit … came out him. 27 They were all amazed and they kept on asking one another, “What is this? A new teaching – with authority! He commands even the unclean spirits, and they obey him” 28 At once his fame began to spread throughout the surrounding region of Galilee. 29 As soon as they left the synagogue, they entered the house of Simon and Andrews, with James and John. 30 Now Simon’s mother-in-law was in bed with a fever … 32 That evening , at sundown , they brought to him all who were sick. …

Within shortest time, the newly called disciples find themselves in the middle of exciting events: a new teaching, with authority, miraculous deliverance of a demon-possessed man, the awe of people and Jesus’ fame spreading. It must have been exhilarating, breath-taking, a moment to be proud of, a time to be thankful to be part.
But it is also from the very first moment a minefield: the healing is on a Sabbath, the people only dare to come after sundown, though Jesus heals Simon’s mother-in-law still during the Sabbath.
Equally the families find themselves catapulted into limelight, their house is where Jesus goes after the synagogue, with rumors running wild. At their house he performs another miracle, the house after sundown is awash with patients and seekers.
These two families are in it, whether they will always like it as much as now – or not.

Andrew during ministry of Jesus

Not many details are known about Andrew. Jesus chooses him as one of the twelve apostles (Mth 10:2, Mrk 3:18, Luk 6:14, Acts 1:13).
Matthew’s sequence is: Simon and brother Andrew, James and brother John, …
Mark’s sequence is: Simon, James and brother John, and Andrew, …
Luke’s sequence is: Simon and brother Andrew, James and John, …
In Acts Luke’s sequence is: Simon, James and brother John, and Andrew
All the lists indicate that Jesus had them generally paired up into twos. But in Mark this is overthrown in favor of the ‘inner circle of three’.
How would Andrew have felt not to be part of that? He had been the initiator for them all, it seems. He had been the disciple already of John the Baptist. Or was he happy to ‘have gotten them in’?
Actually in at least one situation we will find them as the four drawing near to Jesus for a private explanation of the just mentioned destruction of Jerusalem prophecy:

Mrk 13:3-4 When he was sitting on the Mount of Olives opposite the temple, Peter, James, John and Andrew asked him privately, 4 Tell us, when will this be, and what will be the sign that all these things are about to be accomplished?

Whether or not Andrew sometimes felt ‘outside’ of the ‘inner circle’, his attitude remains very attractive: he is inviting, engaging, relationally bringing people to Jesus.

Jhn 6:2-5 A large crows kept following him … 5 Jesus said to Philip, “where are we to buy bread for these people to eat? 6 He aid this to test him, for he himself knew what he was going to do. 7 Philip answered him, “Six months’ wages would not buy enough bread for each of them to get a little.” 8 One of his disciples, Andrew, Simon Peter’s brother, said to him, 9 “There is a boy here who has five barley loaves and two fish, but what are they among so many people?”

Jesus, welcoming crowds in a deserted place because he had compassion on them, is well aware that they will run into a time or food problem.
In Mth 14:15, Luk 9:12 and Mrk 6:35-36 it is the disciples that come to Jesus with the suggestion to urgently send the people away, so they may get food somewhere nearby.
In Jhn 6:5 it is Jesus who alerts Philip to the fact that a problem is occurring.
Probably both accounts are true and parallel, and happen over the same short time: Having been busy, the disciples are getting hungry themselves. They are noticing lots of people who are also getting hungry and little food to go around. Time is advancing and no solution is in sight.
Maybe Philip is the one least aware, maybe he is too busy with people or too excited about the healings, so Jesus brings the issue home to him.
Andrew, maybe as the last one, understands the need. But not only that, he has looked around, surveyed what is available, found a boy, befriended him, convinced him to offer up his food, brought him along, all not really knowing where to go with it.

What amazes again is Andrew’s friendly, natural, trusting connection with people. This boy may well not have flaunted his possessions in such a situation, or he may have because he was too young to see the problem. Whichever way, Andrew has befriended him, got him to trust him, and is introducing the boy to Jesus.
It is thinkable that others were ‘keeping some food out of sight’, especially as the crisis was deepening, so that it wouldn’t come into common knowledge. They would have had less fun and more conviction when eating the miraculous food!

Jhn 12:20-23 “Now among those who went up to worship at the festival were some Greeks, 21 They came to Philip, who was from Bethsaida in Galilee, and said to him, “Sir, we wish to see Jesus.” 22 Philip went and told Andrew; then Andrew and Philip went and told Jesus. 23 Jesus answered them, “The hour has come for the Son of Man to be glorified.”

It turn out one more disciple, Philip, is from Bethsaida. Maybe another recruit of Andrew?
Bethsaida, and most of Galilee had mixed populations and therefore also Greek speakers. Philip, maybe because of his Greek name, or maybe because he spoke more Greek than the other disciples, is addressed by some Greek-speaking Jews who have come to the Passover festival in Jerusalem and wish to see Jesus. This is the last week of Jesus’ earthly life.
But Philip, having picked up this request, shares it first with Andrew, and then – probably with the encouragement of Andrew – they both share it with Jesus and presumably introduce these people to Jesus.
Jesus then makes some very momentous comments about this event of the Greek speakers seeking him out. He links it to ‘the hour has come’, to the wheat having to die to bring fruit (Jhn 12:24), to being troubled by the suffering to come (Jhn 12:27), to a surrender to God’s will similar to Gethsemane “Father glorify your name” (Jhn 12:27).
This is all so important, it occasions God the Father’s voice to be heard from heaven for the third time (besides at the baptism and the transfiguration): “I have glorified it, and I will glorify it again.” (Jhn 1:28).
Whatever the full meaning Jesus’ words and links are, and whatever Jesus ended up communicated with the Greeks (no mention), Andrew finds himself again – by simply being welcoming, non-threatening, friendly and helpful – in the thick of things.

Andrews later life and death

Acts doesn’t give any details on Andrew’s ministry.
Church historian Eusebius in his “Church history” quotes church father Origen as saying that Andrew preached in Scythia (today’s Georgia, Russia, Ukraine).
The “Chronicle of Nestor” adds that he preached along the Black Sea and the Dnjeper river as far as Kiev, and from there he traveled to Novgorod (today’s Russia, Ukraine)
Hippolytus of Rome says Andrew preached in Thrace (today an area in Bulgaria, Greece and Turkey).
The apocryphal “Acts of Andrew (2nd century AD) mention him in Byzantinum.
Basil of Seleucia mentions Andrew’s ministry to Thrace, Scythia and Achaia (today’s Greece).
There are legends of Andrew in Georgia, Cyprus, Malta, Romania and Scotland. Because of his ministry in these areas he became the patron saint of the Ukraine, Romania and Russia.
Tradition has Andrew martyred by crucifixion (X shaped cross) in the city of Patras in Achaia, the northern coast of the Pelopones.
The “Acts of Andrew”, known to Gergory of Tours, describe Andrew’s death as a martyr in Patras bound (not nailed) to a cross. Some traditions mention a Latin cross (like Jesus), others a X-shaped cross. Some traditions say he survived 3 days on the cross.

Andrew’s relics are kept in a variety of palces. First in the the Basilica of St. Andrew in Patras, Greece. Some were transferred to the Church of the Holy Apostles in Constantinople.
When Constantinople was sacked in 1208 AD the bones were moved to the Dome of Sant’Andrea in Amalfi, Italy to protect them from the Muslim invasion.
In 1461 AD, when the Ottomans crossed the Strait of Corinth, the skull of St. Andrew was moved from Patrs and given to Pope Pius II, who enshrined it in the Vatican.
The St. Mary’s Roman Catholic Cathedral (Edinburgh, Scotland), the Church of St. Andrew and St. Albert (Warsaw, Poland) and several other churches claim to have relics of St. Andrew.

Summary

It is amazing that every single time Andrew is mentioned (except in the lists of the twelve), he is busy introducing somebody to Jesus!
Andrew seems to have been an eager, motivated, responsive, inquisitive, friendly, non-threatening, attractive, easily involving, relationship-orientated, connected sort of person; naturally engaging and recruiting others, constantly reaching out.
He seems so different from other leaders (Barnabas, Paul, Titus, Timothy, etc.) and also very different from his brother Peter. But Andrew’s personality and gifting is used powerfully and effectively by God.
Welcome the welcomers!

CHURCH 11 – Spiritual Leadership NT: Andrew