Becoming the Andrew for Your Peter

Reading the Bible is unlike reading any other book. You can read a passage a million times, and just about every time, the Lord will show you something that you have never seen before. It’s always new and fresh.

A while back, I was reading John 1, a chapter that I’ve read many times before, and when I got to verses 35-42, I was struck by one of those revelations. These verses say:

The next day again John was standing with two of his disciples, and he looked at Jesus as He walked by and said, “Behold, the Lamb of God!” The two disciples heard him say this, and they followed Jesus. 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?” 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. One of the two who heard John speak and followed Jesus was Andrew, Simon Peter's brother. He first found his own brother Simon and said to him, “We have found the Messiah” (which means Christ). He brought him to Jesus. Jesus looked at him and said, “You are Simon the son of John. You shall be called Cephas” (which means Peter). (ESV)

This passage talks about Andrew and another disciple following Jesus, which in and of itself is a beautiful thing because they recognized how important He was. However, this isn’t the part that leaped out at me. Instead, it’s what comes after for Andrew.

Once Andrew realized Who Jesus was, he could have just been content to follow Jesus and soak up every single moment with Him, not thinking about anyone or anything else. But that’s not what he does. He chooses to go get Peter because he wants to share with his brother the treasure that he has found in Jesus.

I spoke with Bro. Aaron Martin, the pastor of Trace Creek Baptist Church in New Johnsonville, Tenn., about the passage in John 1 and asked him several questions about making those in our circle a priority like Andrew did with Peter.

When we think of sharing the Gospel with others, we probably picture going to a foreign country where we don’t speak their language and they’ve never heard the name Jesus. However, sometimes we either forget or ignore the fact that there are people close to us that need Jesus just as much as the people halfway across the world.

As we were talking about this, Bro. Aaron brought up Acts 1:8 where Jesus gives a command to His disciples as He ascends into heaven, saying “‘But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be My witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth’” (ESV).

“Sometimes we focus on that utter ends of the earth,” Bro. Aaron said, “but we can’t neglect the Jerusalem. We can’t neglect the Judea, which is our hometown, which is our family context, which is our everyday context.”

This can be difficult for several different reasons, including fear of rejection or embarrassment. You can’t control how the person that you share the Gospel with is going to react. They might be like Peter and come right away, or they might take a while to be receptive to it, or sadly they might never come to faith. However, even in the unknown of this, it is comforting that all God expects you to do is share the good news, not bring about a miraculous change.

“My advice is don’t get discouraged,” Bro. Aaron said, “because you can’t change people. You’re just called to cast Gospel seed. That’s what you’re called to do, and pray for them. Bathe it in prayer.”

John 1 is one of the only places in Scripture that Andrew has a significant role to play in the narrative. Even though he was Peter’s brother, he wasn’t in the inner circle of disciples, which consisted of Peter, James, and John. However, Peter, who was a giant in the faith, might never have come to know Jesus if it hadn’t been for Andrew. I think it provides a great example for us because God might be choosing to use us to plant the seed in our own Peter, and if we can’t even attempt to share with those closest to us, then how can we think about sharing with anyone else.

“God had Peter’s conversion laid out,” Bro Aaron said. “And it took Andrew, and it may take you.”

*For those that want to hear my whole conversation with Bro. Aaron, I have attached the audio file below!