Andrew—the Overshadowed Disciple

Many of you enjoy the writing of Irma Bombeck. She writes a lighthearted humor column which is syndicated in hundreds of newspapers. She is also the author of several books with titles like “If Life is a Bowl of Cherries, Then Why Am I in the Pits?”

Well several years ago a friend of mine was working on his doctorate at the University of Arizona. In one of the classes he was attending, he happened to find himself sitting beside a guy named Bill. Over the course of the term, he and Bill became friends.

One day, after class, Bill and my friend were leaving the university together. Bill’s wife was waiting to pick him up and as they went over to the car, Bill Bombeck introduced my friend to his wife Irma. That’s right—THE Irma Bombeck. Up until that moment, my friend had no idea that Bill was married to someone so famous.

But from that moment on, my friend lost no time in introducing all his acquaintances to Bill Bombeck. And the introductions always went something like this: “Joe, I’d like to introduce you to my friend Bill Bombeck—IRMA BOMBECK’S HUSBAND. Poor Bill Bombeck knows what it is to be overshadowed by someone more famous.

The same is true of Andrew, one of Jesus’ twelve disciples. Andrew was Simon Peter’s brother, and that’s exactly how we remember him—as the brother of someone more famous.

Andrew’s name is mentioned 12 times in the NT, and almost every time he is introduced as “Andrew—Simon Peter’s brother”. How would you like to go through life like that?

By contrast, Peter’s name appears 174 times in the NT. In every list of the apostles, Peter’s name is listed first. Whenever the disciples were together, Peter was the spokesman. When they were out in the boat in the middle of the lake and Jesus came walking on the water, Peter was the one who jumped out of the boat.

In the Garden of Gethsemane, when the soldiers came to arrest Jesus, Peter was the one who pulled out his sword and tried to defend him. And on the day of Pentecost, Peter was the one who preached the sermon at which 3,000 people were saved.

Peter was a natural leader—one of those people who are larger than life. He cast a big shadow, and Andrew often found himself in that shadow.

But Peter never would have come to know Jesus were it not for his brother Andrew. Turn to John 1.

John 1:35 The next day John was there again with two of his disciples. When he saw Jesus passing by, he said, “Look, the Lamb of God!” When the two disciples heard him say this, they followed Jesus.

Turning around, Jesus saw them following and asked, “What do you want?” They said, “Rabbi” (which means Teacher), “where are you staying?” “Come,” he replied, “and you will see.” So they went and saw where he was staying, and spent that day with him. It was about the tenth hour.

Andrew, SIMON PETER’S BROTHER, was one of the two who heard what John had said and who had followed Jesus. The first thing Andrew did was to find his brother Simon and tell him, “We have found the Messiah” (that is, the Christ). And he brought him to Jesus.

Andrew cared enough about his brother to want to introduce him to Jesus. Think about that for a minute.

We all know about sibling rivalry. (In fact, one of these days we’re going to show you parents a couple of videos that will help you to deal with sibling rivalry.)

I’m sure that by this time in his life, Andrew already knew what it felt like to be overshadowed by his big brother. Peter was probably a better fisherman than he was. Peter could probably row a boat stronger than he could. Peter was always there to do it bigger and better. And there may have been some occasion for envy or jealousy in Andrew’s heart.

And when Andrew met Jesus, he might have been tempted to say “Forget Peter. This is something just for me. Something that I can do on my own without having him horn in on my territory.” But that’s not the reaction we see in Andrew, is it? There was no bitterness in his heart toward his brother. He went and found him and brought him to Jesus.

Andrew was the first disciple to follow Jesus. He was the first disciple to introduce someone else to Jesus. But he was never going to be first in recognition. His name was never going to be first on the list. Did that matter to him? No. Because he cared about people. Andrew was a people person, and he wanted to bring people to Jesus.

Turn over to John 6. This is the story of the feeding of the five thousand.

John 6:1-9 Some time after this, Jesus crossed to the far shore of the Sea of Galilee (that is, the Sea of Tiberias), and a great crowd of people followed him because they saw the miraculous signs he had performed on the sick. Then Jesus went up on a mountainside and sat down with his disciples. The Jewish Passover Feast was near.

When Jesus looked up and saw a great crowd coming toward him, he said to Philip, “Where shall we buy bread for these people to eat?” He asked this only to test him, for he already had in mind what he was going to do. Philip answered him, “Eight months’ wages would not buy enough bread for each one to have a bite!”

Another of his disciples, Andrew, SIMON PETER’S BROTHER, spoke up, “Here is a boy with five small barley loaves and two small fish, but how far will they go among so many?”

Let’s stop there. You know the end of the story. What I want you to notice is that while the other disciples were wringing their hands and scratching their heads about how to feed this great multitude, Andrew was making friends with a little boy.

Andrew was the kind of man who had time for kids. The other disciples weren’t. Remember, there was a time that they tried to chase the kids away from Jesus? I don’t think that was Andrew’s doing.

Picture the scene here in John 6. The other disciples are having a high-level pow-wow about how they’re going to feed this crowd before there’s a riot. Philip’s got his pocket calculator out and he’s trying to figure out how many month’s wages this is going to cost.

Meanwhile, Andrew—the overshadowed disciple—is standing on the fringe of the group with his hands in his pockets. He’s not paying too much attention, because he’s busy looking at the people. He happens to notice a little boy carrying something.

“Hi there. My name’s Andrew. Whatcha got in the bag?” he asks. “Oh just some bread and fish that my Mom packed for lunch.” Andrew laughs out loud “Tuna sandwiches! You lucky dog! I love tuna sandwiches!”

Something about Andrew’s friendly smile and down-to-earth manner makes the little boy reply “Well, if you’re real hungry, Mister Andrew, you could have my lunch.”

“Well, that’s real nice of you son.” Andrew says, “But I’ve got a better idea. I want you to meet a friend of mine who’s really someone special. And maybe if you give your lunch to him, we’ll all get tuna sandwiches. C’mon with me.”

So Andrew takes the boy by the hand, and pushes his way through the disciples toward Jesus. “Hey Andy, get out of here with that kid.” growls Simon the Zealot. “We’ve got to come up with some food for this mob or we’re gonna have a riot on our hands.”

But Andrew ignores him and goes up to Jesus and says “Here is a boy with five small barley loaves and two small fish…” And that was the key to the whole story. And it never would have happened without Andrew. The moment that Andrew made friends with that little boy and brought him to Jesus, lunch was on the way.

There’s another episode that tells us about Andrew. It’s found in John 12.

John 12:20 Now there were some Greeks among those who went up to worship at the Feast. They came to Philip, who was from Bethsaida in Galilee, with a request. “Sir,” they said, “we would like to see Jesus.” Philip went to tell Andrew; Andrew and Philip in turn told Jesus.

This happened on the Monday of the week that Jesus was crucified. The day before, you remember, was Palm Sunday. Jesus had entered the city of Jerusalem to a tumultuous welcome. He had gone to the Temple, looked around, then departed for Bethany to spend the night.

The next morning, Monday, Jesus comes back into the city. On the way, he sees a fig tree in full leaf. Now when a fig tree is in full leaf, it also has fruit. But this particular fig tree had no fruit, even though it was in full leaf. So Jesus cursed it—the only destructive, judgmental miracle he ever did. And it had a symbolic meaning.

That fig tree was a symbol of the nation Israel. Even though Israel had made a great show of being religious—she had all the “leaves” of devotion to God, she didn’t have any “fruit”. Instead of being a herald to the Gentile nations of the goodness and love of God, Israel shut the Gentiles out. Treated them like dogs. Put barriers in the way of the Gentiles ever coming to know God.

And when Jesus went into the Temple that Monday, he saw that graphically illustrated. The Court of the Gentiles was the farthest place that Gentiles could go into the Temple. And the Court of the Gentiles was a mess.

There were merchants buying and selling their goods there. Selling sacrificial animals at double and triple the fair price. There were moneychangers charging the people exorbitant amounts to change their money into the special Temple currency. The priests and the Levites were making a killing off this sort of trade, and it came at the expense of the Gentiles.

And Jesus took a whip and he drove them all out. Knocked over their tables and scattered their money.

And it was on that day, a day of judgment on Israel for the way she had excluded the Gentiles, that some Greeks saying “We want to see Jesus”. They came to Philip, probably because Philip was a common Greek name. But Philip didn’t really know what to do with them. So, it says in verse 22, Philip went to Andrew.

He didn’t go to Peter, or James, or John. He went to Andrew. Because he knew that Andrew would know what to do. And Andrew did what he did best—he took them all to Jesus.

Andrew was a people person. He was always bringing people to Jesus. And because he himself knew what it was like to live in the shadows of someone more famous, he had an eye for the unnoticed, the unwanted, the unlovely.

The little boy that no one else had time for. The Gentiles that the Jews had no use for. The big brother who could be so overbearing at times. Andrew brought them all to Jesus.

How can you and I learn to be like Andrew? There are four things that we can do.

1. Look around.

Take some time to look around and really see the people that God has brought into your life. People who need Jesus. And ask God to help you see them the way Andrew would see them—as people who are worth talking to. Worth getting to know. Worth befriending. See every person, no matter how unlovely, as a precious creation of God.

Learn that person’s name and use it. It’s a way of saying “Hey, you’re significant. You’re unique.”

I get over to the Lehigh Valley Hospital alot. And every time I go in, I go to the receptionist’s desk to get the room numbers of the patients I’m going to visit. That receptionist talks to hundreds of people every day. And the conversation is always short and to the point.

The other day, I noticed that she had a name plate on her desk. Betty Ritter. So when she gave me the names and numbers I wanted, I smiled at her and said “Thanks Betty, you’re really doing a great job.” And she smiled and kind of lit up. I wonder how many people treat her like a real person?

2. Look up

As you start to really see these people, start to pray for them. Pray for them by name. Get together with other believers and pray specifically for the people that God has laid on your heart. Don’t just pray in general terms “Lord, help me to be a witness.” Pray specifically for the people that God has brought into your life. Pray that God would lead you into a deeper and more meaningful relationship with them.

3. Look out

Look out for ways to love them. Look out for opportunities to build bridges of friendship to them. Ask yourself “What is something that I do for them that I would really appreciate if someone were to do for me?” Have them over. Do stuff with them. Barbecues and ball games, block parties and birthdays are the raw materials that God uses to build his kingdom.

Be kind to them. Be caring toward them. Love them for Jesus’ sake.

4. Look forward

Look forward to the day when that person will come to know Jesus. Just keep on believing.