The Ministry of Introduction
Theme: Jesus wants to use us to introduce people to Him.
Text: John 1:35-42
Here’s a thought: Donald Miller concluded, “... if I do not introduce people to Jesus, then I don’t believe Jesus is an important person. It doesn’t matter what I say.”
Jesus Christ has changed my life forever. Although I can’t pinpoint a specific date, time, and place when I first met Him, He certainly used people to help me get to know Him. Were these people dynamic preachers? Most of them were not; in fact, most of them were quiet, unassuming and ordinary. As I reflect on my life and consider the people who introduced me to Jesus, I can see two common traits that they all shared.
These traits are demonstrated in someone we meet in John 1:35-42:
35 The next day John [the Baptist] was there again with two of his disciples. 36 When he saw Jesus passing by, he said, “Look, the Lamb of God!” 37 When the two disciples heard him say this, they followed Jesus. 38 Turning around, Jesus saw them following and asked, “What do you want?” They said, “Rabbi” (which means Teacher), “where are you staying?” 39 “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. 40 Andrew, Simon Peter’s brother, was one of the two who heard what John had said and who had followed Jesus. 41 The first thing Andrew did was to find his brother Simon and tell him, “We have found the Messiah” (that is, the Christ). 42 And he brought him to Jesus. Jesus looked at him and said, “You are Simon son of John. You will be called Cephas” (which, when translated, is Peter). NIV
Here, we meet a man named Andrew, a Greek name that means “a strong man or manliness,” so named by his father, Jonas or John. Andrew was no wimp - he was a rugged fisherman of Bethsaida at the Sea of Galilee. Andrew, his brother Simon Peter, John and his brother James were fishermen by trade and the sons of two wealthy men who had formed a successful partnership. We don’t know how Andrew and John came to follow John the Baptist, but we can suppose they heard of John’s ministry as they transported fish from Galilee to Jerusalem. The hometown of Andrew and his brother Simon Peter was Bethsaida (John 1:44).
It was a period of hope for the Jews in Israel, and many false messiahs were springing up around the country as they waited impatiently for the promised Messiah who would deliver them from Roman occupation. By the time the false messiahs with their small numbers of followers made their names known in Jerusalem, the nervous Roman government would eliminate the problems quickly to prevent their followings from growing. This was the atmosphere as more people began to follow John the Baptist. False messiahs had come and gone, and hopeful Jews would run from one self-proclaimed messiah to another in hopes of finding the true one that the Lord had sent to save them. As this prophet of God began preparing the way in the wilderness for the Lord, John the Baptist became known throughout the country as the most popular preacher of his time.
Andrew and John became devoted followers of John the Baptist. When they heard his testimony to the Sanhedrin priests, they must have been surprised to hear John the Baptist deny that he was the Messiah and to speak of Jesus of Nazareth with such high regard.
We learn two significant, life-changing lessons from Andrew. To introduce people to Jesus, we must be:
Excited About Jesus
Andrew and John were again with John the Baptist when he saw Jesus of Nazareth walking, and he declared, “Look, the Lamb of God!” When they heard their respected preacher’s declaration and associated it with their knowledge of prophecy concerning the coming Messiah as a “lamb to the slaughter” (Isaiah 53:1-12), they immediately began to follow Jesus. They needed to find out for themselves why their teacher held Jesus in such high regard that he would link Him with this prophecy of the Messiah.
Many Bible teachers believe that Andrew was the first to bring someone to Christ when he “first” found his brother Simon, and that John found James and brought him to Jesus that same day.
After checking out Jesus, they resumed their occupation as fishermen. In due time, Jesus found them and formally called them to follow Him in Matthew 4:18-20:
18 As Jesus was walking beside the Sea of Galilee, he saw two brothers, Simon called Peter and his brother Andrew. They were casting a net into the lake, for they were fishermen. 19 “Come, follow me,” Jesus said, “and I will make you fishers of men.” 20 At once they left their nets and followed him. NIV
The first step to becoming a fisher of men, women, boys and girls is to follow Jesus. While we have often made evangelism and discipleship a guilt-burdened, duty-filled strategy or formula with specific steps to follow, it is first and foremost a relationship with the Lord that radically transforms our hearts. It comes down to this: those who follow Jesus become fishers of men, and those who do not follow Jesus pursue other interests.
Being a new preacher to an aging congregation, the pastor told them he would serve them prune juice in Communion. When asked why he would dare entertain such a thought, he explained, “If the Holy Spirit won’t move you ... the prune juice will!”
Donald Miller concluded (in “Blue Like Jazz”), “... if I do not introduce people to Jesus, then I don’t believe Jesus is an important person. It doesn’t matter what I say.”
Andrew did not have a dynamic personality like his brother Peter. Very few people have such charisma. However, Andrew had a trait that made him an example everyone can follow. He had a simple, earnest determination in carrying out what he knew in his heart to do. Although Andrew apparently did not have the public profile of Peter, he was as passionate as anyone in winning souls to Jesus one-on-one.
Jesus pointed out in Matthew 6:21, “For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.”
What or who are you most excited about? This question is answered in what or who dominates your thoughts, words, time, energy and money.
How would you describe your relationship with Jesus? Is it cold, lukewarm or hot? Please talk to Him about it.
To introduce people to Jesus, we must be:
Excited About Jesus
and
Connected With People
The Bible tells us very little about Andrew. He was in on some private conversations that Jesus had with the disciples (such as John 6:8 and 12:22), and with Peter, James, and John when they inquired of our Lord privately regarding His future coming (Mark 13:3). He was at the feeding of the five thousand (John 6:9). He introduced the Greeks who desired to see Jesus (John 12:22). Still, we don’t know much about him beyond this point. It is noteworthy that the Gospels record Andrew bringing others to Christ three times: Peter, the boy with the loaves that were used to feed more than 5,000 people, and certain Greeks. Andrew loved Jesus and enjoyed introducing others to Him.
Andrew is listed among the twelve apostles, and all these lists name Andrew among the first four (Matthew 10:2-4; Mark 3:16-19; Luke 6:14-16; and Acts 1:13). I get the feeling that Andrew lived in the shadow of his brother Peter – and the wording in lists of the apostles reinforces this impression. Andrew seems to be a quieter personality than Peter, but this certainly did not disqualify him from being used by the Lord. Andrew is an unsung hero of the Bible!
In an age when people strive to be noticed and to leave their mark, the anonymous author of “Embracing Obscurity” observes:
The thought of being just another of the roughly one hundred billion people to have ever graced this planet offends us - whether we realize it or not.
You might not have known this about John Newton, who wrote in the first draft of his great hymn while his brother napped in a comfortable chair in the other room:
Amazing Grace,
how sweet the sound,
that saved a wretch
like my brother despite the fact
he never helps with the dishes.
Ever.
So well-known was his love for souls that when certain Greeks wanted to see Jesus, Philip (whose name also is Greek, and who, like Andrew, when called, in turn called Nathanael) brought them to Andrew. Andrew had his faults, too - he shared in the disciples’ unbelief when Jesus tested their faith in John 6:5, “Where shall we buy bread for these (5,000 plus) people to eat?” Andrew answered, “There is a boy here that has five barley loaves and two small fish, but what are they among so many?” Even here, he suggests a small supply, but with an imperfect faith.
There are various traditions about Andrew. Eusebius (a Roman historian) records him as preaching, after Christ’s return to heaven, in Scythia, the region north of the Black Sea. For this reason, he became the patron saint of Russia. He is also considered the patron saint of Scotland.
Jerome (a Latin historian who lived from 347 to 420) and Theodoret (a prominent bishop who lived from 393 to 466) record Andrew as preaching in Achaia (Greece) and Nicephorus in Asia Minor and Thrace. It is supposed that he planted a church in Constantinople and ordained Stachys, named by Paul as its first bishop (whom Paul greets in Romans 16:9). Some ancient writers speak of an apocryphal (extra-biblical) book called “Acts of Andrew”.
Tradition says that Andrew eventually came to Patrae, a city of Achaia. Here, Aegeas, the proconsul or leader, was enraged that he persisted in preaching and commanded him to join in sacrificing to the heathen gods. Andrew refused, so the proconsul ordered him to be severely scourged and then crucified. To make his death more lingering, he was fastened to the cross, not with nails, but with cords. Having hung there two days, praising God and exhorting the spectators to become followers of Jesus, he is said to have died on November 30th, but we aren’t sure what year. Tradition says that Andrew believed himself unworthy to be crucified on a cross like that of Christ. His cross is described as X-shaped, known as Crux decussata, and commonly referred to as “St. Andrew’s cross”. This shape on a sky-blue background appears on the flag of Scotland.
You and I can be excited about Jesus, but without connections with people, we cannot and will not introduce them to Him. In a culture that has grown suspicious and skeptical, these relational bridges are essential for the Good News to be shared successfully.
It is with this missionary heart that Paul writes 2 Corinthians 5:16-21:
16 So from now on we regard no one from a worldly point of view. Though we once regarded Christ in this way, we do so no longer. 17 Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come! 18 All this is from God, who reconciled us to himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation: 19 that God was reconciling the world to himself in Christ, not counting men’s sins against them. And he has committed to us the message of reconciliation. 20 We are therefore Christ’s ambassadors, as though God were making his appeal through us. We implore you on Christ’s behalf: Be reconciled to God. NIV
Are there people in your life who don’t know Jesus yet? If yes, are you praying for them and introducing them to our Lord? If no, what will you do to establish such relationships?
Assume for the next few minutes that the population of the world is more than eight billion (it is) and that you are the only follower of Jesus on earth (you aren’t). If you led one other person to the Lord during the next twelve months, and the two of you led two other people to the Lord the following year, etc., how many years would it take (statistically, at least) before everyone in the world would be a follower of Jesus?
The startling fact of multiplication is this: If everyone approached the Great Commission with the attitude, “Each one wins one,” the task might well be completed in not much more than 32 years!
Jesus sent out His disciples two by two, but the job of spreading the gospel occurred one by one: one person with Christ sharing the Good News with one person without Christ. One witness – our witness – is vitally important! Write down the name of someone you know who doesn’t know Jesus and make that person the focus of your praying ... and sharing. This is how the Good News spreads!
To introduce people to Jesus, we must be:
Excited About Jesus
and
Connected With People
Jesus wants to use us to introduce people to Him.
