Page 4 - September 2024 - Truth & Tidings

The Man He Was his brother Simon (Mar 1:29). The long
Andrew is mentioned only 12 times days and arduous labor that a successful
fishing business required did not hinder
in the New Testament, compared to 156 Andrew’s growing interest in spiritual
times for Peter. When he is referred to, it matters. Whether it was the influence of
is often with the qualifier “Simon Peter’s his upbringing or from his own study of
brother.” Although greatly overshadowed Scripture, he first came to put his faith
by his bold and boisterous brother, in God and then began looking for the
Andrew, when we piece together the few long-awaited personal, spiritual, moral
brief glimpses we do get of him, emerges and national hope of Israel in the coming
as a humble, faithful, even enthusiastic Messiah. Andrew may have been one of
follower of Christ. (I would like to think those early believers referred to by the
that when the “Who is the greatest?” Lord Jesus when praying to His Father:
skirmish broke out among the disciples, “Thine they were, and thou gavest them
Andrew was not involved – Luke 22:24). me” (Joh 17:6 KJV).
Our first impression of Andrew comes
in considering the interesting meaning The Message He Heard
and origin of his name. Andrew means As a young man, Andrew’s faith was
“manly,” or “valorous,” and surprisingly, forged and deepened by a fiery preacher
it is a Greek name. While his family was named John, whom he had heard about
Hebrew to the core, Andrew’s parents and who was baptizing down in Bethany
chose to give him a Greek name (evidence of Judea by the Jordan River. His direct
perhaps of one of the many lasting message about the need for repentance
influences of Hellenistic [Greek] culture and the soon arrival of the Savior caught
on Jewish society in the first century), Andrew’s attention to such an extent that
which turned out to perfectly fit the he was baptized by John and became
character of their son. His name would his disciple. On one unforgettable day,
also one day prove helpful in bringing walking along the banks of the Jordan,
Greeks to Christ. Likely a single man, Andrew heard a message from John that
Andrew showed himself to be manly would change his life forever: “Behold,
indeed, not just in a rugged, physical and the Lamb of God, who takes away the
earthly sense, but in the godly manner sin of the world!” (Joh 1:29 ESV). With
God intended a man to be and live. this astounding title and statement, John
Life for Andrew began in the household singled out the Lord Jesus as the God-sent
of his father Jonah in Bethsaida, where sacrifice for sin and, stunningly, not for
he would, in time, take up the common, the Jews alone but for the whole world.
practical work of a fisherman on the Andrew left John and became, along with
Sea of Galilee. Later, he would share a his friend John, the son of Zebedee, one of
home and business in Capernaum with the first followers of Christ.

260 TRUTH kTidings September 2024