Then Andrew, Simon Peter's brother, spoke up. "There's a young boy here with five barley loaves and two fish. But what good is that with this huge crowd?" John 6:8-9
There are some very unique things about Andrew, the disciple of Jesus. When the authors of the Gospels mention him, it is usually as the brother of Peter. The other unique thing is that he is often framed as a person who brought people to Jesus. He brought his own brother to Jesus and then he brought this young boy with five barley loaves and two fish to Him. Andrew is not recognized for anything other in the Bible than his ability to bring people to Jesus at the right time.
While Andrew's recognition for bringing people to Jesus seems simple, isn't that also what we want to be recognized for as followers of Christ? We want to be recognized not for building our own kingdom or becoming the center of our own universe, but for being people who lifted up God's name. We can do this by following the example of Andrew. He often saw the needs of others and considered how they might be a part of God's master plan, and, in turn, he brought them to Jesus. This begins with his brother, Peter, and then, later in the book of John, Andrew brings this young boy to Jesus. At this time, Jesus is teaching a hungry crowd by the Sea of Galilee. Seeing a need, Andrew brings this boy to Jesus who has a lunch consisting of five loaves of bread and two pieces of fish. It seems ridiculous at first because 5,000 hungry people sitting by the Sea of Galilee, and there is only one lunch to share. Even though it didn't make sense, Andrew still brought the boy to Jesus. Through this story, we see that God honored Andrew's obedience and fed the entire crowd, giving them more food than they were even able to eat. Andrew's humble strength of bringing people to Jesus at the right time changed the course of the church.
Do you ever think about the fact that, by bringing people to Jesus, God might change the world through you? What if that critical conversation about Jesus you have with the man on the bus stop has the power to save a marriage, family, a job, or so much more? What if your neighbor, who is battling cancer finds hope in Jesus and peace when they are passing because you took the time to bring them to Jesus? What if that young child you shared Jesus with in Kids Planet grows to be a pastor, reaching thousands of more people? Never underestimate the power of one life to make a difference. God is always up to something big under the surface. Will you be faithful to follow the example of Andrew and bring people to Jesus?
The easiest way to bring someone to Jesus is to invite them to one of our worship services. We have had you over the last few weeks pray over five individuals who are far from God. Take a look at your list today. If you haven't made a list, make one and choose one person to invite to church this coming weekend. Follow the example of Andrew and be faithful to bring that person to Jesus. We promise that if you take this step, God will use the weekend to help them to be introduced to Jesus.
After this, Jesus crossed over to the far side of the Sea of Galilee, also known as the Sea of Tiberias. A huge crowd kept following him wherever he went, because they saw his miraculous signs as he healed the sick. Then Jesus climbed a hill and sat down with his disciples around him. (It was nearly time for the Jewish Passover celebration.) Jesus soon saw a huge crowd of people coming to look for him. Turning to Philip, he asked, “Where can we buy bread to feed all these people?” He was testing Philip, for he already knew what he was going to do.
Philip replied, “Even if we worked for months, we wouldn’t have enough money to feed them!”
Then Andrew, Simon Peter’s brother, spoke up. “There’s a young boy here with five barley loaves and two fish. But what good is that with this huge crowd?”
“Tell everyone to sit down,” Jesus said. So they all sat down on the grassy slopes. (The men alone numbered about 5,000.) Then Jesus took the loaves, gave thanks to God, and distributed them to the people. Afterward he did the same with the fish. And they all ate as much as they wanted. After everyone was full, Jesus told his disciples, “Now gather the leftovers, so that nothing is wasted.” So they picked up the pieces and filled twelve baskets with scraps left by the people who had eaten from the five barley loaves.
When the people saw him do this miraculous sign, they exclaimed, “Surely, he is the Prophet we have been expecting!” When Jesus saw that they were ready to force him to be their king, he slipped away into the hills by himself.
