Invitational Evangelism
John 1: 35 – 42.
Introduction
I
have always had a special interest in the Apostle named Andrew. I have always wondered who he was and what he
must have been like. And, I’ve always been
a little disappointed. We don’t know
much about Andrew from the Bible…Andrew sort of drops out of sight as the story
of Jesus and his disciples develops.
Andrew
was the younger brother to Simon Peter.
They grew up to take over their father’s family fishing business, but
they left their family business to become Jesus’ disciples.
Simon
Peter and Andrew were one of two sets of brothers that Jesus called to be his
disciples. The other set was James and
John—the Sons of Zebedee.
So
far, the story of Andrew is a pretty good story. Andrew was one of the first disciples of
Jesus and started out as a member of Jesus’ inner circle of disciples—Peter,
Andrew, James and John. But, what
happened to Andrew by the end of the Gospels?
Andrew seems to drop out of sight.
At
the Mount of Transfiguration, Jesus took three of his disciples to the top of
the mountain. Those disciples were given
a vision of Jesus glorified by his Father in Heaven and standing alongside
Moses and Elijah from the Old Testament.
Jesus took three of his disciples: Peter, James and John. What happened to Andrew?
On
the night of Jesus’ arrest, Jess took three of his disciples to the Garden of
Gethsemane. Jesus asked his disciples to
stand guard while he was praying, but those disciples could not stay
awake. Jesus took three of his
disciples: Peter, James and John. What
happened to Andrew?
After
the crucifixion and Resurrection of Jesus, his disciples gathered in Jerusalem
to wait on the gift of the Holy Spirit.
When the Holy Spirit was given to the disciples, they began to preach
the Gospel and spread the Christian faith from Jerusalem to Judea and Samaria
and to the Ends of the Earth. Peter
preached on the Day of Pentecost and 3,000 new believers entered into the
Christian faith. Peter and John went to
the Temple and healed a 40 year old crippled man. In the Book of Acts, we read about Peter,
James and John. What happened to Andrew?
Truthfully,
we don’t know what happened to Andrew. But we can draw some conclusions from the
biblical story. Peter, James and John
stepped into the spotlight as the Christian faith exploded throughout the First
Century world. Peter, James and John
were Christian celebrities of sorts…But, not everyone can be a celebrity. Perhaps Andrew did not have a celebrity
personality. Perhaps he preferred to
work behind the scenes, away from the spotlight.
We
may never know what Andrew’s personality was like, but I would like to suggest
that we do not need more Christian celebrities like Peter, James and John. Instead, I believe we need more people like
Andrew, who are willing to work faithfully behind the scenes to help the Gospel
spread around the world.
In
the Gospels of Matthew, Mark and Luke, Andrew shows up only two times. Matthew, Mark and Luke tell us about how
Andrew became a disciple and then list him among the twelve disciples.
However,
the Gospel of John tells us three stories about Andrew. Interestingly, there is a common thread
running through these three stories.
Andrew invited other people to meet Jesus…
John 1: 35 – 42.
35 The next day John 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 they spent that day with him. It was about four in the afternoon.
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[g]).
In
the ancient world, discipleship was a common form of education. A young man would find a master-teacher who
taught and modeled what the young man wanted to do with his life. Then, he would affiliate with that master by
becoming his disciple, student, apprentice.
Apparently, Andrew wanted to learn how to become a Jewish apocalyptic
preacher…Because he affiliated himself with John the Baptist and modeled his
life after John the Baptist’s life.
There
is a lot we can say about John the Baptist.
He was a radical who called the Jewish people to repentance and
baptism. He lived out in the desert and
wore strange clothing. And, John was the
man who baptized Jesus…
At
the baptism of Jesus, John the Baptist learned who Jesus truly is. After Jesus came up out of the water, the
Spirit of God descended on Jesus like a dove.
The voice of God boomed overhead, “This is my Son, whom I love. In him I am well pleased.” John immediately knew who Jesus was and
is. Jesus is the Son of God. Jesus is the Promised Messiah, who would
establish God’s Kingdom on earth.
John Pointed to Jesus.
I
believe it was because John had a good understanding of who Jesus was and is
that he was able to point his own disciples toward Jesus. One day, while John was teaching his
disciples, Jesus walked by. John made a
simple, yet profound, statement about Jesus.
He said, “Look (Behold)! The Lamb
of God!”
Since
John was a good Jewish teacher and preacher…And since John’s disciples were
also good Jews…We need to interpret John’s comments about Jesus as a Jewish
statement. In other words, we need to
consider what First Century Jews would have thought of when they heard the
expression “The Lamb of God.”
Some
people would have heard John call Jesus “The Lamb of God” and would have
immediately thought of an Apocalyptic Lamb.
The Jewish view is that one day we will all worship the Lamb, and the
Lamb will rule over Heaven and Earth. In
this sense, Jesus is the Lord of Heaven and Earth who now lives among us.
Some
people would have heard John call Jesus “The Lamb of God” and would have
remembered the Jewish sacrificial system.
There are several ways we can think of the Jewish sacrifices. God prescribed an elaborate sacrificial
system for the Jews. Slaughtering a
lamb, pouring out its blood on an altar, and burning the dead body of the lamb
had mystical and religious significance.
The sacrifice was one way human beings could please God. It was an act of obedience. It was an offering to appease the anger /
wrath of God. It was the method God gave
for our sins to be forgiven and our relationship with God restored. In this sense, Jesus is the perfect and final
sacrifice who once and for all takes away the sins of the world and offers us a
right relationship with God.
Some
people would have heard John call Jesus “The Lamb of God” and would have
remembered the Passover Lamb. When God
rescued the Hebrew people out of slavery in Egypt, God sent ten plagues. The final plague was the death of the
firstborn. This death affected every
Egyptian family, but did not affect the Hebrews. The Hebrews were spared, because each family
slaughtered a lamb, ate the meat, and painted the blood of the lamb on the
doorposts of their homes. Death “passed
over” all the homes who had the blood of the lamb, and Pharaoh drove the Hebrew
people out of Egypt ad out of slavery.
In this sense, Jesus is like the Passover lamb, because Jesus has set us
free. Jesus sets us free from the sins
of our past; sets us free from sin’s influence on our present; and sets us free
from the effects of sin on our future.
John
knew that he himself was nothing more than a preacher of the Good News. Jesus is the only one who can change a
person’s life. Therefore, John preached
about repentance and encouraged his disciples to become disciples of Jesus. Two of John’s disciples immediately left him
in order to become followers of Jesus.
Come and See.
I
really like the exchange of words between Jesus and these two (former)
disciples of John. Jesus asked them,
“What do you want?” The disciples
answer, “Where are you staying?” Jesus
answered, “Come and see.”
It
seems obvious to me what these disciples are looking for. They are looking for something that only
Jesus can satisfy. They were looking for
forgiveness of sins; a right relationship with God; eternal life; the Lamb who
would rule over Heaven and Earth. They
were looking for the Lamb of God. John
pointed them toward the Lamb, and his disciples left everything to affiliate
with Jesus.
John
had told his disciples about Jesus. But,
there is only one way to know who Jesus is.
This is found in Jesus’ words, “Come and See.” Jesus invited them to experience for themselves
and make their own decisions.
This
is one of our basic beliefs as Baptists, and one of the things that separates
us from other Christian denominations.
We believe that every man, woman, teenager and child must make his / her
own decision about Jesus. Your parents
do not get to decide what you believe about Jesus. Your spouse does not get to decide for
you. Your church does not get to decide
for you. Everyone must respond to Jesus’
call to “Come and See.”
There
is only way your life can be changed by Jesus…You must have a personal
encounter with Jesus…You must see for yourself who Jesus is…
The First Thing Andrew Did…
Andrew
and the other disciple spent a whole day with Jesus. And, there was something about that one day
that changed their lives. We just don’t
know exactly what happened during their 24 hours with Jesus.
Did
Jesus sit down and explain all the Old Testament prophecies and how they would
be fulfilled in Jesus’ life, death and Resurrection? Did Jesus demonstrate mercy, compassion and
Grace to the two disciples and pronounce that their sins were now forgiven? Did Jesus give them a new spiritual understanding
of the Kingdom of God?
All
we know is that 24 hours with Jesus changed their lives. We know it changed their lives by the way
they responded when the 24 hours were over.
Andrew could not keep his day with Jesus all to himself. He had to tell someone. He had to tell his brother Simon.
In
some ways, it makes sense that Andrew would want to tell Simon about
Jesus. After all they were brothers, and
they loved each other. Andrew loved
Simon and wanted Simon to have the same experience with Jesus he had.
In
other ways, it is a little surprising that Andrew immediately told Simon about
Jesus. After all they were brothers, and
they were constantly comparing themselves and competing against each other. Andrew loved Simon but probably wanted
something he could call his own. He was
tired of living in Simon’s shadow. He
was tired of all his school teachers asking him, “Are you Simon’s brother?”
Andrew
may have wanted something he could call his own. But, Andrew could not keep Jesus to
himself! And Andrew wanted the most
important people in his life to know Jesus as he knew Jesus. Andrew did not change his brother Simon’s
life. Jesus changed Simon’s life. But Andrew invited Simon to a place where
Simon could meet Jesus. Then, Jesus did
the rest.
This
is a great story about Andrew, but it is not the only time Andrew shows up in
the Gospel of John. There are actually
two other stories about Andrew.
The
next story about Andrew appears in John 6.
It is the story about Jesus’ miracle of feeding the 5,000. At the end of a long day of preaching to the
crowds of people, the people were tired and hungry. It was too late in the day to send them
home. And, the disciples did not have
enough money to buy the crowd something to eat.
Jesus asked the disciples to find out how much food was in the
crowd. Andrew found a small boy with a
small lunch—five small loaves and two small fish. And, just like with Simon Peter…Andrew brought
the young boy to Jesus. Jesus performed
a miracle.
Andrew
did not feed 5,000 people. Jesus
performed a miracle and fed the crowd.
But Andrew invited a small boy with a small lunch to a place where he
could meet Jesus. Then, Jesus did the
rest.
The
last story about Andrew appears in John 12—the story of Jesus’ triumphal entry
into Jerusalem on the Sunday before his crucifixion and Resurrection. The Jews were getting ready for the Passover
celebration, and there were some Greeks in Jerusalem observing the interaction
between Jesus and the Jews. Some of the
Greeks told Philip that they wanted to meet Jesus. These Greeks were non-Christian, non-Jews who
wanted to meet Jesus. Philip did not
know what to do, so Philip took the Greeks to Andrew. Can you guess what Andrew did? He introduced the Greeks to Jesus!
Andrew
could not cause the Gospel to spread to the non-Christian, non-Jews. Jesus is the only one who could reach outside
of traditional boundaries. But Andrew
invited the Greeks to a place where they could meet Jesus. Then, Jesus did the rest.
Simon
Peter is a Christian celebrity who did a variety of things in life and
ministry. Many of Peter’s adventures are
recorded in the Bible. Peter walked on
water. Peter preached at Pentecost where
3,000 were converted, and a few days later preached in the Temple where 5,000
were converted. Peter performed miracles
and was led by a vision to begin preaching the Gospel to Gentiles. Peter did a lot of different things…
Andrew
only did one thing. Andrew invited other
people to meet Jesus. Andrew helped
other people come into contact with Jesus so that Jesus could change their
lives.
Conclusion
Sometimes,
I wonder if we try to make evangelism too difficult. Andrew knew that he was not responsible for
changing people’s lives. All he could do
was to invite someone to a place where they could encounter Jesus…and Jesus
could do his work!
How
could you invite someone to be in the presence of Jesus? The obvious answer is that you could invite
someone to come to church with you. (Of
course, that all depends on whether or not your church talks about Jesus, if
your church introduces people to Jesus, and if your church believes that Jesus
still changes lives.)
According
to a book by Thom Rainer—The Unchurched
Next Door: Understanding Faith Stages as Keys to Sharing Your Faith (Grand
Rapids: Zondervan, 2003)—82% of unchurched people are “somewhat likely” or
“very likely” to attend church when they are invited. Thom Rainer also points out statistics that
show only 2% of church goers ever invite other people to church.[1]
Think
about that…98% of our church goers will NEVER invite someone to church this
year.
I
want you to notice something as you exit the Sanctuary this morning. In the foyer of our Sanctuary you will find
several chairs and benches. Do you know
why we have chairs and benches in our foyer?
I suppose they are decorative…But they are so much more than that. We have chairs and benches in our foyer to give
you a place to sit and watch the doors while you wait for the person you
invited to meet you at church.
I
want to be the kind of church where each week we talk about Jesus, where each
week we introduce people to Jesus, where each week we see Jesus change people’s
lives, and each week our members sit on the chairs and benches waiting for the
people they invited to meet them at church.
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