1) Listen to Podcast
2) GG Questions
11/3/19
Ordinary Men: Andrew – Significantly insignificant
1. Andrew and JB: One of the more popular father-daughter dance songs at weddings these days is ‘I Loved Her
First’. John the Baptist could have sung a variant of this song – ‘He Followed Me First’. Read the account of
Andrew’s call to be a disciple of Jesus in John 1:35-43. Who did he ‘follow first’? John served as a pointer and
waymaker for Christ (John 1:22-23). Who played this role in your life? At what point did they ‘get out of the
way’ and set you loose to follow Jesus for yourself (John 3:26-30)?
2. It’s the Messiah!: It’s pretty easy to get the impression reading the gospels that the disciples were pretty
clueless. And, in large part, they were! That is part of the purpose of the gospel writers, or at least the first
three gospel writers. In the synoptic gospels, it is not until Peter’s great confession (Matt. 16:15-16) where we
see that Jesus is the Messiah. But in the book of John we get three clear confessions of this faith (John 1:41,
45, 49) in the span of 9 verses in the first chapter! What did these disciples think the Jewish Messiah came to
do (Luke 24:21; Acts 1:6)? And what did they need to learn slowly (Matt 16:21)? What truths have you had to
‘learn slowly’?
3. Big Bro: Andrew was Peter’s big brother, and yet it’s the little brother that gets all the attention. If this bothered
Andrew, we’re given no indication of this. What is the meaning of Pastor Jonathan’s designation for Andrew,
‘the significance of his insignificance’, in light of his relationship with his younger brother (John 1:41-42)?
Consider reading the lyrics of the song “Background” by Christian rapper, Lecrae. Could Andrew relate? Can
you?
4. Philip’s Crutch: There are very few passages in the gospels with Andrew in them, but two such passages have
him in close proximity with another of the disciples – Philip. Read these two passages – John 6:1-15 and John
12:20-26 – and consider how they depict Andrew as a ‘confidence giver’ to Philip. Philip went so far, and
Andrew helped him take it one step further. Have you ever needed an Andrew in your life? Is there anyone
you can ‘be an Andrew’ for?
