Title The Great Connecter/John 1:35-42
The Great Connecter (John 1:35-42)
If you look at the ancestors of faith in the Bible, they are not people who made and announced their own things, but people who consistently delivered good things. Abraham shared the blessings God had given to his neighbors, and the prophets Isaiah, Jeremiah, and Ezekiel also shared the gospel of life that God spoke of. Also, the disciples of Jesus in the New Testament are those who delivered the good news that Jesus gave them. So, today, I would like to think about the messenger through Andrew, one of Jesus' 12 disciples.
First, who is Andre? Andrew is Peter's brother. Bethsaida is 40 km east of Jesus' hometown (Nazareth). Here Andrew was born and raised by his father, a fisherman, Jonah, and his mother, Joanna. He fished on the Sea of Galilee with his brother Peter, but his personality was very different. Peter was a quick-tempered, bubbly person, while Andrew was a quiet, self-indulgent person.
Originally Andrew was a disciple of John the Baptist. But one day John the Baptist pointed to Jesus and said, “Look! You are the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world.” He immediately obeyed those words and became a follower of Jesus. At that time, John the Baptist was very famous and many people followed him. On the other hand, it was a time when not many people knew Jesus. But Andrew clearly knew that Jesus was the Messiah of life and salvation.
Second, why is Andre such a great connector?
Third, Andrew connected the boy with the five fish ears to Jesus. The four Gospels record all of the miracles of the five fish. This story shows that the people of Israel were very hungry in the time of Jesus. When Jesus saw that the crowds who wanted to hear the word were starving from morning to evening without eating anything, he said, “I tell the disciples to give them something to eat. Then Philip says: How do you feed so many people in the beanstalk? Even if you feed it a little, you need 200 denarii”. If you calculate it, that's right. But Andrew thinks differently. It is also there that Andrew brought a boy with five fish to Jesus. And after Jesus gave thanks, the miracle of 12 baskets remained after 5,000 people ate.
Philip tried to solve the problem in a worldly way. But Andrew believed that if he gave to the Lord, even though it was small, the Lord would do a miracle. It's the smallest thing, but when you connect with the Lord, the Lord works miracles. Andrew is also the disciple who connected the Greeks to Jesus. John 12:20-23 records that Andrew led Greeks who came to Jerusalem to Jesus during the feast. At that time, it was unthinkable for Gentiles to believe in Jesus Christ. But Andrew went beyond stereotypes and linked the Greeks to Christ. Thus, the gospel of salvation was delivered to the Greeks.
In our lives, we both influence and receive various influences from others. In 1960, an epidemiological investigation by the New York Health Department revealed that the rash roughs epidemic was Maria, a restaurant cook living on the beach. Maria was arrested by health authorities and placed in quarantine.
But there is another Maria. This Mary has connected us to Jesus. A man with the same name Mary, but one who connected people to the deadly germ and the other to the life-giving Christ. Therefore, I hope that we too, as connectors, connect to Jesus our family, neighbors, and others who have given up, so that we may not be exceptional but valuable and essential.