Sometimes I wonder what Andrew's relationship with Peter and Jesus looked like. Here was a man that was destined to be known throughout history as Peter's little brother. I think I would have been annoyed by that.
The brothers James and John, along with Peter were part of Jesus' inner circle. They were invited to see the resurrection of Jairus' daughter and to witness the transfiguration on the mountain. Where was Andrew? If it were me, I would have felt seriously slighted and left out.
We know that Peter had a house and was married. Was Andrew just a kid brother living with Peter?
His actions don't show that he was put out with Jesus. He remained one of the faithful disciples. Tradition says that, like his brother, Andrew did not consider himself worthy to die the same way Jesus did. So when Andrew refused to recant, he was crucified on an X shaped cross.
Andrew had been following John the Baptist when John announced that Jesus was the messiah, the Christ, the one they had been waiting for. He was the brother that believed the message first. He was the brother that first went out to share the good news.
From John 1
"Andrew, Simon Peter’s brother, was one of the two who heard what John had said and who had followed Jesus. The first thing Andrew did was to find his brother Simon and tell him, “We have found the Messiah” (that is, the Christ). And he brought him to Jesus."
Lord, please grant me the excitement to go and bring a brother.
No comments:
Post a Comment