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Here’s what we’ve seen so far in our study of Jesus’ 12 disciples – He chooses ordinary people from average families with no special qualifications, he equips them with power that is not their own, and they are then able to do the things Jesus did. Remember, that’s what Jesus said to them at their last meal together the night before his crucifixion – John 14:12, “I tell you the truth, anyone who believes in me will do the same works I have done …”

Ordinary people doing extraordinary things – that’s Jesus stuff! And God received all the glory because everyone knew it was all impossible without God. Especially those disciples. They remembered where they came from. They knew who they were when Jesus called them out and said, “Follow me.” Everything changed by following Jesus.

The same is true for us – everything changes when we follow Jesus. Not when we finally lose the weight, not when we finally find the man, not when we finally have enough money. We can have it all and lose it all the next day. Real change only comes by following Jesus. As a follower of Jesus, you get to step into Jesus stuff. The disciples were those ordinary ones called right out of normal lives to experience Jesus up close and personal.

So far we’ve learned about Peter, James and John – all fishermen, each with fiery, somewhat impulsive personalities, trained by Jesus to become the future builders of his followers. And we know they were successful in their mission of spreading the Good News of Jesus because now, almost 2000 years later, WE DO KNOW! We we read their words and we know their stories. They successfully brought our generation and our part of the world JESUS!

Did Jesus choose well? Did he choose the fellas who would actually pull off the radical work of spreading the message to the world? He sure did! We’re still talking about it all today, and it’s still changing our lives today.

The next disciple on the list chosen by Jesus is perhaps the one you can most relate to. The one not mentioned often. The one who isn’t credited with any big miraculous act. The one who wasn’t in the core group of 3, but still had an invitation to the table.

This is Andrew. His name is only mentioned 12 times in the Bible. Maybe he was the more quiet one. Maybe he was the one who didn’t take center stage, he never had a leading role, but he found his purpose behind the scenes. Maybe he was the prayer warrior, the helper, the fix it guy. Maybe he was cooking the meal everyone was eating, or maybe he was making the travel plans for where they were going next. But here’s what we know – HE WAS STILL CHOSEN – HE STILL HAD A PURPOSE – AND HE MADE AN IMPACT FOR JESUS.

There’s one thing we read of Andrew doing, and this one thing led to miraculous acts of huge life changing moments impacting a thousand generations. What was his Andrew’s one big thing? HE BROUGHT HIS BROTHER TO JESUS.

Literally, that’s all we really ever see Andrew do. Who was his brother? His brother was Peter. Yes, the one who walked on water with Jesus. The one who became one of Jesus’ closest friends. The one who Jesus called his “rock”. Peter was Andrew’s brother, and Peter came to Jesus because of him!

In John 1, we read of Andrew meeting Jesus and spending a day with him. After that time together, Andrew knew who Jesus was – he knew he was the one they had been waiting for. So here’s the big, world-changing, monumental single act of Andrew – verses 41-42, “Andrew went to find his brother, Simon Peter, and told him, ‘We have found the Messiah’ (which means Christ). Then Andrew brought Simon Peter (his brother) to meet Jesus.”

And from that moment on, we always hear about Peter being the popular one, Peter being the famous one, Peter being the one the coolest stuff happened to, Peter being the one invited to come even closer to Jesus. Now imagine being his brother, Andrew. Imagine being the one who brought Peter in to meet Jesus, but then watching his brother be chosen over him. Watching his brother become bigger than him. Watching his brother do greater things than him. Even watching his brother be favored.

Andrew had no fanfare. We don’t ever read anything he wrote. He has no celebration of greatness attached to him. But he had a role as one of Jesus’ chosen twelve, and what if his only role was that of bringing his brother to Jesus? That seemed to be enough for Andrew.

We never read of Andrew getting jealous. We never read of Andrew jockeying for a better seat at the table. We never read of Andrew resenting his behind the scenes position. And this is where most of us are called – we’re called to be willing to bring others to Jesus and not make it about us!

If you learn nothing more from the story of Andrew, learn this – The greatest most miraculous act of your entire life may be WHO YOU BRING TO JESUS. You have no idea what that person may do in their lifetime. They may walk on water with Jesus, they may speak healing to thousands, they may build something that makes Heaven crowded. And your name won’t be attached to those miracles, but you’ll get to be the girl God used to introduce them to Jesus!

How did Andrew bring his brother to Jesus? He simply told him, “We have found the Messiah (which means ‘Christ’).” That’s it. There was no convincing. No preaching. Just sharing Jesus. Jesus is the One – he’s the one your heart has been looking for – he’s the one you need and you don’t even know you need him – he’s the one who will change everything for you. It’s Jesus Christ.

Do you know why Jesus is called Jesus Christ? Did you know Christ isn’t his middle name. 🙂 I don’t know why, but I thought it was just saying his full name – Jesus Christ, like Pamela Dee or Nicole Jean or Courtney Lynn. Anyone else? Have you ever thought about why he’s called Jesus Christ?

As we see in this scripture, Christ means Messiah. Messiah means the chosen and anointed one. It’s a title. To say Jesus Christ, we are saying he is the Messiah – he is God’s chosen and anointed one. He’s not just Jesus – anyone could be named Jesus. But he is Jesus Christ. Jesus is his name, Christ is his title. And together this tells us exactly who he is – he’s the promised Messiah, the Savior sent by God, the one chosen and anointed to rescue and redeem the world.

And this title, Christ, is where we get our label today as Christians. Do you call yourself a Christian? Do you know what that means?

The introduction of this word ‘Christian’ was originally used in a derogatory insulting way, mocking the followers of Jesus for having a crucified king. Christians were believed to be serving and worshiping a dead, powerless king – what a foolish group of people. But soon, the followers of Jesus would be redeemed and the power of a risen king would be unmatched.
The suffix “ian” added to a word essentially means “belonging to,” “a follower of”, or “the party of”. So, to be called a Christian was to be identified as someone who belonged to Christ, someone who followed this Jesus they proclaimed as the Messiah, belong to the party of Jesus Christ.

Think about that. The very name Christian identifies who you belong to! You’re not just someone who believes Jesus existed. You’re someone who has chosen to follow him, to live under his authority, and to identify your life with his. You’re the PARTY OF JESUS!

Christian isn’t just a label for what you believe. It’s a declaration of who you belong to and which party you choose.

For Andrew, choosing Jesus and bringing his brother to the party of Jesus was the greatest act of his entire life. It’s really the only thing we know he ever did. And that was more than enough.

He wasn’t jealous when his brother became greater than him. He wasn’t pouting at his seat at the table. He wasn’t craving the spotlight or his own book in the Bible. He was perfectly fulfilling his role as the one who would just bring people to Jesus and introduce them to the real party.

Christian – The Party of Christ. Christ is the Messiah. The chosen and anointed one to be the Savior of the world.

Andrew was in the party and he spent his life bringing others to the party. Maybe that’s all we need to be doing too.

Hey, let me tell you about the Jesus Party – it will radically change your entire life!

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