“One of the two who heard John speak and followed Jesus was Andrew, Simon Peter’s brother. He first found his own brother Simon and said to him, ‘We have found the Messiah’ (which means Christ).”
John shows in this passage the continuous multiplication of the gospel. It starts with the declaration from John the Baptist when he says, “behold the lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world.” Then, it continues with the reception of the disciples of John who then follow the savior. Now we see how these followers becoming disciples of Jesus and reaching out to bring more people in.
John mentions one of the disciples that went from following John the Baptist to Jesus, and his name was Andrew. He will be one of Jesus’s closest twelve disciples who turn into the apostles when Jesus dies and is resurrected. The first thing Andrew does after meeting Jesus is go to one of his closest relatives and tell him about Jesus. He says that He is the Messiah—which is a continuation of the message of John the Baptist just said in a different way. This brother will also be one of the apostles and, arguably, one of the most important—Simon, or as Jesus calls him, Peter.
It is important to note in these verses that Andrew does not start out in the same way John the Baptist did nor did he respond in the same way that John the Baptist did. John the Baptist was able to baptize Jesus, but he did not then physically follow Jesus. Andrew did. Does this make one right and the other wrong? No. Instead we see two separate men doing what God called them to do in different ways. The key for both these men with their ministry and walk with God is not what they did but why they did it. John the Baptist called out from a distance and pointed the way to Jesus for the masses, even participating in the display of the public start of His ministry, whereas Andrew starts in a more intimate setting, speaking to one of people closest to Him.
As Christians, we can take Andrew as well John the Baptist as examples of two ways to reach people with the gospel in different contexts. It is important to note we should never expect to be exactly like these great men of the faith, but look at their differences and how God used them in their setting to reach people and then think where He wants us to reach people. God has placed us where we are at for a reason and He will use us to complete His work, not because we are so great but because He has called us. This is something so important to remember when we get discouraged by the world or our own flesh; Satan will use these things to try and stop the work of God. We must take heart as we look to Jesus and talk with Him that, through the Holy Spirit, He will show us His plan for our lives in that moment.
If you are not a Christian, He has you reading this right now to understand a little more about who He is and He wants you to know He has a plan for your life too and He is calling you to come follow Him so that He can fulfill that plan. Come to Him while He calls because God’s will cannot be overcome. He will bring you to Him if that is His plan. Respond today and do not wait.
Photo Credit: Cammy Tarbush 2025
The Traveling Mountains 
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