Can you imagine the Bible without Peter? I certainly cannot. Peter was called “the rock” by Jesus. In fact, the name Cephas may best be translated as “rocky” according to Randy Todd, my former Greek professor from seminary days.
We remember Peter for his brashness, boldness, and frequent mistakes. He is the disciple who vows he will die for Jesus only to deny him three times after his crucifixion. Yet, he is also the disciple who is restored back to ministry on the beach by Jesus after his resurrection, the disciple who, in the power of the Holy Spirit, preaches so effectively on the day of Pentecost that over three thousand listeners from all over the world are saved and become followers of Christ. Can you imagine the Bible without Peter? Again, I cannot.
And yet, what tends to be underemphasized is how Peter comes to Jesus in the first place. Peter is introduced to Jesus by his brother Andrew, the brother who seems to be completely opposite of Peter, shyer, more introverted, the brother who speaks less and perhaps listens more. Andrew is not the disciple who comes to mind when we think of Jesus’ followers. And yet, without Andrew, Peter would be missing from the pages of Scripture, a tragic omission indeed.
John chapter 1 records the account of how it occurs. Verse 40 tells us that “Andrew, Simon Peter’s brother, was one of the two who heard what John had said and who had followed Jesus.” In verse 41, we learn that “the first thing Andrew did was to find his brother Simon and tell him, ‘We have found the Messiah’ (that is, the Christ).” Verse 42 is the clincher. “And he brought him to Jesus,” it says.
Andrew brings Peter to Jesus. It’s that simple. Andrew encounters Jesus and becomes convinced he is the Messiah. He then goes and gets his brother and does two noteworthy things. He tells him about Jesus. And after that, he takes Peter to Jesus, so Peter can become convinced himself, so that Peter can encounter Jesus too.
Perhaps we should remember this two-step process more in our efforts to win other people to Christ. We must certainly remember the importance of telling others about him. If we do not tell, there can be no initial interest or eventual reception. Sharing the good news is imperative. Yet, we must never forget the second and perhaps more important step of bringing the person to Jesus so they can encounter him as well.
This step is admittedly different from the days of Andrew, there can be no doubt, as it now takes place in the spiritual realm we cannot see. We cannot physically bring a person to Jesus like Andrew did. And yet, it is in this spiritual step, a step that requires much prayer on our part, where God intervenes in the evangelism process, this step where the Father draws the person to himself, this step where the Spirit reveals Jesus to them, giving the person the opportunity to trust him in faith.
It is a step, to be sure, that will be mysterious, as Jesus tells us in John 3:8 that “the wind blows wherever it pleases. You hear its sound,” he says, “but you cannot tell where it comes from or where it is going. So it is with everyone born of the Spirit.” A prayerful, mysterious, and unpredictable step, as every person’s encounter with Jesus is different, as people become convinced of the need to surrender to Christ through many different means, as no person’s conversion experience is completely the same as another’s.
Yet, this step remains real and imperative, as every person who has truly been “born again” has a unique story to tell of how they met this man from Galilee, and of why they became a follower of him.
And so, much thanks should go to Andrew, the seemingly unsung hero of the pages of Scripture. He teaches us much in our efforts to share Christ with others. Andrew is convinced that an encounter with Jesus is what Peter needs the most, and so he takes Peter to him. Who do you need to take to Jesus today?