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Andrew (the Apostle)
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an'-droo (a strong man, manly)
RELATED: Apostle(s), Jesus |
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Easton's Bible Dictionary
manliness, A Greek name; one of the apostles of our Lord. He was of Bethsaida
in Galilee ( John
1:44 ), and was the brother of Simon Peter ( Matthew
4:18 ; 10:2
). On one occasion John the Baptist, whose disciple he then was, pointing to Jesus,
said, "Behold the Lamb of God" ( John
1:40 ); and Andrew, hearing him, immediately became a follower of Jesus, the
first of his disciples. After he had been led to recognize Jesus as the Messiah,
his first care was to bring also his brother Simon to Jesus. The two brothers
seem to have after this pursued for a while their usual calling as fishermen,
and did not become the stated attendants of the Lord till after John's imprisonment
( Matthew
4:18 , 4:19
; Mark
1:16 , 1:17
). Very little is related of Andrew. He was one of the confidential disciples
( John
6:8 ; 12:22
), and with Peter, James, and John inquired of our Lord privately regarding his
future coming ( Mark
13:3 ). He was present at the feeding of the five thousand ( John
6:9 ), and he introduced the Greeks who desired to see Jesus ( John
12:22 ); but of his subsequent history little is known. It is noteworthy that
Andrew thrice brings others to Christ, (1) Peter; (2) the lad with the loaves;
and (3) certain Greeks. These incidents may be regarded as a key to his character.
Hitchcock's Dictionary of Bible Names
a strong man
Smith's Bible Dictionary
(manly) One of the apostles of our Lord, ( John
1:40 ; Matthew
4:18 ) brother of Simon Peter. He was of Bethsaida, and had been a disciple
of John the Baptist, leaving him to follow our Lord. By his means his brother
Simon was brought to Jesus. ( John
1:41 ) His place among the apostles seems to have been fourth, next after
the three Peter, James and John, and in company with Philip. ( Mark
3:18 ; Acts
1:13 ) The traditions about him are various. He is said to have preached in
Scythia, in Greece, in Asia Minor and Thrace, and to have been crucified at Patrae
in Achaia.
International Standard Bible Encyclopedia
an'-droo (Andreas, i.e. "manly." The name has also been interpreted as "the mighty
one, or conqueror"):
Andrew was the first called of the Twelve Apostles.
I. In New Testament.
1. Early History and First Call:
Andrew belonged to Bethsaida of Galilee (compare John 1:44). He was the brother
of Simon Peter and his father's name was John (compare John 1:42 ; 21:15 , 16
, 17). He occupies a more prominent place in the Gospel of Joh than in the synoptical
writings, and this is explicable at least in part from the fact that Andrew was
Greek both in language and sympathies (compare infra), and that his subsequent
labors were intimately connected with the people for whom Joh was immediately
writing. There are three stages in the call of Andrew to the apostleship. The
first is described in John 1:35 - 40. Andrew had spent his earlier years as a
fisherman on the Sea of Galilee, but on learning of the fame of John the Baptist,
he departed along with a band of his countrymen to Bethabara (the Revised Version
(British and American) "Bethany") beyond Jordan, where John was baptizing (John
1:28). Possibly Jesus was of their number, or had preceded them in their pilgrimage.
There Andrew learned for the first time of the greatness of the "Lamb of God"
and "followed him" (John 1:40). He was the means at this time of bringing his
brother Simon Peter also to Christ (John 1:41). Andrew was probably a companion
of Jesus on his return journey to Galilee, and was thus present at the marriage
in Cana of Galilee (John 2:2), in Capernaum (John 2:12), at the Passover in Jerusalem
(John 2:13), at the baptizing in Judea (John 3:22), where he himself may have
taken part (compare John 4:2), and in Samaria (John 4:5).
2. Second Call and Final Ordination:
On his return to Galilee, Andrew resumed for a time his old vocation as fisherman,
till he received his second call. This happened after John the Baptist was cast
into prison (compare Mark 1:14 ; Matthew 4:12) and is described in Mark 1:16 -
18 ; Matthew 4:18 , 19. The two accounts are practically identical, and tell how
Andrew and his brother were now called on definitely to forsake their mundane
occupations and become fishers of men (Mark 1:17). The corresponding narrative
of Luke varies in part; it does not mention Andrew by name, and gives the additional
detail of the miraculous draught of fishes. By some it has been regarded as an
amalgamation of Mark's account with John 21:1 - 8 (see JAMES). After a period
of companionship with Jesus, during which, in the house of Simon and Andrew, Simon's
wife's mother was healed of a fever (Mark 1:29-31; compare Matthew 8:14 , 15 ;
Luke 4:38 , 39); the call of Andrew was finally consecrated by his election as
one of the Twelve Apostles (Matthew 10:2 ; Mark 3:18 ; Luke 6:14 ; Acts 1:13).
3. Subsequent History:
Further incidents recorded of Andrew are: At the feeding of the five thousand
by the Sea of Galilee, the attention of Jesus was drawn by Andrew to the lad with
five sequent barley loaves and two fishes (John 6 History John 8.9). At the feast
of the Passover, the Greeks who wished to "see Jesus" inquired of Philip, who
turned for advice to Andrew, and the two then told Jesus (John 12:20 - 36). On
the Mount of Olives, Andrew along with Peter, James and John, questioned Jesus
regarding the destruction of Jerusalem and the end of the world (Mark 13:3 - 23;
compare also Matthew 24:3 - 28; Luke 21:5 - 24). |
II. In Apocryphal Literature.
The name of Andrew's mother was traditionally Joanna, and according to the "Genealogies
of the Twelve Apostles" (Budge, Contendings of the Apostles, II, 49) he belonged
to the tribe of Reuben, the tribe of his father. A fragment of a Coptic gospel
of the 4th or 5th century tells how not only Thomas (John 20:27), but also Andrew
was compelled, by touching the feet of the risen Saviour, to believe in the bodily
resurrection (Hennecke, Neutestamentlichen Apokryphen, etc., 38, 39). Various
places were assigned as the scene of his subsequent missionary labors. The Syriac
Teaching of the Apostles (ed Cureton, 34) mentions Bithynia, Eusebius gives Scythia
(Historia Ecclesiastica, III, i, 1), and others Greece (Lipsius, Apokryphen Apostelgeschichten,
I, 63). The Muratorian Fragment relates that John wrote his gospel in consequence
of a revelation given to Andrew, and this would point to Ephesus (compare Hennecke
id, 459). The Contendings of the Twelve Apostles (for historicity, authorship,
etc., of this work, compare Budge, Contendings of the Apostles, Intro; Hennecke,
Handbuch zu den neutestamentlichen Apokryphen, 351-58; RE, 664-66) contains several
parts dealing with Andrew:
(1) "The Preaching of Andrew and Philemon among the Kurds"
(Budge, II 163) narrates the appearance of the risen Christ to His disciples,
the sending of Andrew to Lydia and his conversion of the people there.
(2) The "Preaching of Matthias in the City of the Cannibals" (Budge, II, 267;
REH, 666) tells of how Matthias, on being imprisoned and blinded by the Cannibals,
was released by Andrew, who had been brought to his assistance in a ship by Christ,
but the two were afterward again imprisoned. Matthias then caused the city to
be inundated, the disciples were set free, and the people converted.
(3) "The Acts of Andrew and Bartholomew" (Budge, II, 183) gives an account of
their mission among the Parthians.
(4) According to the "Martyrdom of Andrew" (Budge, II, 215) he was stoned and
crucified in Scythia. |
According to the surviving fragments of "The Acts of Andrew," a heretical work
dating probably from the 2nd century, and referred to by Eusebius (Historia Ecclesiastica,
III, ii, 5), the scene of Andrew's death was laid in Achaia. There he was imprisoned
and crucified by order of the proconsul Eges (or Aegeates), whose wife had been
estranged from him by the preaching of Andrew (compare Hennecke, 459-73; Pick,
Apocryphal Acts, 201-21; Lipsius, I, 543-622). A so-called "Gospel of Andrew"
mentioned by Innocent I (Ep, I, iii, 7) and Augustine (Contra Advers. Leg. et
Prophet., I, 20), but this is probably due to a confusion with the above-mentioned
"Ac of Andrew." The relics of Andrew were discovered in Constantinople in the
time of Justinian, and part of his cross is now in Peter's, Rome. Andrew is the
patron saint of Scotland, whither his arm is said to have been transferred by
Regulus. The ascription to him of the decussate cross is of late origin.
III. Character.
There is something significant in Andrew's being the first called of the apostles.
The choice was an important one, for upon the lead given by Andrew depended the
action of the others. Christ perceived that the soul's unrest, the straining after
higher things and a deeper knowledge of God, which had induced Andrew to make
the pilgrimage to Bethany, gave promise of a rich spiritual growth, which no doubt
influenced Him in His decision. His wisdom and insight were justified of the after
event. Along with a keenness of perception regarding spiritual truths was coupled
in Andrew a strong sense of personal conviction which enabled him not only to
accept Jesus as the Messiah, but to win Peter also as a disciple of Christ. The
incident of the Feeding of the Five Thousand displayed Andrew in a fresh aspect:
there the practical part which he played formed a striking contrast to the feeble-mindedness
of Philip. Both these traits--his missionary spirit, and his decision of character
which made others appeal to him when in difficulties--were evinced at the time
when the Greeks sought to interview Jesus. Andrew was not one of the greatest
of the apostles, yet he is typical of those men of broad sympathies and sound
common sense, without whom the success of any great movement cannot be assured.
C. M. Kerr
Tags:
andrew, apostle, bible commentary, bible history, bible reference, bible study, define, first jesus disciple, simon peter (brother of)
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