Bible people · Start with this story
Ἀνδρέας · Brother of Simon Peter
Andrew
The disciple who usually said someone else’s name first
Andrew’s story begins beside John the Baptist: he follows Jesus, spends the day with him, and immediately brings his brother Simon. Later he notices a boy’s small meal and helps foreign visitors reach Jesus. From his first scene to his last, Andrew is less the center of the stage than the short road by which someone else arrives.
How to read this study
No Bible background is needed. Read from top to bottom: each section tells what happened next, and the line at the end lists the passages or other sources used for that scene.
Words used on this page
New to the Bible? Start with these words.
These short definitions explain how each word is used in this article. You do not need to know them before you begin.
- Disciple
- A learner and follower. In these pages, it usually means someone who followed Jesus.
Near the Jordan · about four in the afternoon
After one afternoon with Jesus, he looks for his brother
Andrew begins among John the Baptist’s hearers. When John points to Jesus, Andrew follows, asks where he is staying, and spends the day there.
His next move is not to build his own reputation. He finds Simon and brings him to Jesus—the brother whose name will soon become far more famous than his own.
ReferencesJohn 1:35–42
A hillside in Galilee
In a crowd of thousands, he notices one boy
The people are many and the food is not. Philip calculates the cost; Andrew spots a boy with five barley loaves and two fish. Even as he brings the meal forward, he asks what good it can possibly do.
Faith and doubt occupy the same sentence. Andrew does not create the sign, but he carries the small thing everyone could have ignored into the middle of the story.
ReferencesJohn 6:5–13
Jerusalem
He keeps making introductions, then leaves the frame
When Greek visitors ask to see Jesus, Philip looks for Andrew. Together they carry the request forward. Once again Andrew becomes the short road between people.
After the resurrection his name remains in the upstairs room, and the camera of Acts moves elsewhere. There is no grand finale—only a repeated habit of bringing someone closer.
ReferencesJohn 12:20–22 · Acts 1:12–14
