This must have been an amazing day for Andrew (and for the other yet-to-be-revealed disciple of John). Beyond finding out where Jesus lives, we don’t really know what they do or where they go. All we know is that they “spent the day with him.” (Verse 39) Now four o’clock in the afternoon has come and gone and evening looms on the Palestine horizon. How would I have reacted to spending the day with Jesus in Palestine—walking and talking and seeing what he did? In my busy life today, is it even possible to spend the day with Jesus? What would that look like in my world?
In Andrew’s case, the Bible says that “the first
thing” he does when the day is done is go find his brother Peter in order to
tell him, “We found the Messiah!” Let’s
summarize: First, he (and his yet unknown friend) leave the familiar banks of
the Jordan River to find out more about Jesus.
Second, Andrew and his friend talk to Jesus—they ask him a question,
“Where do you live?” Third, they respond
to Jesus’ call to accompany him. Fourth,
they stay with him for the day. They
soak it in—the sights and sounds of a full day with Jesus. Then, after that, at the end of the day with
Jesus, “the first thing” Andrew did as a result of his experience, is to go
find his brother and share his startling message.
I do not sense any sense of obligation in
Andrew contacting his brother. It seems
to be the only thing he could have done after reaching the conclusion that he
had “found the Messiah.” Something
profound happens during that day; something he hears or sees or feels, that sears
a conviction into his soul about this man he had met but a few hours
before. What is it? We don’t know exactly, beyond the fact that
Andrew spends the day with Jesus. I want
to know how that works. I want to know
what that means today. I want to know
him better, but I find myself often limited by life! How ironic—I am too busy to experience the
Life because life gets in the way. To be
continued….
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