Check It Out

The next day again John was standing with two of his disciples, and he looked at Jesus as he walked by and said, “Behold, the Lamb of God!” The two disciples heard him say this, and they followed Jesus. Jesus turned and saw them following and said to them, “What are you seeking?” And they said to him, “Rabbi” (which means Teacher), “where are you staying?” He said to them, “Come and you will see.” So they came and saw where he was staying, and they stayed with him that day, for it was about the tenth hour. 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). He brought him to Jesus. Jesus looked at him and said, “You are Simon the son of John. You shall be called Cephas” (which means Peter). (John 1:35-42 ESV). I always enjoy someone telling me about something new. Usually it will end with the jubilant endorsement of “Check it out!” I’m almost always enthusiastic about going to do so; and, some of the time I am a little disappointed that it didn’t live up to the endorsement I was given. Our reading today has that kind of background. You would think the endorsement of Jesus by John the Baptist would be enough; but, not for Andrew. Andrew was the cautious type. He didn't do something just because someone else did it. He had to know for himself. I can almost see the humor of the situation developing when Andrew began following Jesus. He was physically following Jesus. Perhaps it was even a bit too close for the requirements of personal space of that culture and day. We’ve all had that experience. It might have been as if he was in Jesus’ shadow. There was Jesus, walking along with Andrew right behind him, along with another disciple of John's. Finally Jesus stopped, turned, and said to them, "What do you seek?" Andrew didn't know what to say, so he asked Jesus where He lived. Jesus invited them to come and see. Andrew went and saw, and from that time on, he never stopped following Jesus. The thing about Andrew is that once he knew something was true, he wanted to tell others. So he went and told his brother, Simon Peter. We all will meet people like Andrew. You tell them about Jesus, and they will say, "I don't know." So we will say, "Well, you need to know. You need to decide." But be patient with people. Don't try to rush the conversion process. The Bible says, "And a servant of the Lord must not quarrel but be gentle to all, able to teach, patient" (2 Timothy 2:24). Sometimes we want to put the pressure on. We want to get a result. But if a person can be pressured into a decision, they can be pressured out. If they can be argued in, they can be argued out. Let God convert them. Let's just live the life and be the example. They will follow Jesus when it is time for them to follow.