“Called To Preach”

Thursday, November 28, 2019

     In tracing the apostles’ calling, one of the gospels says Andrew was with John the Baptist and then went and found his brother Simon Peter to tell him.  Another book says they both were in their boat when Jesus called them.  Please explain.

Sincerely,
Two Places At Once?

Dear Two Places At Once,

If all we do is read Matt 4:18-20, it is easy to get the impression that when Jesus told Andrew and Peter to leave their boat and follow Him that it was the very first time they had met Jesus, but that wasn’t the case.  By the time Jesus called those two men to leave their fishing and become “fishers of men”, they were already well-acquainted with Jesus, and they knew exactly who they would be following.

In Jhn 1:35-42, we see the very first encounter that Andrew and Peter had with Jesus.  As you said, Andrew was told about Jesus because he had been listening to John the Baptist preach, and Peter found out because Andrew told him.  This happened right when Jesus first began to preach and teach… He hadn’t even performed a miracle yet (we won’t see that miracle until Jhn 2:1-11).

When we read in Matt 4:18-22, Mk 1:16-20, and Lk 5:9-11 of Peter and Andrew leaving their boats and following Christ – this was a totally different level of commitment that happened later.  Peter and Andrew knew who Jesus was at this point, and now Jesus was calling them to not just listen to Him, but to help Him in His preaching.

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