January 14, 2026 | Be Connected
The Evangelistic Nature of Jesus' Call
Scripture: John 1:40-51(NIV)
40 Andrew, Simon Peter’s brother, was one of the two who heard what John had said and who had followed Jesus. 41 The first thing Andrew did was to find his brother Simon and tell him, “We have found the Messiah” (that is, the Christ). 42 And he brought him to Jesus.
Jesus looked at him and said, “You are Simon son of John. You will be called Cephas” (which, when translated, is Peter).
43 The next day Jesus decided to leave for Galilee. Finding Philip, he said to him, “Follow me.”
44 Philip, like Andrew and Peter, was from the town of Bethsaida. 45 Philip found Nathanael and told him, “We have found the one Moses wrote about in the Law, and about whom the prophets also wrote—Jesus of Nazareth, the son of Joseph.”
46 “Nazareth! Can anything good come from there?” Nathanael asked.
“Come and see,” said Philip.
47 When Jesus saw Nathanael approaching, he said of him, “Here truly is an Israelite in whom there is no deceit.”
48 “How do you know me?” Nathanael asked.
Jesus answered, “I saw you while you were still under the fig tree before Philip called you.”
49 Then Nathanael declared, “Rabbi, you are the Son of God; you are the king of Israel.”
50 Jesus said, “You believe because I told you I saw you under the fig tree. You will see greater things than that.” 51 He then added, “Very truly I tell you, you will see ‘heaven open, and the angels of God ascending and descending on’ the Son of Man.”
Devotional
Andrew and Philip were two of the twelve disciples of Jesus. They don’t get as much recognition in the Gospels as key leaders like Peter and John. They sort of blended in with the rest.
But their contribution shouldn’t be overlooked. Here we see that Andrew is the one who led his brother Peter to faith in Christ. On the heals of that, Philip brings skeptical Nathanael to Jesus. These guys were the first recorded evangelists for Christianity.
Today I received an email from my friend Steve Cordle. He is a pastor in the Pittsburgh area, and the director of the Overflow Network, an effort to spur Christian leaders and churches to win people to Christ and plant other churches. In this communication he states, “The United States has at least 175 million people living apart from Christ. That is the third largest number of any country in the world. It is highly likely that at least 50% of the people in your county are unchurched.” We need more Andrews and Philips.
My oldest grandson is named Andrew. When he was a newborn, I held him in my arms and declared a prophetic word over his life, that he would live up to his name and win others to Jesus. I have done the same over my variously named other five grandchildren. And there are two more soon to arrive. A prophetic proclamation is coming their way!
Later in Jesus’ ministry, Andrew and Philip are again involved in helping people meet Jesus. John 12:20-22 says, “Now there were some Greeks among those who went up to worship at the festival. They came to Philip, who was from Bethsaida in Galilee, with a request. “Sir,” they said, “we would like to see Jesus.” Philip went to tell Andrew; Andrew and Philip in turn told Jesus.”
My guess is that this was business as usual for Andrew and Philip. They were bringing people to Jesus at the beginning and end of his ministry. And after Jesus’ ascended back to heaven, Andrew went to Greece and eastern Europe, while Philip ministered to people from Ethiopia, Syria, Turkey, and Greece.
What about you? Who lives on your street? Who do you bump into at school, work, the gym, or your favorite restaurants? Will you be like Andrew and Philip, introducing them to Jesus and inviting them to church? If you need someone to offer a prophetic prayer over you for evangelism, just let me know!
