Philip and Andrew, Evangelists

GOLDEN TEXT: “And he brought him to Jesus. And when Jesus beheld him, he said, Thou art Simon the son of Jona: thou shalt be called Cephas, which is by interpretation, A stone.” —John 1:42

JOHN 1:35-46

AN EVANGELIST is one who announces glad tidings. The angel who announced the birth of Jesus to the shepherds thus served as an evangelist. Paul informs us that the Gospel, or glad tidings, was previously proclaimed to Abraham by Jehovah. (Gal. 3:8; Gen. 12:1-3) In mentioning the different categories of servants which the Lord has provided for the church of Christ, Paul includes evangelists.—Eph. 4:11

An evangelist may proclaim the Gospel of Christ to a multitude, or to a single individual. It is not the size of the audience, but the character of the message, and the spirit of the individual who announces it, that are the important considerations. In our lesson Andrew qualifies as an evangelist on the ground that he interested his brother Simon, or Peter, in Jesus and introduced him to the Master. Andrew had himself become convinced that Jesus was the promised Messiah, and, in the spirit of evangelism, made known his conviction to his brother.

Later Jesus found Philip. The circumstances which brought the Master into contact with Philip are not revealed. These circumstances are not important. The two may just have happened to meet. Yet, actually, nothing is left to chance in the outworking of the divine arrangement. Many times it may appear to us that certain things just happened to occur, yet if they are related to our walk in the narrow way, or to the service of the Lord, we can be assured that his overruling hand had a part in shaping whatever took place.

So we can be certain that it was by divine appointment that Jesus met Philip, and said to him, “Follow me.” Having himself been convinced that Jesus was the Messiah, Philip also was desirous that others might know this great truth, so he forthwith contacted Nathanael, who perhaps was a friend, and said to him, “We have found him on whom Moses in the Law, and the prophets, did write, Jesus of Nazareth, the Son of Joseph.”—vs. 45

The record is, of course, very brief. It is altogether likely that Philip reminded Nathanael of many of the prophecies concerning the Messiah, and explained why he had been convinced that Jesus was the One who had been foretold. But Nathanael was not entirely convinced. Learning from Philip that Jesus lived in Nazareth, he asked, “Can any good thing come out of Nazareth?”—vss. 44-46

Philip, wisely, did not argue the point. He had confidence in Nathanael’s sincerity, and felt that if he could talk the matter over face to face with the Master, any objections he might have would be overcome. So Philip simply said to Nathanael, “Come and see.” Since Nathanael was one whom the Lord was calling, his being convinced was an easier matter than Philip may have thought it would be.

Jesus observed Nathanael approaching him, and said, “Behold an Israelite indeed, in whom is no guile!” This surprised Nathanael, so he inquired, “Whence knowest thou me?” Jesus answered, “Before that Philip called thee, when thou was under the fig tree, I saw thee.” (vs. 48) Nathanael’s response was spontaneous and positive. He said to Jesus, “Rabbi, thou art the Son of God; thou art the King of Israel.” (vs. 49) Philip had been faithful in bringing Nathanael to Jesus, and he was rewarded by seeing the fruit of his labor.

Evangelism throughout the professed Christian world today is quite different from what it was in the Early Church. True evangelism consists of making known the glad tidings of salvation through Jesus—not salvation from eternal torture, but from death. It consists of identifying Jesus as the foretold Messiah, who, as the promised seed of Abraham, will establish a world government throughout the earth, through the agencies of which all the families of the earth shall be blessed.—Gal. 3:16

This good news of Christ and his kingdom is seldom, if ever, proclaimed by the popular evangelists of our day. They seem to have little or no conception of the Gospel as it was “preached beforehand unto Abraham,” the good news which assured that patriarch that through his seed all the families of the earth were to be blessed. (Gen. 22:18) But this is the true Gospel, and it is an evangelist’s great privilege to proclaim it, whether it be to one or to a multitude.

QUESTIONS

What is an evangelist? Explain how Andrew and Philip served as evangelists.

What message will be proclaimed by true evangelists of the Lord?

Are these glad tidings of the kingdom often proclaimed by the popular evangelists of our day?

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