Disciples Bring Others to Jesus | 9/6 Millbrook UMC Contemporary Worship

Andrew’s story begins with Jesus asking, “What are you looking for?” Andrew has been carrying the weight of fishing, Roman taxes, and the long hope that Israel’s Messiah will come. John the Baptizer points to Jesus as “the Lamb of God,” and Andrew follows because he knows something special is happening. Jesus answers Andrew’s question, “Where are you staying?” with the simple invitation, “Come and see.”

Andrew’s first response is to bring Simon to Jesus. Andrew does not offer a polished argument or pretend to have every answer. Andrew has spent one day with Jesus, knows that Jesus is the One for whom God’s people have waited, and tells his brother to come and see for himself. Andrew’s witness grows out of what he has seen, known, and experienced in Christ.

Andrew also brings a boy’s small lunch when thousands are hungry. The bread and fish do not look like enough, and Andrew does not know what Jesus will do with them. Yet Andrew looks around for something that can be offered, because Jesus has power beyond human ability. Jesus takes the ordinary gift, feeds the crowd, and leaves twelve baskets of abundance.

The disciples themselves are a motley crew, likely much younger than religious art often imagines. The disciples get things wrong, lack faith, seek privilege, fall asleep, betray, and deny. Yet Jesus calls them, stays with them, and works through them. Discipleship does not require perfection, and bringing people to Jesus does not require having everything figured out.

Andrew’s example presses the same question upon every disciple: what has Jesus shown them that they can share? Christ’s invitation still says, “Come and see,” through words, welcome, faith lived out in the open, and ordinary gifts offered for the needs of the world. Jesus does not ask for enough bread to solve every hunger before anyone acts. Jesus asks for the bread and fish already in hand, then multiplies what is given.

Christ’s table makes that invitation visible. Jesus gives his body and blood as forgiveness, grace, and spiritual food. God takes ordinary bread and cup, sanctifies them by the Spirit, and sends imperfect disciples into the world to bring others to Christ.

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Key Takeaways

• 1. Come and see Jesus firsthand. Andrew does not begin with a complete explanation of Jesus. Andrew begins with an encounter, a growing certainty, and an invitation for Simon to see Christ personally. Christian witness carries weight when it rises from a real answer to what Christ has done in a person’s own life. [39:02]
• 2. Offer what is already in hand. Andrew sees a boy with five loaves and two fish, and he brings that small offering to Jesus. The gift is not sufficient by itself, but it becomes sufficient in Christ’s hands. Faithfulness is often less about possessing great resources than refusing to withhold ordinary ones from God. [40:26]
• 3. Imperfect disciples still serve Christ. The disciples fail repeatedly, and Jesus does not choose them because they have already become spiritual experts. Their failures do not make sin unimportant, but they do show that grace calls and forms real people. Christ’s work through Andrew makes room for humble obedience instead of performance. [43:19]
• 4. Need should become an offering. Hunger, violence, war, and injustice can make human effort feel pointless. Andrew’s pattern rejects the paralysis of saying, “What difference will it make?” Jesus receives what his disciples bring and multiplies it for the life of the world. [46:12]
• 5. Christ’s table welcomes hungry people. Jesus gives himself in bread and cup as forgiveness, grace, and a feast of abundance. The table belongs neither to a congregation nor to a denomination, but to Jesus Christ. Christ invites all who need mercy to come and see what forgiveness tastes and feels like.
  
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Youtube Chapters

• [00:00] - Welcome
• [37:00] - Andrew’s Search for Hope
• [38:24] - The Lamb of God
• [39:02] - Come and See
• [39:43] - Bread, Fish, and Abundance
• [41:14] - Bringing People to Jesus
• [42:18] - The Motely Crew of Disciples
• [43:36] - Imperfect Discipleship
• [44:22] - Witnessing Through What Christ Has Done
• [45:48] - Offering God What Is Available
• [47:16] - Christ’s Open Table
• [48:40] - Come and See Forgiveness
• [49:06] - Bread and Cup Made Holy

Bible Reading

John 1:35–42

35 The next day again John was standing with two of his disciples, [34:46]
36 and he looked at Jesus as he walked by and said, “Behold, the Lamb of God!” [38:38]
37 The two disciples heard him say this, and they followed Jesus. [39:14]
38 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?” [39:16]
39 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. [39:31]
40 One of the two who heard John speak and followed Jesus was Andrew, Simon Peter’s brother. [39:32]
41 He first found his own brother Simon and said to him, “We have found the Messiah” (which means Christ). [41:14]
42 He brought him to Jesus. [41:14]

John 6:8–13

8 One of his disciples, Andrew, Simon Peter’s brother, said to him, “There is a boy here who has five barley loaves and two fish, but what are they for so many?” [40:21]
9 Jesus said, “Have the people sit down.” Now there was much grass in the place. So the men sat down, about five thousand in number. [40:26]
10 Jesus then took the loaves, and when he had given thanks, he distributed them to those who were seated. So also the fish, as much as they wanted. [40:31]
11 And when they had eaten their fill, he told his disciples, “Gather up the leftover fragments, that nothing may be lost.” [40:45]
12 So they gathered them up and filled twelve baskets with fragments from the five barley loaves left by those who had eaten. [40:52]
13 So they gathered them up and filled twelve baskets with fragments from the five barley loaves left by those who had eaten. [40:56]

Matthew 26:26–28

26 Now as they were eating, Jesus took bread, and after blessing it broke it and gave it to the disciples, and said, “Take, eat; this is my body.” [49:25]
27 And he took a cup, and when he had given thanks he gave it to them, saying, “Drink of it, all of you,” [49:28]
28 “for this is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins.” [49:33]

Observation questions

1. What does John the Baptizer call Jesus, and what do Andrew and the other disciple do after hearing John’s words?
2. Jesus asks, “What are you seeking?” Andrew answers with a question about where Jesus is staying. What does Jesus invite Andrew to do instead of giving a long explanation? [39:02]
3. What are the two different ways Andrew brings others closer to Jesus: first with Simon, and later with the boy’s bread and fish? [42:03]
4. In John 6, what details show both the smallness of the offering and the abundance Jesus provides after the crowd has eaten? [40:45]

Interpretation questions

1. Why might Jesus’ invitation, “Come and see,” be especially meaningful for someone who is searching for hope but does not yet have every question answered? [38:53]
2. Andrew tells Simon, “We have found the Messiah,” after spending only a day with Jesus. What does this show about sharing faith from personal experience rather than trying to have a polished answer for everything? [39:19]
3. Andrew sees that five loaves and two fish are not enough for such a large crowd, yet he brings them to Jesus. How does this story shape the way believers can respond when a need seems far larger than their resources? [41:41]
4. Jesus shares his bread and cup with disciples who will fail him in serious ways. What does this reveal about Christ’s grace and the kind of people Christ calls to follow him? [49:14]

Application questions

1. Jesus still asks, “What are you looking for?” What needs, longings, fears, or hopes are most present in your life right now? What might it look like to bring them honestly to Jesus? [36:57]
2. Andrew invited Simon with the simple words, “Come and see.” Who is one person in your life who may be open to an invitation—to worship, to a small group, to a meal, or simply to a conversation about Jesus? What could a natural invitation sound like? [45:13]
3. Your witness includes what you have seen, known, and experienced in Christ. What is one specific way Jesus has met you, changed you, forgiven you, or carried you that you could share with someone else? [44:51]
4. When you see hunger, violence, war, injustice, or a personal need close to home, do you tend to feel frozen by how large the problem is? What “bread and fish” is already in your hands—time, money, skills, relationships, encouragement, or prayer—that you could offer to Jesus? [46:00]
5. Jesus does not require perfect disciples before working through them. Where does fear of failure, lack of knowledge, or awareness of your own weakness keep you from serving, inviting, or speaking about your faith? [43:40]
6. Welcoming people can be one way of saying, “Come and see.” How can you more intentionally notice and welcome someone who is new, lonely, uncertain, or different from you in the church or in your daily life? [45:38]
7. At Christ’s table, Jesus offers his body and blood as forgiveness and grace. How might receiving Christ’s forgiveness free you to stop performing perfection and to go into the world as a humble disciple? [49:33]