Andrew

Life and work

Andrew and his brother Simon Peter were fishermen from Bethsaida who worked the Sea of Galilee, and in Mark and Matthew's account Jesus calls both brothers together while they are casting their nets (Matthew 4:18-20). John's Gospel gives a fuller backstory: Andrew was first a disciple of John the Baptist, and when the Baptist pointed out Jesus as "the Lamb of God," Andrew left to follow Jesus and immediately went to find his brother, telling him, "We have found the Messiah" (John 1:35-42) — making Andrew, by this account, the first person Jesus called.

Andrew reappears at a few specific moments in the Gospels. Before the feeding of the five thousand, it is Andrew who points out the boy with five barley loaves and two fish (John 6:8-9). When a group of Greeks wants to meet Jesus, they approach Philip, who brings the request to Andrew, and the two go together to tell Jesus (John 12:20-22). He is also named as one of the inner group of four — with Peter, James, and John — who privately ask Jesus about the destruction of the temple and the end of the age (Mark 13:3).

Beyond these episodes, Andrew is simply listed among the Twelve in the apostolic rosters (Acts 1:13), and the New Testament gives no further account of his later activity.

Dating

Peter's brother and, per John 1:40-41, likely the first of the Twelve to follow Jesus. Early tradition (Origen, via Eusebius) places his later ministry in Scythia and Achaia (Greece), with martyrdom at Patras. Note, though, that the c. AD 60 death date itself comes not from these early sources but from the late-2nd-century apocryphal Acts of Andrew and later martyrologies — it is considerably less secure than Peter's Neronian date and should be held loosely. The famous 'X-shaped cross' detail is a much later medieval addition, not part of the earliest accounts.

Extra-biblical evidence

No contemporary extra-biblical source mentions Andrew. Later Christian tradition, based mainly on the apocryphal Acts of Andrew (2nd-3rd century) and later legends, holds that he preached around the Black Sea and was crucified on an X-shaped cross in Greece — the origin of the 'St. Andrew's cross' symbol — but this material is legendary and written centuries after Andrew's life, not a historical record.

Scripture references

• John 1:35-42 — Follows Jesus and brings his brother Simon Peter to him
• Matthew 4:18-20 — Called while fishing with Peter
• John 6:8-9 — Points out the boy with loaves and fish

Further reading

• Encyclopaedia Britannica: Saint Andrew the Apostle

Reflect

Andrew's habit was simply bringing people to Jesus, starting with his own brother — who first brought you, and who could you bring?