by Jilene Scherenske
Andrew brings barbarians to Jesus (John 12:20-23)
Joh 12:20 ¶ And there were certain Greeks among them that came up to worship at the feast: 21 The same came therefore to Philip, which was of Bethsaida of Galilee, and desired him, saying, Sir, we would see Jesus. 22 Philip cometh and telleth Andrew: and again Andrew and Philip tell Jesus.
In John chapter 12 we find Jesus once again preaching to a crowd shortly after His triumphal entry into Jerusalem. There were many people at Jerusalem since it was the time for the Passover. Among them were certain Greeks, whom the Jews regarded as ‘barbarians’. It is possible that they were proselytes because they were in Jerusalem to celebrate the Passover. They must have had thirsty souls, for they desired to have a private audience with Jesus. They went first to Philip, but, since they were Greeks, he did not know what to do with them, so he consulted Andrew. It was thought amongst the disciples that Jesus’ ministry was chiefly to the Jews. Had they gone to Peter or one of the other disciples they most likely would have been rejected, but Andrew didn’t reject them! Andrew did not care who it was that sought the Savior, he would lead them to Him, no matter who they were, even if they were ‘dogs’, the term the Jews used for the Gentiles. Perhaps he remembered Jesus’ teaching that God loved the whole world. Perhaps Andrew was a step ahead of the others and realized that the gospel was not just for the Jews. The Bible does not record what happened, only that Andrew faithfully took them to Jesus. We do know that they heard Jesus speak of His impending death on the cross, of His drawing every man unto Himself, and of His call to all men to be saved and to discipleship. Tradition states that Dr. Luke was one of these men. Since it was but a few days later that Jesus was crucified I am guessing that these men witnessed the cross and then heard the rumors of His resurrection. I am also guessing that they also received salvation, otherwise why would God include them in the scriptures? Perhaps they went home and began the work of evangelizing their hometown. Perhaps that is why Paul found Greeks who already believed but did not have full information about Jesus. But for our study here, the point is that it was Andrew who led them to Christ. No bias, no partiality, no fear of ‘bothering’ the Savior, just a simple heart to introduce anyone and everyone to Jesus.