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Mr. Campbell
Religion 10
Saint Andrew was born on November 30, at some point in the early first century A.D. He
was born in and grew up in Bethsaida, a small fishing village off the coast of the sea of Galilee.
Andrew’s father had been a fisherman so Andrew, with the help of his little brother, Simon
Peter, continued the family work as he grew up and became an adult. Andrew was well known
in his hometown for being a very strong and skilled fisherman, as well as possessing exceptional
social skills, which would be helpful later on when he became a disciple of Jesus. According to
the Gospel of Matthew, Andrew and Simon Peter were out on the water fishing one day, just like
any other, until Jesus called out to them from the shore. Jesus told them to put down their nets,
come back to the shore, leave their fishing business behind, and to come be “fishers of men”.
Andrew decided to accept the mission Jesus had asked of him. He said yes to Jesus, becoming
the first of the twelve Apostles, followed very shortly by Simon Peter. Although this was not the
first time the two brothers had met Jesus, as Andrew was first introduced to Jesus by John the
Baptist. Andrew had been a disciple of John the Baptist for many years, until Jesus arrived.
John the Baptist, seeing Jesus, gestured towards him and said, “Behold the Lamb of God”.
Andrew realized Jesus was the savior and wanted to follow Him. Later, Andrew and Simon
Peter formally met Jesus when they went to His home to visit Him.
Andrew, with his brother and the other twelve apostles, continued to follow Jesus,
watching and listening as he was preaching and healing others. The Bible does not mention
Andrew again until the story of Jesus feeding the thousands. As the story goes, Jesus was
preaching to thousands of people, but when the crowd became hungry they realized they did not
have any food to eat. The only food that could be found was a few fish and loaves of bread.
Andrew was the one who alerted Jesus of the only boy who had food, from which one of the
more famous miracles was preformed and the small supply of food multiplied. After this point,
the Bible goes on for a while without mentioning Andrew again, up until the Last Supper.
Andrew was present at the Last Supper, given that he was an apostle and very close to Jesus.
After the Ascension of Jesus, Andrew continued to preach the Word of God. He traveled around
much of Asia Minor and the Middle East, then later up to Europe, even going to Kiev in present
day Ukraine. Andrew died as a martyr when he was arrested and sentenced to crucifixion in
Patras in Greece. Andrew was supposed to by killed on a normally shaped cross, but he did not
find himself worthy to die on the same kind of cross as the Messiah, so he requested that they
crucify him on an x-shaped cross. This x-shaped cross would later become a symbol on the
Scottish flag. Saint Andrew lived a great life of importance, and died for the faith he gave up his
fishing business and spent his life for. Few relics of Saint Andrew still remain, but most of those
that do can be found in the church of Saint Andrew in Patras, a church built to honor him in the
place where he was martyred. Saint Andrew is the patron saint of Scotland, Russia, Greece,
Ukraine, Romania, singers, and fishermen. His feast day is November 30.
Saint Andrew, as we approach the Christmas season and remember the birth of
Christ, help us to remember and value the importance of following Jesus, as you did
as an apostle, and as we prepare for when Jesus will come again, help us all to be
strong and faithful followers of Christ as you were. Saint Andrew, pray for us.
Works Cited
“Jesus Calls Four Fishermen to Follow Him - The Fourfold Gospel.” Bible Study Tools.
Online, Catholic. “St. Andrew - Saints & Angels.” Catholic Online, Catholic Online.
“St Andrews Life.” Saint Andrew the Apostle | About St. Andrew Life | The Life of St. Andrew.