Who Was Jesus’ First Disciple?

There was an absolutely fascinating TED Talk delivered about 15 years ago by Derek Sivers. Sivers uses a rather hilarious YouTube clip to explain how movements begin. The clip is of a guy doing a crazy dance. Fast forward a few minutes and there are scores of people doing the same crazy dancing. How’d the movement get started? Sivers emphasizes the importance of a “first follower.” Without that first follower, no movement can ever get started.

Now, we certainly wouldn’t compare Jesus to a drunken guy dancing on a hillside. Nor would we say that the “first follower” is more important than the leader. There are things taking place in the Jesus Movement which are not determined by typical social movements — there is more going on here. Nevertheless, Jesus’ first disciples were important.

Interestingly enough, there appears to be some discrepancy in the Scriptures when it comes to naming that first disciple. Most believe it is Andrew, but there are other options.

Who Do the Gospel’s Credit as Jesus’ First Follower?  

If the beloved disciple is to be believed, and he is, then there is no doubt about who arrived at the tomb of Jesus first: this disciple or Peter. John makes it clear that he beat Peter in that foot race. There is no doubt about that one. But if we ask the question about the first follower, it will depend on who you ask.

According to John (John 1:35-42), Andrew and an unnamed disciple (possibly John) are identified as the first followers of Jesus. According to John, Andrew then went and grabbed his brother, Simon (Peter), and he became a follower too. This is followed up with the calling of Philip and Nathanael (who liked to go by the name Bartholomew).

But if you ask the Synoptics (Matthew, Mark, and Luke), then it was Simon, Andrew, James and John. Well, except Luke — he doesn’t even mention Andrew. In the Synoptics it seems like Simon and Andrew were fishing in their own boat alongside James and John. This seems to contradict John’s account where Simon is off doing something else and it is Andrew and John together. What gives?

The most likely explanation is that this is describing two separate accounts. Andrew and this unnamed disciple are connected with John the Baptist (who we may also say is, in a sense, Jesus’ first follower). John the Baptist points to Jesus as being “the Lamb of God.” This is a key point because John doesn’t appear to be on lockdown at this stage. But if we go to the Synoptics and read about the calling of Andrew, Simon, James, and John, we are told that this happened after John was imprisoned. That must mean we have two different times when they were called.

I know that we’ve heard several stories and marveled at the faith of these men who just dropped their fishing nets and went to follow Jesus. It is so ingrained in our mind that I think we’ve supplied a few words. And I think we’ve done that on both accounts. In John’s account, Jesus doesn’t exactly call them into full discipleship. He really only shows them where he lives and they hang out for a day. Andrew then goes and finds his brother and shares the story of what happened. No fishing for men, no “follow me,” except “come to my house.”

And when Jesus is with Andrew and Simon on the shore, there is nothing that says, “Having come upon these two dudes that he’d totally never seen before” he said, “hey, random fishermen, you’re going to now become fishers of men.” We’ve supplied all that. It wouldn’t be strange for there to be more than one encounter with Jesus. It is here that he calls them to follow him. Though we might surmise that Andrew (and that unnamed disciple) had at least been following Jesus at some distance for a bit. Which is why most have concluded that Jesus’ first disciple was Andrew — because it’s just too much to type “and the unnamed disciple.”

Does It Matter Who Jesus' First Follower Was?

It’s at least moderately important for us to explain that the Scriptures do not contradict themselves. We want to be able to demonstrate that God’s Word is trustworthy and reliable and that it doesn’t contradict itself, otherwise we run into some real problems with saying God is the Author. But does it really matter if we square this all up neatly? What do we even mean by first follower, anyways?

Andrew and this unnamed disciple seem from the gospel of John to be the first people to follow the pointer finger of John the Baptist into an apprenticeship with Jesus. But we also know from the gospel of John that “following” is incredibly fickle throughout the gospel accounts. John’s main emphasis there isn’t about Andrew, the unnamed disciple, or even Simon Peter. His emphasis is that things are transferring from pointer (John) to the One being pointed to.

There is a different emphasis in the Synoptics, which is why we have Peter, Andrew, and the Sons of Zebedee all right there as the first followers of Jesus. But we must also admit that if we define following Jesus as doing things like recognizing Jesus’ divinity, that title will go to Nathanael — or perhaps a demon in the gospel of Mark if you’d like to go that route.

My point here is that as much as Derek Sivers’ illustration about being a first follower makes for a great TED Talk, it doesn’t exactly matter much for the gospel account. I’m inclined to say that it is Andrew who is the first follower. And if that’s the case, it’s also interesting that Andrew is only mentioned 12 times in the Scriptures. Being called first doesn’t necessarily equate to being the “most important.” It’s not like Jesus was picking an all-star team and he wanted to make sure that Andrew was on his squad because of how well he could hit a curveball.

But there are a few lessons in here for us to think about.

Lessons from the First Disciple

Let’s assume here that Andrew is the first disciple, as he is often credited with. His life teaches us a few things. As already mentioned, I find it interesting that Andrew seems to have been the first one to make that leap from John the Baptist to Christ, and yet Andrew’s profession of faith isn’t “the rock upon which the church will be built” as might be said of Peter. Andrew’s faith was quieter, but still impactful.

Andrew would face the same martyrdom as almost all of Jesus’ first disciples. The story goes that he was crucified on a diagonal cross as he felt he wasn’t worthy to die on the same shape of cross as Jesus. Personally, I find that a tad fanciful (most executors in the ancient world wouldn’t have taken the time to craft a more acceptable instrument). Nevertheless, there is very early evidence that he was crucified on an X shaped cross.

We also know that Andrew was instrumental in taking the gospel around the shores of the Black Sea, taking the good news of Jesus to the places around modern day Greece and Turkey. If you’re curious why Scotland is so big on St. Andrew, it’s because of a dream that King Angus had of St. Andrew in the 9^th century, it’s not because Andrew made it that far with the gospel.

Andrew was faithful to proclaim the gospel — beginning with his brother, Simon. That’s how it usually goes when one decides to follow Jesus. Your immediate family are typically the first ones to hear about this change in your life and be impacted by the impact which Jesus is having upon you. Be like Andrew in this regard. But also, be like Andrew in having a quiet faith; family is seldom won over by a boisterous convert.

First followers are important. Andrew is to be commended for making that bold leap of faith to following Christ. And it’s also beautiful that he seems to have taken a quiet role. He was the guy who saw the little bit of fish and bread that a boy had, took it to Jesus, and watched it be multiplied. That seems to be a picture of Andrew’s faith. He wasn’t afraid to ask questions (inviting Jesus over to his home) and he had the faith to believe that small things in the hand of the Messiah can work wonders.  

Let’s come back to what Sivers tells us about first followers. He notes that it is often an under-appreciated form of leadership. Andrew is one of the most under-appreciated disciples. We talk about James and John. And we talk about Peter quite often. But Andrew takes a back seat. Sivers would argue that the first-follower is the one who “creates” the leader. We wouldn’t say that as believers in Jesus — but there is something to be said about the important role Andrew played by inviting second and third followers to come and see about Jesus.

What would it mean for you to be a type of “first-follower” for your family or co-workers? Are there ways that you can bridge the gap between a Jesus that people do not know and the One who can transform lives?

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