“And he called to him his twelve disciples and gave them authority over unclean spirits, to cast them out, and to heal every disease and every affliction. 2 The names of the twelve apostles are these: first, Simon, who is called Peter, and Andrew his brother; James the son of Zebedee, and John his brother; 3 Philip and Bartholomew; Thomas and Matthew the tax collector; James the son of Alphaeus, and Thaddaeus; 4 Simon the Zealot, and Judas Iscariot, who betrayed him.” (Matthew 10:1–4 ESV)
We continue our profile of the Twelve Apostles. Today’s study concerns the Apostle Phillip. The first mention of Phillip is in the Gospel of John.
43 “The next day Jesus decided to go to Galilee. He found Philip and said to him, “Follow me.” 44 Now Philip was from Bethsaida, the city of Andrew and Peter. 45 Philip found Nathanael and said to him, “We have found him of whom Moses in the Law and also the prophets wrote, Jesus of Nazareth, the son of Joseph.” 46 Nathanael said to him, “Can anything good come out of Nazareth?” Philip said to him, “Come and see.” (John 1:43–46 (ESV)
“Philip, in bearing witness to Jesus, made his confession of faith in his conviction that Jesus was the One who had been prophesied through the Old Testament Law and the Prophets, that He was the Messiah,” explains Dr. R. C. Sproul.
The next mention of Phillip was when Jesus fed the 5,000 (John 6:1-14). Phillip calculated the cost of feeding such a multitude (John 6:7). He appeared to not only be a practical man but also a financially insightful man.
“Some people, I believe, have unfairly and unjustly dismissed Philip as just another calculating person because he should’ve realized that Jesus had the power to feed every one of those five thousand people without having to buy an enormous amount of food. That’s tremendously unfair since it was a statement made in passing and certainly is not characteristic of Philip and his whole life,” states Dr. Sproul.
The next mention of Phillip was when the disciples celebrated their final Passover Meal with Jesus, hours before His arrest, trial and crucifixion (John 13-17). Phillip asked Jesus to show the disciples God the Father (John 14:8). Jesus responded that whoever had seen the Son, Jesus, had seen the God the Father (John 14:9-11).
“If there was ever a time when Jesus seemed to be exasperated with one of His Apostles or disciples, it was this occasion. He said to Philip: “How long have I been with you, and you still don’t know Me? Don’t you understand, Philip, that he who has seen Me has seen the Father?” What a powerful statement Jesus made regarding the significance of His incarnation: “He who has seen me has seen the Father,” continues Dr. Sproul.
One of evidences the Bible is Word of God is that it accurately portrays followers of Jesus as they really were; including their faults. Phillip was a flawed individual, but he was a forgiven individual and a useful individual for the kingdom of God. May we be the same.
Soli deo Gloria!
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