Philip the Apostle #82

Philip the Apostle was one of the twelve disciples of Jesus, listed in Matthew 10:3, Mark 3:18, Luke 6:14 and Acts 1:13. The Synoptic Gospels give only his name, but John’s Gospel records four short scenes in which he appears, and together they give a picture of a practical, plain-spoken follower. He should not be confused with Philip the evangelist, one of the seven chosen in Acts 6:5 who preached in Samaria and to the Ethiopian official (Acts 8), though some early Christian writers did run the two together.

Biblical Significance

John says Philip came from Bethsaida, the town of Andrew and Peter (John 1:44). In John’s Gospel he is the first person to whom Jesus says directly, “Follow me” (John 1:43). Philip then finds Nathanael and tells him that they have found the one Moses and the prophets wrote about. When Nathanael doubts that anything good could come from Nazareth, Philip simply says, “Come and see” (John 1:45-46), an invitation that has become a model of low-pressure witness.

Before the feeding of the five thousand, Jesus asks Philip where they might buy bread for the crowd. John explains that Jesus was testing him, since Jesus already knew what he would do. Philip answers that two hundred denarii worth of bread would not be enough for each to have a little (John 6:5-7). The scene shows a disciple thinking in terms of budgets while Jesus is about to provide abundance.

When some Greeks who had come to worship at the Passover asked to see Jesus, they approached Philip, who in turn told Andrew, and the two went to Jesus (John 12:20-22). Finally, at the last supper Philip says, “Lord, shew us the Father, and it sufficeth us.” Jesus replies gently that anyone who has seen him has seen the Father (John 14:8-9). This exchange is a key text for Christian teaching on the relationship of the Son to the Father.

Legacy

Philip is remembered as a bridge figure: he links Nathanael, Andrew and even outsiders to Jesus, and his honest questions draw out some of the deepest statements in John. Later tradition says he preached in Asia Minor and was martyred at Hierapolis, but the sources are late and sometimes confuse him with the evangelist of Acts, so these details are best held loosely. What Scripture supplies is enough. Philip shows that discipleship can begin with a simple invitation to come and see, and that even a slow, literal-minded follower can be used to draw others to Christ.