No 6

(Philip)

His name in Greek means “lover of horses” and it always appears fifth in the lists of Disciples. He came from Bethsaida, that city of Andrew and Peter (John1:44) and he is not to be confused with Philip, the evangelist who met the Ethiopian eunuch in Acts 8. We first meet Philip in John 1:43, where Jesus said to him “follow me.” This was the first time that Jesus actually called someone to be one of His Disciples because up until then, John, Andrew and Peter had found Jesus and followed Him. Philip had most assuredly been seeking out the Messiah because in John 1:45 we read, “Philip findeth Nathaniel, and saith unto him, We have found him, of whom Moses in the law, and the prophets, did write, Jesus of Nazareth, the son of Joseph.” The next time we see Philip is in John 6 when the crowd that followed Jesus needed to be fed. Jesus tested Philip by saying “Whence shall we buy bread that these may eat?” (v5b). Unfortunately, Philip had pessimistically said “Two hundred pennyworth of bread is not sufficient for them.” Philip had undoubtedly forgotten the miracle of changing water into wine in Cana (John 2) and many other miracles that Jesus had performed.

We meet Philip again in John 12 when certain Greeks wanted to meet Jesus. Again, Philip was unsure of himself because instead of taking the Greeks directly to Jesus, he solicited Andrew’s help “And there were certain Greeks among them that came up to worship at the feast. Sir, we would see Jesus….Philip cometh and telleth Andrew: and again Andrew and Philip tell Jesus.” The last glimpse of Philip is in the upper room just after Jesus had washed the Disciple’s feet and had said “I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me”.; Philip blurted out “Lord, show us the Father and is sufficeth us” (John 14:8b). At that point Jesus had to sum up all that Philip had witnessed in the last three years by saying “Jesus saith unto him, Have I been so long time with you, and yet hast thou not known me, Philip? he that hath seen me hath seen the Father; and how sayest thou then, Shew us the Father?” John 14:9. Philip is an example to show that Jesus works with those who are of limited ability and transforms them into worthy defenders of the faith.