Philip Series

If Simon the Zealot was a right-winger and Matthew the Publican

a left- winger, Philip was a cautious middle of the roader. He had

both liberal and conservative leanings. His background was one of

mixed influence. His name, for example, tell us something of his

home life. Philip is a Greek name, and when Jewish parents give

their baby boy a Greek name it tells you something about their

outlook on life. This is especially evident with the name of Philip,

for this is the name of the ruler over that area when Philip was born.

Prince Philip, or Philip the Tetrarch, as Scripture calls him, of the

Herodian House was reigning when Philip was born. He ruled from

4 B. C. to A. D. 34. This was the Philip whose wife Herod was living

with, which caused John the Baptist to speak words of

condemnation.

It was Philip's former wife, Herodius who had John the Baptist

killed. John the Baptist was the one who pointed Andrew to Jesus,

and Andrew pointed Jesus to Philip. This means that Philip was

named after the man whose wife killed the man whose action lead to

him becoming an Apostle. Prince Philip, of course, cannot be held

responsible for the evil conduct of his unfaithful wife. He was well

liked as a ruler, and obvious was appreciated by the parents of the

Apostle. It could be that they benefited by his acts in relation to

Bethsaida. Verse 44 tells us that Philip was from this city. Josephus

tells us of the Tetrarch's interests in Bethsaida. "He raised the

village of Bethsaida, situated at the lake of Gennesarath, to city

rank, provided it with a greater number of inhabitants and other

powers...."

This likely helped the parents of the Apostle in some

way-probably economically, and in gratitude they names their son

after Prince Philip. He was one who sought to balance things

between the Jewish and Greek views, and so the parents of Philip

must have been in favor of this balance and the harmony of the old

and the new, and so were politically middle of the road type people.

The evidence that Philip grew up with this kind of attitude is the fact

that when the Greeks wanted to get an interview with Jesus they

came to Philip. He had a Greek name and was obviously

sympathetic to the Greeks. He was cautious, however, and he went

to talk it over with Andrew before he went to Jesus. He was the type

of man who wanted a second opinion before he acted, which also

shows him to be a middle of the road type person.

Andrew was a good friend of Philip, and the evidence reveals that

many of the Apostles had a relationship before they were called by

Jesus. Peter and Andrew, and James and John were two sets of

brothers who were in business together. Verse 44 tells us that Philip

was from Bethsaida, which was the city of Andrew and Peter. John

is clearly indicating a connection of these men, and that they were

friends before they became Apostles. Andrew found his brother

Peter in v. 41, and then Jesus went to Galilee and found Philip in v.

43, and in v. 45 Philip found Nathaniel and said we have found the

Messiah. We have a series of founds here where it is clear that they

knew each other. Jesus found Philip after he talked to Andrew and

Peter, and the implication is that they told Jesus about him. They

told him of their friend in their hometown, who was also one who

was looking for the Messiah. They recommended him to Jesus and

the next day Jesus looked him up.

The fact that John is the only one who tells us these details shows

that he was also a part of this group of friends. The other Gospel

writers tell us nothing of Philip but his name, but this author tells us

of his call, of his testing at the feeding of the 5000, of his bringing the

Greeks to Jesus, and of his question to Jesus at the Last Supper. The

other writers did not know Philip, but to John he was part of the old

gang that became a part of this new gang of Apostles of Jesus. It is

of interest to note that Jesus selected a group of men who were

already friends and who had spiritual commitments before he met

them. Philip got a place in recorded Scripture largely because of his

friends, and he in turn brought his friend Nathaniel to Christ.

Verse 35 reveals that Philip was a Bible student. He said, "We

have found him of whom Moses in the law and also the prophets

wrote." Philip knew the prophecy of the coming Messiah. It was on