Philip
There are two individuals called Philip in the Bible. One is the apostle Philip and the other is an evangelist who took the gospel to Samaria, then introduced the Ethiopian treasurer to Jesus and then evangelised down the Mediterranean coast before settling in Caesarea. In this sermon, we will focus on the apostle with this name.
His conversion (John 1:43-44)
John describes the conversion of Philip. From one point of view John does not say a lot: ‘The next day Jesus decided to go to Galilee. He found Philip and said to him, “Follow me.” Yet there are three details we can notice.
First, Jesus was willing to travel a distance to meet Philip. This is a reminder that the Saviour did not regard locating his people a burden. He may have travelled forty or fifty miles, perhaps more, to find Philip. Of course, we can see in this short journey a reminder of the longer journey that Jesus took to deliver his people from the penalty of their sins.
Second, Jesus did not use another person to locate Philip. He did not send Peter or Andrew to do so, even although they probably knew Philip since they were from the same town. Instead he went by himself. He knew where Philip was and he knew how much he would need to say to Philip. Jesus uses this method often. Not every convert has a believer witness to him. Nor does every convert require a prolonged process of convincing. Jesus can speak with power in a person’s heart very quickly.
Third, Jesus introduced Philip to the other disciples. We can see this had happened because of the pronoun Philip uses when he speaks to Nathanael. Philip says ‘we’, which means that he had met those who had become Jesus’ followers before he did. The first thing that Jesus wants converts to do is join the church in a personal way. He does not expect them to exist in isolation.
The change (John 1:45-46)
How do we know that a person has been changed by Jesus? Several answers can be given to this question. The obvious one in Philip’s case is that he went and told his friend Nathanael about Jesus. What can be said about this evidence of a change in his heart?
First, it is obvious that Philip did not initially witness to one whom he did not know personally. Indeed, it seems that he knew Nathanael as a close friend, one who had spiritual interests, otherwise why would he speak about the predictions of the Messiah in the Bible. As far as Philip was concerned, there was a desire in his heart for his friend to be converted and therefore he went and found him. Putting this desire into action is a good evidence of conversion.
Second, Philip spoke about Jesus in a way that Nathanael could understand. Technically, Jesus was not the son of Joseph and we sometimes get ourselves into all kinds of knots by trying to avoid saying this statement about Jesus. Yet Jesus’ everyday name would have been ‘the son of Joseph’. That is how people would have identified him. It would have been a barrier to this conversation if Philip had tried to explain how Joseph was not the father of Jesus. Indeed at that moment Philip may not even have known about the virgin birth. Yet his ignorance did not prevent him speaking about his newfound faith. Sometimes we imagine that we have to get our doctrines sorted out before we can speak about Jesus. Yet if we want to be perfect in our explanations we may never say anything.
Third, when Nathaniel asked a question that Philip could not answer, Philip knew what he should do. The best answer for a person with a genuine question is to encourage them to make personal contact with Jesus. We know that Nathanael did that. How do we guide people to meet Jesus? The answer is that they should read about him in the Gospels. There they can find much information about him.
Tested (John 6:5-7)
We move on to the second year of the three years of Christ’s public ministry, to the incident when he fed several thousand people. One question that we could ask about the disciples is whether they had fully grasped what Jesus could do. John records a discussion that took place on that occasion.
Jesus asked Philip, ‘Where are we to buy bread, so that these people may eat?’ What is the unusual word in this question? How about the word ‘we’? Jesus does not ask Philip what he can do about the situation, nor does he ask Philip for his opinion of what Jesus could do about the situation. Both these questions are easy to answer. What could Philip do about the situation? Nothing. What could Jesus do about the situation? Anything that he wished. What could Philip and Jesus together do about the situation?
John says that Jesus was testing Philip. In a sense, he asked Philip, ‘Do you think that I can enable you to be involved in incredible events in which my power can be displayed?’ Philip’s answer shows that he did not make a spiritual assessment, but merely thought in financial terms, although his assessment was correct from that point of view. Responding with earthly thinking will always deny the spiritual power of Jesus. So we can see that Philip still has a lot to learn.
Approachable (John 12:20-23)
Another year passes and we come to the time of the final Passover in the life of Jesus. Among the thousands who had gathered for the event were some Gentile proselytes with a desire to find out more about Jesus. Although we are not told in details what Philip did in response to their request, we assume that he showed them how they could see Jesus.
What can we observe about Philip on this occasion? First, it is evident that the Greeks regarded him as approachable. This is very commendable. Did the visitors look round to see which of the disciples they could ask? Whether they did or not, they recognised that they could ask Philip about Jesus. Somehow he indicated to them that he could answer their question.
Second, we see that Philip seems to have developed a spiritual friendship with Andrew. This friendship had been hinted at in the previous incident involving the feeding of the five thousand men because Andrew, on that occasion, had mentioned the presence of a boy with a little food. It is good to have close spiritual friends, provided they are used for the right reasons, for spiritual growth. We have heard of famous ones like that between Andrew Bonar and Murray McCheyne. Obviously, such friendships should not be with the opposite gender in a one to one way. But the Bible commends healthy friendships.
Third, without realising it initially, Philip’s little action for Jesus on this occasion had special significance for Jesus because it enabled him to say to Philip that the best way for the Greeks to see him would be to consider his imminent death and resurrection. Inevitably, at that particular time, Philip could not yet say, ‘The best way to see Jesus is to consider his sufferings and subsequent glory.’ But within a few weeks, he would be saying that.
Ignorance of the important (John 14:8-11)
We have already seen how Philip could make wrong assessments such as when Jesus asked him how they could feed the crowds. Now he reveals that he has not fully appreciated what Jesus had been doing during his three years of public ministry, which was to reveal the Father.
Philip’s question is strange. Did he expect Jesus, at that moment, to arrange a special revelation of the invisible Father? Followers of Jesus can ask for the most inappropriate things at times and give the impression that their focus is on something helpful?
The response of Jesus to Philip’s statement of ignorance reveals the sadness of the Saviour: ‘Have I been with you so long, and you still do not know me, Philip?’ Physical proximity to Jesus did not guarantee spiritual discernment in Philip. He had not grasped that the miracles of Jesus were not just his works because they also involved the actions of the Father. Philip has not appreciated the harmony and mutual involvement of the Trinity in everything.
Our response to this incident should not be amazement at the ignorance of Philip. Instead, we should put ourselves in his shoes and wonder what we would say if Jesus asked that searching question to us. Philip did not answer Jesus because, after all, he deserved the rebuke. But it is both solemn and sad to realise that we can cause disappointment in the heart of Jesus, that we can grieve the Spirit.
Philip filled with the Spirit (Acts 1 and 2)
The last mention we have of Philip by name is in Acts 1 where he is listed with the other disciples as waiting in prayer for the coming of the promised Holy Spirit at Pentecost. He has grown much in a few weeks. Since that night in the upper room, he has discovered the reason for the crucifixion of Jesus, met the resurrected Jesus and observed him ascend to heaven. Jesus had prepared Philip for his calling and despite his failures he was still a useful disciple.
What would we want to say to Philip? Perhaps we would say to him that despite his failings we learned so much from him. We learned the variety of conversion, the importance of a changed heart, the necessity of spiritual thinking, the benefits of being approachable, and the possibility of misunderstanding Jesus and being forgiven by him. After all, Philip is a spiritual mirror in which we see not just him but also ourselves.