Philip – The Pragmatic Apostle

Philip was born in the fishing village of Bethsaida on the northern shore of the sea of Galilee. Bethsaida is the same seaside town in which Andrew, the First Called Link to Andrew, and his brother, Simon-Peter were operating Peter’s fishing business. Link to Simon-Peter.

Bethsaida is about six miles east of Capernaum where Zebedee, the Fisherman and his wife Mary-Salome and his two sons, the Apostle John, the Evangelist (the Gospel writer) Link to John, and the Apostle James, the Greater all lived. Link to James the Greater.

Capernaum is also the village where Matthew, the tax collector, and publican (government employee) lived. Link to Matthew.  Matthew was employed in the service of the provincial Roman governor, Pontius Pilate.

Philip is another young Galilean Jew who was following John the Baptist’s calls to Israel to repent of their sins and make straight the path of the imminent appearance of God’s promised Messiah.

The Name Philip is of Greek Origin

The name Philip is remarkable because, like the name Andrew, it is a Greek name. There is no known Hebrew or Aramaic analog to the name Philip.

This reflects the extent of the Hellenization which was left over from the conquests of Alexander the Great. After Alexander’s death, his successors, the Diadochi ruled the Levant (Greater Palestine) including Galilee until the Seleucid ruler, Antiochus IV was were expelled from interfering with the Jewish practices in the Second Temple in Jerusalem and from their overlordship of Israel during the Maccabean Revolt (in the 160 BC). That Philip was given a Greek name, shows the persistence of the Hellenization of Israel which was still present in of the region at the time of Christ.

The common tongue of Galilee was the Semitic, Syrian language of Aramaic. Philip is also believed to have been fluent in Koine Greek, the language used in commerce, and He understood at least some Latin, the language of the Roman rulers of Levant region in the first century.

Philip was Called Directly By Jesus the Christ

John reports Philip’s being called directly by Jesus ^{John1:43 and Mark 3:14}. Philip subsequently followed Jesus throughout His remaining days walking as a man on Earth. In Spanish Philip is known as San Felipe. He transitioned from chosen disciple (student follower) to become one of Christ’s 12 chosen apostles (messengers or ambassadors) when the risen Christ issued His Great Commission to his disciples.

The Apostle Philip should not be confused with Philip the Deacon, one of the first seven deacons chosen by the apostles ^{Acts 6:5}. These ordained deacons were needed to handle the day-to-day needs of the growing nascent Christian church in Jerusalem.

Philip Ran to Tell Nathaniel

As soon as Philip answered Jesus’ call, he ran to tell his friend Nathaniel (who is also known as Bartholomew) that Jesus of Nazareth was the Messiah of God, who had been written about, and promised to Israel by Moses and the prophets of old. Nathaniel immediately chose to followed Jesus with Philip. Link to Nathanael.

The Miraculous Feeding of the 5000

In Galilee a large crowd of 5000 people came to hear Jesus’s divine wisdom spoken on the lake shore. After listening to Jesus most of day, it was getting late, and there was no food to feed them. Jesus asked Philip “Where they could buy bread to feed the crowd?” Philip gave Jesus the pragmatic materialist answer. We don’t have enough money to buy food to feed them all. Philip didn’t seem to consider the possibility of supernatural providence being the answer.

Andrew was the one who mentioned the boy who had 5 barley loaves of bread and 2 small fish to Jesus, but he too did not seem to consider the divine power of the Son of God to handle this situation supernaturally either.

Jesus blessed the loaves and fish and had them distributed. All ate until they were full, and then 12 baskets of leftovers were collected. All four of the evangelists (the ancient term for the writers of the four gospels) were impressed enough by this miracle that they each recorded the event in their accounts of the Life of the Son of Man, Jesus ^{Matthew 14:13–21, Mark 6:31–44, Luke 9:12–17, and John 6:1-14}.

In the Wilderness God Supplied the Israelites with Manna, the Bread from Heaven

The census performed by the Israelites when they left Egypt described the 12 tribes of Israel being a nation of some 2,000,000 plus people. God divinely provided His rescued, Chosen people with manna to eat in the wilderness, daily. The manna from heaven was a Scriptural foretype of the bread from heaven His Son used to feed the 5000.

Both Feeding the 5000 and the Manna are Foretypes of Salvation – The Bread from Heaven a Scriptural Metaphor for Eternal Life

The entire Bible is a single unified narrative which describes God being the provider for mankind. God’s continuous providence for His people is exemplified in the well provisioned Garden of Eden. That providence was also demonstrated throughout the 40 years the Israelites sojourned in the wilderness. During that period the Israelites were absolutely and directly dependent on God for every bite they ate. Through the miracle of the feeding of the 5000, we are told that we should trust God for our well being, and He will provide for us.

As T. S. Eliot adroitly wrote,

“We had the experience but missed the meaning.”

The very day after the feeding of the 5000, some of the Galileans from the crowd who had pursued Jesus to the other side of the lake to ask Him:

“Then they said to Him, “What shall we do, that we may work the works of God?” Jesus answered and said to them, “This is the work of God, that you believe in Him whom He sent.” Therefore they said to Him, “What sign will You perform then, that we may see it and believe You? What work will You do? Our fathers ate the manna in the desert; as it is written, ‘He gave them bread from heaven to eat.’ ” Then Jesus said to them, “Most assuredly, I say to you, Moses did not give you the bread from heaven, but My Father gives you the true bread from heaven. For the bread of God is He who comes down from heaven and gives life to the world.” Then they said to Him, “Lord, give us this bread always.” And Jesus said to them, “I am the bread of life. He who comes to Me shall never hunger, and he who believes in Me shall never thirst. But I said to you that you have seen Me and yet do not believe. All that the Father gives Me will come to Me, and the one who comes to Me I will by no means cast out. For I have come down from heaven, not to do My own will, but the will of Him who sent Me. This is the will of the Father who sent Me, that of all He has given Me I should lose nothing, but should raise it up at the last day. And this is the will of Him who sent Me, that everyone who sees the Son and believes in Him may have everlasting life; and I will raise him up at the last day ^{John 6:28-40} .”

Philip Welcomed the Greek Pilgrims Coming to See Jesus

Philip was involved in a significant event when some Greek pilgrims who apparently already knew Philip came to see Jesus. Remember that Philip was most likely fluent in Greek. On Palm Sunday, immediately after Christ’s triumphal entry into Jerusalem, Greek pilgrims attending the Passover Festival approached Philip and asked him if they could speak with Jesus. Philip spoke to Andrew, and together they brought Philip’s Greek acquaintances to Jesus.

This event is important because it illustrates that Christ was reaching out beyond the Jewish community. It emphasizes the point that Christ came for all nations, not just for Israel. This interaction marks an important moment in the Gospel narrative, signaling that the message of Jesus was for the non-Jewish Gentiles as well as for the obedient and observant Jews ^{John 12:20-22}.

Philip’s Question to Jesus During the Last Supper

During the Last Supper, (Christ’s inauguration of the Sacrament of Communion) Philip asked Jesus to show him and the rest of the disciples the Father. In response, Jesus told Philip:

“He who has seen Me has seen the Father; so how can you say, ‘Show us the Father’? Do you not believe that I am in the Father, and the Father in Me? The words that I speak to you I do not speak on My own authority; but the Father who dwells in Me does the works. Believe Me that I am in the Father and the Father in Me, or else believe Me for the sake of the works ^{John 14:9-11}.”

The Crescendo of Philip’s Participation in the Life of Christ – Holy Week

The crescendo of the Life of Christ, which Philip was an eyewitness to, was the events in Jerusalem on Holy Week. Most likely, these events occurred in AD 33. The importance and meaning of these events are describe in some detail in the post on the Son of Thunder – Apostle James the Greater, linked below. Suffice it to say here that the Crucifixion and Resurrection of the 37 year old Jesus Christ on Friday, April 3rd and Sunday, April 5th of AD 33 changed the world forever.

Philip was also an active participant in the subsequent events of the risen Jesus teaching his disciples the meaning of his atoning death, and of his subsequent Divine Resurrection. As with Cleopas and his friend on the road to Emmaus, Jesus no doubt spent most of his remaining time with his disciples explaining how the entirety of Jewish Scriptures point directly to the events of His passion.

Then, Christ’s direct discipling work done, Philip and the apostles watched Him ascend back into Heaven to join His Father. Ten days later Philip was also present at Pentecost and when he was filled with the Holy Spirit, and empowered by God to teach and preach the truth of Christ’s life and of the salvation and restoration of mankind to personal fellowship and closeness with God.

The Apostles Initially Ministered in and Around the Levant Region

The second half of Luke’s original Gospel was later divided and became The Acts of the Apostles. That book details the initial evangelism performed by the 12 apostles and by God’s Holy Spirit, in and around Jerusalem and throughout the region of the Levant. They witnessed in the region and worked to help with the growing mostly Jewish “Sect of the Nazarene,” which was the nascent One, Holy, Universal and Apostolic Christian Church.

Philip is the Apostle Who Explained Christ to the Ethiopian Eunuch

An angel told Philip to follow the Coastal Highway down to Gaza. There Philip encountered an important Ethiopian man who was the treasurer for Queen Candace of Ethiopia. He had come to Jerusalem to worship God, and was traveling south towards Egypt on his way back home to Ethiopia. The Eunuch was sitting in his chariot reading a scroll which was a copy of The Book of Isaiah. Philip explained how Christ was the fulfillment of Isaiah’s prophesies, and the Ethiopian accepted Christ. Philip then obeyed Christ’s Great Commission to him and he immediately baptized the Ethiopian in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, and the Ethiopian went on his way rejoicing ^{Acts 8:26-39}.

The Persecution of Christians in Jerusalem Stimulated the Wider Missionary Journeys of the Apostles

Luke’s book of The Acts of the Apostles describes a disturbing event which occurred in AD 44.

The Romanized Jewish King Herod Agrippa of Jerusalem killed James, the Brother of John (James the Greater) and imprisoned Simon-Peter. After Peter’s angelic release from Herod’s prison, Peter warned his fellow believers of Herod’s newfound enthusiasm for persecuting Christians, and Peter left Jerusalem. James the Just, the half-brother of Jesus, and the author of the Book of James, was then confirmed and seated as the Bishop of Jerusalem.

Satan may have meant the execution of James the Greater and the persecution of the Apostles in Jerusalem for evil; however, God worked those events for His good. The persecution in Jerusalem provoked many subsequent missionary journeys out into the wider reaches of the Roman Empire and well beyond the boundaries of that empire. Despite persecution in the Christian diocese of Jerusalem, the Church there also continued to thrive, as the Book of the Acts describes.

By the way, shortly thereafter, Herod the blasphemer, was eaten to death by worms ^{Acts 12:23} !! Secular historians record the death of Herod Agrippa as occurring in AD 44, so James’ martyrdom must have also occurred in the spring of that year.

Philip’s Missionary Journeys Outside of the Levant Region

The undisputed early Christian oral tradition regarding the rest of Philip’s life catalogs his missionary journeys. Philip left on his first missionary journey around AD 44, traveling with his sister Mariamne and the Apostle Nathan-Bartholomew to spread the Gospel beyond the Levant region.

Philip and his associates apparently traveled throughout Greece, Anatolia, Syria, and various other regions. They particularly focused on Phrygia, in the western region of modern-day Turkey. According to that tradition, he performed many miracles and helped establish numerous Christian communities. He is said to have established a church in Hierapolis, and ultimately seated the his disciple Papias as the first Bishop of Hierapolis sometime late in the first century. Bishop Papias is known to have served until sometime around AD 140.

Philip is said to have been martyred for his faith in Hierapolis, where he was reportedly crucified upside down, mirroring the reported martyrdom of St. Peter. His willingness to die for his faith emphasizes his unwavering commitment to Christ and His teachings. Philip is thought to have become one of the earlier of the 11 apostles who were martyred (John the evangelist died of natural causes).

The Earliest Recorded History of Philip’s Journeys of Evangelism

The oral traditions surrounding the apostle Philip were collected into written form around AD 320 and comprise the obviously non-biblical (non-canonical) book which is titled The Acts of Philip. This book is believed to have been written by a contemporary of Eusebius of Caesarea, who compiled and wrote his respected book, The Ecclesiastical History of the Church around the same time.

According to the account written in The Acts of Philip, Philip, through a miraculous healing and his preaching converted the wife of the Roman proconsul of the city of Hierapolis to the Christian faith. This enraged the proconsul, and he had Philip, Nathan, and Mariamne all tortured. Philip and Nathan were then crucified upside down. While hanging upside down on the his cross, Philip preached to the crowd which gathered to watch them die. As a result of Philip’s preaching, the crowd released Nathan from his cross, but Philip insisted that they not release him, and Philip died on the cross.

Symbols of Philip in Medieval Artworks

Philip is commonly associated with the cross with the two loaves (because of his answer to the Lord in John 6:7), a basket filled with bread, a spear with the patriarchal cross, and a cross with a carpenter’s square. He is also associated with the symbol of the so called Latin cross (a plain and simple cross with the lower arm extended).

Secular Archeologist Found Philip’s Tomb

On Wednesday, July the 27th in 2011, the Turkish news agency Anadolu reported that archaeologists had unearthed a tomb that the project leader believed to be the Tomb of Saint Philip. This was found during excavations in Hierapolis close to the modern day Turkish city Denizli. The Italian archaeologist, Professor Francesco D’Andria, stated that scientists had discovered the tomb within a newly revealed church. He stated that the design of the tomb, and writings on its walls, definitively prove it belonged to Saint Phillip, the martyred Apostle of Christ.