NT Characters: Philip

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Home, name, ministry

Lived in Bethsaida (also the home town of Peter and Andrew).Likely a former disciple of John the Baptist.Listed fifth among the apostles.Named after father of Alexander the Great, Philip II of Macedon. His name means "horse-lover." Another piece of trivia: a philippic is any speech or discourse of bitter denunciation. Origin of the term: Athenian orator Demosthenes delivered orations against Philip of Macedon (4th century BC).Not the same individual as Philip the Evangelist (Acts 6:5, 8:5ff, 21:8). There is another Philip in the N.T., Philip the Tetrarch (Luke 3:1; Mark 6:17), one of the sons of Herod the Great.Greek-speaking.Matthew 10:3, 14:3; Mark 3:18, 6:17; Luke 6:14; John 1:43-44, 6:5-7, 12:21-23, 14:8-9; Acts 1:13.

Glimpses of Philip

Obeys Jesus' call to follow, and then introduces Nathanael to Jesus (John 1:43-46). When questioned, his reply was "Come and see."Sensible assessment of the hungry crowd (John 6:5-7). Yet he sees the problem before he sees (by faith) the solution.
 Introduces some Greeks to Jesus (John 12:21-23) -- natural, given his own Hellenic background.Wants to see the Father, not quite realizing that whoever has seen the Son has seen the Father (John 14:5-9).What kind of person was he?Level-headedA people-person, possibly a networkerSpiritually thirsty yet sometimes missing the obvious (I think I'm not being unfair with this comment)

Tomb discovery

Philip's tomb identified in Hierapolis, 2011. Read the Fox news article.He died somewhere between 80 and 90 AD.Note, however, the Roman Catholic claim that his body was acquired from Hierapolis by Pope John III (560-572 AD) and interred in a church in Rome.

 

Further traditions

Tradition and legend place him in Greece, Syria, Phrygia, and Hierapolis.He was sometimes confused with Philip the Evangelist.The Gospel of Philip (a Gnostic next from Nag Hammadi, discovered 1945)The Acts of Philip (4th C?)Two execution traditions: beheading and crucifixion upside down.

What we learn from Philip

He is willing to follow Jesus.Though he may not initially understand, he sticks around and gets the answer.He realizes the answer lies not in himself, but in Christ (2 Corinthians 4:5).Accordingly, he is happy to introduce others to Jesus.