12 Disciples – Philip & Bartholomew
Monday 23rd October 06
Philip is the 5th disciple mentioned in Matthew 10:3
John 1:43 - 51
The name ‘Philip’ means “fond of horses”
1. Occupation & Call
Jesus called Philip personally and Philip trusted Him and followed Him. Philip proved his faith by seeking to share it with his friend Nathanael.
Some students believe that Nathanael and Bartholomew are the same person. John never mentions Bartholomew in his Gospel, but the other three writers name Bartholomew and not Nathanael. Philip is linked with Bartholomew in the lists of names (Matt. 10:3; Mark 3:18; Luke 6:14), so it is possible that the two men were “paired off” and served together. It was not unusual in that day for one man to have two different names.
2. Philip Finds his friend (John 1:45)
When Philip witnessed to Nathanael, the evidence he gave was Moses and the Prophets (John 1:45). Perhaps Jesus gave Philip a “quick course” in the Old Testament messianic prophecies, as He did with the Emmaus disciples (Luke 24:13ff). It is always good to tie our personal witness to the Word of God.
John 21:2 suggests that at least seven of our Lord’s disciples were fishermen, including Nathanael. Fishermen are courageous and stick to the job, no matter how difficult it may be. But Nathanael started out a doubter: he did not believe that anything worthwhile could come out of Nazareth. Our Lord was born in Bethlehem, but He grew up in Nazareth and bore that stigma (Matt. 2:19-23). To be called “a Nazarene” (Acts 24:5) meant to be looked down on and rejected.
When Nathanael hesitated and argued, Philip adopted our Lord’s own words: “Come and see” (John 1:39). Later on, Jesus would invite, “Come and drink!” (John 7:37) and, “Come and dine!” (John 21:12) “Come” is the great invitation of God’s grace.
3. Nathanael Believes (John 1:47 – 49)
When Nathanael came to Jesus, he discovered that the Lord already knew all about him! What a shock! By calling him “an Israelite in whom is no guile,”
When Jesus revealed His knowledge of Nathanael, where he had been and what he had been doing, this was enough to convince the man that Jesus indeed was “the Son of God, the King of Israel.” His experience was like that of the Samaritan woman at the well. “When He [Messiah] is come, He will tell us all things. . . . Come, see a man who told me all things that ever I did” (John 4:25, 29).
4. Philip is tested (John 6:5 – 7)
The problem, of course, was how to meet the needs of such a vast crowd of people. Four solutions were proposed.
First, the disciples suggested that Jesus send the people away (Mark 6:35-36). Get rid of the problem (see Matt. 15:23). But Jesus knew that the hungry people would faint on the way if somebody did not feed them. It was evening (Matt. 14:15), and that was no time for travel.
The second solution came from Philip in response to our Lord’s “test question” (John 6:5): raise enough money to buy food for the people. Philip “counted the cost” and decided they would need the equivalent of 200 days’ wages! And even that would not provide bread enough to satisfy the hunger of all the men, women, and children (Matt. 14:21). Too often, we think that money is the answer to every need. Of course, Jesus was simply testing the strength of Philip’s faith.
How many times have we been tested and failed?
All Philip had to do was put his faith and trust in the Lord
5. Philip learns a lesson (John 14:6 – 9)
We do not have to wait until we enter heaven to get to know the Father. We can know Him today and receive from Him the spiritual resources we need to keep going when the days are difficult.
What does it mean to “know the Father”? The word know is used 141 times in John’s Gospel, but it does not always carry the same meaning. In fact, there are four different “levels” of knowing according to John.
1. The lowest level is simply knowing a fact.
2. The next level is to understand the truth behind that fact. However, you can know the fact and know the truth behind it and still be lost in your sins
3. The third level introduces relationship; “to know” means “to believe in a person and become related to him or her.” This is the way “know” is used in John 17:3 And this is life eternal, that they might know thee the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom thou hast sent.. In fact, in Scripture, “to know” is used of the most intimate relationship between man and wife (Gen. 4:1).
4. The fourth use of “know” means “to have a deeper relationship with a person, a deeper communion.” It was this level Paul was referring to when he wrote, “That I may know Him” (Phil. 3:10).
When Jesus said that knowing Him and seeing Him was the same as knowing and seeing the Father, He was claiming to be God. From now on, they would understand more and more about the Father, even though Jesus was leaving them.
I appreciate Philip’s desire to know the Father. He had come a long way since that day Jesus found him and called him (John 1:43-45). The burning desire of every believer ought to be to know God better. We read and study the Word of God so that we might better know the God of the Word.
The Greek construction of the question in John 14:10 indicates that the Lord expected a yes answer from Philip: he did believe that Jesus was in the Father and the Father in Him. That being the case, Philip should have realized that the words of Jesus, as well as His works, came from the Father and revealed the Father.
Believers today have not seen the Lord Jesus in the flesh (1 Peter 1:8), but we do see Him and His works in the Word. The emphasis throughout John’s Gospel is that you cannot separate Christ’s words and works, for both come from the Father and reveal the Father.
The very Lord of heaven and earth is our Father (Luke 10:21). There is no need for us to have troubled hearts, for He is in control.
6. Nathanael goes fishing (John 21:2)
Spiritual Lessons from Philip & Bartholomew.
Philip told his closest friend about Jesus
Nathanael’s heart was open to the Lord
If we know Jesus then we know the Father
