Note: This is a study from the book 12 Ordinary Men by John McArthur an excellent book. There is also a fill in the blank outline from Adult Bible Fellowships of First Baptist Church Orion that I have posted in the series. This is not original but worth posting for study.
Twelve Ordinary Men
Philip – the Bean Counter
Philip answered Him,“Two hundred denarii worth of bread is not sufficient for them, that every one of them may have little.” – John 6:7
I. Some general observations about Philip:
a. In the four biblical lists of the Twelve, the fifth name on every list is Philip. This apparently signifies that
Philip was the leader of the second group of four.
b. Philip is a Greek name, meaning “lover of horses.” He must also have had a Jewish name, but it is never
given. Based on this, it is likely that Philip came from a family of Hellenistic Jews.
Hellenistic Jews are those who had adopted the Greek language, Greek culture, and Greek customs. Tradition would say that he also had a Hebrew name but we are not told what it is. Why is this important? Because it tells us of the diversity of the disciples, they were only from different geographical locations but also from different backgrounds and family. This was a “compromising” Jew yet the Lord used him.
c. Don’t confuse him with Philip the deacon, the man we meet in Acts 6 who became an evangelist and
led the Ethiopian to Christ.
d. He, along with Nathanael and Thomas the Twin, was a fisherman from Galilee, just like the
first group of four.
Half of the group was from a similar area. It would seem that he would be more diverse and spread across the world to gather in great leaders. Yet Jesus had a task to fulfill. “All He really required of them was availability. He would draw them to Himself, train them, gift them, and empower them to serve Him. Because they would preach Jesus’ message and do miracles by His power, these rugged fishermen were better suited to the task that a group of glittering prodigies trying to operate on their talent might have been.
e. It seems that unlike the first four apostles, Philip was a , a pragmatist, and sometimes a killjoy.
Matthew, Mark, and Luke tells us nothing about Phillip.
“Piecing together all that the apostle John records about him, it seems Phillip was a classic “process person”. He was a facts-and-figures guy—by-the-book, practical-method, non-forward –thinking type of individual. He was the kind who tends to be a corporate killjoy, pessimistic, narrowly focused, sometimes missing the big picture, often obsessed with identifying reasons things can’t be done rather than finding ways to do them. He was predisposed to be a pragmatists and a cynic—sometimes a defeatist—rather than a visionary.”
II. His Call (John 1:43-46)
a. He was technically the first apostle that Jesus sought out.
b. What was the first thing Philip did after Jesus called him to follow Him?
Joh 1:43-45 The following day Jesus wanted to go to Galilee, and He found Philip and said to him, "Follow Me." (44) Now Philip was from Bethsaida, the city of Andrew and Peter. (45) Philip found Nathanael and said to him, "We have found Him of whom Moses in the law, and also the prophets, wrote; Jesus of Nazareth, the son of Joseph."
c. It is obvious from what he said to Nathanael that he, along with the other five fishermen from Bethsaida who
had gone to hear John the Baptist, had been looking for the Messiah.
d. When he found Jesus, he accepted him wholeheartedly and unhesitatingly. This was actually out of
character for him which goes to show how the Lord had prepared his heart.
Yet it would seem that Phillip had been looking, after studying the scriptures and hearing from John he had been prepared and looking. Like Simeon the priest and Anna, when the saw Jesus in the temple as a babe being circumcised there was an acceptance that God had answered prayer.
Then right after this he became an evangelist and went and got Nathaniel. His friend.
Joh 1:46 And Nathanael said to him, "Can anything good come out of Nazareth?" Philip said to him, "Come and see."
Don’t accept this as what I am saying but come and see for yourself.
III. The Feeding of the Five Thousand (John 6:1-14)
a. At his first encounter with Christ we see Philip’s spiritual side; here we see his pratical side.
b. Why did Jesus ask Philip where they would buy bread for so many? John says it was test him. But why
Philip? Because he was apparently the apostolic administrator – the bean counter.
c. Although he had seen Jesus work miracles already, when he saw that great crowd, he lapsed into
pessimistic thinking.
John 6:5-7 Then Jesus lifted up His eyes, and seeing a great multitude coming toward Him, He said to Philip, "Where shall we buy bread, that these may eat?" (6) But this He said to test him, for He Himself knew what He would do. (7) Philip answered Him, "Two hundred denarii worth of bread is not sufficient for them, that every one of them may have a little."
Why is this so important? Jesus was trying to teach Phillip a lesson. He knew his personality. He knew his thinking. The interesting part was Phillip had already seen Jesus work many miracles.
Turn water into wine
Man’s withered hand healed.
Power over Nature
Power over demons
Power over disease and death
Power over Blindness
So what should have been Phillips response? What should be our response? Lord I know it can be done because nothing is impossible with you, Lord what do you want me to do now?
Look at Andrew, he at least found the young boys fish and loaves and offered it. He didn’t quit.
IV. The Visit of the Greeks
a. They probably sought out Philip because of his Greek name and family.
b. Philip, because of his administrative personality, was concerned about policies and protocol.
c. So Philip took the Greeks to Andrew.
d. He had another opportunity to step out in faith and again he missed it.
Why do you think there was a question when the Greeks came to Jesus? Maybe Phillip remembered Matthew 10:5-6 and Matthew 15:24 that seemed to questions Jesus desire to reach out to all, other than just the Jews. Phillip had not learned the heart of Jesus, he had not learned to know his ways. Not just protocol or rules to follow but the heart. As we talk about WWJD, what would Jesus do? A great response when we put ourselves in positions of question.
V. The Upper Room (John 14:1-11)
Joh 14:1-11 "Let not your heart be troubled; you believe in God, believe also in Me. (2) "In My Father’s house are many mansions; if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you. (3) "And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you to Myself; that where I am, there you may be also. (4) "And where I go you know, and the way you know." (5) Thomas said to Him, "Lord, we do not know where You are going, and how can we know the way?" (6) Jesus said to him, "I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me. (7) "If you had known Me, you would have known My Father also; and from now on you know Him and have seen Him." (8) Philip said to Him, "Lord, show us the Father, and it is sufficient for us." (9) Jesus said to him, "Have I been with you so long, and yet you have not known Me, Philip? He who has seen Me has seen the Father; so how can you say, ’Show us the Father’? (10) "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. (11) "Believe Me that I am in the Father and the Father in Me, or else believe Me for the sake of the works themselves.
a. In verse 7, Jesus added an explicit claim about His own deity: “If you had known Me, you would have known
My Father also; and from now on you know Him and have seen Him.”
b. Philip’s response to Jesus claim here is disappointing and sad especially when we remember how
eagerly he responded when Jesus first called him.
c. If we were interviewing Philip for the role to which Jesus had called him, we might say, “He’s out. You
can’t make him into one of the twelve most important people in the history of the world.”
d. But we can hear Jesus say, “He’s exactly what I’m looking for. For My strength is made perfect in
weakness.”
What is the point? The problem was that Phillip had been with Jesus for three years now. There was nothing else to learn. For three years he had seen great and miraculous things. He had seen the dead raised, the blind see, the lame walk, the storms clamed, the multitude fed, the captives set free and sins forgiven. He had been an eyewitness to this. Yet he is now once more asking for a sign. He could not see the big picture. He was living in his little bubble. So what was he to do? Jesus kept them near Him to build a relationship with Him so that they could truly know the Father. Not to show them signs so they could go out and repeat the signs but to have a true relationship with Him so that when they went out they could accomplish great things.
Conclusion
Tradition tells us that Philip was greatly used in the spread of the early church and was among the first of the apostles to suffer martyrdom. By most accounts he was put to death by stoning at Heliopolis in Asia Minor, eight years after the martyrdom of James. Before his death, multitudes came to Christ under his preaching.
Philip obviously overcame the human tendencies that so often hampered his faith, and he stands with the other apostles as proof that “God chose things the world considers foolish in order to shame those who think they are wise. And he chose things that are powerless to shame those who are powerful. God chose things despised by the world, things counted as nothing at all, and used them to bring to nothing what the world considers important. As a result, no one can ever boast in the presence of God.”
