Sermon: Philip and Philip
Scripture Texts:
Philip the apostle of Jesus and one of the 12 (He was most likely the leader of the second group of 4 in the group of Jesus 12 disciples).
John 1:43–46
The next day Jesus decided to leave for Galilee. Finding Philip, he said to him, “Follow me.” Philip, like Andrew and Peter, was from the town of Bethsaida. Philip found Nathanael and told him, “We have found the one Moses wrote about in the Law, and about whom the prophets also wrote—Jesus of Nazareth, the son of Joseph.” “Nazareth! Can anything good come from there?” Nathanael asked. “Come and see,” said Philip.
John 6:5–7
When Jesus looked up and saw a great crowd coming toward him, he said to Philip, “Where shall we buy bread for these people to eat?” He asked this only to test him, for he already had in mind what he was going to do. Philip answered him, “Eight months’ wages would not buy enough bread for each one to have a bite!”
John 12:21–22
They came to Philip, who was from Bethsaida in Galilee, with a request. “Sir,” they said, “we would like to see Jesus.” Philip went to tell Andrew; Andrew and Philip in turn told Jesus.
John 14:8–9
Philip said, “Lord, show us the Father and that will be enough for us.” Jesus answered: “Don’t you know me, Philip, even after I have been among you such a long time? Everyone who has seen me has seen the father. How can you say, ‘Show us the father’?
Thesis: Philip and Philip were two different people in the New Testament, and we can learn spiritual lessons from both their lives and character.
Introduction:
In the Bible, there are two prominent Philips: Philip the Apostle and Philip the Evangelist. Philip the Apostle was one of Jesus' twelve disciples, known for his pragmatism and sometimes-skeptical nature. Philip the Evangelist, also known as Philip the Deacon, was one of the seven men chosen to serve the early church in Jerusalem and is known for his missionary work, including preaching in Samaria and baptizing an Ethiopian eunuch.
Here's a more detailed look at each:
Jesus entrusted the twelve disciples with the responsibility of spreading His message of salvation and redemption. He empowered them to perform miracles, heal the sick, and cast out demons (Matthew 10:1,?Mark 3:13-15,?Luke 9:1-2). See Acts 2!
The disciples played a crucial role in the spread of the Kingdom of God:
1. Spreading the Gospel: They preached about The Kingdom of Heaven specifically Jesus' teachings, death, resurrection and ascension. They were empowered by the Holy Spirit and established the early Christian church.
2. Performing Miracles: They demonstrated God's power through healings, exorcisms, and other miraculous acts.
3. Providing Leadership: After Jesus' ascension, the disciples, particularly Peter, James, and John, provided guidance and leadership to the early Christian community.
Lessons from the Twelve Disciples
The lives of the twelve disciples offer valuable lessons for us Christians today- we find ourselves today living in a society which accepts the teachings of Jesus and those who hate the teachings of Jesus – it’s a spiritual war – don’t be fooled – it’s not the people but a spiritual war:
The apostle Paul said it well: Ephesians 6:11-13 - Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the schemes of the devil. For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places. Therefore, take up the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand firm.
In this spiritual and cosmic battle – spirits both good and evil battle over the control of your mind and heart! Evil spirits seek to plant doubt in your heart and mind whereas good spirits seek to encourage you to have faith and be obedient to the teachings of Jesus.
The disciples were in this same battle in their day – same spirits by the way! I see a pattern in the lives of the disciples which I think is a pattern for most believers today:
Pattern 1: The disciples go from doubt to faith and then to obedience:
The disciples did not start out as great men of faith, they doubted a lot. Just think of Nathanael in our text today saying “What good can come out of Nazareth” or think back to what Thomas said “I won’t believe until I touch the wound of Jesus” or Peter denying Jesus three times. We also have Philip saying to Jesus in the Gospel of John, Philip asks Jesus, "Lord, show us the Father, and it is enough for us". This request, made during the Last Supper, reveals Philip's desire to see God directly and his difficulty understanding Jesus's relationship with the Father. Jesus responds by explaining that seeing him is the same as seeing the Father, emphasizing their unity. Jesus, with a hint of gentle rebuke, points out that Philip has been with him for a long time and should already understand their unity. He states, "Anyone who has seen me has seen the Father". Philip was still doubting who Jesus was three years into traveling and doing ministry with Jesus. So, we see doubt fighting against faith in the lives of the Disciples. But notice all of them grew see the book of Acts and demonstrated unwavering faith and obedience to Jesus, even in the face of adversity. Except one Judas. They left their livelihood behind to follow Jesus! This takes faith and obedience! Question - Would you do that?
Pattern 2 of the disciples: The disciples go from pride to humility and then become servants of the Kingdom:
In the beginning they had humility problems, they were shown in Scripture debating and fighting over who would be the greatest in the coming Kingdom of God (See Luke 22:24-30). But eventually they choose to die to themselves and pick up their crosses for Jesus. See Luke 9:23 “And He was saying to them all, “If anyone wishes to come after Me, he must deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow Me.” The disciples accept this truth and then they exemplify humility and servant mindsets, by recognizing their role as servants of Jesus and His message. The key change I see was them being filled with the Holy Spirit in Acts 2. Things really changed after that spiritual event! This reveals why we all need the infilling of the Holy Spirit! Kathryn Kullman said, “The Holy Spirit is not a luxury but a necessity!”
Pattern 3: The disciples knew what failure was, but they learned to persevere through failure and hardship and when they did this courage rose up inside of them:
Yes, the disciples failed numerous times – like when they could not cast out a demonic spirit out of a child and Jesus had too. See Matthew 17: The Healing of a Boy With a Demon: 14 When they came to the crowd, a man approached Jesus and knelt before him. 15 “Lord, have mercy on my son,” he said. “He has seizures and is suffering greatly. He often falls into the fire or into the water. 16 I brought him to your disciples, but they could not heal him.”17 “O unbelieving and perverse generation,” Jesus replied, “how long shall I stay with you? How long shall I put up with you? Bring the boy here to me.” 18 Jesus rebuked the demon, and it came out of the boy, and he was healed from that moment. 19 Then the disciples came to Jesus in private and asked, “Why couldn’t we drive it out?” 20 He replied, “Because you have so little faith. I tell you the truth, if you have faith as small as a mustard seed, you can say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there’ and it will move. Nothing will be impossible for you.” The disciples faced numerous challenges, including spiritual warfare, lack of faith, persecution and even imprisonment, yet they persevered and continued to spread Jesus' message with courage and conviction. They grew into what Jesus wanted them to be! They became courageous witnesses to the Kingdom of Heaven! The Bible often speaks of courage as a strength derived from faith in God, rather than an inherent human quality. Key verses include Joshua 1:9, which commands believers to be strong and courageous, and Psalm 27:14, urging those who wait on the Lord to take heart. The Bible also presents examples of courageous individuals like David, who faced Goliath with faith in God. We are to do the same today as the disciples did!
Let’s look in more detail about the two Philips!
T.S. - Last week we talked about Nathanael or Bartholomew and Philip’s challenge to him after being skeptical of Jesus to “Come and See!” Today I want to talk about the ability to see things like Jesus see’s things! Let’s look at Philip as an example – the one who asked Nathanael to “Come and See.” What did Philip see – what was his vision like as a Christian and as a follower of Jesus?
T.S.- Let’s look at the other Philip!
I. Philip the Evangelist is not Philip the Apostle!
a. He is different and one of the Seven: He was one of the seven men chosen to serve the early church in Jerusalem as deacons.
i. Acts 6:3–6
1. Brothers, choose seven men from among you who are known to be full of the Spirit and wisdom. We will turn this responsibility over to them and will give our attention to prayer and the ministry of the word.” This proposal pleased the whole group. They chose Stephen, a man full of faith and of the Holy Spirit; also Philip, Procorus, Nicanor, Timon, Parmenas, and Nicolas from Antioch, a convert to Judaism. They presented these men to the apostles, who prayed and laid their hands on them.
a. This Philip is a different person than the disciple Philip. But he too was chosen to serve the Kingdom of Heaven.
b. Missionary Work: He preached in Samaria, performing miracles and leading many to faith (Acts 8:4-13).
i. Scripture; Acts 8:5–8
1. Philip went down to a city in Samaria and proclaimed the Christ there. When the crowds heard Philip and saw the miraculous signs he did, they all paid close attention to what he said. With shrieks, evil spirits came out of many, and many paralytics and cripples were healed. So there was great joy in that city.
ii. Acts 8:12–13
1. But when they believed Philip as he preached the good news of the kingdom of God and the name of Jesus Christ, they were baptized, both men and women. Simon himself believed and was baptized. And he followed Philip everywhere, astonished by the great signs and miracles he saw.
c. Ethiopian Eunuch: He is known for baptizing an Ethiopian eunuch, a significant event in the spread of the Gospel
i. Acts 8:26–40
1. Now an angel of the Lord said to Philip, “Go south to the road—the desert road—that goes down from Jerusalem to Gaza.” So he started out, and on his way he met an Ethiopian eunuch, an important official in charge of all the treasury of Candace, queen of the Ethiopians. This man had gone to Jerusalem to worship, and on his way home was sitting in his chariot reading the book of Isaiah the prophet. The Spirit told Philip, “Go to that chariot and stay near it.” Then Philip ran up to the chariot and heard the man reading Isaiah the prophet. “Do you understand what you are reading?” Philip asked. “How can I,” he said, “unless someone explains it to me?” So he invited Philip to come up and sit with him. The eunuch was reading this passage of Scripture: “He was led like a sheep to the slaughter, and as a lamb before the shearer is silent, so he did not open his mouth. In his humiliation he was deprived of justice. Who can speak of his descendants? For his life was taken from the earth.” The eunuch asked Philip, “Tell me, please, who is the prophet talking about, himself or someone else?” Then Philip began with that very passage of Scripture and told him the good news about Jesus. As they traveled along the road, they came to some water and the eunuch said, “Look, here is water. Why shouldn’t I be baptized?” And he gave orders to stop the chariot. Then both Philip and the eunuch went down into the water and Philip baptized him. When they came up out of the water, the Spirit of the…
d. Settled in Caesarea: He later settled in Caesarea with his four daughters who prophesied.
i. Acts 21:8–9
1. Leaving the next day, we reached Caesarea and stayed at the house of Philip the evangelist, one of the Seven. He had four unmarried daughters who prophesied.
II. Philip the Apostle: The pragmatic seer!
a. Chosen Disciple: He was one of the original twelve disciples called by Jesus.
i. Jesus sought him out most likely knowing he was a disciple of John the Baptist. Jesus seemed to go looking for him.
1. Background on Philip the apostle:
a. Bethsaida Native: He was from Bethsaida, a town on the Sea of Galilee.
i. Same as Andrew and Peter.
ii. Most believe he was fisherman and friends with Andrew and Peter – maybe even business associates.
b. He was Pragmatic in Nature: He is often described as pragmatic and sometimes skeptical, as seen in his question about feeding the 5,000 and his request to see the Father. Let’s explore the feeding of the five thousand for a moment to learn a little about Philips personality:
i. John 6:5–7: When Jesus looked up and saw a great crowd coming toward him, he said to Philip, “Where shall we buy bread for these people to eat?” He asked this only to test him, for he already had in mind what he was going to do. Philip answered him, “Eight months’ wages would not buy enough bread for each one to have a bite!”
1. Philip answers like most of us would answer – we don’t have enough money to feed all these people!
a. Besides, we are miles away from any bakeries.
b. There is no food out here in the middle of nowhere.
2. Let me rephrase it this way – “Lord we don’t have enough money to do that outreach – or feed all those students or provide for that many people!’
3. My phrase on my wall in my office:
a. It says, “Mike God can use the resources that you have to do a miracle!”
b. We should never underestimate God’s ability to multiply anything!
i. It’s a faith thing not a natural sight thing!
c. If you recall Scripture – Jesus has already shown the disciples that he can multiply things – he had done that with the wine by the way! Philip saw him, do it but he still struggles with looking at problems with an eye of logic and pragmatism than with an eye of faith in God.
d. We all have this kind of tunnel vision – would you agree?
e. So Philip suffers some vision problems – He is near sighted in a sense!
c. Tradition: Church tradition states he was a missionary in Greece, Syria, and Phrygia, and was eventually martyred. So we know he worked through his vision problem!
ii. Gospel of John: The Gospel of John features him prominently, highlighting his calling, his interaction with Nathanael, and his interactions with Jesus during the feeding of the 5,000, introducing some Greeks to Jesus and also when he asked Jesus to show them the Father at the Lord’s Supper.
1. We will focus now on this section of Scripture where he asked Jesus to show him the Father – God.
a. Let’s look at John 14:8-14: 8 Philip said, “Lord, show us the Father and that will be enough for us.” 9 Jesus answered: “Don’t you know me, Philip, even after I have been among you such a long time? Anyone who has seen me has seen the Father. How can you say, ‘Show us the Father’? 10 Don’t you believe that I am in the Father, and that the Father is in me? The words I say to you are not just my own. Rather, it is the Father, living in me, who is doing his work. 11 Believe me when I say that I am in the Father and the Father is in me; or at least believe on the evidence of the miracles themselves. 12 I tell you the truth, anyone who has faith in me will do what I have been doing. He will do even greater things than these, because I am going to the Father. 13 And I will do whatever you ask in my name, so that the Son may bring glory to the Father. 14 You may ask me for anything in my name, and I will do it.
i. The Holy Bible: New International Version (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 1984), Jn 14:8–14.
b. Philip unlike Nathanael has a vision problem with Jesus – even after being with him for 3 plus years he still does not have 20/20 clear vision of Jesus. We know this because of the nature of his request or maybe demand of Jesus!
i. The scenario at the last Supper reveals some of the disciple’s vision problems!
1. If you read chapters 13 and 14:
a. Peter asked Jesus – Where are you going? After Jesus tells them he will be leaving – referring to his crucifixion.
b. Thomas responds to Jesus with “Lord, we don’t know where you are going, so how can we know the way?”
i. Jesus answered Thomas with “I am the way the truth and the life.”
2. Then Philip makes his statement or demand: “Lord, show us the Father and that will be enough for us.”
a. Jesus gently rebukes Philips demand.
ii. It’s clear from the interaction round the Last Supper that the disciples still lack proper spiritual vision and understanding.
1. Vision is essential to have in this world filled with delusion -deceit and lies.
2. You must have proper 20/20 spiritual vision and that I believe only comes from faith in Jesus and the receiving of the Holy Spirit.
iii. I came across a sermon on sermoncentral.com and it caught my attention listen to Kevin’s thoughts on vision and seeing: from sermoncentral.com sermon: “Philip the Horse Lover” Contributed by Kevin Landis on Nov 28, 2017.
1. Kevin, “Philip was with Jesus longer than most of the disciples. A primary characteristic of Philip included his eyesight. Philip could see a problem, and this was his primary problem (or hinderance) he wanted to see things pragmatically. Philip was from Bethsaida, the same town as Andrew and Peter. In John 1:43-46 Jesus found Philip and Philip could see this was the One who Moses and the prophets wrote about. Philip told Nathanael, which Nathanael asked, "can anything good come out of Nazareth?" Philip’s replied, "Come and see."
a. But Philip himself struggled with seeing through the eyes of faith or through the vision of Jesus.
iv. What does it mean to have 20/20 vision?
1. Kevin states the following:
a. “Vision or visual acuity is tested by reading a Snellen eye chart at a distance of 20 feet. By looking at lots of people, eye doctors have decided what a "normal" human being should be able to see when standing 20 feet away from an eye chart. If you have 20/20 vision, it means that when you stand 20 feet away from the chart you can see what a "normal" human being can see. In other words, if you have 20/20 vision your vision is "normal" -- a majority of people in the population can see what you can see at 20 feet.”
b. He adds, “If you have 20/40 vision, it means that when you stand 20 feet away from the chart you can only see what a normal human can see when standing 40 feet from the chart. That is, if there is a "normal" person standing 40 feet away from the chart, and you are standing only 20 feet away from the chart, you and the normal person can see the same detail. 20/100 means that when you stand 20 feet from the chart you can only see what a normal person standing 100 feet away can see. 20/200 is the cutoff for legal blindness in the United States.You can also have vision that is better than the norm. A person with 20/10 vision can see at 20 feet what a normal person can see when standing 10 feet away from the chart. Hawks, owls and other birds of prey have much more acute vision than humans. A hawk has a much smaller eye than a human being but has lots of sensors (cones) packed into that space. This gives a hawk vision that is eight times more acute than a human’s. A hawk might have 20/2 vision! A horse has 20/33 vision, meaning a horse can see at 20 feet what a human can see at 33 feet.”
i. From https://sermoncentral.com/sermons/philip-the-horse-lover-kevin-landis-sermon-on-bible-study-97610
2. Kevin adds “Some Greek men once came to see Jesus, they approached Philip with their request and Philip couldn’t see the answer, he could only see the problem. Philip approached Andrew, then they both approached Jesus (John 12:22).
a. Philip’s had two primary defining moments.
i. The first was the feeding of the 5000 when all he could see was they didn’t have enough money to feed 15,000 plus people (John 6:7).
ii. The other moment was in John 14:7 when Philip asked Jesus to let them see the heavenly Father. This account will be the focus discussion in this chapter because we are all like Philip; we desire to see Jesus to satisfy our faith.”
iii. Philip could only see through his natural eyes – he did not have spiritual vision and insight at this point in his life.
3. Kevin adds, “The name Philip means "horse lover," like Philip, horses have a unique dependence on sight. A horse is one of the few animals that have a 350-degree field of vision. A horse does have two blind spots, one directly in front of their face and the other directly behind them. When a horse is approached from the front, he will raise his head to focus. Likewise, when a horse is approached from the rear, he is easily startled and will sometimes kick the object behind him.
a. We too like horses have natural blind spots – we tell people to “Come and See” but we ourselves do not see like Jesus wants us to See!
b. We in essence have tunnel vision – we see only what we want to see!
c. Horses need blinders to keep them from being distracted by obstacles around them – we need them too!
4. Kevin expands his vision point further, “Horses have two types of vision, binocular and monocular. Mono means one, meaning a horse can use his vision to see different images from each eye.
a. Point: When Philip asked Jesus if he could see the Father, he was using his monocular vision. The only problem is, humans don’t have monocular vision, we have binocular vision. Humans can see only one thing at a time with both eyes. Philip was trying to use one eye to see heaven, and the other to see earth.
i. But He had missed who Jesus was!
ii. The truth is we have blind spots.
1. For example:
a. If you do not worship like me, you’re not really worshipping!
b. If you don’t express yourself like me, you really don’t love Jesus.
2. We see that all the denominations of today seem to have tunnel vision because only true Christian worship like we do!
b. The truth is we cannot look on the face of the God – Just read the story of Moses and God on Mt Sinai!
i. We cannot look on God – Moses could only look at his back!
1. In Exodus 33:23, God allows Moses to see his "back" after passing by, but not his face. This is because no one can see God's face and live. The "back" is interpreted as a limited revelation of God's glory, showing his goodness and character, but not his full essence according to some Bible commentaries and theological discussions.
ii. Philip wanted to see the father and Moses was not even granted that request.
5. Illustration: Pull out binoculars! To make this point! Show on Power point!
v. Kevin uses a common tool to make his vision and sight point: “Take a pair of binoculars and place them up to your eyes. Using both eyes to look through each lens, you see one image. However, if the adjustment is too wide this will result in two images and give a person a headache. Imagine those binoculars are our spiritual eyes. When our field of vision gets too wide, we start to see double images and can no longer move forward. When a horse uses binocular vision, he will have his head up and both ears perked, he is focused on the object in front. Jesus wants us to use our binocular vision and keep our eyes and ears focused on Him and His word.”
1. We need to see what He sees and be in focus with His vision for our lives.
b. Application:
i. The invite is “Come to Jesus and See!” but we have to see through the Lense of God’s Word – we need the Holy Spirit to illuminate Jesus to us in spirit and in truth!
ii. To many people look at Jesus and want to create him in our image – the way we feel he should look!
Conclusion:
Invite: “Come and See?”
What is your vision – what do you see when you come to Jesus?
1. Do you see the Son of God? The Messiah? The King of Kings? God in the flesh? Love personified?
2. Do you see a Jesus created in your image?
3. Do you see a Jesus created by the ongoing secular culture?
4. Do you see the Biblical Jesus?
5. Do you see Jesus – the real Jesus? Or a blurry Jesus?
6. Do you see through tunnel vision or binocular vision or biblical vision?
7. Do you want to see the Jesus of the Bible – then ask God to reveal him to you?
John Howard states, “The Word of God makes it clear that when we as His people do not get a fresh vision from Him it is because we do not seek Him in what He wants to do through us.”
Proverbs 29:18 (KJV) says, “Without vision the people perish.”
Vision according to John Maxwell is:
Awareness- the ability to see
Attitude- the faith to believe
Action- the courage to do
George Barna says “vision for ministry is a reflection of what God wants to accomplish through us to build His kingdom”
Shirley states, “Some have no vision, and some have lost their vision...Some have limited vision.
Zig Ziglar tells of a motivational speaker who drew great crowds and charged $30,000 a speech. He was invited to a convention of businessmen. He used a 6' blackboard and a piece of chalk for an illustration. He drew a dot in the middle. "What do you see?" he asked a man on the front row. "A dot." He proceeded to ask the entire front row what they saw, and they all answered the same. It drew on quite monotonously and in impatience each next one asked would just say, "The same." "A dot." "I see what everyone sees." At the end of the back row after the final answer the speaker said, "Herein lies your problem. Each of you sees the same little dot, and not one of you sees the 6' blackboard waiting for so much more to be written upon it."
That was $30,000! But if they got the message it was worth it. We must see the big picture!
Shirley adds: “We limit God w/ our limited vision. Jesus said He's good for as much as we'll believe Him for. If we just had a tiny speck of faith we could move mountains, and we're straining to move tiny specks! We are the limiting factor. Jesus said he could not do many mighty works there because of their unbelief!”
We need to see the big picture here at Christian Hills Church! Not just our little department or ministry. Our church building is a dot on the chalkboard of eternity for many people. It's just a tool to do the real work of the Kingdom of Heaven in this world. The big picture is that people need to be invited to church and come to hear the Word of God at our services – it is the truth that will set them free. The big picture is that young couple that comes, even on the verge of divorce, come and get saved and their marriage is saved! A nice youth room and game room is fine, but the big picture is that a teen who was planning on taking his own life finds new life in Christ and changes his mind! A midweek study is dandy for all of us, but the big picture is bringing someone to it who will get saved. Our School and its playground is just the dot on the chalkboard of eternity. The big picture is what God will do in those little lives entrusted to our care and guidance. The new roof is important, but much more important is the souls saved under it! I'd sure love to spend the money and fix our parking lot and landscaping, but either way, the big picture is those who will arrive just as they are, enter the building and go to service and leave changed!
Paul Harvey said, "A blind man is bound by the limits of his touch, and ignorant man is bound by the limits of his knowledge, a great man is bound only by the limits of his vision!" I believe God is a big God who wants for us to dream big and believe Him for big things for our church, our school and our families, etc.
Some have no vision, others have lost their vision, some have limited vision...How about you “What do you see when you come to Jesus?”
Finally, there are people with 20/20 Vision. A clear vision of how things ought to be, and their vision calls them to action. It drives them to do more than others, to work while others rest, and to accomplish great things to the glory of God! Perfect Picture, Provides Power, Propels People! From http://gbcdecatur.org/sermons/Vision.html
• ILLUS: God can use you
o The next time you feel like GOD can’t use you, just remember...
? Noah got drunk
? Abraham was too old
? Isaac was a daydreamer
? Jacob was a liar
? Joseph was abused
? Moses had a stuttering problem
? Gideon was afraid
? Rahab was a prostitute
? Jeremiah and Timothy were too young
? David had an affair and was a murderer
? Jonah ran from God
? Naomi was a widow
? Peter denied Chris
? The Disciples fell asleep while praying
? Martha worried about everything
? Zaccheus was too small
? Paul was too religious
? ..AND
? Lazarus was dead!
o Now! No more excuses!
• God can help you see and God can use you to your full potential if you come to Him – so what will you do with your life?
