The 12 Apostles: Philip

THE 12 APOSTLES: PHILIP

INTRODUCTION

A. HUMOR: CLIMB THE WALLS

1. “Oh, I sure m happy to see you,” the little boy said to his Grandmother on his mother’s side when she came to visit.

2. “Maybe now Daddy will do the trick he’s been promising us.”

3. The Grandmother was curious. “What trick was that?” she asked.

4 “I heard him tell Mommy that he would ‘climb the walls’ if you came to visit!” the little boy answered.

B. THESIS

1. Today is our 3rd part in the series, “The 12 Apostles of Jesus.” These 12 men, like us, all had their strengths and weaknesses.

2. As we study them, we’ll see how Jesus worked with them to help them grow in faith and courage.

3. Tonight we’re going to look at a disciple who had unique challenges and opportunities.

4. The title of this message is, The 12 Apostles of Jesus: Philip.”

I. THE UNIQUE CALL OF PHILIP

Philip was one of the only six disciples that Jesus said, “Follow Me” to (Peter, Andrew, Matthew, unnamed disciple (Lk. 9:59), the Rich Young Ruler, and Philip.)

A. THE BIBLICAL TEXT: JOHN 1:35-46

35 The next day John was there again with two of his disciples. 36 When he saw Jesus passing by, he said, “Look, the Lamb of God!” 37 When the two disciples heard him say this, they followed Jesus [and stayed with Him that day]. 40 Andrew, Simon Peter’s brother, was one of the two who heard what John had said and who had followed Jesus. 41 The first thing Andrew did was to find his brother Simon and tell him, “We have found the Messiah” (that is, the Christ). 42 And he brought him to Jesus.

43 The next day Jesus decided to leave for Galilee. Finding Philip, he said to him, “Follow me.” 44 Philip, like Andrew and Peter, was from the town of Bethsaida. 45 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.” 46 “Nazareth! Can anything good come from there?” Nathanael asked. “Come and see,” said Philip.”

B. RAPIDITY OF EVENTS FOLLOWING JOHN THE BAPTIST’S ANNOUNCEMENT JESUS = CHRIST

1. TIMING. John baptized Jesus & then Jesus went into the wilderness for 40 days (Mk. 1:12-13). Evidently it was immediately after this that Jesus went back to visit John the Baptist, who bore witness to Him.

2. Vs. 35, “the next day” after John’s official announcement that Jesus is the Christ, Andrew follows Jesus, goes to His house, and then brings Peter to meet Him.

3. Peter & Andrew (and Philip) all lived in Bethsaida (Jn. 1:44), a small town on the NW corner of the Sea of Galilee. Its name means “House of Fishing.” It’s very possible that Philip too was a fisherman, or at least smelled like one!

4. Probably all 3 had been going to hear the preaching of John the Baptist, who at that time was evidently baptizing in the Jordan ABOVE the Sea of Galilee. It goes northward for another 50 miles!

5. The “next day” after the calling of Andrew & Peter, they began traveling with Jesus through Bethsaida toward the wedding at Cana (Vs. 43), which was far to the west in Galilee (Bethsaida was NOT in Galilee!).

6. On their way they met Philip and Jesus called him to “follow Him.”

C. HUMOR: THE NAME GAME

1. Boudreau and Thibodeau were reading the Cajun Bible, when Boudreau looked at Thibodeau and said, "Thibodeau, lemme axe ya somethin'."

2. "Go ahead," said Thibodeau. "What do John da Baptist, Attila da Hun, an' Winnie da Pooh all got in common?" asked Boudreau.

3. Thibodeau answered, "I dunno. What?" "Come-on, dey all got da same middle name!" replied Boudreau.

D. ORDAINED ONE OF THE 12

1. Philip was later ordained one of the 12, Mt. 10:3; Mk. 3:18; Lk. 6:14. This was the formal public declaration by Jesus of who His official disciples were.

2. With the position came authority. The 12 were given power to cast out demons and heal the sick.

II. HE WITNESSED TO A SKEPTIC

A. HOW IT CAME ABOUT

1. After Philip was called, he must have run ahead to Nathanael’s to tell him about Jesus, for Jesus and the others soon arrived where Nathanael was and Jesus called him as well.

2. “[Philip] found Nathanael and told him that "we have found him, of whom Moses … and the prophets, did write." Nathanael was skeptical. “Nazareth! Can anything good come from there?” But Philip didn’t argue with him; he simply answered, "Come and see."

3. This shows the right approach to skeptics. He looked to the Word of God for his authority about Jesus. When responded to with skepticism, he didn’t argue, he just offered the experiential dimension as proof.