PHILIP & NATHANIEL

Disclaimer

• The Bible tells us very little about some of the apostles

• When the Bible tells us something, it’s true

• When the Bible is silent, we can use the Bible to infer

• Our opinions are not Scripture

• We never infer about matters of doctrine

• During this series, some of what we will discuss are opinions

• My opinions can be wrong!

PHILIP

• Speaking of inference

• John 1:38, Then Jesus turned, and saw them following, and saith unto them, What seek ye? They said unto him, Rabbi, (which is to say, being interpreted, Master,) where dwellest thou?

• John 1:41-42, He first findeth his own brother Simon, and saith unto him, We have found the Messias, which is, being interpreted, the Christ. And he brought him to Jesus. And when Jesus beheld him, he said, Thou art Simon the son of Jona: thou shalt be called Cephas, which is by interpretation, A stone.

• John is recounting conversations between Jesus and His disciples

• John will sometimes write a Hebrew word, then immediately translate it - seemingly because he’s not sure the reader knows Hebrew

• These verses, and several others like them, seem to testify that Jesus and His disciples probably spoke Hebrew/Aramaic with each other.

• When the disciples are called my Greek names, it’s probably a name given them by people who knew them as adults.  Therefore, the names may sometimes tell us something about the apostles

• ‘Philip’ in Greek means, lover of horses

• The average Jew didn’t own horses

• If Philip owned horses, he may have been somewhat wealthy

• If Philip worked with horses, he would have worked for wealthy people.

• Either way, Philip may have had above average income

• Philip may have been the other disciple of John the Baptist

• John 1:35-40, Again the next day after John stood, and two of his disciples; And looking upon Jesus as he walked, he saith, Behold the Lamb of God! And the two disciples heard him speak, and they followed Jesus. Then Jesus turned, and saw them following, and saith unto them, What seek ye? They said unto him, Rabbi, (which is to say, being interpreted, Master,) where dwellest thou? He saith unto them, Come and see. They came and saw where he dwelt, and abode with him that day: for it was about the tenth hour.

• The Bible tells us that one of the disciples was Andrew

• Remember that Andrew immediately went and got Simon and brought him to Jesus

• John 1:43-44, The day following Jesus would go forth into Galilee, and findeth Philip, and saith unto him, Follow me. Now Philip was of Bethsaida, the city of Andrew and Peter.

• On the very next day after Jesus’ conversation with Andrew and Simon, He went and found Philip and asked Philip to follow Him.

• Philip was also from Bethsaida so it’s not implausible that he would have known Andrew.

• John 1:45, Philip findeth Nathanael, and saith unto him, We have found him, of whom Moses in the law, and the prophets, did write, Jesus of Nazareth, the son of Joseph.

• This verse also seems to suggest that Philip was a student of Scripture.  He appears to be studied in prophetic writings of the Messiah.

• I see in Philip something very common

• If someone is seeking the truth, the will find it in Jesus

• Andrew and Philip both believed Jesus was the Messiah after their first encounter with Him.

• If someone doesn’t want to know the truth, no amount of evidence will persuade him

• Matthew 7:6-8, Give not that which is holy unto the dogs, neither cast ye your pearls before swine, lest they trample them under their feet, and turn again and rend you. Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you: For every one that asketh receiveth; and he that seeketh findeth; and to him that knocketh it shall be opened.

• Just like Andrew, when Philip found the Messiah, the first thing he did was tell someone else about Him.

• Besides lists of the apostles, there are three other passages that mention 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?” And this he said to prove him: for he himself knew what he would do. Philip answered him, Two hundred pennyworth of bread is not sufficient for them, that every one of them may take a little.

• The passage says Jesus was testing Philip.  It doesn’t say if Philip’s answer is what Jesus expected

• How might we have answered, knowing what we know about Jesus?

• John 14:6-10, Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me. If ye had known me, ye should have known my Father also: and from henceforth ye know him, and have seen him. Philip saith unto him, Lord, show us the Father, and it sufficeth us. Jesus saith unto him, Have I been so long time with you, and yet hast thou not known me, Philip? he that hath seen me hath seen the Father; and how sayest thou then, Show us the Father? Believest thou not that I am in the Father, and the Father in me? the words that I speak unto you I speak not of myself: but the Father that dwelleth in me, he doeth the works.

• The way that Jesus tested Philip and later scolds him, suggests maybe Philip had a lot of preconceived notions of what the Messiah would do.  

• Sometimes religious people have expectations about how God should do something.

• John 12:20-22, And there were certain Greeks among them that came up to worship at the feast: The same came therefore to Philip, which was of Bethsaida of Galilee, and desired him, saying, Sir, we would see Jesus. Philip cometh and telleth Andrew: and again Andrew and Philip tell Jesus.

• Another example of some connection between Andrew and Philip

• Why didn’t Philip go straight to Jesus?

• If we aren’t able to discuss Jesus with someone, maybe we can bring them to someone who can tell them about Jesus

• After the Resurrection, we have surprisingly little information about Philip.

• Acts describes a man called Philip the Evangelist (Acts 21:8)

• These were different people but since they were both named Philip, early Church writers often got them confused with each other.

• Some say he preached the gospel throughout central Eurasia, Syria, and Turkey.

• Wikipedia gives this account of his death

• This appendix gives an account of Philip's martyrdom in the city of Hierapolis.  According to this account, through a miraculous healing and his preaching Philip converted the wife of the proconsul of the city. This enraged the proconsul, and he had Philip, Bartholomew, and Mariamne all tortured. Philip and Bartholomew were then crucified upside-down, and Philip preached from his cross. As a result of Philip's preaching the crowd released Bartholomew from his cross, but Philip insisted that they not release him, and Philip died on the cross. Another legend is that he was martyred by beheading in the city of Hierapolis.

NATHANIEL

• The synoptic gospels do not mention an apostle named Nathaniel but do have an apostle named Bartholomew

• John’s gospel doesn’t mention Bartholomew

• Bartholomew means “Son of Talmai” so this could have been a surname

• In John 1:42, Jesus called Peter, “Simon the son of Jona.”  In Matthew 16:17, Jesus called him, “Simon Barjona.”  Bar is an Aramaic word that means “son of”

• His name then could have been Nathaniel Bartholomew, or Nathaniel son of Talmai.

• Nathaniel means “Gift of God.”

• In John 21:1-3, after the Crucifiction, there is a list of seven of the apostles who went fishing.  Nathaniel is listed so he may have been a fisherman by trade.

• John 1:45-49, Philip findeth Nathanael, and saith unto him, We have found him, of whom Moses in the law, and the prophets, did write, Jesus of Nazareth, the son of Joseph. And Nathanael said unto him, Can there any good thing come out of Nazareth? Philip saith unto him, Come and see. Jesus saw Nathanael coming to him, and saith of him, Behold an Israelite indeed, in whom is no guile! Nathanael saith unto him, Whence knowest thou me? Jesus answered and said unto him, Before that Philip called thee, when thou wast under the fig tree, I saw thee. Nathanael answered and saith unto him, Rabbi, thou art the Son of God; thou art the King of Israel. Jesus answered and said unto him, Because I said unto thee, I saw thee under the fig tree, believest thou? thou shalt see greater things than these.  

• We’re not sure of the connection between Philip and Nathaniel but they seem to be friends.  Philip is usually paired with Bartholomew in lists of the apostles meaning they probably traveled together.

• Nathaniel seemed skeptical about Philip’s claim and said, “Can anything good come from Nazareth?”

• When Jesus sees Nathaniel, He said, Behold an Israelite indeed, in whom is no guile! Some translations say, “no deceit.”

• The term Israelite refers to a person from the northern kingdom of Israel.  Britannica.com says this,

• In liturgical usage, an Israelite is a Jew who is neither a cohen (descendant of Aaron, the first high priest) nor a Levite (descendant of early religious functionaries). The distinction is significant, for if a cohen is present for synagogue service, he must be called up first for the reading of the Law; he is then followed by a Levite. Normally, therefore, an Israelite is not called up until the third reading.

• Nazareth is in the northern kingdom.  Since Israelites are low in the religious hierarchy, he must have thought it was odd for the Messiah to be from Nazareth.

• Jesus seemed to be giving Nathaniel props for 1) knowing the Scriptures and 2) for being humble because he was also from the northern kingdom.

• After Jesus said this, Nathaniel was confused.  How did Jesus know he was an Israelite? 

• Jesus said, Before that Philip called thee, when thou wast under the fig tree, I saw thee.

• There must have been something significant about being under the fig tree because Nathaniel immediately understood the reference

• Andrew and Philip recognized Jesus as the Messiah after having spent a few hours with him.  This one sentence from Jesus convinced Nathaniel!

• Peter is often considered the first apostle to recognize Jesus as the Christ.  We see that many of the other apostles saw it immediately!

• John 21 mentions that Nathaniel was from Cana of Galilee.  John 2 talks about the wedding in Cana that happened “on the third day.”

• Andrew and Philip talked to Jesus on the first day.

• On the next day, Jesus called Philip and Philip went and told Nathaniel

• On the 3rd day was the wedding.

• It’s possible that the wedding was for a relative of Nathaniel and it was he who invited Jesus to the wedding.

• There is no other mention of Nathaniel/Bartholomew besides being listed with the other apostles

• He is believed to have preached in India and was martyred in Armenia.  I found this account cited in a text called The Golden Legend:

• There be divers opinions of the manner of his passion. For the blessed Dorotheus saith that he was crucified, and saith also: Bartholomew preached to men of India, and delivered to them the gospel after Matthew in their proper tongue. He died in Alban, a city of great Armenia, crucified the head downward. St. Theoderus saith that he was flayed, and it is read in many books that he was beheaded only. And this contrariety may be assoiled in this manner, that some say that he was crucified and was taken down ere he died, and for to have greater torment he was flayed and at the last beheaded.