Philip

Philip (Greek Philippos, "lover of horses") is the name of several men in the New Testament, two of whom are prominent in the early church — Philip the apostle and Philip the evangelist — both notable for bringing others to Christ.

Philip the apostle was a native of Bethsaida in Galilee, the town of Andrew and Peter (John 1:44). One of the first to be called, he heard Jesus' word "Follow me" and immediately sought out Nathanael, declaring, "We have found him of whom Moses in the Law and also the prophets wrote, Jesus of Nazareth," and answering doubt with the simple invitation, "Come and see" (John 1:45–46). He appears in every list of the Twelve (Matthew 10:3). John's Gospel preserves several of his exchanges with Jesus: at the feeding of the five thousand Jesus tested him, "Where are we to buy bread?" (John 6:5–7); certain Greeks who wished to see Jesus came to Philip (John 12:21); and in the upper room he made the request that drew one of Jesus' richest replies — "Lord, show us the Father, and it is enough for us," to which Jesus answered, "Whoever has seen me has seen the Father" (John 14:8–9).

Philip the evangelist was a different man — one of the seven men "of good repute, full of the Spirit and of wisdom" chosen to oversee the daily distribution to widows in Jerusalem (Acts 6:5). When persecution scattered the church, he went down to Samaria and "proclaimed to them the Christ," with great signs and joy, so that the apostles came to confirm the work (Acts 8:5–8). Directed by an angel, he met the Ethiopian eunuch reading Isaiah on the desert road to Gaza, explained the suffering Servant as fulfilled in Jesus, and baptized him (Acts 8:35–38) — a landmark in the gospel's outward spread. Philip was then "carried away" by the Spirit and preached through the coastal towns to Caesarea (Acts 8:40), where years later Paul lodged in his house and found him the father of four prophesying daughters (Acts 21:8–9).

The Gospels also mention members of the Herodian family named Philip: Herod Philip, the first husband of Herodias (Matthew 14:3), and Philip the tetrarch of Ituraea and Trachonitis, in whose territory lay Caesarea Philippi (Luke 3:1). But it is the two disciples who give the name its honor — men whose instinct, whether apostle or deacon, was to lead others to see and believe in Christ.