the Week of Proper 25 / Ordinary 30
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Bible Dictionaries
Philip
Bridgeway Bible Dictionary
There were two men named Philip among the early disciples of Jesus. These are commonly referred to as Philip the apostle and Philip the evangelist. (Concerning two other men named Philip, who were members of Herod’s family, see HEROD.)
Philip the apostle came from the fishing town of Bethsaida on the shore of Lake Galilee. When Jesus first went to Galilee at the beginning of his ministry, Philip was among the first to respond to his call. Immediately, he brought Nathanael to Jesus (John 1:43-46). Later, Jesus appointed Philip one of his twelve apostles (Matthew 10:3). Philip features in the story of Jesus’ feeding of the five thousand (John 6:5-7), but he was slow to understand how Jesus’ miraculous works demonstrated the unique relationship between Jesus and his Father (John 14:8-11). Just before the last Passover, Philip helped a group of visiting Greek worshippers to meet Jesus (John 12:20-22). A few weeks later he witnessed Jesus’ return to his Father (Acts 1:9-13).
Philip the evangelist was one of the seven men whom the Jerusalem church chose to administer its welfare program (Acts 6:1-6). After the killing of Stephen and the expulsion of Christians from Jerusalem, Philip went to Samaria, where many responded to his preaching (Acts 8:4-13). He then travelled south towards Gaza and led a God-fearing Ethiopian official to faith in Jesus Christ (Acts 8:26-39). From there he moved north along the Mediterranean coast, preaching in all the towns as far as Caesarea (Acts 8:40). The next mention of Philip is about twenty-five years later, when Paul’s party stayed with him in Caesarea for a few days. He had four daughters who had the gift of prophecy (Acts 21:8-9).
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Fleming, Don. Entry for 'Philip'. Bridgeway Bible Dictionary. https://www.studylight.org/​dictionaries/​eng/​bbd/​p/philip.html. 2004.