Jesus’s disciples were a diverse group of ordinary people, each with their own unique flaws, demonstrating that God can use anyone who is faithful to his calling. We’ve previously discussed Peter, Andrew, and James. Now we’ll look at the second group of apostles, starting with Philip, to understand what kind of people God uses for his purposes.
Philip: A Pragmatic Man of Limited Faith
Philip, whose name is Greek for “lover of horses,” was a fellow townsman of Peter and Andrew from Bethsaida. He was likely a fisherman and is always listed at the head of the second group of apostles, suggesting he was its leader. Unlike the other Gospels, the Gospel of John provides four specific instances where we can see his character and spiritual limitations.
The Call and Early Evangelism
In John 1:43, Jesus directly found Philip and told him, “Follow Me.” Philip immediately obeyed and, in turn, found his friend Nathanael and said, “We have found Him of whom Moses in the law, and the prophets, did write.” This shows that Philip was a seeker of the Messiah and that his initial response to Christ was to share the good news with others, which is the heart of an evangelist.
The Feeding of the 5,000
In John 6, a great crowd had gathered, and they were all hungry. Jesus, knowing what he would do, tested Philip by asking, “Where shall we buy bread, that these may eat?” Philip’s response reveals his worldly, materialistic mindset. He immediately calculated that “two hundred denarii’ worth of bread is not sufficient for them.” A denarius was a day’s wage, so he was saying that over 200 days’ wages would not be enough. He had no vision for a supernatural solution, even though he had been with Jesus and had seen his miracles. His focus on numbers and practicalities blinded him to the possibility of a creative miracle from God.
The Greeks Who Wanted to See Jesus
In John 12, some Greeks who had come to Jerusalem for the Passover feast approached Philip, saying, “Sir, we would see Jesus.” They sought him out because he had a Greek name and was a Greek connection. But Philip, still viewing things through a rule-based, worldly lens, didn’t immediately take them to Jesus. Instead, he consulted with Andrew, unsure if it was in the “protocol” to bring Gentiles to the Messiah. He lacked the bigger vision of grace that Jesus came to be the Savior of the world, not just the Jews.
“Show Us the Father”
Finally, in John 14, on the night before the crucifixion, Jesus was pouring his heart out to his disciples. After three years of witnessing Jesus’s words and works, Philip said to him, “Lord, show us the Father, and that will be sufficient for us.” Jesus’s frustrated response, “Have I been with you so long, and yet you have not known Me, Philip? He who has seen Me has seen the Father,” highlights Philip’s limited spiritual understanding. He was a man of inadequate faith and imperfect comprehension, who still didn’t grasp the basic truth that Jesus was God in human form.
The Lesson of Philip
Philip’s story teaches us a profound lesson. He was an analytical, pragmatic, and skeptical person who was so focused on facts and figures that he missed the big picture of God’s supernatural power and grace. His faith was limited by money, circumstances, and a need for proof. He was a materialist who lacked a sense of the invisible, spiritual world.
Philip’s worldview is a common danger for us today. We can become so focused on the natural world—on what we can see, calculate, and prove—that we become blind to God’s hand at work in our lives. We might see our accomplishments as a result of our own efforts or luck, missing the spiritual reality of God’s guidance. This can lead to a dull, mundane, and faithless Christianity.
While we should not go to the extreme of exaggerating the supernatural, we also shouldn’t become so naturalistic that we fail to see a miracle-working God who is still active in the world. He may not work in the same ways as in the Bible, but he is still a God of miracles. Our faith can grow when we meditate on his works and believe that he can do the impossible, even when our circumstances say otherwise. Do you trust God for a supernatural solution in your life, or are you like Philip, stuck in the numbers and practicalities?
The Dangers of a Naturalistic Mindset
The author begins by stating that a naturalistic mindset—one that fails to see God’s supernatural hand at work—is a root cause of a dull spiritual life. This mindset, often caused by a “pathetic prayer life and no meditation,” attributes everything in life to chance, personal effort, or simple facts and figures. It robs believers of the joy of seeing God’s direct intervention, even in small, daily things like providing food or a church building.
The author uses the disciple Philip as an example of this mindset. When Jesus asked how to feed the crowd, Philip responded with calculations about the money needed, unable to grasp the potential for a miracle. This limited thinking can even affect evangelism, causing believers to doubt that God can save anyone, like “Greeks” or other unlikely people. The author emphasizes that trusting God for great eternal salvation is inconsistent if we do not trust Him for our small, temporary needs.
Philip: The Analytical Skeptic Transformed
Despite his initial naturalistic view, Philip’s story shows that God uses even the “slow, and negative, little faith analytical skeptics.” The author notes that Philip eventually got his act together and became a faithful apostle, dying as a martyr. Tradition says he was crucified upside down and requested not to be wrapped in linen like Jesus, believing he was unworthy. This transformation shows how God can mold an analytical and skeptical person into a committed believer who trusts in His supernatural power.
Bartholomew (Nathanael): The Meditative Seeker of Truth
In contrast to Philip, Bartholomew, whose first name was Nathanael, was a prayerful, meditative soul full of faith. He was a seeker of truth and a student of Scripture, looking for the Messiah.
- His Flaw: Nathanael’s primary flaw was prejudice. He famously asked, “Can any good thing come out of Nazareth?” This prejudice is described as a sin that can make people “deaf to truth,” as it did for the scribes and Pharisees who rejected Jesus.
- His Encounter with Jesus: Philip’s simple invitation to “come and see” was enough to overcome Nathanael’s prejudice. Jesus’s first words to him were a profound and intimate observation: “Behold, an Israelite for real, in whom there is no hypocrisy.” Jesus also revealed that He had seen Nathanael praying under a fig tree. This single act of omniscience, a supernatural revelation, was enough for Nathanael. He immediately declared, “Rabbi, You are the Son of God; You are the King of Israel.”
- The Power of Consistency: The author points out the stark contrast between Nathanael and Philip. While Philip still struggled with his faith three years later, Nathanael, with his meditative and prayerful heart, understood Jesus’s deity immediately and was completely committed from that moment on. He is described as “Mr. Consistent,” a dependable, faithful, and reliable disciple who is a powerful example for all believers. The author suggests that a lack of consistency is a major problem for spiritual growth today.
God’s Call to All
The passage concludes by reiterating that God can use anyone, regardless of their weaknesses. He uses analytical skeptics like Philip and meditative, consistent believers like Nathanael. The key is not what you are, but what you are willing to become. The stories of these disciples, from their simple beginnings as fishermen to their deaths as martyrs, are a testament to God’s power to transform common people into extraordinary apostles.
Grace Reformed Baptist Church, Bangalore 