by Jilene Scherenske
Each of the disciples had their own very distinct personality. Sometimes I believe it is harder for us to put ourselves in their shoes if we don’t have a similar personality, yet, if we are going to learn all the lessons God wants for us to see, that is exactly what we must do. So here, in Philip’s case, I find myself struggling a bit to see all that God wants me to see because my personality is much different than Philip’s.
Philip’s Background
Philip’s name means “lover of horses”. Some think he may have been named after Philip of Macedon whose son, Alexander the Great, left a lasting Greek influence in northern Galilee. Or perhaps he was named after Philip the Tetrarch, who had raised Philip’s hometown to the status of a city. Philip the Tetrarch was governor of four provinces during the time of John the Baptist and was brother to the Herod who was governor over Galilee (Luke 3:1). At any rate, the name Philip was Greek though he was Jewish. Since Alexander the Great’s vast conquests, Greek influence was very prevalent and many of the Jews had adopted some of its cultures, customs, and even language. Those Jews were called Hellenists. We know he must have had a Jewish name, but for some reason, scripture never uses it.
His hometown is Bethsaida which was also Andrew and Peter’s hometown (John 1:44). It is most probable that the three were long time friends. It is also probable that he was a fisherman since that was the chief industry of that location. But beyond that surmising, we have the incident in John 21 were Peter announced that he was going fishing. In verse 2-3 it says: There were together Simon Peter, and Thomas called Didymus, and Nathanael of Cana in Galilee, and the sons of Zebedee, and two other of his disciples.3 Simon Peter saith unto them, I go a fishing. They say unto him, We also go with thee. ... Commentators believe that Philip was one of the other two thus making him a fisherman. We also know that he was searching the scriptures for the Messiah, as were Peter, Nathanael, and Andrew.
Let us take a quick look at his personality. From the events written in scripture we can surmise that he was a black-and-white man, analytical, needed to mull over the facts, always weighed the pros and cons at length. He kept within his own boundaries of behavior, made careful calculation, sometimes he was indecisive. He NEVER made snap decisions! He was a data person – it had to be make sense on paper; practical minded, never visionary. This kind of personality tends to be pessimistic, narrowly focused, cynical, thinking firstly about why things could not be done rather than finding ways to do them. Sounds like just the kind of man Jesus needed, right? In our estimation we would think not, but Jesus always saw the potential in every man.
Jesus wasn’t looking for grandness when He chose His disciples.His only requirement was availability.Philip was that.All these disciples, crude as they were, demonstrated to the world what God’s power working in a soul can do.I cannot think of one disciple who had any great talent which readied them to be a disciple.If anything, it was just the opposite.But through God’s power they worked miracles; through God’s power they brought the gospel to the world!It was almost as if Jesus purposely picked the lowest form of men just so that He could shine through them!What does that say to us?It speaks loudly to each of us that if we will but have a willing heart of availability, He can do above and beyond what we think or even dream of in our lives – all for His glory.We have not yet seen what He can do through us.It tells us that we don’t need to fear to step out in faith because it is He Who supplies the nerve, the gumption, the strength, the words, and anything else that is needed.Look what He did through Philip!