Christian Martyr - Philip the Apostle

Philip was once a disciple that had followed John the Baptist. And because of this he would, later on in his ministry, gain the privilege and honor of becoming one of Jesus' disciples.

Know that this was a very unique position that Philip had earned, and this was confirmed when he'd received a direct invitation from Jesus to come into His inner circle:

"The following day Jesus wanted to go to Galilee, and He found Philip and said to him, 'Follow Me.'" - John 1:43

Although this may seem irrelevant to most?

Understand that when it came to the other disciples, know that they were invited by someone else when it came to joining Jesus' inner circle.

For we know that John had invited his friend Andrew; and Andrew shortly after would later invite his brother Peter. Now, does this make Philip more important, when it comes to the others? Of course not. But it does indicate that Philip had something to him, being that the Lord had reached out to him personally.

Now after Philip's personal invite from Jesus - we learnt that Philip went out and invited Nathanael. The Sacred Record would confirm this invite: "Philip found Nathanael and said to him, 'We have found Him of whom Moses in the law, and also the prophets, wrote Jesus of Nazareth, the son of Joseph.'" - John 1:45

I often wonder if Philip had received a personal invite because Jesus knew his heart? Being that the Scriptures would inform us that Philip didn't hesitate by questioning the credibility of Jesus, like Nathanael: "And Nathanael said to him, 'Can anything good come out of Nazareth?' Philip said to him, 'Come and see.'" - John 1:46

So maybe, just maybe, there really was something special about Philip - for it would seem that Jesus had went to Galilee to seek him out personally.

Philip also had the privilege of witnessing first hand, how Jesus fed the crowd of at least five thousand. It would be at this time that Philip was asked a question by the Lord - Jesus had asked him: "Then Jesus lifted up His eyes, and seeing a great multitude coming toward Him, He said to Philip, 'Where shall we buy bread, that these may eat?'" - John 6:5

But know that this was a "faith test" for Philip - one that the young disciple would seem to fail at the time: "Philip answered Him, 'Two hundred denarii worth of bread is not sufficient for them, that every one of them may have a little.'" - John 6:7

But we shouldn't be too hard on the young disciple, being that he had no way of knowing of what Christ could do at this point from within his ministry. Nevertheless, Philip still had the honor of being a first hand witness, one of Christ's greatest miracles.

Be that as it may, Philip was also the disciple that the Greeks had sought out, in which they'd asked him if they could receive an audience with Jesus? And after hearing their request, Philip headed out to get Andrew, and they both took the Greeks up to see the Lord Jesus Christ. Now we're not sure exactly who these Greeks were. But what we do know, is that the Greeks on occasion would go up and worship at the feast.

Some may seem to think that they were part of the twelve tribes that were scattered amongst the gentiles. So perhaps these Greeks could be what we would call "the first-fruits of the gentiles" - for there's a very good possibility that they would eventually become Christians after their meeting with the Lord.

Know that it would be at this time that a very powerful event would take place. Being that after Jesus had saw that these Greeks were wanting to meet Him, He wanted to let them know that He wasn't just a man, but the Son of the Almighty God. So he asked His Father to glorify His name... Not His name, but God's name. And after Jesus had made this request, God answered Him in a way where all could hear, being that there were a crowd of people standing nearby:

"Father, glorify Your name.' Then a voice came from heaven, saying , 'I have both glorified it and will glorify it again.'" - (John 12:28)

The Scriptures would also confirm that the crowd that had heard these words, as they were being spoken by the Almighty God. Some would say that it was simply thunder, or perhaps, it was an angel that had spoken? But, be that as it may, they knew that something very powerful had just happen, because after this divine event had taken place many began to believe in the things that Jesus' were telling them.

For we find that some of the leaders began to believe in Him as well. But unfortunately for them, they cherished their positions amongst men more, for they were afraid to speak out in favor of Him. For they simply didn't want to get kicked out of the synagogue and to lose their positions of power and the praises of men. For this is what matter most to them, in spite of what they had just witnessed.

Know that Philip's name means "warrior." Also know that it's of Greek origin and that it was a very popular name that was used among the Gentiles. And just like Andrew and Peter - Philip was from a city in Galilee called Bethsaida, which signified the "House of nets." This place named as such, being that it was inhabited mostly by fishermen.

However, as we turn to Philip's death, there's not much to be told, being that what we've heard is not considered fact, but possibly just a rumor? But it's said that Philip had been scourged, which is another way of saying that he was whipped. He was then thrown into prison, but we don't know for how long. Later on he had been crucified in the city of Hierapolis which is located in Phrygia. All of this is said to have happen somewhere around 54 A.D..

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