Monday, 01 September 2008 00:00  |  Written by Steve Hall [a] and posted in Philip

The next day Jesus decided to leave for Galilee. Finding Philip, he said to him, "Follow me." Philip, like Andrew and Peter, was from the town of Bethsaida. John 1:43-44

Rabbis in Jesus’ day didn’t go up to people and say, “Follow me.” It just wasn’t the done thing. For one, Rabbis didn’t ask full stop. Disciples asked to follow them but never the other way around. Secondly, Philip wasn’t considered a good enough student to be a disciple (otherwise he’d be one already).

No wonder Philip of Bethsaida followed Jesus. He was being invited into something normally unimaginable…

Tuesday, 02 September 2008 00:00  |  Written by Steve Hall [a] and posted in Philip

Philip found Nathanael and told him, "We have found the one Moses wrote about in the Law, and about whom the prophets also wrote—Jesus of Nazareth, the son of Joseph." John 1:45

The first thing we read that Philip does is immediately seek to share the exciting good news he had just received. “We’ve found the one we’ve been waiting for!” he exclaims to Nathanael.

Can you hear his excitement? Evangelism can be made into this big thing, but, at the end of the day, all it is is the natural overflow of who we are when we receive good news.

Wednesday, 03 September 2008 00:00  |  Written by Steve Hall [a] and posted in Philip

"Nazareth! Can anything good come from there?" Nathanael asked. "Come and see," said Philip. John 1:46

Nathanael strikes me as a cynical person! He even judges Jesus solely on where he comes from!

We’re going to meet lots of people who react like this to Jesus and to what we have to say about him. Philip’s response is a simple but effective evangelistic technique. He doesn’t argue or try to prove he’s right; he just invites Nathanael to come and find out for himself.

Thursday, 04 September 2008 00:00  |  Written by Steve Hall [a] and posted in Philip

When Jesus looked up and saw a great crowd coming toward him, he said to Philip, "Where shall we buy bread for these people to eat?" … Philip answered him, "It would take almost a year's wages to buy enough bread for each one to have a bite!" John 6:5 & 7

Faced with over five thousand men (plus the women and children) how would you have answered?

Philip’s worldview meant that he viewed Jesus’ question through goggles of consumption (buying and spending). However, Jesus’ worldview was one of discovering what you already have and sharing it.

Is there a key in here in how we tackle issues of global hunger today…?

Friday, 05 September 2008 00:00  |  Written by Steve Hall [a] and posted in Philip

Now there were some Greeks among those who went up to worship at the Festival. They came to Philip with a request. "Sir," they said, "we would like to see Jesus." Philip went to tell Andrew; Andrew and Philip in turn told Jesus. John 12:20-22

This is an interesting wee story about Philip… He’s obviously an approachable guy (the Greeks go up to speak to him), but he only tells Jesus when Andrew goes with him… to hold his hand? No! Like the story with Nathanael at the beginning of the week, Philip is always looking to involve others. I think he really gets the idea of what it means to be part of a community.

Saturday, 06 September 2008 00:00  |  Written by Steve Hall [a] and posted in Philip

Jesus was teaching, saying, “If you really know me, you will know my Father as well. From now on, you do know him and have seen him." Philip said, "Lord, show us the Father and that will be enough for us." John 14:7-8

We can be really harsh on the disciples sometimes, but I think Philip is right on the money here! He may not have fully understood what Jesus was revealing here, but Philip did know enough to recognise that Jesus was pointing elsewhere.

I think that often we know less than Philip! We stop at knowing Jesus, when Jesus came to lead us into relationship with his heavenly father.

Sunday, 07 September 2008 00:00  |  Written by Steve Hall [a] and posted in Philip

Jesus answered: "Don't you know me, Philip, even after I have been among you such a long time? Anyone who has seen me has seen the Father. How can you say, 'Show us the Father?'" John 14:9

“Don’t you know me, Philip?” I bet Philip thought he did!

There’s a lot to learn for us too from Jesus’ comment to Philip. We often try to put Jesus into boxes to better understand him, but so often these boxes are tainted by our worldviews. What I’m learning about Jesus is that he’s in(to) exploding boxes – If you catch my drift.