Philip In The Bible
Who was Philip in the Bible? Philip was the name of one of Jesus’ 12 apostles (see Mark 3:13-19; Luke 6:12-16; John 6:4-7), although we don’t know a great deal about him. But Philip was also the name of a different individual in the early church in Jerusalem. It is this leader in the Jerusalem church we will consider here. Along with Stephen and five other men, Philip was selected by the church to help with the distribution of food to widows so that that the apostles could be free to continue preaching God’s Word (see Acts 6:1-7).
Philip and the Ethiopian
After Stephen was stoned to death for being a faithful witness (see 6:8–7:60), Philip traveled to Samaria and preached the gospel there. His ministry in Samaria was fruitful and effective (see 8:4-13). God then directed him to “go south to the road that goes down from Jerusalem to Gaza” (v. 26). Philip obeyed, and there he met and witnessed to “an Ethiopian man, a eunuch and high official of Candace, queen of the Ethiopians.” This official was “in charge of her entire treasury” (v. 27). The Ethiopian was riding in his chariot reading some of Isaiah’s prophetic words about Jesus, and Philip helped him see that Jesus was God’s Messiah. The man believed in Jesus and was baptized (vv. 27-39). It is interesting that Philip served in the church in Jerusalem, witnessed and ministered in Samaria, and then won a man to Christ who was on his way home to Africa, which was far beyond Jerusalem, the place where the gospel first was proclaimed. The geography of Philip’s ministry reminds us of Jesus’ words regarding the spread of the gospel in Acts 1:8.
After Philip baptized the Ethiopian official, the Spirit of God took him away. He “appeared in Azotus, and he was traveling and evangelizing all the towns until he came to Caesarea,” where he apparently settled. Azotus, also called Ashdod, was a town on the southern coast of Palestine between Gaza and Joppa.
Approximately 20 years later we hear from Philip again. In Acts 21:8-9 Luke wrote, “The next day we left and came to Caesarea, where we entered the house of Philip the evangelist, who was one of the Seven, and stayed with him. This man had four virgin daughters who prophesied.” This visit took place near the end of Paul’s third missionary journey.
B. Nathaniel Sullivan
Christian educator, Bible teacher, and Editor
Unless otherwise noted, all Scripture quotations in SundaySchoolZone.com materials are taken from the Holman Christian Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1999, 2000, 2002, 2003, 2009 by Holman Bible Publishers. Used by permission. Holman Christian Standard Bible®, Holman CSB®, and HCSB® are federally registered trademarks of Holman Bible Publishers.
