Bible Study on Matthew 10, verses 1 to 4, part 3, Philip and Bartholomew

 

This Apostle Philip should not be confused with the other Christian, Philip.

 

Acts 6:2  Then the twelve called the multitude of the disciples unto them, and said, It is not reason that we should leave the word of God, and serve tables. 3  Wherefore, brethren, look ye out among you seven men of honest report, full of the Holy Ghost and wisdom, whom we may appoint over this business. 4  But we will give ourselves continually to prayer, and to the ministry of the word. 5  And the saying pleased the whole multitude: and they chose Stephen, a man full of faith and of the Holy Ghost, and Philip, and Prochorus, and Nicanor, and Timon, and Parmenas, and Nicolas a proselyte of Antioch: 6  Whom they set before the apostles: and when they had prayed, they laid their hands on them.

 

The Apostle Philip is the one to whom Christ revealed that He was indeed God the Father in the flesh.

 

John 14:8  Philip saith unto him, Lord, shew us the Father, and it sufficeth us. 9  Jesus saith unto him, Have I been so long time with you, and yet hast thou not known me, Philip? he that hath seen me hath seen the Father; and how sayest thou then, Shew us the Father?

 

There is more than one tradition about Philip’s end with one having him crucified upside down and preaching from his cross and another has him beheaded. We simply don’t know anything at this moment that is not presented in the Bible.

 

Bartholomew’s name is perplexing as it is not mentioned very often in the Bible. However, it was accepted by many that this is the Anglicized version of Bartholmi, or the son of Tholmi, and that this is the same Apostle as Nathanael. In this, Strong’s dictionary, agrees. Most people have more than one name, for instance, Simon Peter. We know Simon and Peter are the same person based on the contexts in which those names are found.

 

John 1:45  Philip findeth Nathanael, and saith unto him, We have found him, of whom Moses in the law, and the prophets, did write, Jesus of Nazareth, the son of Joseph.

 

Jesus revealed Bartholomew/Nathanael’s character and Nathanael acknowledged who Jesus was.

 

John 1:46  And Nathanael said unto him, Can there any good thing come out of Nazareth? Philip saith unto him, Come and see. 47  Jesus saw Nathanael coming to him, and saith of him, Behold an Israelite indeed, in whom is no guile! 48  Nathanael saith unto him, Whence knowest thou me? Jesus answered and said unto him, Before that Philip called thee, when thou wast under the fig tree, I saw thee. 49  Nathanael answered and saith unto him, Rabbi, thou art the Son of God; thou art the King of Israel.

 

Extrabiblical tradition says he went to India, founded Christianity in Armenia, and was finally martyred in what is called Azerbaijan today.