Basic HTML Version
Christ Ordains Twelve Apostles
177
them, while they were sleeping at the foot of the mountain. With the
first light of dawn, He called them to meet Him.
John and James, Andrew and Peter, with Philip, Nathanael, and
Matthew, had been more closely connected with Jesus in active
labor than the others. Peter, James, and John had an even closer
relationship with Him, witnessing His miracles and hearing His
words. The Savior loved them all, but John’s spirit was the most
receptive. Younger than the others, with more of a child’s simple
[131]
trust, he opened his heart to Jesus. In this way, he came more into
harmony with Christ, and through him the Savior communicated His
deepest spiritual teaching to His people.
Slow to Believe
Philip was the first to whom Jesus spoke the distinct command,
“Follow Me.” He had heard John the Baptist announce Christ as the
Lamb of God. He was a sincere seeker for truth but was slow to
believe, as his announcement of Jesus to Nathanael shows. Though
the Voice from heaven had proclaimed Christ as the Son of God, to
Philip He was “Jesus of Nazareth, the son of Joseph.”
John 1:45
.
Again, when Jesus fed the five thousand, Philip showed his lack of
faith. To test him, Jesus questioned, “Where shall we buy bread, that
these may eat?” Philip’s answer, on the side of unbelief, made Jesus
sad: “Two hundred denarii worth of bread is not sufficient for them,
that every one of them may have a little.”
John 6:5, 7
. Philip had
seen Jesus’ works and felt His power, yet he did not have faith.
When the Greeks asked Philip concerning Jesus, he did not take
the opportunity to introduce them to the Savior, but went to tell
Andrew. Again, in those last hours before the Crucifixion, the words
of Philip were the kind that discourage faith. When Thomas said,
“Lord, ... how can we know the way?” the Savior answered, “I am
the way. ... If you had known Me, you would have known My Father
also.” From Philip came the response of unbelief: “Lord, show us
the Father, and it is sufficient for us.”
John 14:5-8
.
In happy contrast to Philip’s unbelief was the childlike trust of
Nathanael, whose faith took hold of unseen realities. Yet Philip
was a student in the school of Christ, and the divine Teacher bore
patiently with his unbelief and dullness. When the Holy Spirit was