St Philip the Apostle

St Philip the Apostle 

Feast Day: May 3

   Philip the Apostle was one of the earliest followers of Jesus Christ. Some scholars speculate that Philip was first a disciple of John the Baptist, because he lived in the region where John preached.

Like Peter and Peter's brother Andrew, Philip was a Galilean, from the village of Bethsaida. It's probable they knew one another and were friends.

Jesus issued a personal call to Philip: "Follow me." (John 1:43, NIV). Leaving his old life behind, Philip answered the call. He may have been among the disciples with Jesus at the wedding feast in Cana, when Christ performed his first miracle, turning water into wine.

Philip recruited the skeptical Nathanael (Bartholomew) as an apostle, leading Jesus to reveal that he supernaturally saw Nathanael sitting under a fig tree, even before Philip called him.

In the miracle of the feeding of the 5,000, Jesus tested Philip by asking him where they could buy bread for so many people. Limited by his earthbound experience, Philip replied that eight months' wages would not be enough to buy each person one bite.

The last we hear of Philip the Apostle is in the book of Acts, at Jesus' ascension and the Day of Pentecost. Another Philip is mentioned in Acts, a deacon and evangelist, but he is a different person.

Tradition says Philip the Apostle preached in Phrygia, in Asia Minor, and was martyred there at Hierapolis.