Philip

Philip

*"I "was" something else once, too. Once you've met the Messiah, "am" is all that matters."*
―Philip to Matthew.[src]
**Philip** was a former student of John the Baptizer who became one of the twelve disciples of Jesus.

## Biography

### Early Life

Phillip of Bethesda was born in Bethesda. He was a normal Hebrew boy and did well in Hebrew School. Like most other boys, he learned his father's trade.

### Following the Baptizer

#### Rogue Preacher in the Wilderness

One day, when Phillip was still in his twenties, his friend told him about a man named John, who lived in the wilderness and was making Pharisees upset. Phillip travelled to where John was and heard John preaching for a baptism of repentance and a remission of sins as said by the prophet Isaiah. Phillip went back to Bethesda and told everyone he knew about John, including his friend Nathanael. Phillip's parents knew their son saw John as a prophet and allowed Phillip to leave his hometown to follow the Baptizer.

#### A New Life

Phillip met John at the Jordan River where John baptized him and many other men who would become John's disciples including Jacob, Zachariah, Tobias, and Michal. As John's ministry grew, Phillip and Jacob stepped up as leaders when John was not around. John, Phillip and the others had to live in the wilderness since John was not accepted by the main philosophies like the Pharisees, Sadducees, or Essenes. Living in the wilderness they would often go days without eating.

#### Stirring the Water

Since John's message had never been preached before, he was deemed a Heretic by the more popular philosophies most notably the Pharisees. It defiantly did not help that John was unfriendly towards his "rivals". Many times there would be spies sent by rivals that would try to trick John into saying or doing something that could make the public question his ministry. Other times, the Pharisees called for the arrest of John and his disciples. Phillip and Jacob often had to wait outside jails and negotiate for John's release. At one point they were even on the run. Phillip and the others adapted to these circumstances. They travelled with John for many years and sometimes went to cities without John to preach his message.

#### John's Cousin

When Phillip was in his early thirties, he was with another disciple who had joined John a few years ago, Andrew. They were standing by the Jordan watching John baptize people. When John baptized his cousin, Jesus, the skies opened up but Phillip did not know what it meant. Several weeks later, Phillip was talking with on of the other disciples. Suddenly, John began shouting in amazement while looking at his cousin, who had returned. He said "Behold! The Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!". He began to preach and he ended his mini-speech saying "I have seen and testified that this is the Son of God." Phillip and the other disciples were stunned, for they immediately believed John that Jesus was the Messiah. Jesus spent a few a hours with John and the disciples before going back to Capernaum.

#### Miracles

A few days later, a Pharisee (more specifically Shmuel) called for John's arrest after John called the Pharisees a brute of vipers a few days earlier. Phillip and Jacob were able to get him out after a few days and he told them while in jail he met with a Pharisee named Nicodemus. The Pharisee was troubled about a miracle he witness in the Red Quarter of Capernaum. A few days later, the group heard that Jesus had turned water into wine at a wedding in Cana. After that they all knew he was the Christ. John decided they should continue to preaching the same message and preparing the way for Jesus.

### Following the Messiah

#### A New Mission

John tells Phillip that as a meager offering he should go join Jesus to follow Him. John tells Phillip "expect everything and nothing" and then Phillip says goodbye to the other disciples and goes on his way. Phillip learns from some sources that Jesus was in Samaria and is now in the Bashan. He walks through the Bashan until he finds four men outside of a campsite. He quickly realizes that they are Jesus' followers. They do not trust him, but then Andrew shows up welcomes Phillip. The men introduce themselves as Simon, Big James, John, and Thomas and Phillip meets two of the women Mary and Ramah. Right after Phillip meets Matthew, Phillip notices how a few of the disciples (most notably Simon) are mean to Matthew, so he decides to help Matthew with his chores while waiting for Jesus to come back from praying. Afterwards, Phillip meets Jesus' two other disciples Thaddeus and Little James. That night Phillip meets with Jesus and Jesus has him follow Him immediately.

#### Come and See

Phillip asks Jesus if he can meet one of his friends in Caesarea Philippi and the group heads there. When they get to Caesarea, Phillip looks for Nathanael, who is now an architect. When he find Nathanael, he is hungover and tells Phillip that he has been fired. Phillip figures that since Nathanael has nothing else to do, he should meet Phillip's new Rabbi. Nathanael agrees and immediately recognizes Jesus as divine when he meets Him.

#### In Syria

The group travels to Syria where people have lined up, wanting to be healed by Jesus. The disciples take turns, helping and watching Jesus heal, and Phillip tries to help as much as he can. That night, Jesus mother, Mary, arrives; Phillip had already met her during his time with John.

#### The Feast of Tabernacles

The group travels to Jerusalem to celebrate the Feast of Tabernacles, and with the others, Phillip helps build the booth.

#### Meeting With the Baptizer

A few days later, on the outskirts of Jericho, Philip, Andrew, and Simon accompany Jesus to meet with John the Baptizer. When they return to camp, they find a demoniac terrorizing some of the others and a Zealot fighting the demoniac off. Jesus heals the man and calls the Zealot, Simon nicknamed Zee, to follow Him.

#### John's Arrest

Phillip escorts John to Jerusalem so John can tell Harod that his actions are wicked. When John and Phillip reach Jerusalem, John does exactly what he said he would do. Harod hated his disrespect and arrested John on the spot and sentenced him to life in prison. Phillip slipped out of the temple to tell the others. He went to Jericho where he found Jacob and the others. After they mourned together, Phillip went to the camp and told Jesus' disciples.

#### Shabbat Controversy

On the next day on Shabbat, Jesus takes the group to a synagogue in Wadi Kelt, where Jesus heals Elam, a man with a withered hand. Leaving the synagogue, Jesus permits the hungry party to pick grains, upsetting the Pharisees. Then Jesus claims to be the Son of Man and the Lord of the Sabbath.

#### Preparing for the Sermon

Jesus tells the disciples of a Sermon He is planning that will define His ministry. While Jesus tells them about the Sermon, a squadron of Roman Soldier come to detain Jesus for questioning. They wait a full day for Jesus to return and when He comes back, they ask Him to teach them how to pray like Him. After another week of preparing, they distribute the invitations throughout Galilee, inviting people to Jesus' Sermon.

#### Sermon on the Mount

The group goes to a mountain, overlooking the Sea of Galilee, and Phillip helps organize the crowd of nearly four thousand people.

### Apostleship

#### Mourning Big James

Around fourteen years after Jesus' resurrection, Big James is killed with the sword by King Herod Agrippa. Phillip and the other disciples travel to Jerusalem to sit Shiva to mourn James. John takes this time to interview everyone who was there during Jesus' ministry.

## Appearances

* *Season Two*
	+ *Thunder* (mentioned)
	+ *I Saw You*
	+ *Matthew 4:24*
	+ *The Perfect Opportunity*
	+ *Spirit*
	+ *Unlawful*
	+ *Reckoning*
	+ *Beyond Mountains*