Bible Study Means to Read Carefully - Part Two

Bible Study Means to Read Carefully – Part Two

 

In Part One under this title, I ended with the following Scripture verses.  They were provided in my discussion of Philip, who was one of the 12 Disciples of our Lord Jesus.

6 And in those days, when the number of the disciples was multiplied, there arose a murmuring of the Grecians against the Hebrews, because their widows were neglected in the daily ministration.  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. (Acts 6: 1-6)

I ended Part One by saying that I had not noticed the key points in these verses that gave necessary clarification about Philip. Then I challenged readers to find them. Finally I added that in Part Two of this post I would provide a further discussion on Philip.  and why I used this example to reflect my title: “Bible Study Means to Read Carefully”.

Before revealing the key points I mentioned above, I’d like to continue the discussion as the Scripture looks at Philip. His name becomes prominent after Israel’s final rejection of Jesus as their Messiah in response to the dramatic plea of the disciple Stephen in Acts Chapter Seven. Please note the first Bible mention of Stephen is in the Scripture verses underlined above. 

The Scripture then notes in Acts Chapter Eight, the important contributions of Philip in Samaria where he preached Christ; performed many miracles of healing and removing unclean spirits from the people; and baptized many in the name of Jesus Christ. Philip’s deeds set the stage for Peter and John to come from Jerusalem, where they provided the energy for the believing Samaritans to receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. (Acts 8: 5-25)

In that same Chapter Eight, the Scripture tells that “the angel of the Lord spake unto Philip”, sending him from Jerusalem south into the desert of Gaza. Once there, the Holy Spirit directed him to join the chariot of the Ethiopian eunuch who had recently gone to Jerusalem to worship. As this worshipper was returning home, and was reading the Old Testament scripture of Isaiah Chapter 53, he faced difficulty interpreting the meaning. Philip was able to reveal the meaning, pointing to the suffering and death of Jesus. As a result, the Eunuch stated his belief that Jesus was the Son of God and sought baptism in the name of Jesus. Philip accomplished that.

The Scripture then recorded: “³⁹ And when they were come up out of the water, the Spirit of the Lord caught away Philip, that the eunuch saw him no more: and he went on his way rejoicing.  ⁴⁰ But Philip was found at Azotus: and passing through he preached in all the cities, till he came to Caesarea.” (Acts 8: 26-40)

Following those events there is only one further mention of the name Philip, and that was later in Acts Chapter 21. The writer (Luke) was traveling with the Apostle Paul during one of Paul’s  missionary journeys. They had arrived in Caesarea. The Scripture adds: “…and we entered into the house of Philip the evangelist, who was one of the seven; and abode with him.” (Acts 21: 8) (Underline added for emphasis)

Two key points stood out in this verse. The first is that Philip is called: “the evangelist”, a term that had not been previously used.  The second point is that he is described as being “one of the seven”. That was not consistent with his being identified as one of the 12 original disciples.

That discrepancy took me back to the more detailed scripture noted at the end of Part One of this topic and repeated above. More careful reading revealed that “two Philips” were included. One “Philip” was implied in the reference to the twelve disciples who “called the multitude of disciples unto them.” The other ”Philip”, who was called by name, was “one of the seven” chosen by the multitude of disciples to provide for the “daily ministration” needed to provide logistics for the thousands of new believers.

Then I recalled a Bible verse that had been earmarked in a different context by one of my teachers, Les Feldick (now deceased). This verse followed the Scripture that presented the speech made by Stephen (who is the best remembered of the “seven disciples” noted above), that led to his martyrdom. The verse reads: “ And Saul was consenting unto his death. And at that time there was a great persecution against the church which was at Jerusalem; and they were all scattered abroad throughout the regions of Judaea and Samaria, except the apostles. (Acts 8: 1) (Bold and underline were added for emphasis.)  In this discussion of Philip I had failed to recall this distinction among the followers of Jesus. The “12” never left Jerusalem.

To obtain further clarification on the use of the name “Philip”, I turned to my Strong’s Expanded Concordance…a step I could / should have taken earlier. (Strong’s Greek Dictionary # 5376) That search for the name “Philip” revealed that there were actually THREE individuals in the Scripture with that name. The first was the disciple picked by the Lord Jesus. The second was a son of Herod the Great, who was listed only once. (Luke 3: 1) The third was called “The evangelist”, as we’ve just discussed above.

If only I had consulted my Strong’s Concordance earlier. 😊  But even that is no substitute for reading carefully.

Dr. W. A. (Bill) Robinson

https://christianityandbiblestudy.blogspot.com