NEW TESTAMENT CHARACTERS.
Andrew Philip & Nathanael

ANDREW - Apostle and brother of Peter.
Andrew did not mind being overshadowed. Probably his more dynamic brother had overshadowed him since childhood. He was a partner in Zebedee's fishing business but the other partners included his dominant brother as well as James and John the boss’s sons. Andrew became a disciple of John the Baptist - and discovered that willingness to be overshadowed was one of the Baptist’s characteristics too.

When the Baptist directed his own disciples to Jesus, Andrew is the first named disciple to go to Him. But even when so named (John 1:40) he is called “Andrew, Simon Peter’s brother.”

It was Andrew who ran to fetch Peter and told him, “We have found the Messiah.” This was long before Peter made his famous confession of Christ’s identity.

Normally he was paired with his brother, but there were times when the inner trio were together - Peter and James and John - with Andrew left out. He seems to have made a friendship with Philip. The boy with five loaves and two fishes first spoke to Andrew, perhaps finding him most approachable - on that occasion Andrew called Philip and together they took the boy to Jesus.

Later when some Greeks wanted to see Jesus they spoke to Philip (who presumably spoke Greek) and Philip’s reaction was to call Andrew. It looks as if he was easy to get along with.

One of the great unnoticed, Andrew was with Jesus from first to last. He shared His first mission to Judea and baptised the converts. Later he shared the task of planting the first church, instructing and baptising and teaching as the numbers grew by the thousand. When his brother preached and three thousand believed, Andrew was there to care for the new Christians.

References to Andrew
First followed John 1:40-44
Apostles listed Matthew 10:1-4 Mark 3:13-19 Luke 6:12-16 Acts 1:13-14
Full call Matthew 4:18 Mark 1:16
Loaves and fishes John 6:8
Greeks John 12:22
Question about end times Mark 13:3

PHILIP - Apostle, from Bethsaida, friend of Nathanael.
Philip was the first disciple after the four fishermen. He came from their home town and may have been a disciple of the Baptist or an acquaintance of Andrew and Peter, or both.

He was the first to whom Jesus said, “Follow me” and he came willingly. As Andrew had fetched Peter, so Philip fetched Nathanael using equally enthusiastic terms to describe the new teacher - “The one Moses and the prophets wrote about!” Then the six of them went with Jesus to the wedding at Cana and on the first Judean campaign.

Philip was paired with Bartholomew (see below) but apparently also had a rapport with Andrew (see above).

It was Philip who asked Jesus to “Show us the Father,” and received the reply, “If you have seen me you have seen the Father” (John 14:8-9).

Philip is a Greek name, he appeared to know Greek and was the apostle whom Greeks approached (John 12:22).

Now we come to the big question concerning Philip.

In Acts 8 Philip went to Samaria, but every commentary states as unquestioned fact that this was not Philip the apostle, but the other Philip who had been appointed along with Stephen to serve the Greek speaking converts - known as Philip the deacon.

It is difficult to argue against such weight of authority, but there appears to be no evidence one way or the other to establish which Philip it was. Normally one would expect a simple reference to “Philip” to mean the apostle unless stated otherwise. Both spoke Greek but the Galilean apostle was more likely to know the Samaritan dialect and culture, having been brought up within a few miles of its border.

Acts 8:1 says the apostles stayed in Jerusalem, but this did not mean for ever. Philip broke that pattern - or Peter and John did when they went to join his namesake in Samaria.

Some have suggested that Peter and John needed to go because Philip the deacon was not one of the twelve and they wanted to check up on him. Possibly, but to leave any colleague alone too long would not be good policy. Philip the apostle would need their backup as much as Philip the deacon.

If we cannot be certain either way, it is better to admit it and say we do not know.

Jesus had told the twelve to go to Jerusalem, Judea, Samaria and the ends of the earth.

They made a very good start in Jerusalem, but were slow to move on. At last Philip (whichever one it was) made the first move into Samaria and was well received. Crowds came to hear him just as crowds had listened to Jesus. Peter and John came from Jerusalem to support the new work and prayed for the Samaritan converts to receive The Holy Spirit. The Church had made its first leap forwards towards being international.

Then God directed Philip out of Samaria to meet the Ethiopian official on his way home from Jerusalem. Using Isaiah 53 - copies of which were available in Greek for those who could afford them and the traveller had no doubt bought one as part of his search for God - Philip preached to him Jesus, then baptised him and left him to carry the Gospel into his part of Africa.

References to Philip
First followed John 1:40-44
Apostles listed Matthew 10:1-4 Mark 3:13-19 Luke 6:12-16 Acts 1:13-14
Loaves and fishes John 6:8
Greeks John 12:22
Question about God the Father John 8:5-40

Which Philip? Samaritan mission & Ethiopian Acts 8:5-40


NATHANAEL / BARTHOLOMEW
- Apostle, from Cana, friend of Philip.
“What have we here - a Jew with no cunning?” From a gentile such a statement would not be politically correct, but there were no gentiles present. And Nathanael was indeed a straightforward open character. He revealed it by his reply, no deprecation, no turning the compliment aside, just “How did you know me?”

He had been equally open with his prejudices. When Philip told him about Jesus of Nazareth he said, “Can any good thing come out of Nazareth?” Wisely Philip did not argue but just said, “Come and see.”

Jesus’ greeting contained a further allusion to the Old Testament scriptures they both knew well. Jacob’s name means cunning or crafty or trickster. Jacob had been renamed Israel - a prince with God. And Jesus called Nathanael, “An Israel with no Jacob in him.” Under the lightweight banter lay a very deep and sincere compliment; praise of a high order.

In response to Nathanael’s question, “How did you know me?” Jesus answered, “Before Philip called you, I saw you under the fig tree.”

What had happened under the fig tree we do not know, something significant evidently, but when Jesus spoke of it, Nathanael was convinced at once. “You are the Son of God. You are the King of Israel.”

Jesus answered with another enigmatic reference to Jacob, assuring Nathanael that he would see more and greater evidence - like Jacob’s vision. The new disciple was left to think that one over and remember it in time to come.

Nathanael was the last to be recruited into the initial band of six. He too went to the wedding at Cana (which was his home town), then on the Judean campaign.

And that is the last we hear of Nathanael, by that name, until they went fishing again after the resurrection (John 21:2).

Nathanael, however, was a first name and Bartholomew was a family name; so it makes sense that John who knew him well would call him Nathanael while Matthew, Mark and Luke simply list him as an apostle under the name Bartholomew. Since Philip had recruited Nathanael and Philip is paired with Bartholomew, it looks evident that they were the same person.
References - Nathanael/Bartholomew
Called John 1:45-51
Apostles listed Matthew 10:1-4 Mark 3:13-19 Luke 6:12-16 Acts 1:13-14
After resurrection by lake John 21:2