At the head of one of the groups into which the apostles are divided stands the name of Philip. He was the first disciple to whom Jesus addressed the distinct command, "Follow Me." Philip was of Bethsaida, the city of Andrew and Peter. He had listened to the teaching of John the Baptist, and had heard his announcement of Christ as the Lamb of God. Philip was a sincere seeker for truth, but he was slow of heart to believe. Although he had joined himself to Christ, yet his announcement of Him to Nathanael shows that he was not fully convinced of the divinity of Jesus. Though Christ had been proclaimed by the voice from heaven as the Son of God, to Philip He was "Jesus of Nazareth, the son of Joseph." John 1:45. Again, when the five thousand were 293 fed, Philip's lack of faith was shown. It was to test him that Jesus questioned, "Whence shall we buy bread, that these may eat?" Philip's answer was on the side of unbelief: "Two hundred pennyworth of bread is not sufficient for them, that every one of them may take a little." John 6:5, 7. Jesus was grieved. Although Philip had seen His works and felt His power, yet he had not faith. When the Greeks inquired of Philip concerning Jesus, he did not seize upon the opportunity of introducing them to the Saviour, but he went to tell Andrew. Again, in those last hours before the crucifixion, the words of Philip were such as to discourage faith. When Thomas said to Jesus, "Lord, we know not whither Thou goest; and how can we know the way?" the Saviour answered, "I am the Way, the Truth, and the Life. . . . If ye had known Me, ye should have known My Father also." From Philip came the response of unbelief: "Lord, show us the Father, and it sufficeth us." John 14:5-8. So slow of heart, so weak in faith, was that disciple who for three years had been with Jesus.

I spidsen for en af de grupper, hvor disciplene blev inddelt, står Filips navn. H var den første discipel, til hvem Jesus rettede denne direkte befaling: "Følg mig!" Filip var fra Betsajda, Andreas' og Peters by. Han havde lyttet til Johannes Døbers lære og havde hørt hans forkyndelse af Kristus som Guds Lam. Filip var en oprigtig sandhedssøger, men han var længe om at komme til at tro. Skønt han havde sluttet sig til Kristus, viser hans udtalelse om ham til Natanael, at han ikke var fuldstændig overbevist om Jesu guddommelighed. Skønt Kristus af en røst fra himmelen var blevet erklæret for at være Guds Søn, så var han for Filip "Jesus fra Nazaret, Josefs søn". Joh. 1,45. Og da de fem tusinde blev mættede, viste Filips mangel på tro sig atter. Det var for at prøve ham, at Jesus spurgte: "Hvor skal vi købe brød, så alle disse kan få noget at spise?" Filips svar grænsede til vantro: "For to hundrede denarer brød er ikke nok til dem, så de hver kan få blot en smule." Joh. 6,5-7. Jesus blev bedrøvet. Til trods for at Filip havde set hans gerninger og følt hans magt, havde han dog ingen tro. Dengang grækerne udspurgte Filip om Jesus, benyttede han ikke anledningen til at føre dem til Frelseren, men han gik hen og sagde det til Andreas. Og i de sidste timer før korsfæstelsen var Filips ord atter af den slags, som svækker troen. Da Tomas sagde til Jesus: "Herre! vi ved ikke, hvor du går han; hvordan kan vi så kende vejen?" svarede Frelseren: "Jeg er vejen og sandheden og livet ..... Havde I kendt mig, så havde I også kendt min Fader." Fra Filip lød dette vantro svar: "Herre! vis os Faderen, og det er os nok!" Joh. 14,5-8. Så tungnem, så svag i troen var denne discipel, som i tre år havde været sammen med Jesus.