Come and See
The sky throbbed with heat as Philip raced across the rocky hillside, his sandals slipping in the dust of first-century Israel. He didn’t stop. He couldn’t stop. His hands were shaking, his thoughts tumbling over each other.
Jesus had sought out Philip, looked straight at him, and said, “Follow Me.”
Those two words changed everything.
His mind replayed the moment over and over—Jesus looking at him, calling him, choosing him. Like a truth he had been waiting for his whole life, he knew exactly who he needed to tell.
Up ahead, under the shade of a wide fig tree, sat Nathanael. Philip slowed when he reached him, still catching his breath.
“Nathanael,” he said, unable to keep the excitement out of his voice, “we found Him. The One the Scriptures promised. Jesus… from Nazareth.”
Nathanael opened his eyes and looked at Philip with a puzzled smile.
“Nazareth? Really? Can anything good come from a place like that?”
Philip wasn’t bothered. He didn’t try to explain. He didn’t try to argue.
He just leaned forward, eyes shining, and said the one invitation he knew Nathanael couldn’t ignore:
“Come and see.”
The Promised One is Here
Have you ever had news so exciting you could barely keep it inside? Like you just had to tell someone right away? That’s exactly how Philip felt.
All his life, Philip had heard the stories… stories from Moses… stories from the prophets… stories about a special Person God promised to send—someone who would rescue His people and bring light into a dark world.
Everyone waited. And waited. And waited.
Then Philip met Jesus. Suddenly, everything he had been taught—every story, every prayer, every promise—all of it came flooding to life.
When Philip met Jesus, he realized: This is Him. The One we’ve been waiting for!
Can you imagine how Philip must have felt when he blurted it out to his friend Nathanael:
“We have found the one Moses wrote about in the Law, and about whom the prophets also wrote—Jesus of Nazareth, the son of Joseph.”
To us today, it might not seem like a big deal. But to Philip, it was like saying:
“God kept every promise. The wait is over. The one we’ve been waiting for is finally here! You have to come and see it for yourself!”
Follow Me
Philip grew up in Bethsaida, a small fishing town on the northern shore of the Sea of Galilee. Life there was simple but busy. Families fished in the Sea of Galilee, mended their nets, tended small gardens, and took care of one another.
It was an ordinary town, full of ordinary people—but it would become the starting point for something extraordinary.
Philip’s life changed the day he met Jesus. One moment, he was living his everyday life; the next, Jesus looked at him and said, “Follow Me.” Those two words turned his world upside down. Philip immediately left behind the life he knew to follow Jesus, joining a small group of men who would become the Twelve Apostles.
Feeding the 5,000
One day, a huge crowd gathered to hear Jesus. The Bible records that there were about five thousand men, that’s not counting the women, and children—there were so many people, but they had no food. Jesus asked His disciples: “Where shall we buy bread for these people to eat?”
Philip did some quick thinking. He looked at the crowd and said, “Even eight months’ wages wouldn’t be enough to feed them all!”
But Jesus wasn’t worried, like a good shepherd, Jesus had the people sit down on the green pasture, by the still waters of the Sea of Galilee and what He did next restored the people. He took five loaves of bread and two fish from a boy in the crowd blessed the food, broke it, and started handing it out.
Before anyone knew it, everyone was fed, and there were even leftovers! Though Philip observed that it would be impossible to feed everyone, Jesus proved that nothing is impossible with God.
Philip Brings the Greeks to Jesus
During one of the Jewish festivals in Jerusalem, some visitors from far away—Greeks—were curious about Jesus. They had heard stories of His teachings and miracles and wanted to see Him for themselves.
They didn’t know exactly how to find Jesus, so they went to Philip. Why Philip? Maybe it was because he had a Greek name that they recognized after all Philip in Greek means “lover of horses.” Since they were also Greek, they might have thought he would understand them and could help them connect with Jesus.
Well, they sure found the right person, because Philip didn’t deny them access to Jesus or try to satisfy them with his own tales about Jesus. He did something much better: he went to Andrew, and together they brought the visitors straight to Jesus.
Philip’s action shows his heart: Philip didn’t try to shine the spotlight on himself—he always pointed people to Christ.
Jesus Points Philip to God
After traveling with Jesus and watching Him teach, heal, and love people, the disciples began to worry. Jesus had told them He would be leaving soon. Before He went, Jesus comforted them and explained something very important: “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one can come to the Father except through me.”
Philip, honest and eager, asked: “Lord, show us the Father, and that will be enough for us.”
Jesus answered: “Don’t you know me, Philip, even after I have been among you such a long time? Anyone who has seen me has seen the Father!”
In other words, Jesus was clearly telling Philip that He is God.
This was a huge truth for Philip and the other disciples to grasp.
We might wonder, “Wait, what? Didn’t they already know Jesus was God?”
Well, we know this because we have the whole Bible today. The New Testament explains it plainly. But the disciples didn’t have that yet. They were living the story in real time. They had the Old Testament Scriptures, but they were still learning—step by step—who Jesus truly was.
And praise God, they did learn it.
After Jesus rose from the dead and the Holy Spirit opened their eyes fully, the disciples understood that Jesus is truly God. They wrote down what they saw and heard so that we could know the truth too.
By then the disciples already knew many amazing things about Jesus:
- They knew He was the Messiah or deliverer God had promised long ago.
- They knew He taught with wisdom no one else had.
- They knew He performed miracles only God could do.
But Jesus wanted them to understand something even greater:
He wasn’t just sent by God—He IS God. God the Son. To know Jesus is to know the Father. Sometimes we get confused about that too.
We may treat believing in Jesus the same way Philip did:
• We believe Jesus is our deliverer who save us in times of trouble.
• We see Him as a wise teacher who shows us the best way to live.
• Or we look to Him as a miracle worker who can heal all our diseases.
Yes—those things are true! Jesus does deliver, teach, and heal us. But if we think that’s all He is, we miss something essential: Jesus is God.
And if Jesus is God, that means He is the King of the universe who holds the whole world in His hands. And if he is the Creator who controls everything, He deserves our full trust, love, and worship—not just when we need something, but every day.
And here is the wonderful truth Jesus wanted Philip to grasp:
When we look at Jesus, we are seeing exactly what God the Father is like. He is not a faraway God up in space somewhere who doesn’t care about us.
Just as Jesus died on the cross for our sins because He loves us, we see the Father’s love too. Jesus didn’t die because He had to—He died because He wanted to save us. That’s how much He loves us, and that love shows us exactly what the Father’s heart is like.
So when Jesus said, “Whoever has seen Me has seen the Father,” He was inviting the disciples—and us—to rest in this amazing reality: God isn’t far away or hard to find. He came close to us in Jesus so we could know Him, love Him, and walk with Him every day.
Through Jesus—the Son—we truly come to know God the Father. That’s why it is so important to understand that Jesus is God.
Why Philip’s Story Matters
Now let’s talk about why Philip’s story still matters today.
1. Notice God at Work
When Philip heard the stories about his ancestors, he didn’t see them as just stories—he recognized them as God’s Word. He believed the prophecies would come true, and that’s why he could recognize Jesus as the fulfillment of God’s promises. When we pay attention to what God says and trust His Word, we see God working in our lives just as He worked in the lives of those we read about in the Bible.
2. Invite Others to “Come and See” Jesus
Philip didn’t keep the good news to himself. He invited Nathanael to “come and see” and helped the Greeks meet Jesus. When we discover how precious Jesus is, we enthusiastically share it. We invite others to come and see Him too. Philip also didn’t need to use fancy words or clever arguments. He simply pointed them toward Jesus. Kids, remember this: you don’t have to know everything — just point people to Jesus, and let Him do the rest.
3. Keep Asking and Learning
Sometimes we feel embarrassed when we’re corrected in public. Jesus corrected Philip in front of all the disciples, and it was recorded in the Bible for all of us to see. We are grateful for Philip’s honesty because it helps us understand Jesus better today. It’s okay not to know everything or to get things wrong like when Philip didn’t think they could feed the huge crowd. It’s okay to ask questions and be corrected—there are no dumb questions with Jesus. He will always patiently teach us until we understand.
Scripture Reflection
As Jesus said in John 14:6:
“I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one can come to the Father except through me.”
Let’s follow Philip’s example and point others to Jesus, the only way to the Father.
Takeaway
Church tradition tells us more about Philip after the stories we read in the Bible. While we may never know which accounts are completely accurate and which might have been exaggerated, one thing is clear: Philip was eager to invite and point others to know Jesus.
After Jesus ascended, Philip is believed to have traveled, taught, and shared the good news in places like Greece, Phrygia (modern-day Turkey), and Syria, and some traditions even say he reached as far as France. Like many of the apostles, tradition records that Philip eventually gave his life for following Jesus in Hierapolis a city in modern-day Turkey. Philip’s faith and example continue to inspire Christians today.
This week take some time to reflect on the truth Jesus taught Philip—Jesus is God. Not just a great teacher. Not just a miracle-worker. Not just someone we run to when we’re in trouble. He is God the Son.
And because Jesus is God:
• You can trust Him even when life is hard.
• You can talk to Him because He truly hears you.
• You can follow Him knowing He will never leave you.
• You can rest knowing He is always doing what is best—even when you can’t see it yet.
Jesus never promised us a perfect life, but He did promise us His perfect presence every single day.
Jesus—the God of the universe who created everything—is your Savior, your Lord, your Friend, and your God. What an amazing truth!
That’s such good news… how could we not want to share it?
Thank you for listening! If Philip’s story encouraged you, share this episode with a friend and invite someone to come and see Jesus.
And remember—when we point people to Jesus, we’re pointing them to God Himself.
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