Philip From Bethsaida - John 1:44

John the apostle wrote how John the Baptist said about Jesus, “Behold the Lamb of God! And the two disciples heard him speak, and they followed Jesus. Then Jesus turned, and saw them following, and said unto them, What are you seeking? They said unto him, Rabbi, (which is to say, being interpreted, Master,) where do you dwell? He said unto them, Come and see. They came and saw where he dwelt, and abode with him that day: for it was about the tenth hour. One of the two which heard John speak, and followed him, was Andrew, Simon Peter's brother He first found his own brother Simon, and said unto him, We have found the Messiah, which is, being interpreted, the Christ. And he brought him to Jesus. And when Jesus beheld him, he said, You are Simon the son of Jona: you shall be called Cephas, which is by interpretation, A stone. The day following Jesus would go forth into Galilee, and finds Philip, and said unto him, Follow me”, and in chapter one and verse forty-four of his book, John shared how, “Philip was of Bethsaida” where we read:

Now Philip was of Bethsaida, the city of Andrew and Peter.

The verse reads, “Now Philip was of Bethsaida, ...” John began with the words, “Now Philip” which means “moreover Philip whose name means lover of horses” “was of Bethsaida” which means “was from Bethsaida which means house of fish and was the name of a region of northern Palestine, bounded on the north by Syria, on the west by Sidon, Tyre, Ptolemais and their territories and the promontory of Carmel, on the south by Samaria and on the east by the Jordan”. John shared how “Philip” was from the region of northern Palestine known as “Bethsaida”.

The verse continues, “... the city of Andrew and Peter.” John added the words, “the city” which means “the dwelling place, abode and habitation” “of Andrew” or “belonging to Andrew whose name means manly” “and Peter” that means “and Peter whose name means a rock or stone”. John shared how “Philip” was from the same town as “Andrew and Peter”.

When we consider John's words in this verse, we learn about the dwelling place of “Philip”. “Philip” was from the town of “Bethsaida” which was the dwelling place for both “Andrew” and “Peter”. Jesus was assembling His “disciples” who would not only learn from Him but also be the ones chosen to share the “gospel of the Kingdom of God” after Jesus left them. God's desire is to make disciples of anyone who will submit themselves to His Son Jesus as their personal “Lord and Savior”, and all who are wise will yield to Him no matter where they live or dwell.

Next time John shares how, “Philip finds Nathanael”, so read ahead, and we shall join together then.

Until tomorrow…there is more…

Look for the daily devotional book “Equipped for Battle – From Generation to Generation”, the marriage book “So, You Want to Be Married”, “One Year in the Sermon on the Mount” and the new poetry book "Random Mushrooms Volumes I and II" and the new novel "Elizabeth County" in all major bookstore sites, http://www.amazon.com ; http://www.barnesandnobles.com ; download to e-books, and find it locally at www.mrzlc.com/bookstore. All references are from "Strongs Concordance".