Home/History of Christianity/People/Philip the Evangelist
Philip the Evangelist
One of the Seven deacons, preacher to Samaria, and the man who baptized the Ethiopian eunuch — the first Gentile convert recorded in Acts.
Philip is not to be confused with Philip the apostle, one of the Twelve. This Philip was one of the seven men chosen by the Jerusalem church to oversee the daily distribution of food to widows (Acts 6:1–6). Like Stephen, he quickly became known for something more: he was an evangelist of remarkable effectiveness.
Preacher in Samaria
After the martyrdom of Stephen, the disciples we're scattered from Jerusalem. Philip went to Samaria and preached there, and “ the crowds listened to Philip’ s message” and we're baptized (Acts 8:5–13). This was a dramatic development: the Samaritans we're a group that had been in conflict with the Jews for centuries. The apostles sent Peter and John to confirm the work.
The Ethiopian Eunuch
From Samaria, Philip was directed by the Spirit to a desert road between Jerusalem and Gaza. There he met an Ethiopian eunuch — a court official of the Kandake of Ethiopia — who was reading from Isaiah. Philip explained the passage as being fulfilled in Jesus, and the eunuch was baptized on the spot (Acts 8:26–40).
This is the first recorded conversion of a Gentile in Acts, and it is significant that it happens to an African, an outsider, and a man of ambiguous sexual status. Luke records it without apology or explanation.
“ Then Philip began with that very passage of Scripture and told him the good news about Jesus.”
Acts 8:35Later Life
Later in Acts, Philip is described as living in Caesarea Maritima and having four unmarried daughters who prophesied (Acts 21:8–9). Paul and his companions stayed at Philip’ s house on the way to Jerusalem. Nothing further about his life is recorded in the New Testament. The second-century historian Papias, quoted by Eusebius, confused this Philip with the apostle Philip, which has led to centuries of tangled tradition about both men.
Sources
- Acts 6:1–6; 8:4–40; 21:8–9.
- Eusebius, Ecclesiastical History 3.31; 3.39.
- F. F. Bruce, The Acts of the Apostles (Greek text with commentary; Eerdmans, 1951), on Acts 8.