Acts 6

Teacher: Rusty Kennedy
​Series: Acts

Rusty's Notes

Acts 6
SEVEN CHOSEN TO SERVE
1 In those days,

• If Jesus was crucified and Pentecost occurred in 30 AD, we can read through Acts and pinpoint general dates of Luke’s writings.
• This particular event probably occurred around 33-34 AD.

as the disciples were increasing in number,

• Disciples, learners, of who?
• Disciples of Apostles who were learning about Jesus and the Good News.

there arose a complaint by the Hellenistic Jews against the Hebraic Jews that their widows were being overlooked in the daily distribution.

• The Jerusalem Christian community had witnessed considerable growth; and as is so often the case with rapid increase, administrative problems developed.
• The particular difficulty involved a complaint from the Greek-speaking Christians against the native Aramaic-speaking Christians that their widows were being neglected in the daily distribution of food (literally, “the daily ministry”).
• We may assume that at this point the Christian community consisted exclusively of Jews.
• The only exceptions would be the “proselytes,” like Nicolas (v. 5), who were Gentiles who had converted to Judaism.
• The Gentile mission as such had not yet begun.
• The Hellenists (“Grecian Jews,” NIV) were more than likely Jews who had come from the Jewish dispersion and settled in Jerusalem.
• Their language and probably many of their ways were Greek.
• They had their own synagogues (cf. v. 9), and funerary inscriptions excavated in Jerusalem attest to their extensive presence there.
• As so often with ethnic groups, they tended to associate with those who shared their language and cultural background.
• As the church increased and came to include more and more of these “Hellenist” converts, it is only natural that they would have formed close associations with one another, perhaps even meeting in home fellowships together.
• There is no reason to picture a breach or separation in the total Christian community—only the sort of “distancing” created by natural linguistic and cultural differences.
• Where the “distancing” manifested itself was in the very practical matter of the community’s charity.
• The Hellenist widows were being overlooked—certainly not deliberately neglected but inadvertently left out.
• There may have been a considerable number of such widows. Dorcas (9:39) probably was one of them, and 1 Tim 5 attests to the large numbers of them in the Pauline congregations.
• In Jewish society widows were particularly needy and dependent, and the Old Testament singles them out along with orphans as the primary objects of charitable deeds.
• The Hellenist widows may have been a particularly sizable group.
• Diaspora Jews often moved to Jerusalem in their twilight years to die in the holy city.
• When the men died, their widows were left far from their former home and family to care for them and were thus particularly in need of charity.
• Many of them may have been attracted to the Christian community precisely because of its concern for the material needs of its members.
• The Jews had a weekly dole for resident needy, called the quppah. It was given out every Friday and consisted of enough money for fourteen meals.
• There was also a daily distribution, known as the tamhuy. It was for nonresidents and transients and consisted of food and drink, which were delivered from house to house where known needy were dwelling. [1]

 2 The Twelve summoned the whole company of the disciples and said, “It would not be right for us to give up preaching the word of God to wait on tables.

• The word “table” was characteristically used as a metaphor for a meal or for a table from which money was distributed.
• Either practice could have been followed by the church, just as both are found in the tamhuy (food) and quppah (money) of Judaism.[2]

3 Brothers and sisters, select from among you seven men of good reputation, full of the Spirit and wisdom, whom we can appoint to this duty.

• The apostles, however, laid down basic qualifications which the seven had to meet.
• First, they were to be “full of the Spirit,” i.e., they were to have manifested a special degree of allowing the Spirit to work in them.
• Then they were to be known for their “wisdom,” probably referring to the kind of practical know-how necessary for the proper management of the charitable funds.
• One would assume that the seven would take over the administration of the charity among the Hellenist Christians and the apostles would continue to do so among the others.

4 But we will devote ourselves to prayer and to the ministry of the word.”

• Verse 4 concludes the apostolic proposal. By selecting the seven, the apostles were free to carry out their primary responsibilities of preaching and bearing witness to Christ.[3]

5 This proposal pleased the whole company.

• Church problems also give us an opportunity to exercise our faith, not only faith in the Lord, but also faith in each other.
• The leaders suggested a solution, and all the members agreed with it.

So they chose Stephen, a man full of faith and the Holy Spirit, and Philip, Prochorus, Nicanor, Timon,
 Parmenas, and Nicolaus, a convert from Antioch.

• Stephen was named first. He met the qualifications, being full of faith and the Holy Spirit. That Luke listed him first is no accident. He would be the primary character in the following narrative (6:8–8:4).
• Next came Philip. He too would be a major figure in the story of the expanding Christian witness (8:5–40).
• The other five play no further role in Acts, and we have no reliable additional information on any of them.[4]
• The assembly selected seven qualified men, and the Apostles set them apart for ministry.
• The church was not afraid to adjust their structure in order to make room for a growing ministry.
• When structure and ministry conflict, this gives us an opportunity to trust God for the solution.
• The Apostles were not afraid to share their authority and ministry with others.[5]
• Expectations of the “church” as an institution have grown in our culture due to government requirements and the many programs churches/institutions have added to their structure over the centuries.
• Hospital visitation, weddings, funerals, small groups, age group ministries, training, meetings, committees, budgeting, record keeping, marketing, Sunday Morning service productions.
• That list doesn’t even include the two things we are talking about… teaching the Word of God and meeting the needs of the people.
• My hardest jobs 1) knowing what to teach and 2) protecting my schedule.
• My biggest issue is giving up control and trusting.
• The plan was to “select 7 men among yourselves.”
• Small group leaders at Leavener arise organically and are chosen among you by your attendance.

6 They had them stand before the apostles, who prayed and laid their hands on them.
7 So the word of God spread, the disciples in Jerusalem increased greatly in number, and a large group of priests became obedient to the faith.

• Dr. Luke describes the climax of the ministry in Jerusalem, for the persecution following Stephen’s death will take the Gospel to the Samaritans and then to the Gentiles.
• It has been estimated that there were 8,000 Jewish priests attached to the temple ministry in Jerusalem, and “a great company” of them trusted Jesus Christ as Savior![6]
• The story of the community’s struggle to overcome internal divisions begins and ends with the growth of the Church (Acts 6:1). [7]
• In the rest of Acts, nothing is made of their administrative duties. What one finds them doing is bearing their witness, even to martyrdom.[8]
• So the Word of God spread… causing their numbers to increase.
• Not marketing… not programs… not events.

 
STEPHEN ACCUSED OF BLASPHEMY
8 Now Stephen, full of grace and power, was performing great wonders and signs among the people.

• Faith, wisdom, grace, power, and above all the presence of the Spirit were the personal qualities that equipped him for the ultimate witness he would soon bear.
• The Spirit and power are closely linked and led him to perform signs and wonders among the people.
• He was the first other than the apostles to be described as working miracles.[9]

9 Opposition arose, however, from some members of the Freedmen’s Synagogue, composed of both Cyrenians and Alexandrians, and some from Cilicia and Asia, and they began to argue with Stephen.

• Luke named it the Synagogue of the Freedmen, which indicates that many of its members formerly may have been slaves or were the descendants of former slaves.
• Its membership included Jews from the north African and Asian Diaspora.[10]

10 But they were unable to stand up against his wisdom and the Spirit by whom he was speaking.

• If you are unable to stand up against a man’s wisdom… history has shown that you just kill them.
• They just did this with Jesus.
• So watch the same pattern occur.

11 Then they secretly persuaded some men to say, “We heard him speaking blasphemous words against Moses and God.”

1. They hired false witnesses to testify against Stephen.

12 They stirred up the people, the elders, and the scribes; so they came, seized him, and took him to the Sanhedrin.

1. They got the “crowd” to buy into what they were selling.
2. They took him to the Sanhedrin to face trial.

13 They also presented false witnesses who said, “This man never stops speaking against this holy place and the law. 14 For we heard him say that this Jesus of Nazareth will destroy this place and change the customs that Moses handed down to us.”

• Stephen saw himself as facing the same predicament that Jeremiah had faced.
• Jeremiah 7:1-8 - 1 This is the word that came to Jeremiah from the Lord: 2 “Stand in the gate of the house of the Lord and there call out this word: ‘Hear the word of the Lord, all you people of Judah who enter through these gates to worship the Lord.
• “‘This is what the Lord of Armies, the God of Israel, says: Correct your ways and your actions, and I will allow you to live in this place. 4 Do not trust deceitful words, chanting, “This is the temple of the Lord, the temple of the Lord, the temple of the Lord.” 5 Instead, if you really correct your ways and your actions, if you act justly toward one another, 6 if you no longer oppress the resident alien, the fatherless, and the widow and no longer shed innocent blood in this place or follow other gods, bringing harm on yourselves, 7 I will allow you to live in this place, the land I gave to your ancestors long ago and forever. 8 But look, you keep trusting in deceitful words that cannot help. [11]

15 And all who were sitting in the Sanhedrin looked intently at him and saw that his face was like the face of an angel. [12]

• Interesting that Stephen’s accusers mentioned the named of Moses in the previous verse.
• It was not even necessary for Stephen to speak in order to give witness, for the very glow on his face told everybody that he was a servant of God.
• Certainly the members of the Sanhedrin would recall Moses’ shining face (Ex. 34:29–30).
• It was as though God was saying, “This man is not against Moses! He is like Moses—he is My faithful servant!”[13]

 
Acts 7
1 “Are these things true?” the high priest asked.[14]

• As presiding officer in the Sanhedrin, the high priest followed the proper protocol and allowed the accused to respond to the charges.
• “Are these charges true?” “How do you plead, guilty or innocent?”[15]

[1] Polhill, J. B. (1992). Acts (Vol. 26, p. 180). Nashville: Broadman & Holman Publishers.
[2] Polhill, J. B. (1992). Acts (Vol. 26, p. 180). Nashville: Broadman & Holman Publishers.
[3] Polhill, J. B. (1992). Acts (Vol. 26, p. 181). Nashville: Broadman & Holman Publishers.
[4] Polhill, J. B. (1992). Acts (Vol. 26, pp. 181–182). Nashville: Broadman & Holman Publishers.
[5] Wiersbe, W. W. (1996). The Bible exposition commentary (Vol. 1, p. 429). Wheaton, IL: Victor Books.
[6] Wiersbe, W. W. (1996). The Bible exposition commentary (Vol. 1, p. 430). Wheaton, IL: Victor Books.
[7] Barry, J. D., Mangum, D., Brown, D. R., Heiser, M. S., Custis, M., Ritzema, E., … Bomar, D. (2012, 2016). Faithlife Study Bible (Ac 6:7). Bellingham, WA: Lexham Press.
[8] Polhill, J. B. (1992). Acts (Vol. 26, p. 183). Nashville: Broadman & Holman Publishers.
[9] Polhill, J. B. (1992). Acts (Vol. 26, p. 184). Nashville: Broadman & Holman Publishers.
[10] Polhill, J. B. (1992). Acts (Vol. 26, p. 184). Nashville: Broadman & Holman Publishers.
[11] Christian Standard Bible. (2017). (Je 7:1–8). Nashville, TN: Holman Bible Publishers.
[12] Christian Standard Bible. (2017). (Ac 6:1–15). Nashville, TN: Holman Bible Publishers.
[13] Wiersbe, W. W. (1996). The Bible exposition commentary (Vol. 1, p. 430). Wheaton, IL: Victor Books.
[14] Christian Standard Bible. (2017). (Ac 7:1). Nashville, TN: Holman Bible Publishers.
[15] Polhill, J. B. (1992). Acts (Vol. 26, p. 187). Nashville: Broadman & Holman Publishers.