Reflections on Acts 6

Acts 06 (Contemporary English Version)


1. A lot of people were now becoming followers of the Lord. But some of the ones who spoke Greek started complaining about the ones who spoke Aramaic. They complained that the Greek-speaking widows were not given their share when the food supplies were handed out each day.
   
2. The twelve apostles called the whole group of followers together and said, "We should not give up preaching God's message in order to serve at tables.
   
3. My friends, choose seven men who are respected and wise and filled with God's Spirit. We will put them in charge of these things.
   
4. We can spend our time praying and serving God by preaching."
   
5. This suggestion pleased everyone, and they began by choosing Stephen. He had great faith and was filled with the Holy Spirit. Then they chose Philip, Prochorus, Nicanor, Timon, Parmenas, and also Nicolaus, who worshiped with the Jewish people in Antioch.
   
6. These men were brought to the apostles. Then the apostles prayed and placed their hands on the men to show that they had been chosen to do this work.
   
7. God's message spread, and many more people in Jerusalem became followers. Even a large number of priests put their faith in the Lord.
   
8. God gave Stephen the power to work great miracles and wonders among the people.
   
9. But some Jews from Cyrene and Alexandria were members of a group who called themselves "Free Men." They started arguing with Stephen. Some others from Cilicia and Asia also argued with him.
   
10. But they were no match for Stephen, who spoke with the great wisdom that the Spirit gave him.
    
11. So they talked some men into saying, "We heard Stephen say terrible things against Moses and God!"
    
12. They turned the people and their leaders and the teachers of the Law of Moses against Stephen. Then they all grabbed Stephen and dragged him in front of the council.
    
13. Some men agreed to tell lies about Stephen, and they said, "This man keeps on saying terrible things about this holy temple and the Law of Moses.
    
14. We have heard him claim that Jesus from Nazareth will destroy this place and change the customs that Moses gave us."
    
15. Then all the council members stared at Stephen. They saw that his face looked like the face of an angel.

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The church by this point was experiencing growing pains. Two reports have been given by this point of first 3,000 and later 5,000 who became believers in addition to other statements such as Act 2:47, "And every day the Lord added to them those who were being saved," and Act 5:14, "Believers were added to the Lord in increasing numbers." Although we were told in Act 4:32 that "those who believed were of one heart and soul," we should not surprised that problems accompanied this growth. Chapter 6 introduces one of those problems. This group of believers was culturally diverse, and, to some extent, ethnically diverse. Most were Jewish but from different cultures, speaking different languages as mentioned here.

Since they were in Jerusalem, the group was probably made up predominately of Hebraic Jews. It would not be unusual that the minority group would be overlooked in one way or another, and in this case it had to do with the care provided the widows. This passage is thought by many to be the introduction of the office of deacon in the church. Whether or not this is accurate, there are some important leadership principles to be learned here for use in the church. One is the quick response by the leaders to this issue. There was no defensiveness or excuses but rather a direct course of action. A second, and important, principle was the expansion of leadership. The apostles, who were the church leaders, did not try to hold the leadership to themselves nor did they try to keep the leadership within their cultural conclave. Still another principle was the involvement of the congregation in resolving the problem, allowing it to have ownership of the solution. Another principle was the criteria for selecting these leaders. To select leaders without the credentials of a good reputation, being full of the Spirit and wisdom, would only buy more problems.

Possibly the most important principle in this account, though, was the priority the apostles placed on key functions of their office. These functions were prayer and the preaching ministry. By appointing others to this matter with the widows, they protected their ability to continue giving priority to these functions which, I believe, resulted in the report given in verse 7, "So the preaching about God flourished, the number of the disciples in Jerusalem multiplied greatly, and a large group of priests became obedient to the faith." Had the apostles been diverted from prayer and preaching I don't believe they would have seen these results. The church is continually confronted with the temptation to pursue urgent matters that divert it from its primary role of being Christ's witnesses throughout the world. The apostles showed extreme wisdom in taking the action they did and not allowing themselves to be diverted.

In the account that follows this issue within the church, we see the issues that are cropping up outside the church. This account demonstrates the illogical opposition that can arise when witness of Christ is actively pursued. Members of the Freedmen's Synagogue for some reason felt threatened by the Christian witness and chose to launch a dispute with Stephen. This was not a friendly debate nor even a mischievous attempt to get the best of these Christians. To the members of this synagogue this was serious business. So serious that when they could not "stand up against the wisdom and the Spirit" by whom Stephen spoke, they brought a charge of blasphemy against him to the Sanhedrin. A charge punishable by death. Stephen or the other Christians posed no physical or material threat, so what threat could he possibly be to them? The only possible threat he could pose was to their ideology, their theology, and their customs. But an ideology, theology, and custom that must be protected by deceit, injustice, and murder should be brought into question.

Such illogical opposition to Christian witness may cause problems, but it will not prevail.