The Seven-Acts 6

Acts of the Apostles, Sermons

Addressing painful problems so that they can be resolved. The devil attacks in 3 ways to destroy the church.

  1. 1st by persecution [from outside in Acts 4]: the Jewish authorities suppressing it by force.
  2. 2nd by corruption [from inside in Acts 5]: Annanias and Sapphira corrupting it by hypocrisy.
  3. 3rd by distraction and dissension [in Acts 6 also from within]: squabbling widows distracting its leadership from prayer and preaching involving ethnic conflict and money.

If the devil had succeeded in any of these attempts, the new church community of Jesus would have been annihilated in its infancy. The apostles recognized and thwarted “the devil’s schemes” (Eph 6:11). We need such spiritual discernment today to recognize the activity of both the Holy Spirit and the evil spirit (Ac 5:3). We also need their faith in the strong name of Jesus, by whose authority alone the powers of darkness can be overthrown (Ac 3:6, 16; 4:7, 10, 12, 18).

From just 120 in the church (Ac 1:15), God adds [3,000] (Ac 2:41, 47), grows [5,000] (Ac 4:4), increases (Ac 6:1a), multiplies (Ac 6:7), and when necessary subtracts (Ac 5:5, 10), but God never divides. Comparing and complaining (Ac 6:2) can lead to discord, disharmony, distraction, dissension and division, which God hates (Prov 16:16-19).

Cultural racial issues are real issues. In the U.S. it may be black and white; there it was Hellenist and Hebrew complaining about unfair food distribution (Ac 6:1). 6:1-7, a story about the interior life of the early church, suggests that money and material things (Ac 2:45; 4:34-37) were as always a source of both blessing and friction in the church. Luke clearly does not idealize the inner life of the early church community nor gloss over her problems (Ac 5:1; 6:1; 8:18; 9:26; 11:1-2; 15:1-35; 21:20-36), as we might do today out of fear of being perceived as a “bad church.” He exposes her dirty laundry in order to briefly narrate how they were resolved. By contrast, if we are unwilling to address uncomfortable problems, the problems will remain and continue to be unresolved.

  1. The problem (Ac 6:1). Cultural and racial issue involving money and material goods.
  2. The solution (Ac 6:2-6). Full of the Spirit and wisdom (Ac 6:3).
  3. The principle (Ac 6:4). Never be distracted from prayer and the ministry of the word.
  4. The result (Ac 2:7). The word of God spread.

The resolution of the problem should be seen in the light of the OT and early Jewish provisions for widows and other marginalized people in a highly patriarchal society (Exo 22:22; Dt 10:18; 14:29; Ps 146:9), where widows were often put in positions where they were entitled not to an inheritance but merely to maintenance by their larger family. The “Hellenist” widows may be widows of Greek-speaking Jews, some or many of whom immigrated to Jerusalem to die in the Holy City. They were left without support when their husbands died because their family may have been far away in the Diaspora, or they were just fewer in number than the Hebraic widows. Because of growth, the neglect or oversight in the daily distribution of food for the needy led to murmuring by the Hellenists among them.

[Modern notions of charity goes back to Judeo–Christian concepts of giving without thought of return, of being “gracious,” concepts that are just the opposite of Greek and Roman notions of “giving and receiving,” in which a gift sets off a chain of reciprocity and in general one only gives to achieve personal honor or gain, and only to those one thinks can in some way reciprocate {with votes, vocal support, money, etc.}]

Select 7 men of good standing, men full of wisdom and the Spirit (Ac 6:3). This seems similar in Ac 1:23, as it is the community and not the apostles who propose the candidates. As in 1 Timothy 3 the main issue is character, not special talents or abilities, and on their being full of the Spirit (Ac 2:4; 4:8, 31). “Wisdom” (Ac 6:3, 10) refers to the ability to discern the right thing to do when choices must be made, or to Spirit-inspired wisdom (Ac 18:24-25).

Devote completely to serving the word and prayer (Ac 6:4). Both ministries are seen as forms of public worship; it doesn’t reflect any theological difference between Hebrews and Hellenists, and neither does the speech of Stephen. There are some language and thus some cultural differences between them, but nothing suggests that they amount to conservative vs. liberal views on either theological or ethical and practical matters. The main proponent of a more universal theology or a greater openness to Gentiles in Acts and elsewhere is not Stephen or the Hellenist, but Simon Peter, a former Galilean fisherman and Saul/Paul, a former Pharisaic Jew born in the Diaspora but raised and educated in conservative Judaism in Jerusalem.

The list of 7 includes only men with Greek names (Ac 6:5), which is surely no accident. This suggests that the church as a whole named mostly if not exclusively Greek-speaking Jewish Christians to administer the food distribution, in order to avoid even the appearance of favoritism. The Twelve prayed and laid hands on them (Ac 6:6) is likely an act of commissioning for the task and so to convey authority, and not a formal rite of ordination, which came later in church history (Ac 13:1-3). There are echoes in the choice of Joshua as Moses’ successor by laying on of hands (Num 27:15-23) as the first 2 [Stephen, Phillip] take up the mantle of leadership, not by waiting on tables or administering food [integral matters of the community] but by preaching and teaching just as the Twelve have been doing.

“The word of God spread” (Ac 6:7a), meaning that the number of disciples increased and included many priests who “became obedient to the faith” (Ac 6:7b). There were apparently thousands of priests in and around Jerusalem, many of them self supporting and having little in common with the leading priests. Luke is not suggesting the conversion of the leading and more well-to-do priests.

Stephen ministers in Jerusalem (6:8-15).

References:

  1. Wright, N.T. Acts for Everyone, Part 1. Chapters 1-12. 2008.
  2. Witherington III, Ben. The Acts of the Apostles. A Socio-Rhetorical Commentary. 1998. Portents and Persecutions (5:17-42).
  3. Stott, John. The Message of Acts. 1990. Through the Bible through the year, Daily reflections from Genesis to Revelation. 2006.
  4. Peterson, David G. The Acts of the Apostles. The Pillar NT commentary. 2009. Conflict with the Authorities Again (5:17-42).
  5. Osborne, Grant. Acts. Verse by Verse. 2019.
  6. Marshall, I. Howard. Acts. Tyndale NT commentaries (TNTC). 1980.
  7. Barclay, William. The Acts of the Apostles. The Daily Study Bible Series. 1976.
  8. Fernando, Ajith. The Message of Jesus in Action. 2010.

6:1-9:31. The Church begins to Expand.

  • 6:1-7. The Seven Servants. Seven are Appointed. Seven are Chosen and Commissioned. Problems of Family Living.
  • 6:8-8:3. The Trial, Testimony and Termination of Stephen.
  • 8:4-40. Phillip on the Fringes of Judaism.
    • 8:4-25. Surprise in Samaria.
    • 8:26-40. Philip and a Unique Eunuch.
  • 9:1-31. Saul as the Salient [main, principal, major, chief, important] Jewish Convert.
    • 9:1-19a. The Assaulting of Paul.
    • 9:19b-31. Saul’s Early Efforts.
  • 9:32-11:18. The Petrine Passages.
  • 11:19-15:35. The Antioch Chronicles.

4 pastors at a conference shared with each other their honest confessions about their problems.

  1. Drinking,
  2. Gambling,
  3. Tax evasion.
  4. Gossipping.
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