Acts 6
1 Now in those days, when the disciples were growing in number, a complaint arose on the part of the Greek-speaking Jews against the native Hebraic Jews, because their widows were being overlooked in the daily distribution of food.
The days are those of the early apostolic Jerusalem church. The disciples are those new believers who are following the teachings of the apostles. Later in the book of Acts and in the epistles of Paul, the term disciples will be replaced by the term brothers, saints, or Christians. They can all be used interchangeably for believers in the early apostolic church. Saints are not elected by Roman Catholic bishops. Any believer who trusts in Christ alone, by faith alone, for salvation, is a saint.
The Greek word for murmuring is γογγυσμός (gogusmos), meaning whisperings. These whisperings are grumblings that could possibly divide the Church. This is the second threat to the infant church. First, the Church was tested by external persecution. Now, it was tested by internal grumbling and possible division.
The Grecians were Jews from the diaspora who spoke Greek. They were Hellenized Jews. They had lived somewhere in the Roman Empire but had migrated to Jerusalem.
The Hebrew Jews were those who lived in the tribute land of Palestine. Israel was named Palestine, after the Philistines, the bitter enemies of Israel. The Romans chose this name in order to bring disgrace to the Jews. The Hebrew Jews spoke Hebrew, and possibly Aramaic as well.
Under the Mosaic Law, widows were protected. However, by the time of Jesus, Biblical Judaism had evolved into the traditions of men. Therefore, widow protection was compromised and almost eliminated. The Hellenistic Jews were angry at the Hebrew Jews, because the Hellenistic widows were neglected in their daily rations. The Book of James dealt with these issues of widow neglection in the Jerusalem church.
2 So the twelve called the whole group of the disciples together and said, “It is not right for us to neglect the word of God to wait on tables.
Notice that the twelve would include Matthias, so he was regarded by the Holy Spirit as an apostle. The Greek word for "not fit" is ἀρεστόν (arreston), meaning not pleasing or not desirable. The apostles were the elders of all of the early churches. Paul, by his apostolic authority, changed this order in 2 Timothy, near the end of his life. The Book of 2 Timothy recorded the governmental order of the modern day local church, although few churches today follow this apostolic model. The elders were to spend their time studying and teaching the Word of God. Therefore, deacons were created to handle the physical needs of the church.
3 But carefully select from among you, brothers, seven men who are well-attested, full of the Spirit and of wisdom, whom we may put in charge of this necessary task.
The deacons of the early church possessed five characteristics. They must be believers. They must be men. They must have strong ethical character. They must be spiritual. They must possess wisdom. Wisdom comes from studying and applying the entire counsel of the Word of God. Wisdom does not come from mastering the techniques of the satanic world system. Most modern churches over look doctrinally sound deacons, and instead, choose good businessmen as deacons. This type of selection causes weakness in the church. As we will see in the next chapter, Stephen was an elder who could debate any rabbi. How many deacons can do this today?
Notice also that the congregation selected these men, but it was the apostles who appointed them.
4 But we will devote ourselves to prayer and to the ministry of the word.”
The apostles served as elders in the infant church. Their responsibility was prayer and ministry. Ministry included studying and teaching.
5 The proposal pleased the entire group, so they chose Stephen, a man full of faith and of the Holy Spirit, with Philip, Prochorus, Nicanor, Timon, Parmenas, and Nicolas, a Gentile convert to Judaism from Antioch.
The congregation was pleased that the widow problem was solved. Stephen was listed as the first deacon, because he would later become a major force in the church. He was a believer who was controlled by the Holy Spirit. To be controlled by the Holy Spirit, one must know Bible doctrine and must continually confess their sins, as according to 1 John 1:9. God will not use dirty vessels with unconfessed sin.
Philip was not the apostle, but another man who would later teach the meaning of Isaiah 53 to the Ethiopian eunuch.
Nicholas was a Gentile proselyte out of Antioch. Antioch will later become the center of the Church. There was nothing else said about the other deacons, but the Holy Spirit did mention all of them by name.
It is interesting to note that all seven of these men had Greek names, meaning that they were Hellenistic Jews from the diaspora who had immigrated into the land of Israel. Since they were all men of Greek origin, then they cannot be accused of favoritism by the Greek widows. Also, we saw that this complaint originated from the Greek widows.
6 They stood these men before the apostles, who prayed and placed their hands on them.
The seven men were nominated by the congregation and appointed by the elders. The Bible does not teach a congregational form of government, but an elder rule form of government. The major denominations that practice congregational church government include the Baptists, the Assemblies of God, the Churches of Christ, and the Congregationalists.
The seven deacons were brought before the apostles, who were functioning as elders at this time. The appointment came by the laying on of hands after they had prayed. This was a symbolic action of identification. The deacons were identifying with the teachings of the apostles. Deacons were to be appointed to their office in the same way that elders were to be appointed to their office. This method was by the laying on of hands. This divine system derived from Old Testament background. This was the means by which Joshua was appointed by Moses (Num. 27:22–23). Members of the Sanhedrin were also appointed to their office by the laying on of hands.
7 The word of God continued to spread, the number of disciples in Jerusalem increased greatly, and a large group of priests became obedient to the faith.
When the apostles were able to spend more time studying and praying, then the word of God increased. This increase in the study of the Word of God caused church attendance to increase. There was now peace in the Church, as the Greek widows were receiving proper care. There was no longer the threat of division. Most of the priests were Sadducees. Many of the priests were leaving Judaism and entering Christianity.
Stephen Arrested
8 Now Stephen, full of grace and power, was performing great wonders and miraculous signs among the people.
Stephen's main two characteristics were his kindness and his power. Stephen was the first non-apostle to demonstrate signs of authentication. He could not perform these miraculous signs until after the laying on of hands by the apostles. The laying on of hands did not give him this power. He received this power by being a legate of the apostles. The apostles identified him as a legate, so the proof that his position was of divine origin came about through the manifestation of miracles.
Notice that Stephen is performing signs among the people. Deacons did more than just wait on tables. They were teaching the people as well. Stephen will be the link between Peter and Paul. Stephen was appointed by Peter and the apostles, but Paul will be present at his death.
9 But some men from the Synagogue of the Freedmen (as it was called), both Cyrenians and Alexandrians, as well as some from Cilicia and the province of Asia, stood up and argued with Stephen.
According to Jewish sources, Jerusalem possessed over 480 different synagogues. Therefore, Stephen had a lot of enemies.
Libertines means freedmen. These were Jewish slaves who were once slaves of Roman households. They came from Rome and built their own synagogue in Jerusalem. The Cyrenians were Jews from North Africa. The Alexandrian Jews were from Egypt. The Cilician Jews came from Asia Minor (or modern Turkey). The City of Tarsus was in Cicilia. Since Paul was from Tarsus, then Stephen may have debated against Paul, meaning that Paul lost this debate. The synagogue of Asia most likely incorporated Jews from the rest of Asia Minor. These were all Jews from the diaspora, meaning that they were dealing with Stephen, a man from the diaspora.
10 Yet they were not able to resist the wisdom and the Spirit with which he spoke.
The wisdom of Stephen came from his knowledge of the word of God. His continual confession of sin kept him clean enough to be controlled by the Holy Spirit. No man could stand up to his arguments. Stephen was only a deacon, but he could silence the rabbis, including the apostle Paul! Where are these kinds of deacons today?
11 Then they secretly instigated some men to say, “We have heard this man speaking blasphemous words against Moses and God.”
The Greek word for suborned is ὑπέβαλον (hupebalon), meaning to secretly induce or to put under subjection. These men could have been secretly induced by either the power of suggestion or the power of money. The enemy used bribery inside of Judaism to bring Stephen down.
Stephen was accused of blasphemy in two different ways. Against Moses, because he taught that Jesus fulfilled the Mosaic Law. Against God, because he taught against temple worship. Neither of these accusations were blasphemy. According to the Mosaic Law, blasphemy was cursing (not pronouncing) God's name. The pronouncing of God's name was considered blasphemy by the Mishnah Oral Law, but not the Mosaic Written Law.
12 They incited the people, the elders, and the experts in the law; then they approached Stephen, seized him, and brought him before the council.
The Greek word for "stirred up the people" is συνεκίνησάν (sunekinasan) meaning to excite the people emotionally. These Jewish leaders began to shake up the people like an earthquake, causing confusion. The elders and scribes were not the Sadducees, but the Pharisees.
The Greek word for "seize" is συναρπάζω (sunaprazo), meaning that they dragged him by force. They brought him to the Sanhedrin for a trial. The accusation was blasphemy and disrespect of the Temple.
13 They brought forward false witnesses who said, “This man does not stop saying things against this holy place and the law.
False witnesses were brought in to testify against Stephen.
14 For we have heard him saying that Jesus the Nazarene will destroy this place and change the customs that Moses handed down to us.”
Stephen did know of the prophecies of the Temple Destruction in 70 A.D. Stephen was probably saying that the Law had come to an end with the death of the Messiah, and that Pharisaic or Rabbinic Judaism was superseded by the new faith of faith in Christ alone by grace alone.
15 All who were sitting in the council looked intently at Stephen and saw his face was like the face of an angel.