Acts 6 - Set Apart - Logos Sermons

At this time, the church was quite young, but growing rapidly. On the day of Pentecost, three thousand souls were added to the small band of Jesus’ disciples. Many of these were Jews from other countries—Jews of the Diaspora who had come to Jerusalem to celebrate Pentecost (the Diaspora was Jews dispersed or scattered among the Gentile nations). The new believers have been like seeds scattered to the four winds—bringing Christ to their households and, in many cases, to their communities as well. The Lord added new people to the church “daily those who were being saved.” (2:47 NIV).

The New International Version (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 2011), .” (2:47 WEB).

The apostles have been engaged in powerful healing and preaching ministries (3:1-26; 5:12-15). Another five thousand people heard and believed (4:4). Jewish authorities, hoping to stifle the new movement, responded by arresting Peter and John and bringing them before the council (the Sanhedrin, the ruling body in Jerusalem). Peter and John were courageous, and refused to stop preaching. Peter, filled with the Holy Spirit, preached a powerful sermon to the members of the council (4:8-12). Church leaders prayed for courage to proclaim the Gospel in the face of opposition (4:29).

The concern of our text is the administration of financial support for widows (and, presumably, other needy people). This is clearly a side issue—subordinate to the proclamation of the Gospel. It is nevertheless an important issue, because (1) the church has an obligation to follow Christ’s lead in caring for vulnerable people and (2) the perception of discrimination has the potential to split the church if not dealt with promptly and fairly.

The last half of chapter five (5:17-42) forms the immediate context, telling of the persecution of Christians by the high priest and other leading Jewish authorities. They arrested Peter and other apostles, but an angel freed them from their cell, saying, “Go, stand in the temple courts,” he said, “and tell the people all about this new life.” (, NIV). The next morning, the council sent officers to bring the apostles before the council, but the officers found the cell empty. Then someone reported, “Then someone came and said, “Look! The men you put in jail are standing in the temple courts teaching the people.”” (, NIV). “At that, the captain went with his officers and brought the apostles. They did not use force, because they feared that the people would stone them.” (, NIV). When the apostles appeared before the council, the high priest said, ““We gave you strict orders not to teach in this name,” he said. “Yet you have filled Jerusalem with your teaching and are determined to make us guilty of this man’s blood.”” (, NIV). But Peter responded by saying, “We must obey God rather than human beings!” and preaching a short but pointed sermon (, NIV).

When the apostles appeared before the council, the high priest said, “Didn’t we strictly command you not to teach in this name? Behold, you have filled Jerusalem with your teaching, and intend to bring this man’s blood on us” (5:28 WEB). But Peter responded by saying, “We must obey God rather than man” and preaching a short but pointed sermon (5:29ff).

The council members wanted to kill the apostles, but Gamaliel, an honored teacher, counseled caution, lest they “be found even to be fighting against God” (5:39 WEB). So the council had the apostles beaten, and then dismissed them.

Chapter five concludes by saying, “Day after day, in the temple courts and from house to house, they never stopped teaching and proclaiming the good news that Jesus is the Messiah.” (, NIV)

The place, then, is Jerusalem—the home of the temple and the most conservative Jewish leaders—the priests, scribes, and Pharisees.

Acts 6:1 NIV

In those days when the number of disciples was increasing, the Hellenistic Jews among them complained against the Hebraic Jews because their widows were being overlooked in the daily distribution of food.

Acts

Acts 6:1–4 NIV

In those days when the number of disciples was increasing, the Hellenistic Jews among them complained against the Hebraic Jews because their widows were being overlooked in the daily distribution of food. So the Twelve gathered all the disciples together and said, “It would not be right for us to neglect the ministry of the word of God in order to wait on tables. Brothers and sisters, choose seven men from among you who are known to be full of the Spirit and wisdom. We will turn this responsibility over to them and will give our attention to prayer and the ministry of the word.”

Acts 6:1–4 NIV

In those days when the number of disciples was increasing, the Hellenistic Jews among them complained against the Hebraic Jews because their widows were being overlooked in the daily distribution of food. So the Twelve gathered all the disciples together and said, “It would not be right for us to neglect the ministry of the word of God in order to wait on tables. Brothers and sisters, choose seven men from among you who are known to be full of the Spirit and wisdom. We will turn this responsibility over to them and will give our attention to prayer and the ministry of the word.”

Acts 6.1-4

“In those days when the number of disciples was increasing” (v.1a NIV)

Just prior to his ascension, Jesus had told his disciples, “But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.”” (, NIV) That process was well underway by the this time. and the church was starting to experience some “growing pains”.

It is good to see that the gospel message of Christianity was causing the church to grow and the number of disciples were increasing.

What is a disciple? A disciple is, basically, a pupil, a student of a teacher.

The Jews considered themselves to be disciples of Moses ().

Christians are disciples of Christ. That is, we learn of Jesus. We seek to learn from what He taught and did and we strive to be like Him.

The 'Hellenistic Jews' were those Greek speaking Jewish Christians in the early church in Jerusalem. The Hellenists probably interpreted the Torah less stringently than did the 'Hebrews,'

The Hellenistic Jews probably could not speak Aramaic which was the native tongue of Jews living in Israel. They probably were reared outside the land and were bilingual, speaking both Greek and their native tongues (cf. 2:5-11).

Gentile proselytes to Judaism who later became Christians were also in this group. The native Jews were also bilingual in that they spoke Aramaic and Greek (cf. 21:40). In the Jewish world tensions existed between the Grecian Jews and the Aramaic-speaking Jews; tragically these strains were brought into the church.

It would be similar to a church where there were mixtures of ethnic cultures and one or two cultures were being favored above the others.

“a complaint arose from the Hellenists (Greek: Hellenistes) against the Hebrews”

At this very early stage, nearly all Christians were Jewish. It won’t be until that Saul hears Christ call him on the road to Damascus—with the result that Saul becomes Paul and turns from a being a persecutor of the church to being the chief apostle to the Gentiles. It won’t be until that Peter sees a vision of a great sheet holding all kinds of animals and hears a voice commanding, “Get up, Peter, kill and eat!” ( NIV). , therefore, form the hinge between the very early church that is almost totally Jewish—with Peter being the lead apostle () and the slightly later church that is becoming increasingly Gentile—with Paul being the lead apostle (Acts 10ff).

The Hebrews would have been Aramaic-speaking Jewish Christians who would not have been assimilated into the Greek culture. (Aramaic is a Semitic language used by Jewish people in New Testament times.)

“because their widows were neglected in the daily service” (Greek: kathemerinos diakonia) (v. 1c WEB). Widows and orphans were vulnerable financially, because most widows inherited no property and had few ways to make money to support themselves. There were many widows, because young girls often married older men. Also, men often faced greater physical risks—in military service or protecting livestock against wild animals.

Torah law included provisions to provide for the needs of widows and other poor people. Landowners were required to leave the edges of their fields unharvested so that poor people could glean the fields and obtain enough food for survival (). The law also made provision for the next of kin to redeem land sold by a relative (), and required families to support indigent kin (). The prophets emphasized concerned for the poor and condemned ill treatment of widows and orphans (, ; ; ; ; ; ).

Leviticus 19:9–10 ESV

“When you reap the harvest of your land, you shall not reap your field right up to its edge, neither shall you gather the gleanings after your harvest. And you shall not strip your vineyard bare, neither shall you gather the fallen grapes of your vineyard. You shall leave them for the poor and for the sojourner: I am the Lord your God.

Malachi 3:5 ESV

“Then I will draw near to you for judgment. I will be a swift witness against the sorcerers, against the adulterers, against those who swear falsely, against those who oppress the hired worker in his wages, the widow and the fatherless, against those who thrust aside the sojourner, and do not fear me, says the Lord of hosts.

In this case, the church had established a kathemerinos diakonia—a daily distribution—to provide for widows. Providing for them shouldn’t be a problem, because the believers had pooled their resources, so that none were in need (4:34). However, the Greek believers thought that the church was discriminating against their widows in the daily distribution. The text doesn’t tell us whether that was true, but if the charges proved incorrect, I believe that the account in Acts would tell us that.

The Greek word diakonia (service or ministry) is closely related to the word diakonos (deacon or service). Based on the use of the word diakonia (service) as well as the nature of the service to which these seven men were being called, the tradition in which I grew up taught that these verses from recorded the establishment of the office of deacon. However, I have come to doubt that, based on several considerations:

The term 'Hebrew' is an alternate designation for the people of Israel, the descendants of Abraham.

• The word diakonos (deacon) isn’t used in this story—nor is there any mention here of establishing the office of deacon.

The 'Hellenistic Jews' were those Greek speaking Jewish Christians in the early church in Jerusalem. The Hellenists probably interpreted the Torah less stringently than did the 'Hebrews,'

• Of the seven men chosen in verse 5, only Stephen and Philip are mentioned elsewhere in the New Testament—and nowhere is either of them called a deacon. Stephen will soon be martyred (6:8 – 7:60). Philip will preach and heal in Samaria—and baptize the Ethiopian eunuch (). Paul will visit his home in Caesarea (). We know nothing further of the seven men chosen to administer the daily distribution.

• This is the Jerusalem church, but all seven men have Greek names. It is hard to imagine that the Jerusalem church would allow the establishment of the office of deacon without having at least some representation in that group.

The Hellenistic Jews probably could not speak Aramaic which was the native tongue of Jews living in Israel. They probably were reared outside the land and were bilingual, speaking both Greek and their native tongues (cf. 2:5-11).

Gentile proselytes to Judaism who later became Christians were also in this group. The native Jews were also bilingual in that they spoke Aramaic and Greek (cf. 21:40). In the Jewish world tensions existed between the Grecian Jews and the Aramaic-speaking Jews; tragically these strains were brought into the church.

“So the Twelve gathered all the disciples together and said, “It would not be right for us to neglect the ministry of the word of God in order to wait on tables.” (v. 2 NIV). The phrase “the twelve” is a synonym for the apostles. That number dropped to eleven when Judas committed suicide, but rose again to twelve when Matthias was chosen to replace Judas ().

The twelve thought it inappropriate to forsake the word of God—which Jesus had commissioned them to speak (; )—so that they might “serve tables”—administer the distribution of food and other necessities to Jerusalem widows.

It would be similar to a church where there were mixtures of ethnic cultures and one or two cultures were being favored above the others.

There is no indication here that the apostles felt that the administration of the daily distribution was unworthy of their concern, but they had been called to a different form of service—proclamation. They had to be careful lest the administration of the daily distribution crowd out their primary calling—preaching.

“Choose seven men from among you who are known to be full of the Spirit and wisdom. We will turn this responsibility over to them” (v. 3 NIV). This solution is reminiscent of the story of Moses and Jethro, Moses’ father in law. When Jethro saw that Moses was trying to handle everyone’s problems, he recommended that Moses, “You must be the people’s representative before God and bring their disputes to him. Teach them his decrees and instructions, and show them the way they are to live and how they are to behave. But select capable men from all the people—men who fear God, trustworthy men who hate dishonest gain—and appoint them as officials over thousands, hundreds, fifties and tens. Have them serve as judges for the people at all times, but have them bring every difficult case to you; the simple cases they can decide themselves.” (, NIV). Moses took Jethro’s advice, which made his work manageable.

The apostles stated three criteria to be used in selecting the seven men:

• First, they were to be “men of good report.” Their integrity would be of utmost importance, because they would be handling significant sums of money and would assume responsibility for the welfare of a large number of widows.

• Second, they were to be “full of the Holy Spirit.” The Holy Spirit empowers ministry and guides ministers. Without the guidance and power of the Holy Spirit, these seven men would likely make serious mistakes.

• Third, they must be “full…of wisdom.” Wisdom is the kind of understanding that makes it possible for people to make good decisions and to avoid bad consequences—and to choose the good and to avoid the evil.

Psalm 111:10 ESV

The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom; all those who practice it have a good understanding. His praise endures forever!

Each person has different gifts. As a whole, this church is sufficiently gifted to expand the kingdom of God. You each have special gifts and abilities given to you by God.

Selecting seven men may go back to the tradition in Jewish communities where seven respected men managed the public business in an official council.

By choosing these seven, the Twelve could give their attention to prayer and the ministry of the Word (cf. v. 2).

But, HOW can you, individually and as a group, accomplish God's will in building the church?

Each person has different gifts.As a whole, this church is sufficiently gifted to expand the kingdom of God.You each have special gifts and abilities given to you by God.But, HOW can you, individually and as a group, accomplish God's will in building the church?First, you must desire to discover your gifts.Do you even want to find out what your gift is?Music, teaching, helping, cleaning, technical stuff, arranging meetings, making phone calls, washing a vehicle, preparing a study, language translations, etc.Maybe you might see that someone around you in this church has a need.Is someone in the hospital? Go visit him.Has someone just had a baby? Then you could volunteer to bring a meal.Perhaps someone's car isn't working well and they don't have any money. You could get together, raise a little money and donate it to that person.The best ministry begins right where you are, right where the need is that God has allowed you to be aware of.It doesn't matter what your gift or work is. As long as you are doing it for the glory of God. That is why we were created, for God's gloryIsaiah 43:7, "Everyone who is called by My name, and whom I have created for My glory, whom I have formed, even whom I have made.”Look around and see what you can do.Look around and see what the Lord is doing and join him there.Second, you should use your gifts in faith.You can only do this by keeping your eyes on the Lord.If your eyes are on Him and others see that your eyes are on Him, it won't matter if you are 'great or not' at what you do.What is important is that you are faithful to God in what you do.Use your gifts prayerfully.God has given each of you gifts.Since He gave them to you, you need to ask HIM how to use them as well as WHEN to use them.

First, you must desire to discover your gifts. Do you even want to find out what your gift is?Music, teaching, helping, cleaning, technical stuff, arranging meetings, making phone calls, washing a vehicle, preparing a study, language translations, etc.

Maybe you might see that someone around you in this church has a need.Is someone in the hospital? Go visit him.Has someone just had a baby? Then you could volunteer to bring a meal.

Perhaps someone's car isn't working well and they don't have any money. You could get together, raise a little money and donate it to that person.

The best ministry begins right where you are, right where the need is that God has allowed you to be aware of.It doesn't matter what your gift or work is. As long as you are doing it for the glory of God.

That is why we were created, for God's glory

,

Isaiah 43:7 ESV

everyone who is called by my name, whom I created for my glory, whom I formed and made.”

”Look around and see what you can do.

Elsewhere, we learn that different people have differing gifts and are called to particular callings. Paul uses the metaphor of the parts of the human body to emphasize the validity of the gifts and callings of individual believers (). He went on to say:

“Now you are the body of Christ, and members individually. God has set some in the assembly: first apostles, second prophets, third teachers, then miracle workers, then gifts of healings, helps, governments, and various kinds of languages. Are all apostles? Are all prophets? Are all teachers? Are all miracle workers? Do all have gifts of healings? Do all speak with various languages? Do all interpret? But earnestly desire the best gifts. Moreover, I show a most excellent way to you. ( WEB).

Elsewhere, we learn that different people have differing gifts and are called to particular callings. Paul uses the metaphor of the parts of the human body to emphasize the validity of the gifts and callings of individual believers (). He went on to say:

1 Corinthians 12:27–31 ESV

Now you are the body of Christ and individually members of it. And God has appointed in the church first apostles, second prophets, third teachers, then miracles, then gifts of healing, helping, administrating, and various kinds of tongues. Are all apostles? Are all prophets? Are all teachers? Do all work miracles? Do all possess gifts of healing? Do all speak with tongues? Do all interpret? But earnestly desire the higher gifts. And I will show you a still more excellent way.

So it is important to honor the gifts that God has given us—and to be faithful to the calling to which God has called us. The apostles would not have been doing God’s will if they had allowed themselves to be distracted from their calling of proclamation. Neither would the seven men have been doing God’s will if they rejected the call to administer the distribution of food. Both proclamation and administration were important. Christians need to discern what God is calling them to do. Then they need to do it.

“But we will give our attention to prayer and the ministry of the word.” (v. 4 NIV). The priority for the twelve was prayer and the ministry of the word—which is proclamation of the Gospel. That was in keeping with the commission that Jesus had given them (; ).

“You must be the people’s representative before God and bring their disputes to him. Teach them his decrees and instructions, and show them the way they are to live and how they are to behave. But select capable men from all the people—men who fear God, trustworthy men who hate dishonest gain—and appoint them as officials over thousands, hundreds, fifties and tens. Have them serve as judges for the people at all times, but have them bring every difficult case to you; the simple cases they can decide themselves. That will make your load lighter, because they will share it with you.” (, NIV)

. Moses took Jethro’s advice, which made his work manageable.

The apostles stated three criteria to be used in selecting the seven men:

• First, they were to be “men of good report.” Their integrity would be of utmost importance, because they would be handling significant sums of money and would assume responsibility for the welfare of a large number of widows.

• Second, they were to be “full of the Holy Spirit.” The Holy Spirit empowers ministry and guides ministers. Without the guidance and power of the Holy Spirit, these seven men would likely make serious mistakes.

• Third, they must be “full…of wisdom.” Wisdom is the kind of understanding that makes it possible for people to make good decisions and to avoid bad consequences—and to choose the good and to avoid the evil.

Psalm 111:10 ESV

The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom; all those who practice it have a good understanding. His praise endures forever!

Psalm 111:10 ESV

The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom; all those who practice it have a good understanding. His praise endures forever!

“But we will continue steadfastly in prayer and in the ministry of the word” (v. 4 WEB). The priority for the twelve was prayer and the ministry of the word—which is proclamation of the Gospel. That was in keeping with the commission that Jesus had given them (; ).

“But we will give our attention to prayer and the ministry of the word.” (v. 4 NIV). The priority for the twelve was prayer and the ministry of the word—which is proclamation of the Gospel. That was in keeping with the commission that Jesus had given them (; ).

Acts 6:5–7 NIV

This proposal pleased the whole group. They chose Stephen, a man full of faith and of the Holy Spirit; also Philip, Procorus, Nicanor, Timon, Parmenas, and Nicolas from Antioch, a convert to Judaism. They presented these men to the apostles, who prayed and laid their hands on them. So the word of God spread. The number of disciples in Jerusalem increased rapidly, and a large number of priests became obedient to the faith.

Acts 6.

When the Church works together...

Ephesians 4:16 NIV

From him the whole body, joined and held together by every supporting ligament, grows and builds itself up in love, as each part does its work.

Acts 6 - Set Apart

Context

THE BROADER CONTEXT:

THE IMMEDIATE CONTEXT:

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Growing Pains

Growing Pains

A Complaint

A Complaint

A Complaint

Seven Men of Good Report

Attention to proclamation