SCRIPTURE: ACTS 6
THE CHOOSING OF THE SEVEN (vs. 1-7)
As the number of disciples was increasing, the Grecian Jews 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, 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.
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.
STEPHEN SEIZED (vs. 8-15)
Stephen was a man full of God’s grace and power. He did great wonders and miraculous signs among the people. Opposition arose from members of the Synagogue of the Freedmen – Jews of Cyrene and Alexandria as well as the provinces of Cilicia and Asia. These men began to argue with Stephen, but they could not stand up against his wisdom or the Spirit by whom he spoke.
Then they secretly persuaded some men to say, “We have heard Stephen speak words of blasphemy against Moses and against God.” d (v. 11). So they stirred up the people, the elders and the teachers of the law. They seized Stephen and brought him before the Sanhedrin. They produced false witnesses who testified: “Stephen never stops speaking against this holy place and against the law. For we have heard him say that this Jesus of Nazareth will destroy this place and change the customs Moses handed down to us.” (vs. 13-14). All who were sitting in the Sanhedrin looked intently at Stephen, and they saw that his face was like the face of an angel.
THOUGHTS:
The early church consisted of two kinds of Jewish Christians. The Hebraic Jews, native Jewish Christians spoke Hebrew while the Grecian Jews spoke Greek. The Greek speaking Christians complained that their widows were being unfairly treated. The favoritism was probably not intentional but was more likely caused by the language barrier. To correct the situation,. the apostles put seven respected Greek speaking men in charge of the food distribution program. This solved the problem and allowed the apostles to keep their focus on teaching and preaching the Good News of Jesus.
The people selected to handle the food program were to be well respected and full of the Holy Spirit and wisdom. They had to organize the distribution of food to the poor and administer the program well. Today, leaders in the church must determine their God given abilities and priorities in carrying out their responsibilities. We must look for spiritually mature and wise men or women to lead our churches .Offer your gifts to serve the Lord!
The apostles’ priorities were correct. The ministry of the Word should never be neglected because of administration burdens. Pastor should not try or expect to do everything. Instead, the work of the church should be spread out among its members.
When Stephen was brought before the council of religious leaders, the accusation against him was similar to that the religious leaders had used against Jesus. The group falsely accused Stephen of wanting to change Moses’ customs because they knew that the Sadducees who controlled the council believed only in Moses.