Chapter Six
Seven Men Selected to Serve
6:1 Now in these days when the disciples were increasing in number, a complaint by the Hellenists arose against the Hebrews because their widows were being neglected in the daily distribution.
Some of the Hellenists (Greek-speaking Jews, those that had previously fled during the diaspora, click here to read about the various diasporas) complained to the Hebrews (local native Jews that spoke Hebrew or Aramic) that their widows were being overlooked in the daily distribution. At last count the number of believers was 5,000 men (see Acts 4:4) and we see here that the number continues to rise. At this point there could be over 20,000 men, women, and children. So, some organization will be required to fairly distribute the provisions.
6:2 And the twelve summoned the full number of the disciples and said, “It is not right that we should give up preaching the word of God to serve tables. 3 Therefore, brothers, pick out from among you seven men of good repute, full of the Spirit and of wisdom, whom we will appoint to this duty. 4 But we will devote ourselves to prayer and to the ministry of the word.”
Identified as “the twelve,” the apostles bring all of the disciples together and call their attention to the fact that they have the responsibility of preaching the Word of God, to add to that the task of overseeing the distribution of provisions would take away from their primary mission. So, they propose that they choose seven men that are respected within the community, full of the Holy Spirit, and possesses wisdom. The apostles then will be be able to devote their time to prayer and teaching the Word.
6:5 And what they said pleased the whole gathering, and they chose Stephen, a man full of faith and of the Holy Spirit, and Philip, and Prochorus, and Nicanor, and Timon, and Parmenas, and Nicolaus, a proselyte of Antioch. 6 These they set before the apostles, and they prayed and laid their hands on them.
The apostle’s announcement was well received and the group selected seven men to oversee the distribution. The first name is Stephen, he is the only one that is described as a man full of faith and Holy Spirit. He will be the primary subject of the last half of this chapter through to the first three verses of chapter eight. Sadly, he is also the first Christian martyr. The next person, Philip, will also be prominent in the book of Acts (see Acts 8:4-40; 21:8). Prochorus is believed to be the scribe that the apostle John dictated his gospel account to.[1] The name Nicanor only appears this one time in the New Testament, we know very little about him. The same holds true for Timon and Parmenas. We are told that Nicolaus was a proselyte (a Gentile convert to Judaism) and now a Christian, but nothing more. Some like to connect him to the Nicolaitans (see Revelation 2:6, 15, click here to read commentary), but other than similar sounding names, there is no connection. Once these men were selected the apostles prayed and laid their hands on them.
6:7 And the word of God continued to increase, and the number of the disciples multiplied greatly in Jerusalem, and a great many of the priests became obedient to the faith.
The Word of God continued to spread and increase while the number of Jesus believing disciples greatly increased in Jerusalem. Luke notes that a large number of priests also became Christians.
Stephen is Falsely Accused and Arrested
6:8 And Stephen, full of grace and power, was doing great wonders and signs among the people.
Luke now adds several ’Spiritual Attributes” to his description of Stephen. He was a man full of grace and power who performed great signs and wonders among the people.
6:9 Then some of those who belonged to the synagogue of the Freedmen (as it was called), and of the Cyrenians, and of the Alexandrians, and of those from Cilicia and Asia, rose up and disputed with Stephen. 10 But they could not withstand the wisdom and the Spirit with which he was speaking.
There are at least three synagogues in view here, the synagogue of the Freedmen (a term that was used to describe former Roman slaves and their descendants); the Cyrenians (from Cyrene a city in North Africa, modern-day Libya); the Alexandrians (from the city of Alexandria, who a had a synagogue with the Cyrenians in Jerusalem); and those from Cilicia (a Roman province whose capital was Tarsus); and Asia (a Roman province west of Cilicia). Each with unique cultural differences and native languages (the Jerusalem Talmud, 3-4 A.D., states that there were 460 synagogues in Jerusalem at that time)[2] Undoubtedly fielding diverse questions and debating a variety of theological viewpoints, Stephen was able to stand firm in the wisdom of the Holy Spirit. The Jews could not find fault in Stephen’s answers.
6:11 Then they secretly instigated men who said, “We have heard him speak blasphemous words against Moses and God.” 12 And they stirred up the people and the elders and the scribes, and they came upon him and seized him and brought him before the council,
Since they could not find fault in Stephen during the debate, instead of listening to the truth, they resorted to lying, just like what they did to Jesus (see Matthew 26:57-8; Mark 14:55-59). They brought in men who claimed that they heard Stephen speak blasphemous words against Moses and God which did result in him being brought before the council (the Sanhedrin).
6:13 and they set up false witnesses who said, “This man never ceases to speak words against this holy place and the law, 14 for we have heard him say that this Jesus of Nazareth will destroy this place and will change the customs that Moses delivered to us.” 15 And gazing at him, all who sat in the council saw that his face was like the face of an angel.
The law required a minimum of two witnesses for an accusation to be considered valid (see Deuteronomy 19:15). Luke doesn’t tell us the number of lying witnesses but he used the plural noun ‘witnesses’. They claim that Stephen said, “This man is always speaking against the holy Temple and against the law of Moses. We have heard him say that this Jesus of Nazareth will destroy the Temple and change the customs Moses handed down to us.” (Acts 6:13b-14, NLT) While what they accuse him of in verse 14 is true, they proclaim it here as their audience held Jesus and His teachings in distain. When the people looked at Stephen, Luke records that everyone saw that his face was like the face of an angel. No further explanation given.
Considerations
The Story of Stephen is also a Bridge
In the next chapter we will read about how Stephen stood his ground and boldly presented a brief, but concise, history of Israel and how they always resisted the Holy Spirit, in front of several learned and ‘holy’ Jewish leaders. Sadly, it cost him his life. But due to his execution the apostles and the church leave Jerusalem and take the gospel message “on the road,”just as Jesus instructed (see Luke 24:49; Acts 1:4-8). Bridging from Jerusalem to the world.
The story also introduces us to a man named Saul, who is responsible for Stephen’s death. Saul later becomes a believer himself through a dramatic conversion. We know him better by the name God gave him, Paul. As Paul becomes more prominent in the books of Acts the storyline transitions to Paul exclusively. Bridging from Peter to Paul.
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[1] Freedman, D. N., Myers, A. C., & Beck, A. B. (2000). Prochorus. In D. N. Freedman, A. C. Myers, & A. B. Beck (Eds.), Eerdmans dictionary of the Bible (p. 1085). W.B. Eerdmans.
[2] Neusner, J. (2008). The Jerusalem Talmud: A Translation and Commentary. Hendrickson Publishers. (Tractate Ketubot, Chapter 13, I:1 A)