Acts 6

The community of faith was massive, a significant minority of the entire population of Jerusalem. They were all over the city. It was quite the chore to keep track of things on a human level. A significant element in running what was now a full tribe living as kin was caring for those who had no other support. In that world, widows were a particular issue. We've already seen where lawyers were preying on those few whose husbands left them some estate. The vast majority were peasants, depending on their surviving children to support them. Jesus accused the Pharisees of finding excuses to avoid even that. It's no surprise the community did their best to take care of their widowed members from the common treasury. There would have been dozens at least, and probably hundreds.

The task was huge. They had not yet adapted the standard administrative structure typical of that time and place to match the new spiritual realities. Long time residents of the area brought their clan structure into the community, as they should. They took care of their own, for the most part. Those who had been born and raised outside Palestine would have little of that to lean on, and might struggle to adapt their more Gentile ways to the old Hebrew social structure. Yet, as we have seen, it seems these imported folks may well have been the biggest financial contributors. What drew men from their Judean home in the first place over previous centuries was the rich commercial opportunities elsewhere. Coming back, their money was welcome, but even this full brotherhood of faith found it hard to break back into the relatively closed and clannish local community. It's no surprise these Greek-speaking members fell behind in some ways, particularly in the care of widows, who would probably have no significant social ties locally.

Complaints of prejudice would be entirely natural, as the Greek speakers would be more sensitive to it in the first place. They would have consciously excluded themselves from Gentile communities across the Roman Empire, but would find themselves excluded almost unconsciously by their local, less cosmopolitan brethren. Filled with the Spirit, the Apostles knew they were most ill-equipped for addressing this problem. On human terms, they were Galilean, and only God's power had overcome the prejudice against them among the urbanites. However, they were called to the Word, and settling such disputes would gravely degrade their focus. So they instructed the congregation to come up with their own answer by selecting leaders to keep their eyes and hands on such practical matters. The term "serving tables" would have included just about everything administrative in nature.

The men needed to be no less spiritual. There would be a division of labor, but not of spirit. Organizational talent would mean nothing if not harnessed under the Lord. The community recognized this idea was God's wisdom, and proceeded to select seven men with non-Hebrew names. Indeed, the last named was not even Jewish in background, but a Gentile convert to Judaism who embraced Jesus as Messiah up in Antioch. The Apostles laid their hands on these men, an ancient gesture most commonly seen in those days when new judges were appointed to the Sanhedrin. It was a way of saying these men were now among the leaders of the community, fit to judge what was just and righteous. It worked out so well, the community grew even more. Luke notes a large number of priests were joining them.

One of these seven men was a real star in God's crown. First, we must note Luke does not call them "deacons" and their service seems to be merely an extension of that of the Apostles. They preached, but unlike the Apostles, they had the natural tenancy to preach outside the old Hebrew communities. It's hard to explain Stephen's behavior unless we assume he had some rabbinical training. He knew not merely the text of the Old Testament, but also much of the oral historical traditions now missing or buried in Talmudic mythology. Highly educated, yet filled with the Spirit such that he manifested signs and miracles, this man took the message places the Apostles could not.

Perhaps Stephen had previously been associated with the Synagogue of the Freedmen. The name refers to Greek-speaking Jews who had formerly been slaves under Roman law, but somehow won their freedom. It was quite an accomplishment. There may have been hundreds of such little cloistered synagogues in and around Jerusalem, catering to one group or another. This synagogue must have held some claim to fame, with big-shots from Alexandria, North Africa, and what we now call Turkey and Northern Syria. It would naturally be a Greek speaking synagogue, and Stephen was quite comfortable, not only in the language, but the Alexandrian style of rhetoric so popular with such people. It is important here to note no one seemed to have any particular vision for spreading the gospel outside native Judeans; Stephen simply went to those with whom he had some affinity.

In debating with these Freedmen, Stephen was promoting this gospel of Jesus Christ. In this gospel he would surely have included Jesus' rejection of the Hellenized Talmud, so near and dear to Alexandrian hearts. Stephen approached them on their own terms, with their own style of reasoning. He showed how Jesus was the central focal point of all ancient prophesies, had fulfilled the Law of Moses, and closed the Temple rituals. There was now no other sacrifice acceptable to God but the blood of His Son for forgiveness of sins. So Stephen was arguing the Talmud was wrong, the rituals were dead, and Jesus was rightful King of all Jews worldwide.

We are hardly surprised those who were not moved by the Spirit to accept this impossible message would be infuriated at this smart-aleck attacking everything they thought made them special in God's eyes. What far too many wish to underplay here is the hateful racist superiority complex of Jews in that day. They might argue among themselves who was more pure in Jewishness, but nobody would ever surrender an inch to including actual Gentiles in God's blessings. Jehovah made the world, but He was in their minds God of the Jews only, and everyone else was made by God to serve them. Any Messianic message failing to confirm this was hateful to them.

So they networked with other significant figures in the city to accuse Stephen before the Sanhedrin. All this sounded to them like blasphemy, and an attack on the Temple itself, "God's Residence." Luke calls them false witnesses in the sense they lied against God and His Word, but the claims were more or less accurate from the slavishly literalist viewpoint of the Pharisees.

What had Jesus actually said? When the Twelve were discussing the Temple facility one day, Jesus said it was just a building, and would one day suffer the fate of all buildings. More, it would be utterly destroyed because His Nation would reject Him. While it may well be in the minds of Jews the Residence of Jehovah, His divine Presence had not been there in centuries. Instead, it was born in the flesh of His Son. So Jesus pointed to His own body and said if anyone tried to tear down this Temple, He would simply bring it back in three days. More, He was going away to make His followers walking Temples of the Lord, just as He had been. He would reside in their hearts as the Holy Spirit. There was simply no room for such truth in the minds of the Jewish leaders.

So arresting Stephen and hauling him before the assembled court, they saw a man whose face glowed with divine presence. It must surely have made them nervous, for to be in God's presence always makes us aware of our sin. We can either confess it and be forgiven, or close our hearts and cling to sin as our "holiness." The tension between the truth and the established order was about to erupt.