Acts 6: 1-15

(Acts 6: 1-15)

And in those days, when the number of the disciples was multiplied, there arose a murmuring of the Grecians against the Hebrews, because their widows were neglected in the daily ministration.  Then the twelve called the multitude of the disciples unto them, and said, It is not reason that we should leave the word of God, and serve tables. Wherefore, brethren, look ye out among you seven men of honest report, full of the Holy Ghost and wisdom, whom we may appoint over this business. But we will give ourselves continually to prayer, and to the ministry of the word.  And the saying pleased the whole multitude: and they chose Stephen, a man full of faith and of the Holy Ghost, and Philip, and Prochorus, and Nicanor, and Timon, and Parmenas, and Nicolas a proselyte of Antioch: Whom they set before the apostles: and when they had prayed, they laid their hands on them. And the word of God increased; and the number of the disciples multiplied in Jerusalem greatly; and a great company of the priests were obedient to the faith. And Stephen, full of faith and power, did great wonders and miracles among the people. Then there arose certain of the synagogue, which is called the synagogue of the Libertines, and Cyrenians, and Alexandrians, and of them of Cilicia and of Asia, disputing with Stephen.  And they were not able to resist the wisdom and the spirit by which he spake.  Then they suborned men, which said, We have heard him speak blasphemous words against Moses, and against God.  And they stirredup the people, and the elders, and the scribes, and came upon him, and caught him, and brought him to the council,  And set up false witnesses, which said, This man ceaseth not to speak blasphemous words against this holy place, and the law:  For we have heard him say, that this Jesus of Nazareth shall destroy this place, and shall change the customs which Moses delivered us.  And all that sat in the council, looking stedfastly on him, saw his face as it had been the face of an angel.

In Chapter 6, we see God opening the door to new ministry through the problems facing the early church's rapid growth. First, verses 1-7 are about the election of seven workers to solve the problems that occurred in the early church. 『In those days, when the number of the disciples was multiplied, there arose a murmuring of the Grecians against the Hebrews, because their widows were neglected in the daily ministration. There were many Greek Jews, who were called Diaspora Jews at that time. They are Jews living outside of Israel. Many of these people died abroad, but not a few Diaspora Jews used to return to Judea when they were old. They had no basis for life in Judea.

The Jews took care of orphans and widows, and there was a system of systematic care. But Christians were excluded. Jewish widows who had a living basis were also in great socioeconomic difficulties, but Greek Jewish widows had greater economic and social difficulties. Another thing was that the number of disciples rapidly increased, so the early church could not carefully take care of the blind spots of care. The Jewish widows were all close family members, but since the Greeks had their homes abroad, their relationship would have been considerably narrower than that of Jewish widows.

For these reasons, Greek Jewish widows sometimes fell into the object of relief due to circumstances and lack of organization. Before this matter, the twelve apostles make a determined decision. 『Wherefore, brethren, look ye out among you seven men of honest report, full of the Holy Ghost and wisdom, whom we may appoint over this business. 』

The Israelites exiled from Egypt, and there were difficulties that Moses faced. In Exodus 18:17-18, ``And Moses' father in law said unto him, The thing that thou doest is not good. Thou wilt surely wear away, both thou, and this people that is with thee: for this thing is too heavy for thee; thou art not able to perform it thyself alone. 』

After the Exodus, countless Israelites visited only Moses when something happened. He saw him lining up from morning to evening every day to teach and judge with the Word of God. Therefore, Moses' father-in-law urged Moses to directly teach the word of God that they should do, and at the same time select those who fear God and do justice from among the people, and select commanders of thousands, commanders of centuries, commanders of fifties, and commanders of tens to make them judge. will be.

Moses, who obeyed this, was able to organize the Israelites more systematically. As a community grows rapidly, one person becomes unable to do everything and eventually shares the work. For the first time in the early church, seven people were elected to care for those who could not get enough help in the blind spot.

All seven elected workers were Greek Jews. The apostles pray for them, lay their hands on them, and formally establish them before the communities. And as the apostles focused on preaching the word of God, and as the seven workers served more and more carefully, even the priests began to follow Jesus. The twelve apostles are all Jews, and the seven workers are Greek Jews. In the end, through 19 disciples of the Lord, it has been sublimated into a great community striving to serve all of the Lord's disciples equally from the early church from different backgrounds and circumstances. The most important fact is that the Gospel is not only for marginalized people and people, but for all mankind, and the church, a community that preaches and lives, should not be biased or discriminated against.

The Bible introduces Stephen, one of the seven workers: ``And Stephen, full of faith and power, did great wonders and miracles among the people. Although the seven Greek Jews may not have lived with the Lord and witnessed everything with their own eyes like the 12 disciples, it is true that they were full of the Holy Spirit and wisdom. The seven workers were filled with the wisdom of heaven in the filling of the Holy Spirit. In John 1:14, ``And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, (and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father,) full of grace and truth. In other words, just as Jesus was filled with grace and truth, Stephen was filled with grace and truth just as he was filled with the Lord in the Holy Spirit.

Stephen, who was in that fullness, went to the Greek Jews to preach the gospel. Stephen argued in synagogues with those who became free citizens while serving as servants all over the world. No one could be able to speak with wisdom and the Holy Spirit. Then they bribed people and separated them for saying that Stephen had blasphemed Moses and God. Eventually, Stephen is caught by elders and scribes and stands in the public assembly because of the lies and deception of the Greek Jews who became free citizens after living as slaves abroad. 『John bare witness of him, and cried, saying, This was he of whom I spake, He that cometh after me is preferred before me: for he was before me. In other words, the fullness of grace and truth that filled Stephen could not be overcome by Satan's lie and fear of death. As a result, he was able to stand in front of the council because of a false contempt, just like Jesus, but like Jesus, he was able to stand openly with the face of an angel.