To Serve Tables

Introduction

Turn in your Bibles to Acts chapter 6. We will be looking at the first seven verses today.

We are in the midst of the Book of Acts. And if you recall the thesis verse of the book, Acts 1:8 “but you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be My witnesses both in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and even to the end of the earth.” We are in Jerusalem (Chapters 3-8 - roughly)

There is a recurring pattern that began in chapter 3: “signs and wonders” performed by the New Temple community are met with hostility from the Old Temple community. And this hostility is growing increasingly violent.

It began with the healing of the lame man (chapter 3) which resulted in Peter and John being brought before the Sanhedrin and verbally commanded to not speak in the name of Jesus. Then, in chapter 5, all the Apostles are doing “many signs and wonders,” and this results in a second verbal censure along with a beating. The third instance will be the execution of Stephen, which we will look at in chapters 7-8. Verbal warning, beating, then execution.

In each of these sections, there are “segue” passages in which Luke presents a snapshot of the New Temple community. As the Word of God spreads by means of the Apostle’s ministry, the New Temple Community grows. So, we have two aspects of the early church shown to us: the Apostles’ mission and the community of disciples.

Acts 2:43-47 - To connect the New Temple community as a result of Pentecost with the Apostolic mission: Comes just prior to the healing of the lame man in chapter 3.

Acts 4:32-5:11 - Comes just prior to the “many signs and wonders” of the Apostles in 5:12.

Acts 6:1-7 - Comes just prior to the "great wonders and signs” performed by Stephen in 6:8.

All three of these passages describe the New Covenant, or New Temple, community.

You can see two elements of Christianity being presented here:

Christian testimony (faith - doxa)

Preaching and teaching (Apostle’s teaching)

Evangelism (witness of Peter/Apostles to the people/Sanhedrin)

Christian community (service - praxis)

Hospitality and charity (distributing to the needy)

Festivity and feasting (breaking bread with gladness/sincerity)

We even think about leadership in these terms: We have elders (teachers) and we have deacons (servants).

My exhortation today will be that we need to be better at the second one. We are pretty good at orthodoxy, but we often fail in orthopraxy. We are good at knowing what to believe, we are slow to practice what we believe. We are good at the first part of the Westminster catechism, What man is to believe concerning God. We are not good at the larger second section of the catechism, The duty which God requires of man.

I pray that we would learn to be doers of the word and not hearers only or knowers only, deceiving our own selves. I will also be presenting a particular understanding of the role of deacons from this passage which I think will have some bearing on how we view orthopraxy, or our living out of Christian doctrine.

Let’s pray before we look at God’s Holy Word:

*Pray for help and for the exhortation to be true and convicting.*

First, we will look at the text. The first seven verses of Acts chapter 6. I have it outlined in this way:

Internal Conflict (v. 1) - as opposed to the external conflict from the Old Temple.

Apostolic Solution (v. 2-4) - The Apostles address the conflict.

Conflict Resolution (v. 5-6) - The Apostles’ solution is received well.

Continued Work (v. 7) - In the midst of conflict, the Spirit continues to work.

*Hear now the reading of God’s Holy Word from Acts chapter 6* - Read the entire passage.

Internal Conflict

Acts 6:1 LSB

Now in those days, while the disciples were multiplying in number, there was grumbling from the Hellenists against the Hebrews, because their widows were being overlooked in the daily serving of food.

Explanation:

Hellenists: were the diaspora Jews who spoke Greek. They have been “hellenized” which is the term that gained more prominence under Alexander the Great in the 4th century BC. It means to be “Greekified.” It is what happened when a conquered nation started adopting Greek cultural practices.

The widows: those without any social safety net. There is no family or societal safety net for these people. They are destitute. Could be all people in need, not just widows.

Summary: as the Apostles are receiving alms from the people and distributing them, there is a complaint from the Hellenized Jews that their widows are being overlooked. Maybe it was an innocent mistake because of the growing numbers. Maybe it was Hebrew prejudice, we are not told the reason. Either way, this was a legitimate complaint. I don’t believe the Apostles would have been showing partiality, but they were men. There could have been people sent by the Apostles to give distribution who were showing partiality, hence the need for upstanding men to do this work.

The point is that there were some widows being overlooked. This is not good because the Law of God commanded that the widows and the orphans, etc. be taken care of (Deuteronomy 24:17-21). It is not becoming of the people of God to have people in need within our community. John said, if you see a brother in need and show no compassion, how dwells the love of God in you? So, it was essential that this problem be addressed. In Acts 4:33-35, That there was no one needy among them which was a great witness to the people around them. So, the fact that there was legitimate grumbling due to there being unmet needs in the community was a detriment to their witness.

Grumbling: “gogguzo” in Greek. A more intense form of this word is used in Exodus 16:2 where the people in the wilderness were said to be grumbling against Moses because they did not have food.

In both cases there is grumbling over food. The Apostles, as Moses, were sent by God to deliver the people using signs and wonders, and now, the delivered people are grumbling. And they are grumbling over food. I think the complaint in Exodus is negative whereas this complaint seems to be legitimate; however, you can see the connection.

Serving of food: “diakonia” in Greek. A form of this word is used three times in these seven verses:

“serving of food” - verse 1

“to serve tables” - verse 2

“the service of the word” - verse 4

Historically, and particularly in Presbyterian contexts, this passage has been interpreted as the beginning of the Office of Deacon, taken from this Greek word, meaning “servant.”

There is a division, we are told, here between the service of food and the service of the word. Or, to translate this word another way, there is a division between the ministry of mercy and the ministry of word and sacrament. This word can be translated as “minister,” and is in many places (consider Romans 13:4 where the magistrate is called a minister of God. And consider Colossians 1:23, where Paul says that he has been made a minister. Both are instances where the Greek word diakonos is translated as minister as opposed to servant or deacon).

Then, when Paul gives his parameters for the office of deacon in 1 Timothy 3:8-13, we read that through the lens of Acts 6. Especially 1 Timothy 3:13 “For those who have served well as deacons obtain for themselves a high standing and great boldness in the faith that is in Christ Jesus.” - Who is Paul thinking about when he makes this statement if not Stephen and Philip?

Consider Acts 21:39 with Acts 6:9

Acts 21:39 LSB

But Paul said, “I am a Jew of Tarsus in Cilicia, a citizen of no insignificant city; and I beg you, allow me to speak to the people.”

Acts 6:9 LSB

But some men from what was called the Synagogue of the Freedmen, including both Cyrenians and Alexandrians, and some from Cilicia and Asia, rose up and were arguing with Stephen.

Some have conjectured that Paul may have been among those arguing with Stephen, whose wisdom could not be defeated because of the Spirit. Jesus predicted this in Luke 21:10-28, particularly verse 15, (Luke 21:15 “for I will give you a mouth and wisdom which none of your opponents will be able to resist or refute.”). So, when those Jews could not oppose the wisdom of Stephen, this was a sign of the end of Judaism as predicted by Jesus in Luke 21:10-28. And, because Paul was from Tarsus in Cilicia and he was present at the stoning of Stephen, some have conjectured that he may have been one of those arguing with Stephen.

In summary of the traditional interpretation, the distinction in this passage between the service of the table and the service of the Word has historically been interpreted as a division in office: the Office of Deacon being the ministry of mercy, and the Office of Elder being the ministry of Word and Sacrament. Some take it even further to imply that there can be division within the pastoral office of administration, i.e. ruling elders, versus teaching, preaching, and sacraments, i.e. teaching elders. This is the historically presbyterian approach to what is going on in this passage.

I will present an alternative interpretation later; however, I want to point out here that I do not believe this passage is giving us a “book of church order” specifically. I think that there was a problem within the community and the Apostles addressed it by selecting men to serve the community.

Apostolic Solution

Acts 6:2–4 LSB

So the twelve summoned the congregation of the disciples and said, “It is not pleasing to God for us to neglect the word of God in order to serve tables. “Therefore, brothers, select from among you seven men of good reputation, full of the Spirit and of wisdom, whom we may put in charge of this need. “But we will devote ourselves to prayer and to the service of the word.”

*Side exhortation - manners and consideration*

We need to recognize that as fallen, yet redeemed, people, there will be conflicts among us. The conflicts themselves are not the problem, how we deal with conflict can be. And, if God blesses us with growth, as happened here, with more people comes more opportunities for conflict.

Remember that it always takes two people to fight. If you choose to let yourself be wronged rather than fight with your brother or sister, then these conflicts will be very short-lived. Yet, we are so quick to jump to our own defense and vindication and take the other person who offended us to task, rather than to forgive and turn the other cheek.

I am NOT saying that we need to subject ourselves to all kinds of wrongs:

if someone says that we are cannibals because we participate in the Lord’s Supper, or we endorse incest because we only allow marriages between brothers and sisters in Christ, that needs to be corrected.

If someone accuses you of doing or believing, something that is not true, it is also your duty to address that. There is no virtue in letting these things slide.

I AM talking about all of those small instances that we can all think of between two or three persons, which are rather insignificant in the grand scheme.

If someone does something we perceive as “rude” or inconsiderate (they maybe say something biting in passing or steal your parking spot), how do we respond?

Remember here that their generous hospitality among themselves was a great witness to those around them, and contrariwise, their lack of hospitality among themselves might have been a great detriment to their witness.

So much of our community grumblings would be resolved through the practice of basic manners and consideration of others. So, as a side exhortation, let’s all practice being considerate and using our manners: saying please and thank you, washing our hands, asking people how they are doing, holding doors for each other, helping with the dishes or the cleaning, or the set up, all of the things our mothers taught us, and our wives are currently teaching our children to practice. Manners are what makes living with other people an enjoyable prospect.

In summary, there was legitimate grumbling that arose, and the twelve Apostles (which included Matthias) responded at once to address the legitimate complaint.

“It is not pleasing to God for us to neglect the word of God in order to serve tables.”

On the surface, this sounds like a demeaning thing that the Apostles say. “We cannot stoop to serving tables; we are called to a higher calling.” However, I want to point out that Moses’ father-in-law, in Exodus 18:17-23, essentially says the same thing to Moses. The thing that you are doing is not proper. It is not the best. It could be better. You are going to get burnt out. That is what Jethro told Moses. So, it seems that the Apostles are following Jethro’s advice as well. They could have said, “As Jethro told Moses that taking on the community needs of everyone while leading this new people is too much, we say the same to you.”

There is a legitimate sharing of the burden of ministry here. That is a crucial principle of this text, and of Exodus 18:17-23. The division of labor is a good thing. It is a good thing if there are more men available for the purpose of meeting specific needs. It is my opinion that there will be certain instances where a division of labor between a pastor/teacher and administrators may be beneficial. And there may be other instances where no distinction is necessary. All that to say, I agree with the Anglican minister in Williamsville, Paul Slish, when he says, “church government is for the benefit of the church, it is not the essence of the church.” This is distinct from the Eastern view which holds that church government is the essence of the church. In other words, if you do not have a proper church government, you do not have a proper church. Whereas, I see this passage as an organic reaction to a particular situation, not a specific instruction for a particular church office.

“…select from among you...”

The process of choosing these men was “...select from among you...” The congregation was to choose its leadership. The Apostles did not choose these men, the congregation did. Then the Apostles put them in charge of the need, but the congregation is the one who selected them originally. This is the pattern we use for ordination to office:

The congregation or the officers nominate a candidate who meets certain qualifications (“...good reputation, full of the Spirit and wisdom...”).

The Elders ordain by laying on of hands - an allusion to the sacrifice. The scapegoat would have hands laid upon it as it is set aside to carry the burden of the community. This is what officers of the church of Jesus Christ are to be: sacrificial lambs for the congregation. We are to give ourselves for the sheep as our elder brother, Jesus Christ.

And this is the same process that was used by Moses in Deuteronomy 1:9-18

Deuteronomy 1:9–18 (LSB)

“And I spoke to you at that time, saying, ‘I am not able to bear the burden of you alone. ‘Yahweh your God has multiplied you, and behold, you are this day like the stars of heaven in number. ‘May Yahweh, the God of your fathers, increase you a thousand-fold more than you are and bless you, just as He has promised you! ‘How can I alone bear the load and burden of you and your strife? ‘Choose wise and understanding and experienced men from your tribes, and I will appoint them as your heads.’ “Then you answered me and said, ‘The thing which you have said to do is good.’ “So I took the heads of your tribes, wise and experienced men, and gave them as heads over you, leaders of thousands and of hundreds, of fifties and of tens, and officers for your tribes. “Then I commanded your judges at that time, saying, ‘Hear the cases between your brothers, and judge righteously between a man and his brother or the sojourner who is with him. ‘You shall not show partiality in judgment; you shall hear the small and the great alike. You shall not fear man, for the judgment is God’s. The case that is too hard for you, you shall bring to me, and I will hear it.’ “And I commanded you at that time all the things that you should do.

“…to prayer and to the service of the word.”

The Apostles, in contrast to serving tables, were going to devote themselves to prayer and the service (diakonia) of the word. Some have taken this to mean their responsibility to write down the faith: The Apostle’s Creed and the Gospels/Epistles. We also know that they were teaching the people like at Solomon’s portico. Their mission was to be witnesses of the resurrection of Jesus Christ in the order in which Christ commissioned them. So, there is a distinction here between the work of the Apostles and the work of these men who are selected to meet some of the needs within this community of believers.

Conflict Resolution

Acts 6:5–6 LSB

And this word pleased the whole congregation, and they chose Stephen, a man full of faith and of the Holy Spirit, and Philip, Prochorus, Nicanor, Timon, Parmenas, and Nicolas, a proselyte from Antioch. And these they stood before the apostles, and after praying, they laid their hands on them.

It is notable that the names are Greek. The servants to the Hellenized widows are themselves Hellenized. This gives them credibility in the sense that they would naturally be more trustworthy to that particular community. And the fact that these men were chosen by the congregation implies that they all had good reputations within that congregation already. But they chose men who would oversee the distribution around the community table without partiality. [Some commentators say that this is an apostolic instance of affirmative action - which makes me laugh).

Our process of ordination mirrors what the early church did here: we stand before those already ordained and prayer is made over the candidates. Then hands are laid upon them. In so doing, they are set aside for ministry, or service.

The Work Continues

Acts 6:7 LSB

And the word of God kept on spreading, and the number of the disciples continued to multiply greatly in Jerusalem, and a great many of the priests were becoming obedient to the faith.

What kept on spreading? The word of God. Leithart points out that the word has an agency of its own. It will spread. Through, or even despite, the ones who proclaim it.

Notice that we are still in Jerusalem.

Notice “…the faith...” here. It is something that we can be obedient to. It is also something that can be departed, or fallen away, from (1 Timothy 4:1). I take this to mean Orthodoxy and Orthopraxy. Do you see that?

The faith - is doctrine.

Obedience - is practice.

These go together. Without practice, doctrine means nothing. And without doctrine, how can there be right practice?

As people are converted by means of a proclamation of doctrine, for the Gospel is at its core simply doctrine, they are added to a community where they live in light of that doctrine. They practice what they now believe. So, when we see these pictures of the New Temple Community, we are seeing orthopraxy: how God’s people live in community with each other. And when we see the Apostles engaging through proclamation and teaching, we are seeing orthodoxy: what man is to believe concerning God.

Application

Matthew 20:25–28 (LSB)

But Jesus called them to Himself and said, “You know that the rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and their great men exercise authority over them. “It is not this way among you, but whoever wishes to become great among you shall be your servant, and whoever wishes to be first among you shall be your slave; just as the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life a ransom for many.”

By way of application and in light of this passage in Matthew, I would like to ask you some questions:

What is our community centered around? It is centered around our liturgy, right?

And what is our liturgy centered around? A table. Specifically, the Lord’s table.

Alistair Roberts points out that the kingdom, throughout the book of Luke, is often presented in relation to a table:

Luke 14:7-11 - We are told to choose the places of humility at the table.

Luke 14:16-24 - We are told of invitations to the table and of refusals of the invitation.

Luke 17:7-10 - We are told that it is our duty to serve Christ at the table without expecting anything in return. We serve humbly.

The kingdom is described in terms of a table. When a person professes faith in Jesus Christ, they are invited to sup at His table. But first, they must be washed. So, all baptized believers or baptized children of believers are invited to the Lord’s Table. Therefore, the kingdom of God is made up of those seated around Christ’s table.

In light of the centrality of the table to the Christian community, I would like you to consider this passage again.

These 7 men were ordained to serve the table. What does this mean? Does it simply mean that they were ordained to ensure the widows got a fair share? I would say no. Especially since Stephen and Phillip take a prime role in the ministry of Word in the proceeding chapters, and even in the administration of the sacraments (Phillip and the Ethopian Eunich). Therefore, I conclude that these seven men were ordained as ministers (diakonos) to the local church in distinction to the work of the Apostles, not in distinction to the work of ministers of the Word and sacrament.

The Apostles are saying that they have not been commissioned by Christ to be pastors. Therefore, the congregation must select for itself those who have the right qualifications to be their pastors. And, this role is primarily defined in terms of serving the table. These men order the table which in turn orders the body. These men must have their households in order if they are to rightly order the household of God, and they must devote themselves as sacrifices, humbly to the service of Christ and His church. We must look at pastoral ministry as one of humble service to Christ’s local body. Therefore, the essence of pastoral ministry is diaconal and liturgical.

We know that preaching and teaching and counsel are all parts of pastoral ministry; however, I argue that the role of the pastor and the deacons primarily is the service of the body around the table: the liturgy and the community. We facilitate covenant renewal as the priests facilitated the festival sacrifices. And we serve the community through administration, teaching, and counsel as kings and prophets. How all of these responsibilities are divvied out to qualified men is to be determined by Christian prudence and can differ depending on the situation.

So, the exhortation to the leadership is: are we viewing pastoral ministry as one of service and worship, primarily? Do we view this service grudgingly? Do we get annoyed easily? Do we forget that we serve Christ? Be encouraged. Serving well is simply our duty. We are not going above and beyond by doing what is right. So rarely these days do we find people who have a right perspective towards service that we tend to think we are doing something special if we are serving. We are not. If we are doing what is right before God, then we are simply doing our duty.

The exhortation to all of us is this:

Are you grumbling? Are you loudly grumbling? How is your relationship to the rest of the body? Are there annoyances and resentments building? These must be dealt with. Are you practicing good table manners with your brothers and sisters? Are you a good citizen of this community?

If we look at ourselves as servants of Christ primarily, then we will be doing things for the right reasons. We serve Christ. That’s why our service does not need to be reciprocated by other people. That’s why we do not expect anything in return. As a matter of fact, we ought to be seeking those to help and serve who have no ability to give us anything in return. If someone wrongs us or uses ill-manners towards us, we can let that go because we serve Christ. It is not our responsibility to fix this person who wronged us. It is our responsibility to serve Christ and His body. I believe that the Holy Spirit will fix ills and perhaps He will do it through your service.

This is also true in the home with husbands and wives as well - Husbands are you serving Christ primarily? Or are you expecting things in return for your service to your family? Wives, are you serving Christ primarily? Or are you seeking things in return for your service?

We do what is right because it is our duty.

Pray

Lord’s Supper

1 Corinthians 11:17-34 -

Paul’s rebuke to the Corinthian church was concerning a disordered table. Really, the responsibility falls on the servants of that church - the ministers. Why were they not disciplining the table? So, as we come together today for the Lord’s Supper, we must come as a house in good order.

The thing I want us to think about as we celebrate this supper today is that Christ sacrificed Himself for us. In the Old Testament sacrifice, the animal was cut up and then placed into the fire. This signified God eating the sacrifice. And this is really what happens to us - we become a sacrifice for God, or to God. We are not our own, we are bought with a price. As God eats us, we eat Christ - this is symbolically representative of what we ought to be doing for each other - giving up ourselves. This is the communion of the Saints and it starts with communion with our Lord who gave Himself, the Lord of Glory, gave Himself for sinners. Let’s die to ourselves and live unto Christ.

*Let’s pray and give thanks for the bread and the wine.*