Disciples

Acts 6

Today we are continuing our walk through the Book of Acts with the very short chapter six. Even though this chapter is short it does several things. First, it continues some on-going themes we have been watching in the first few chapters. Themes such as the new church retracing the steps of the Israelites in the Old Testament, the apostles retracing the steps of Jesus in the Gospels, and Jesus working through the Holy Spirit in the apostles to continue His mission of restoring God’s intimate relationship to humanity.

Second, this chapter is a sort of transition to the second major focus of the Book of Acts. In the first few chapters we see the birth of God’s church and the gift of the Holy Spirit. We also watch as the religious leaders continue to get more and more aggressive with the believers. Their aggression doesn’t slow the growth of the church at all. Not only does it keep growing, but it appears to grow exponentially. As the hate and aggression ramp up, so does the boldness of the believers.

This is a bit of a tipping point for those who stand against God’s Word. In chapter 6, we are introduced to Stephen, who you may remember because of his brutal stoning. Stephen’s stoning also briefly introduces us to Paul.

A third thing that chapter 6 does in Acts, is that it introduces us to some structure within the church. This church structure is very much identical to the way Moses gave a few people leadership roles in order to take care of the mundane stuff so that he could continue to work for the Lord without getting burned out.

We are going to do what we have been doing in this study and look at some of these connections before we see how this passage might apply to us today. First, I always want you to hear God’s Word, not mine, so let’s pray and ask God to open our hearts to hear the message that He is speaking to us today.

Pray

Last time we talked about the first recorded sin within the Church, which was perpetrated by the husband and wife duo, Ananias and Sapphira. In chapter 6 we are introduced to a bit of a dispute within the church. Clearly, even from it’s inception, the community of believers we call the church, is not perfect. It is comprised of a number of human beings who are flawed and make mistakes, so naturally when we lump them all together we are likely to encounter problems.

Fortunately, the church’s problems in chapter 6 doesn’t get anyone killed, but it does require a response from the apostles. Let’s read to see what’s happening…

Acts 6:1–4 ESV

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. 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.”

What is going on? The early church in Jerusalem would be like having a church in New York today. You have a ton of different people with different backgrounds and belief systems all piled in this one city. As they join “The Way” they must learn to get along with people who often don’t even speak the same language. Remember, in chapter 5 they were selling their property and sharing everything they had with each other in order to give to those in need.

The Hellenistic Jews spoke Greek, the Hebraic Jews spoke Hebrew, and the people who apparently suffered the most from these differences were the people who relied on the church for the daily necessities, such as food. This passage is very heavily connected to the Old Testament, specifically the book of Exodus. We’ve talked about this before, but remember that this moment in history for God’s Church is very similar to other moments in the Old Testament when God draws His people to Himself. Specifically the Exodus from Egypt and the covenant at Sinai.

Here are a few things Luke is drawing our attention to…

The church’s concern for the widows is an obedience to God’s concern from Exodus 22:22-24…

Exodus 22:22–24 NIV

22 “Do not take advantage of the widow or the fatherless. 23 If you do and they cry out to me, I will certainly hear their cry. 24 My anger will be aroused, and I will kill you with the sword; your wives will become widows and your children fatherless.

This isn’t the first time that God’s people grumbled about food. While the Israelites were leaving Egypt they began to complain about being brought out to the wilderness to die of hunger…

Exodus 16:3 NIV

3 The Israelites said to them, “If only we had died by the Lord’s hand in Egypt! There we sat around pots of meat and ate all the food we wanted, but you have brought us out into this desert to starve this entire assembly to death.”

The apostles reaction was very similar to something Moses did in Exodus 18. They appoint seven trustworthy men and delegate responsibility to them so they can focus on the mission God called them to. Moses also appointed able men to handle the people’s disputes…

Exodus 18:25–26 NIV

25 He chose capable men from all Israel and made them leaders of the people, officials over thousands, hundreds, fifties and tens. 26 They served as judges for the people at all times. The difficult cases they brought to Moses, but the simple ones they decided themselves.

It’s not that the apostles thought that serving the people was any less important, it’s that they intended to stay focused on the job God gave them to do. That’s exactly what they do. The church chose seven men and the apostles prayed and laid their hands on them. What was the result? Look at verse 7…

Acts 6:7 NIV

7 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.

By not having to stop spreading the Word of God to handle these disputes, the Word of God did not stop spreading. Their numbers did more than increase, Luke says they increased RAPIDLY! Even to the priests! Not just a few, but a LARGE NUMBER OF PRIESTS became obedient to the faith! How amazing is that! Even the people who are chasing the believers down are coming to know the truth! That is a very powerful verse, especially as we know what is coming up. That is the murder of Stephen and the eventual conversion of Paul.

Speaking of Stephen, the remaining verses in chapter 6 as well as the whole of chapter 7 tell his short, yet powerful story. Stephen was one of the seven men chosen to help with the food distribution. According to verse 3, we know that Stephen was known to be full of the Spirit and wisdom. As we are about to see, he was also full of God’s grace, he was a miracle worker, and he was a bold evangelist. This did not sit well with the religious leaders…

Acts 6:8–10 NIV

8 Now Stephen, a man full of God’s grace and power, performed great wonders and signs among the people. 9 Opposition arose, however, from members of the Synagogue of the Freedmen (as it was called)—Jews of Cyrene and Alexandria as well as the provinces of Cilicia and Asia—who began to argue with Stephen. 10 But they could not stand up against the wisdom the Spirit gave him as he spoke.

Since they could not stand up against the wisdom the Spirit gave him, they did what see happen over and over again both in the bible and today. When all else fails, slander… lie… attack the man, right? If you can’t answer the argument, attack the man. Bring up false charges, lie about what he did or did not do, and take it up the chain as high as you can go. Go on social media and get as much support as you can, rally people against your enemy, and send them to jail.

Evil’s playbook hasn’t changed much over the years, just the means by which the message is conveyed. That is what happened to Stephen. Stephen was doing the very thing Jesus did with the scribes and Pharisees in the Gospels. He was speaking about what the Law truly taught, and they could not answer him. So they bring him to the Sanhedrin and lie to them about what he said. They brought false witnesses who testified against him. They slandered him.

Stephen’s reaction is amazing. He may not have known that he was going to die, but he for sure knew that the possibility was on the table. If someone was lying about me and dragging me off to prison to face death for the lie, I don’t think I would be able to go quietly. I would hope that I could remain calm and peaceful, but in all honesty I would probably lose it. I’d be kicking and screaming like a child.

Not Stephen! As far as we know, he didn’t say anything until they asked him to speak. We will see what he said in chapter seven, but until then he simply allowed God to speak through the powerful presence of the Holy Spirit. Imagine this man standing before these religious leaders. While these people are giving false testimony and lies are flowing from their lips the religious leaders are staring directly at him. Their eyes squint as they beam at him, filled with hatred and jealousy. What did they see in return?

Acts 6:15 NIV

15 All who were sitting in the Sanhedrin looked intently at Stephen, and they saw that his face was like the face of an angel.

Luke is depicting Stephen as a prophet for his time. As we will see in chapter 7, not only does Stephen have a message from God for the people who stand against God, he also had the abilities of a prophetic figure, and he will be rejected and suffer like one. Like Jesus, he stands before the religious leaders and disputes over what the law truly taught. They responded in the same way they responded to Jesus. They couldn’t! So they kill him instead.

It’s powerful to me that Stephen clearly let God do the speaking through him. “His face was like the face of an angel.” You probably remember this very thing happening to Moses after being with God. When Moses came down from Mount Sinai his face was radiant. The people were afraid to come near him and he would put a veil over his face. Stephen is before these religious leaders and his face is radiant! These religious people had to have made the same connection, but their reaction was completely different. They weren’t afraid, they were defiant!

They are like Jim Carey in the movie, “Bruce Almighty.” He kept asking God for a sign and a truck full of signs pulled out in front of him on the road. The signs said things like, “Stop” and “Turn Around.” The truck was like Stephen, a messenger. Instead of seeing the obvious signs, Bruce kept pushing forward. The religious leaders ignored the signs too.

Chapter 6 may sound a little gloomy, but it’s not all negative. There are some great opportunities for introspection here. Let’s rewind and look at verse 1 again…

Acts 6:1 NIV

1 In those days when the number of disciples was increasing…

First of all, Luke refers to the church as “disciples.” This is the first time that he does this. Previously he referred to the church as “the church,” “those who believed”, or “believers.” This time he refers to them as disciples. It particularly stands out in verse 7. They aren’t disciples because they finally get it, or because they graduated to the next level of this new movement, or even because they signed up for the “discipleship” program in the foyer. The term “disciple” is being used synonymously with those who “became obedient to the faith.”

Acts 6:7 NIV

7 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.

A disciple is not just someone who is called to lead others in teaching and disciplines. Every single disciple is a believer and every single believer is a disciple. This expectation matches Jesus’ marching orders in the Great Commission…

Matthew 28:19 NIV

19 Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit,

That also means that YOU are a disciple of Jesus Christ! Repeat after me… “I am a disciple.”

YOU ARE A DISCIPLE

What did it mean to the early church to be a disciple, or to be obedient to the faith? These were people who were filled with the Holy Spirit and willing to serve. Some were now serving in some leadership capacity, but all were in service to some effect. They were taking care of each other. They were boldly reaching out to the lost. They were taking care of those in need. I like the way Nate Sala words it, but I will alter something he says just a little. He says…

The mission and vision of God’s Church will flourish when its people are willing to be filled by the Holy Spirit and serve.

I believe this quote is especially important today because we live in a time when many people are not part of a local church. We are fortunate to be able to survive as a small church, but many larger churches that shrink down to our size end up shutting their doors for good. According to a recent study from Lifeway, church growth is at a net loss of approximately 1,500 churches per year. That means that church closures in the United States are outpacing new church plants by 1,500 churches every year.

There are many reasons for this. We have friends who refuse to be a part of a church for various reasons. I know many people who simply get burned out, like Moses was on the brink of doing. They do all the work and eventually can’t carry the burden alone any more.

The tricky part is that we are not required to go to church or to serve in some church position, and I don’t think that it should be a requirement either. However, the reality is that…

Our spiritual family needs all the help it can get so that we can all fulfill the role of the church together.

When God’s church suffers, the whole spiritual family suffers. When our little church suffers, our whole spiritual family suffers. Like the disciples in chapter 6, the widows may be suffering because they are not getting what they need. Disciples suffer when they don’t get the encouragement from fellow believers. People who don’t know God suffer when we aren’t doing the work of the Church and reaching them with God’s Word.

To me, this is the most powerful message in chapter 6. We know that it is the religious leaders who are trying to stop the believers. They are capturing them, threatening them, beating them, and about to start killing them. That doesn’t stop the church. The Christians, or disciples, are boldly being the church and spreading God’s Word. Even though the priests are trying to stop them, look at who’s lives are being changed by the power of God’s Word and the Holy Spirit…

Acts 6:7 NIV

7 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.

Nobody is immune from the power of God’s Word. Even the priests are being transformed by the Holy Spirit. Not just a few of them either. A large number! A great many! Some of these priests were probably even Sadducees, the corrupt group that murdered Jesus in the first place.

That’s what happens when disciples are willing to be filled with the Holy Spirit and serve. This is also something I find very exciting and encouraging about our church family here. This is the only church that I have ever been a part of where 100% of the people are willing to serve, and I appreciate that.

The small details in chapter 6 shows us that this is a vitally important part of being in God’s Church, or being a disciple of Jesus. It is a vital part of the Holy Spirit transforming lives.

Pray