Read or listen The Acts of the Apostles Chapter 6-7 online (ESV, Bible Gateway)

The office of deacon is born - Acts 6:1-7

Although Luke does not call the seven men mentioned in this chapter deacons, we can rightly say that the sixth chapter of Acts tells of the birth of the office of deacon.

Luke tells us that two groups had emerged very early in the early church in Jerusalem: the Hebrews and the Hellenists. The Hebrews were converts from Judaism to Christianity, who spoke Aramaic, a language related to Hebrew, as their native tongue. The Hellenists were also converts from Judaism to Christianity, but their native tongue was Greek.

Jewish colonies had sprung up all around the eastern Mediterranean. The Jews who lived there had been forced by practical necessity to adopt Greek, the common language of the Roman Empire (especially its eastern part), as their native language. Some of them had at some point moved back to the land of their fathers, but their native language had remained unchanged. There were even synagogues in Jerusalem where Greek was used as the language of worship. This shows that the number of Hellenists in Jerusalem was not small.

Apparently, difficulties with languages were part of the reason for the problems that arose in the congregation. The two groups mentioned apparently held their own meetings due to the language difference.

The Hellenists felt they had received less aid. They complained to the apostles, who told them to choose seven men from among themselves to distribute the congregation’s contributions to the Hellenists. The “from among you” in verse 3 probably refers specifically to the Hellenists, not to the entire congregation. All seven chosen were Hellenists, as the list of names in verse 5 reveals.

Three criteria were used when selecting men:

1. The men had to be of good reputation,
2. Full of the Spirit, and
3. Full of wisdom.

These principles are also well suited for “testing” those aspiring to positions in today’s churches (compare 1 Tim 3:8-13).

It is interesting that Luke mentions that Nicolaus was a former pagan, meaning he had converted to Judaism. He may have been one of the first non-Jewish Christians. Although he also became a Christian through Judaism.

Luke tells us very little about these seven deacons. Only Philip (not to be confused with the apostle Philip) and Stephen do we learn more about in the later chapters of Acts. At least these two also served as evangelists and preachers, as we will soon see.

Luke reports that even some of the 8,000 priests of the Jerusalem temple converted to Christianity. They were not given any special role in the Christian congregation, as they were sacrificial priests in Judaism, and such were not needed in the Christian congregation (compare Heb. 9:24-28).

History repeats itself - Acts 6:8-15

The arrest and sentencing of Stephen to death resembles in many respects the Gospel accounts of the arrest and sentencing of Jesus: misunderstandings, false witnesses, etc.

Although Stephen's imprisonment was largely based on false and fabricated accusations, it must also be noted that Hellenistic Christians had a more liberal attitude towards the temple and the law than Hebrew Christians and probably also highlighted this in their proclamation.

Stephen's opponents were Hellenistic Jews - to whom Hellenistic Christians preached the gospel. The Hellenistic Jews accused Stephen of opposing two fundamental pillars of the Jewish faith: the temple and its worship, and the law of Moses. This time, the people and the group of Pharisees of the Great Council were also behind the accusations.

Stephen's speeches were based on the teachings of Jesus (Mark 14:56-59, John 2:18-22). However, the idea of ​​setting aside the law and the temple for salvation was too radical for the Jews.

The “Freedmen” mentioned in verse 9 probably refer to the descendants of the Jews who were taken as prisoners of war to Rome by Gnaeus Pompey in the 60s B.C. Rome conquered the eastern end of the Mediterranean Sea as part of the Roman Empire, and at that time the Jews lost the independence they had gained during the Maccabean Wars less than a century earlier.

Israel's history culminates in Jesus - Acts 7:1-53

Stephen was given the opportunity to defend himself, but the defense speech ultimately became an accusation against Stephen's interrogators. The speech is the longest in the New Testament.

The focus of Stephen's speech is clearly Jesus and his work of atonement. Stephen did not so much want to be freed from the accusations against him, but rather he wanted to awaken faith in Jesus in his accusers.

Stephen began by outlining the history of Israel (verses 2-43). He concluded his speech with the same accusations that had been leveled against him: his interrogators were false worshippers and lawbreakers (verses 44-53).

It is easy to see several references to Jesus in the speech. The people mentioned in the speech had much in common with Jesus and his actions:
- Abraham, the forefather of the Jews (verses 2-8)
- Joseph, who was abandoned by his brothers and handed over to strangers, but who nevertheless became the savior of his people (verses 9-16), and
- Moses, who was abandoned by his people many times, but who led Israel back to the Promised Land (verses 17-43).

Voimme sanoa, että Stefanos osoitti Vanhan testamentin historian olevan kolmitahoinen:

1. it is the history of God's revelation (verse 2)
2. it is the history of salvation
3. it is the history of apostasy - man's abandonment of his Creator

All three culminated in Jesus: In Him God revealed Himself in the most profound way. In Him came the long-awaited salvation for all nations; but at the same time Israel’s apostasy reached its peak when it rejected the promised Messiah (verse 52). The Jews wanted to serve God in their own way. Therefore, they fell again and again into violating God’s will.

At several points in his speech, Stephen, as if pointing a finger, showed his listeners that they were making the same mistake as their ancestors:

1. The Israelites living in Egypt rejected Moses (verse 35).

2. Moses had predicted that the Messiah would be like himself, that is, would experience the same fate as Moses (compare also John 6:1-15).

3. God had already had to reject unbelieving Israel (verse 42).

4. Overall, Stephen's accusers were continuing the dark history of their fathers' apostasy and opposition to God. Although outwardly they were Jews, inwardly they were opponents of God's will, that is, Gentiles (verse 15).

Two charges had been brought against Stephen: that he had blasphemed and despised both the temple and the law of Moses. Stephen turned both charges against his accusers: the Israelites outwardly worshipped God, but inwardly they served self-chosen gods (verses 39-50). Nor had they kept the law (verse 53). The Jewish opposition to God had reached its peak in the killing of Jesus (verse 52, cf. Acts 5:28).

After such a speech, it was clear that Stephen would be treated more harshly than the apostles (chapter 5). The time for the first blood witness, the martyr, was coming.

The stoning of Stephen - Acts 7:54-60

The Jews were further angered by a vision Stephen had seen, which he also recounted to his interrogators. In the vision, Jesus was standing at the right hand of God. Jesus was therefore certainly the promised Messiah, whom God had exalted to glory (verse 56). This is the only passage in the New Testament where anyone other than Jesus himself calls Jesus the Son of Man.

In addition to his contempt for the temple and the law, the Jews also considered Stephen guilty of blasphemy, for which there was only one penalty: death (Leviticus 24:14-16). The Romans had taken away the right of the Jews to pass sentence of death (John 18:31), but that decree was now forgotten. Stephen’s interrogators shouted and covered their ears so that they would not hear Stephen’s “blasphemy” and dragged him outside the city to be stoned (Leviticus 24:14).

The first witness's job was to throw the condemned person off the cliff, and the second witness's job was to throw the first stone (the testimony of at least two witnesses was required to impose the death penalty, Deuteronomy 17:6).

Stephen behaved like Jesus on the cross when he died. Even the words he prayed are familiar from the cross of Golgotha: the prayer in verse 59 corresponds to Luke 23:46 and the prayer in verse 60 corresponds to Luke 23:34.

The prayer in verse 59 is the first prayer in the New Testament addressed to the (resurrected) Jesus. From the very beginning of the Christian faith, Jesus has been the object of worship and and He who hears prayers.

A glimpse of the second main character in Acts

Verse 58 is the first mention of Saul of Tarsus, who later became the Christian Paul. Like a skilled narrator, Luke introduces Paul, although this time he does not tell much about him (only verses 58 and 8:1-3). Luke returns to Saul of Tarsus again in chapter 9 (verses 1-30) and at the end of chapter 11 (verses 22-30), but the actual description of Paul begins in chapter 13. After that, Paul is the main character of the entire book of Acts.