Mark Bradford's Bible Blog

The Choosing of the Seven

¹In those days when the number of disciples was increasing, the Grecian Jews among them complained against the Hebraic Jews because their widows were being overlooked in the daily distribution of food.

This account tells us of the first examples of lay leadership in the early church. Jews residing in Jerusalem at that time were divided into 2 groups, Grecian Jews and Hebraic Jews, or Hebrews and Hellenists. Hebrews spoke Aramaic, embraced Jewish culture and customs, and tended to be from Judea. Hellenists spoke Greek, embraced Greek culture and customs, and were more likely to be from the larger Roman empire. They were all Jews living in Jerusalem, but came from different cultures and had different traditions. The two groups distrusted one another. David Guzik, in his commentary, says, “Hebrews tended to regard Hellenists as unspiritual compromisers with Greek culture, and Hellenists regarded Hebrews as holier-than-thou traditionalists.” It seems this distrust had extended itself into the early church. Even after we become believers, unfortunately, we often bring our own prejudices into the church with us. This was the first case of division in the early church, but as in the case of Ananias and Sapphira, God made sure that the church came through it without damage.

The complaint that the Hellenists had seems to be valid. Food was already being distributed to widows, but apparently in an unorganized way. The Hebrews were probably in the majority, and unorganized volunteers would naturally make sure that widows they knew personally got taken care of first. Luke had already pointed out that “they gave to anyone as he had need” (2:45), and that “There were no needy persons among them.” (4:34) Their hearts were in the right place, but without organization some may have fallen through the cracks. It’s possible that the Grecian Jews’ complaint was about a perceived slight rather than an actual one. But when someone, especially in the body of believers, believes that they have been wronged, it does no good for the person accused of the slight to try to prove their innocence. It really doesn’t matter if the slight was intended. What matters is how the aggrieved party feels. If the insult is real to them, then it’s real. Harmony in the church is more important than proving you’re right.

²So the Twelve gathered all the disciples together and said, “It would not be right for us to neglect the ministry of the word of God in order to wait on tables. ³Brothers, choose seven men from among you who are known to be full of the Spirit and wisdom. We will turn this responsibility over to them ⁴and will give our attention to prayer and the ministry of the word.”

The apostles knew that it would be impossible for them to do what Jesus had called them to do and also administrate the food program to the widows and orphans. Many pastors, out of sheer necessity, especially in small churches, are forced to do many duties which should be done by volunteers in the church. This only reduces the amount of time that they can devote to study, prayer, sermon preparation, and ministry. I’ve often heard that the church is like a football game. There are thousands in the stands in desperate need of exercise and 22 on the field in desperate need of rest. If you think all the church needs from you is your attendance and money, think again. Giving of your time and talents to the church is part of your stewardship.

The method used to choose the seven “deacons”, as some call them, is interesting to me. They were nominated by the church body, and “ordained” for this duty by the apostles. They didn’t volunteer. In my church, when a ministry like this is set up, people are asked to pray about whether God is leading them to participate in the ministry, and to volunteer if they feel led to. In this case it seems assumed that those nominated would agree to serve. I have been nominated several times for election to my church’s board, but have refused to have my name on the ballot each time, because board meetings tend to conflict with music rehearsal times, and I feel called to music ministry, and have no interest in church government. But none of these men said “I don’t feel called to this ministry”, or “I’m not gifted in that area.” They looked on what some might have considered a menial duty as an important ministry, which it was. It was the church being the church. Caring for widows and orphans was high on Jesus’ priority list, no less important than preaching the gospel. After all, how did Jesus say that people would know we are his disciples? By seeing how we love one another (John 13:35).

The criteria they used for choosing the Seven, as they came to be known (Acts 21:8), was exactly right, and it’s the same criteria we should use for lay leadership today. They nominated those who were known to be full of the Spirit and wisdom. This was a practical ministry, and they needed those who were both spiritual and practical. That can be a hard combination to find! Have you ever met someone who is, as the saying goes, “so spiritual that they’re no earthly good?” A ministry like this needs those who are good with organization and detail, in addition to being people of God.

⁵This proposal pleased the whole group. They chose Stephen, a man full of faith and of the Holy Spirit; also Philip, Procorus, Nicanor, Timon, Parmenas, and Nicolas from Antioch, a convert to Judaism. ⁶They presented these men to the apostles, who prayed and laid their hands on them.

Everyone agreed that this was the right course of action. The apostles needed to devote themselves to preaching and prayer, and at the same time, others needed to make sure that the needs of the needy among them were met. Of those named here, Stephen is the most famous, being the first Christian martyr. His story immediately follows this one. Philip also plays a significant role in the coming chapters. His evangelism in Samaria results in the episode with Simon the sorcerer (8:4-25, blog), and he is the one who witnesses to the Ethiopian eunuch (8:26-40, blog). He became known as Philip the Evangelist (Acts 21:8). Of the others, not much is known. Those who give of themselves in ministries like this may never become “celebrities” in the church, but as Jesus said, “whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant, and whoever wants to be first must be slave of all. For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.” (Mark 10:43-45)

Many point out the fact that all of the names listed are Greek names, indicating that all of the Seven were Hellenists. This is seen by some as an attempt to mollify the Hellenists in the church by choosing leadership from their own number. That may be, but it’s also possible that all of the names are in Greek simply because Luke wrote the Book of Acts in Greek. It was written to a largely Gentile readership, so it’s natural that Luke would give the Greek versions of their names. We don’t know for sure how many of the Seven were Hebrews and how many were Hellenists.

⁷So the word of God spread. The number of disciples in Jerusalem increased rapidly, and a large number of priests became obedient to the faith.

As they obeyed God and devoted themselves to ministry, the word of God spread. A church full of people who are willing to serve others will always grow. The church in Jerusalem got past this possible source of division and went on to greater victories. Luke says that even “a large number of priests became obedient to the faith.” This may well have been the final straw for the temple leadership that led to the persecution that followed. It was one thing for this new sect to appeal to the common folk, but when priests started converting to faith in Jesus, that could not be tolerated.

Mark Bible Acts, early church, laying on of hands, Philip, Stephen

The Apostles Heal Many

¹² The apostles were performing many miraculous signs and wonders among the people. And all the believers were meeting regularly at the Temple in the area known as Solomon’s Colonnade.

In the aftermath of the episode with Ananias and Sapphira, the early church experienced a surge in divine power. God had made sure that his church remained pure, and a pure church is a powerful church. If God had allowed what Ananias and Sapphira had done to slide, I don’t think the early church would have been able to continue in this way. In my last post, I compared the story of Ananias and Sapphira to the story of Achan’s sin in Joshua 7. The sin of Achan caused defeat for Israel. The whole history of Israel in the Old Testament is replete with examples of victory when Israel obeyed God, and defeat when there was “sin in the camp.” God had excised the sin in the early church, and as a result, they went on to greater victories. If the church today is not victorious, it’s because there’s sin in the camp.

The church continued to meet in the temple complex, in the area called Solomon’s Colonnade, a large passage on the east side of the temple, in what was known as the Court of the Gentiles. This was a large public area which was open to all, and it seems that the early church had claimed this area as their own. Though they had experienced a little persecution at that point, it had not gotten really serious yet. The church was not yet following Jesus’ commission to go into “all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.” (Acts 1:8) They didn’t do that in earnest until they were forced to by persecution. They were still meeting in the temple, and therefore considered by most to merely be a sect of Judaism. That view would continue until the temple was destroyed, and the church was forced out into all the world.

¹³No one else dared join them, even though they were highly regarded by the people. ¹⁴Nevertheless, more and more men and women believed in the Lord and were added to their number.

This seems like a contradictory statement to me. No one else dared join them, but more and more were added to their number. I think maybe this means that before Ananias and Sapphira were struck dead because of their sin, there had been many casual observers who were merely curious about this new movement. Jesus had had many such people follow him around. But after what happened to Ananias and Sapphira, people realized that becoming a Christian was a serious matter, not for the faint of heart. So the casual observers stopped hanging around the edges. Oh, that that realization would come upon the church today! But because of the power of the Holy Spirit that was manifested in the apostles’ teaching and the miracles that were happening, more and more people made a serious commitment to Christ. Lots of things that we do can attract casual observers to our churches, but real commitments to Christ will only happen in our churches if the Holy Spirit is at work.

¹⁵As a result, people brought the sick into the streets and laid them on beds and mats so that at least Peter’s shadow might fall on some of them as he passed by. ¹⁶Crowds gathered also from the towns around Jerusalem, bringing their sick and those tormented by evil^[a] spirits, and all of them were healed.

There was a superstition in the ancient world that shadows had supernatural powers. Luke doesn’t actually say that anyone was healed by Peter’s shadow falling on them, just that people had that hope. These would not have been believers who did this. It was those outside the temple who placed their sick there where they knew Peter would pass by on his way in. Luke may have mentioned this as a way of illustrating how popular the apostles had become. But we do know of a woman who was healed by touching the hem of Jesus’ robe (Luke 8:43-48, blog). There was nothing supernatural about the robe Jesus wore, either. It was the woman’s faith that healed her. It’s possible some were healed without an intentional act by Peter or the other apostles as well, because of their faith.

However, Luke makes clear that many were healed, by whatever method. Just as many people believed in Jesus because of the miracles he performed, many believed because of the miracles he continued to work through his apostles. The Twelve had gone from being disciples, or apprentices, learning for three years to do the things their master did (teaching and healing), to actually doing those things. They were now apostles, which means special messengers. Though they would never be equal to their master, they were like him, which is what being a disciple is all about. It’s about learning to be like Jesus.

Mark Bible Acts, apostles, early church, healing

The Believers Share Their Possessions

³² All the believers were united in heart and mind. And they felt that what they owned was not their own, so they shared everything they had. (NLB)

The Spirit of God was on the early church in Jerusalem. If you’ve ever been part of a church that’s experiencing real revival, you know how exciting it is to be part of a body that’s so united and so generous. Any preacher will tell you that when the Holy Spirit is moving, giving is never a problem. Of course, the First Church of Jesus Christ in Jerusalem wasn’t experiencing revival. Revival happens when the church needs to be “revived.” This church was just beginning, so I guess it was a “vival” rather than a “revival.”

All of the believers were of one heart and one mind. As I’ve mentioned before, I struggle with what’s meant by the term “heart,” both in the Bible and in current vernacular. When we talk about our hearts in a spiritual context, we’re not talking about the physical organ that pumps our blood, so what are we talking about? In this context, I take the word heart to mean emotion, and the word mind to mean thought. To be of one heart and one mind, then, would mean that their thoughts and emotions were in tune with the Holy Spirit. It’s become a cliche in marriage counseling to say that the closer we are to God, the closer we’ll be to each other. Cliches become cliches because they’re true. That principle is also true in the body of believers. The closer to God we all are, the closer we’ll be to each other. That doesn’t mean we never disagree. But when God is moving in a church, our disagreements become less important. We can set those things aside because we’re of one heart and one mind. As a result, they had the attitude toward possessions that we all should; They realized that what they owned was not their own, and found it easy to share with those in need.

³³ The apostles testified powerfully to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus, and God’s great blessing was upon them all. ³⁴ There were no needy people among them, because those who owned land or houses would sell them ³⁵ and bring the money to the apostles to give to those in need.

³⁶ For instance, there was Joseph, the one the apostles nicknamed Barnabas (which means “Son of Encouragement”). He was from the tribe of Levi and came from the island of Cyprus. ³⁷ He sold a field he owned and brought the money to the apostles. (NLB)

God granted the apostles’ request in verse 29, and enabled them to testify powerfully to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus. When God is moving, preachers can preach with great freedom. The picture of great generosity in the early church here is very similar to what Luke describes in 2:44-45. Here he gives more details. People actually sold property and gave the proceeds to the church, so that those in need could be provided for. I’ve known of cases where people gave extraordinary sacrificial gifts to the church like this, for a building program or for debt reduction, but never specifically to provide for the needs of others. As I said in my blog on 2:42-47, the early believers’ attitude toward material possessions was exactly what what Jesus taught them it should be in the parables of the rich fool (Luke 12:13-34, blog) and the shrewd manager (Luke 16:1-15, blog). They didn’t regard their possessions as their own, and they used what they had to benefit others. Spirit-filled believers are generous believers, and Spirit-filled churches are generous churches.

One thing that occurred to me about this is that because this church was in Jerusalem, they all would lose their property in 70 A.D. anyway when the city and temple were destroyed. By being willing to sell what they had and give to those in need, they were truly giving up what they could not keep to gain what they could not lose. None of us gets out of here alive, and we can’t take any of our stuff with us when we die. All we will be able to take with us to Heaven are other people. What does that tell us about what we should do with what we have?

Luke gives us an example of this generosity in Barnabas. Barnabas was a Levite, but came from Cyprus, so he didn’t work in the temple, and had property. Levites in Israel were not given property in the Old Testament because they worked in the house of the Lord, and the Lord was their inheritance (Deut. 10:8-9). But those from the tribe of Levi who lived elsewhere apparently did own property, as Barnabas did. But Barnabas had the attitude of a Levite and of the early church, and his property was not his inheritance, the Lord was. If we have that same attitude toward our possessions, the Lord is our inheritance as well.

Mark Bible Acts, Barnabas, early church, heart

The Fellowship of the Believers

⁴²They devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and to the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer.

I’ve heard this passage preached on many times. The emphasis of those sermons usually has been that this passage provides the criteria for a healthy, vital church. I think that’s true in some ways, but this is also the picture of the “honeymoon” period of the early church. They were still meeting in the temple courts, and had not experienced any persecution yet. There was no thought of missions, or of church structure and lay leadership. These things would soon follow. The honeymoon is a wonderful time, and we should enjoy it for as long as we can, but honeymoons don’t last forever. The real work of marriage has to follow.

The first thing Luke tells us is that they devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching. This new group that had suddenly swelled from a few hundred to over 3,000 needed to learn about the life, teachings, death and resurrection of Jesus. It was the apostles’ job to teach them these things. Though I criticized the apostles’ selection of Matthias in my post on chapter 1, this was a time when that selection was probably wise. They chose someone who had been with them “the whole time the Lord Jesus went in and out among us, beginning from John’s baptism to the time when Jesus was taken up from us.” (1:21-22) It was necessary to have someone like that to help teach these new believers in the first days of the church. To this day, Bible believing churches adhere to the Apostles’ teaching. We call it the New Testament.

Luke also says that they devoted themselves to fellowship, to the breaking of bread, and to prayer. The Greek word for fellowship used here is koinonia, which has become a familiar word to many of us. It means sharing in a common bond and task. It doesn’t mean sharing in 1970’s sense of “let’s all sit in a circle and share our feelings.” It means pulling together to reach a common goal. If we don’t have that sense of all being in this together, the church won’t accomplish much. No team will win many games if the team isn’t united, all pulling in the same direction, and the same goes for the church.

The breaking of bread can refer to simply sharing a meal, or to the Lord’s Supper. In the early church, those things were often combined. It’s customary at Jewish festival meals like Passover to have different courses which have different meanings. I think the early church must have done something like that. One course of each meal may have been practiced as communion. The Lord’s Supper is, of course, essential to our faith, and should be practiced regularly. But it’s also important to simply share meals together as believers. In middle eastern cultures, sharing a meal was the considered height of intimacy between people. It knit them together as near family. That’s why the Pharisees and teachers of the law criticized Jesus so harshly for eating with “sinners.” Though we don’t have that connotation surrounding meals in western culture today, it’s still important to “break bread” together. I think my church does pretty well in this area. Nazarenes will use any excuse to get together and eat!

Perhaps most importantly, they devoted themselves to prayer. No church will have any effect on their “Jerusalem” without an emphasis on prayer. Just look at the great work of Brooklyn Tabernacle. Is their success because of their famous pastor and choir? No, Brooklyn Tabernacle is a praying church. That’s the reason God is using them in such a mighty way.

⁴³Everyone was filled with awe, and many wonders and miraculous signs were done by the apostles.

There has been an ongoing debate among Christians over the years (and probably centuries) about the “signs and wonders” that accompanied the early church. Was this a one time dispensation, or can these things still happen today? Why don’t we see the kinds of miracles the early church had? I do think that there was a special outpouring of miraculous power in those days that was unique to that time. God was opening the floodgates of Heaven to “kick start” his church. But I also believe that miracles happen today. Maybe not with the frequency of the First Century church, but they happen. I hear reports of incredible miracles not unlike what we read about in the Book of Acts happening in mission fields. There are still parts of the world that hear the Gospel for the first time the way these first 3,000 believers did, and in those places and times, God pours out his Spirit in ways that are rarely experienced in areas where the church has been established for centuries. For underground churches in China, it’s still the First Century church.

Luke says that “everyone was filled with awe, and many wonders and miraculous signs were done by the apostles.” Was everyone filled with awe because of the signs and wonders, or did they experience the signs and wonders because they were filled with awe? We have lost our sense of awe of God in Evangelical movement, I think. Could that be why we don’t see that many miracles?

⁴⁴All the believers were together and had everything in common. ⁴⁵Selling their possessions and goods, they gave to anyone as he had need.

This gives the impression that the early church in Jerusalem was something like a commune. I don’t think that’s an accurate characterization, but they were certainly living out what Jesus taught them in terms of “laying up treasures in Heaven.” (Matthew 6:19-21) Their attitude toward material possessions was exactly what what Jesus taught them it should be in the parables of the rich fool (Luke 12:13-34, blog) and the shrewd manager (Luke 16:1-15, blog). They didn’t regard their possessions as their own, and they used what they had to benefit others. Spirit-filled believers are generous believers, and Spirit-filled churches are generous churches.

⁴⁶Every day they continued to meet together in the temple courts. They broke bread in their homes and ate together with glad and sincere hearts, ⁴⁷praising God and enjoying the favor of all the people. And the Lord added to their number daily those who were being saved.

To me, these two verses are examples of the “honeymoon” time in the life of the early church. Later on, they stopped meeting daily and started meeting weekly (Acts 20:7, 1 Corinthians 16:1-2). They soon stopped enjoying the favor of all the people and started being persecuted. We don’t know for how long people kept coming to Christ on a daily basis in Jerusalem First Church, but it probably didn’t go on for the entire 37 years until Jerusalem was destroyed. This church was on the mountaintop, and no church (or person) can stay there forever. We inevitably experience the valley, where many churches are today, not least because of the economy. But as we will see, God grew his church in the midst of persecution, and he will still grow his church today if we will devote ourselves to Biblical teaching, fellowship, and prayer, and have the attitude toward material possessions that they had.

Mark Bible Acts, early church