Walking in Wisdom – Following Jesus’ Ministry- (Acts 6)
6:17 PM
Please read Acts 6
After Peter’s Sermon at Pentecost thousands were saved (Acts 2: 14-21) and as the days went by the number of believers increased as the apostles preached the Word with the Power of the Holy Spirit (Acts 2:48, 4:31, 5:14). When Jesus was with the first apostles He had promised all this would happen, and His desire for His disciples to live in love and in unity was being fulfilled! “Now the full number of those who believed were of one heart and soul, and no one said that any of the things that belonged to him was his own, but they had everything in common. And with great power the apostles were giving their testimony to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus, and great grace was upon them all (Acts 4:32-34). This was the foundation of the primitive Church!
But of course, Satan
always finds a way to attack causing division and opposition among the
believers: “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” (Act 6:1) Apparently, some of the Hellenistic Jews
believed that the widows among the Hebrew Jews were receiving better care. This
called for a solution: “2 So the [c]Twelve called the disciples together and said, “It is
not appropriate for us to neglect [teaching] the word of God in order to serve
tables and manage the distribution of food” (6:2). The apostles
should not be distracted from prayer and the preaching of the word. (Vs.4)
I did a bit of
research and I found that “serving tables” didn't mean that the apostles
considered the work of serving at the widow's dinner table as something as a
“lower task”, but : “This speaks of handling the practical administration of
the financial and practical details relevant to caring for the widows. A
'table' at that time meant a place where a money changer did his collecting or
exchanging of money. The deacons were elected to oversee the distribution of
monies and provisions to the needy among the fellowship." (Ogilvie)
The instruction to
care for this matter was: “Therefore, brothers, choose from among you seven men
with good reputations [men of godly character and moral integrity], full of the
Spirit and of wisdom, whom we may put in charge of this task.” (Vs.3) ,
and these were the men they elected: “… [d]Stephen, a man full of faith [in Christ Jesus], and
[filled with and led by] the Holy Spirit, and Philip, Prochorus, Nicanor,
Timon, Parmenas, and Nicolas (Nikolaos), a proselyte (Gentile convert) from
Antioch.” ( Vs.5)
These men were to continue
Jesus’ ministry empowered by the Holy Spirit; Jesus not only dedicated His time
to preach but to serve in love and compassion: He healed the sick, raised the
dead, cast out demons, and fed the hungry.
James reminds us this as we read the following verses:
“14 What good is it,
my brothers and sisters, if someone claims to have faith but does not have
works? Can this kind of faith save him? 15 If a brother or sister is poorly
clothed and lacks daily food, 16 and one of you says to them, “Go in peace, keep
warm and eat well,” but you do not give them what the body needs, what good is
it? 17 So also faith, if it does not have works, is dead being by itself. 18
But someone will say, “You have faith and I have works.” Show me your faith
without works and I will show you faith by my works. 19 You believe that God is
one; well and good. Even the demons believe that – and tremble with fear. 20
But would you like evidence, you empty fellow, that faith without works is
useless? (James 2:14-20)
Yes, caring for widows
and the poor is a very important matter. (James 1:27). Luke has shown us that the early church was deeply
concerned about meeting the needs of those in the flock. Great sacrifices are sometimes made in order
to care for those in need.
Let me ask you: as
part of the body of Christ are we really following Jesus’s example? Are we
reaching out to those in need of bread as well as the spiritual bread? And are
we doing this with His Love and Compassion? What are our real motives?
I liked this quote
which I believe says it all: “Teaching and touching,
doctrine and practice, words and works must not be separated” (Bible.org)
Blessings,
Mari
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