Acts — Chapter 6
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1In those days when the disciples were increasing in number, the Grecian Jews among them began to grumble against the Hebraic Jews because their widows were being overlooked in the daily distribution of food.
2So the Twelve summoned all the disciples and said, “It is unacceptable for us to neglect the word of God in order to wait on tables.
3Therefore, brothers, select from among you seven men confirmed to be full of the Spirit and wisdom. We will assign this responsibility to them
4and will devote ourselves to prayer and to the ministry of the word.”
5This proposal pleased the whole group. They chose Stephen, a man full of faith and of the Holy Spirit, as well as Philip, Prochorus, Nicanor, Timon, Parmenas, and Nicolas from Antioch, a convert to Judaism.
6They presented these seven to the apostles, who prayed and laid their hands on them.
7So the word of God continued to spread. The number of disciples in Jerusalem grew rapidly, and a great number of priests became obedient to the faith.
8Now Stephen, who was full of grace and power, was performing great wonders and signs among the people.
9But resistance arose from what was called the Synagogue of the Freedmen, including Cyrenians, Alexandrians, and men from the provinces of Cilicia and Asia. They disputed with Stephen,
10but they could not stand up to his wisdom or the Spirit by whom he spoke.
11Then they prompted some men to say, “We heard Stephen speak words of blasphemy against Moses and against God.”
12So they stirred up the people, elders, and scribes and confronted Stephen. They seized him and brought him before the Sanhedrin,
13where they presented false witnesses who said, “This man never stops speaking against this holy place and against the law.
14For we have heard him say that Jesus of Nazareth will destroy this place and change the customs that Moses handed down to us.”
15All who were sitting in the Sanhedrin looked intently at Stephen, and they saw that his face was like the face of an angel.
1And in those days, when the number of the disciples was multiplied, there arose a murmuring of the Grecians against the Hebrews, because their widows were neglected in the daily ministration.
2Then the twelve called the multitude of the disciples unto them, and said, It is not reason that we should leave the word of God, and serve tables.
3Wherefore, brethren, look ye out among you seven men of honest report, full of the Holy Ghost and wisdom, whom we may appoint over this business.
4But we will give ourselves continually to prayer, and to the ministry of the word.
5And the saying pleased the whole multitude: and they chose Stephen, a man full of faith and of the Holy Ghost, and Philip, and Prochorus, and Nicanor, and Timon, and Parmenas, and Nicolas a proselyte of Antioch:
6Whom they set before the apostles: and when they had prayed, they laid their hands on them.
7And the word of God increased; and the number of the disciples multiplied in Jerusalem greatly; and a great company of the priests were obedient to the faith.
8And Stephen, full of faith and power, did great wonders and miracles among the people.
9Then there arose certain of the synagogue, which is called the synagogue of the Libertines, and Cyrenians, and Alexandrians, and of them of Cilicia and of Asia, disputing with Stephen.
10And they were not able to resist the wisdom and the spirit by which he spake.
11Then they suborned men, which said, We have heard him speak blasphemous words against Moses, and against God.
12And they stirred up the people, and the elders, and the scribes, and came upon him, and caught him, and brought him to the council,
13And set up false witnesses, which said, This man ceaseth not to speak blasphemous words against this holy place, and the law:
14For we have heard him say, that this Jesus of Nazareth shall destroy this place, and shall change the customs which Moses delivered us.
15And all that sat in the council, looking stedfastly on him, saw his face as it had been the face of an angel.
1Now in these days, when the number of the disciples was multiplying, there arose a murmuring of the Grecian Jews against the Hebrews, because their widows were neglected in the daily ministration.
2And the twelve called the multitude of the disciples unto them, and said, It is not fit that we should forsake the word of God, and serve tables.
3Look ye out therefore, brethren, from among you seven men of good report, full of the Spirit and of wisdom, whom we may appoint over this business.
4But we will continue stedfastly in prayer, and in the ministry of the word.
5And the saying pleased the whole multitude: and they chose Stephen, a man full of faith and of the Holy Spirit, and Philip, and Prochorus, and Nicanor, and Timon, and Parmenas, and Nicolaus a proselyte of Antioch;
6whom they set before the apostles: and when they had prayed, they laid their hands upon them.
7And the word of God increased; and the number of the disciples multiplied in Jerusalem exceedingly; and a great company of the priests were obedient to the faith.
8And Stephen, full of grace and power, wrought great wonders and signs among the people.
9But there arose certain of them that were of the synagogue called [the synagogue] of the Libertines, and of the Cyrenians, and of the Alexandrians, and of them of Cilicia and Asia, disputing with Stephen.
10And they were not able to withstand the wisdom and the Spirit by which he spake.
11Then they suborned men, who said, We have heard him speak blasphemous words against Moses, and [against] God.
12And they stirred up the people, and the elders, and the scribes, and came upon him, and seized him, and brought him into the council,
13and set up false witnesses, who said, This man ceaseth not to speak words against this holy place, and the law:
14for we have heard him say, that this Jesus of Nazareth shall destroy this place, and shall change the customs which Moses delivered unto us.
15And all that sat in the council, fastening their eyes on him, saw his face as it had been the face of an angel.
1Now in those days, when the disciples were growing in number, a complaint arose on the part of the Greek-speaking Jews against the native Hebraic Jews because their widows were being overlooked in the daily distribution of food.
2So the twelve called the whole group of the disciples together and said, “It is not right for us to neglect the word of God to wait on tables.
3But carefully select from among you, brothers, seven men who are well-attested, full of the Spirit and of wisdom, whom we may put in charge of this necessary task.
4But we will devote ourselves to prayer and to the ministry of the word.”
5The proposal pleased the entire group, so they chose Stephen, a man full of faith and of the Holy Spirit, with Philip, Prochorus, Nicanor, Timon, Parmenas, and Nicolas, a Gentile convert to Judaism from Antioch.
6They stood these men before the apostles, who prayed and placed their hands on them.
7The word of God continued to spread, the number of disciples in Jerusalem increased greatly, and a large group of priests became obedient to the faith.
8Now Stephen, full of grace and power, was performing great wonders and miraculous signs among the people.
9But some men from the Synagogue of the Freedmen (as it was called), both Cyrenians and Alexandrians, as well as some from Cilicia and the province of Asia, stood up and argued with Stephen.
10Yet they were not able to resist the wisdom and the Spirit with which he spoke.
11Then they secretly instigated some men to say, “We have heard this man speaking blasphemous words against Moses and God.”
12They incited the people, the elders, and the experts in the law; then they approached Stephen, seized him, and brought him before the council.
13They brought forward false witnesses who said, “This man does not stop saying things against this holy place and the law.
14For we have heard him saying that Jesus the Nazarene will destroy this place and change the customs that Moses handed down to us.”
15All who were sitting in the council looked intently at Stephen and saw his face was like the face of an angel.
1Now in those days, when the number of the disciples was multiplying, a complaint arose from the Hellenists against the Hebrews, because their widows were neglected in the daily service.
2The twelve summoned the multitude of the disciples and said, “It is not appropriate for us to forsake the word of God and serve tables.
3Therefore select from among you, brothers, seven men of good report, full of the Holy Spirit and of wisdom, whom we may appoint over this business.
4But we will continue steadfastly in prayer and in the ministry of the word.”
5These words pleased the whole multitude. They chose Stephen, a man full of faith and of the Holy Spirit, Philip, Prochorus, Nicanor, Timon, Parmenas, and Nicolaus, a proselyte of Antioch;
6whom they set before the apostles. When they had prayed, they laid their hands on them.
7The word of God increased and the number of the disciples multiplied in Jerusalem exceedingly. A great company of the priests were obedient to the faith.
8Stephen, full of faith and power, performed great wonders and signs among the people.
9But some of those who were of the synagogue called “The Libertines”, and of the Cyrenians, of the Alexandrians, and of those of Cilicia and Asia arose, disputing with Stephen.
10They weren’t able to withstand the wisdom and the Spirit by which he spoke.
11Then they secretly induced men to say, “We have heard him speak blasphemous words against Moses and God.”
12They stirred up the people, the elders, and the scribes, and came against him and seized him, and brought him in to the council,
13and set up false witnesses who said, “This man never stops speaking blasphemous words against this holy place and the law.
14For we have heard him say that this Jesus of Nazareth will destroy this place, and will change the customs which Moses delivered to us.”
15All who sat in the council, fastening their eyes on him, saw his face like it was the face of an angel.
Summary
As the number of disciples grows, Greek-speaking widows are being overlooked in the daily distribution of food, so the apostles have the community choose seven men full of the Spirit and wisdom to oversee this ministry, freeing the apostles for prayer and the word (vv. 1-6). The word of God spreads, the number of disciples multiplies greatly, and even many priests become obedient to the faith (v. 7). Stephen, one of the seven, full of grace and power, performs great wonders, but members of a synagogue dispute with him and cannot withstand his wisdom (vv. 8-10). They stir up false witnesses who accuse him of speaking against Moses, the law, and the temple, and drag him before the council, where his face is seen to be like that of an angel (vv. 11-15).
Authorship & Background
Map & Geography
- Jerusalem: The appointment of the seven deacons occurred in Jerusalem as the church grew. The Hellenistic (Greek-speaking) Jews and Hebraic (Aramaic-speaking) Jews were both part of the Jerusalem church.
- The Synagogue of the Freedmen (v.9): A synagogue in Jerusalem attended by Jews from Cyrene, Alexandria, Cilicia, and Asia — showing the diversity of Jerusalem's Jewish population.
Places on this map
- JerusalemJerusalemA hill town about 2,500 feet up in the central spine of Judah, roughly 35 miles inland from the Mediterranean and 15 miles west of the Jordan. It sits on no trade route and has no river, which is why it mattered as a fortress and a sanctuary rather than as a market. Wikipedia
- Ciliciasouthern TurkeyThe coastal plain of south-eastern Asia Minor, shut in by the Taurus mountains and reached overland only through narrow passes. Wikipedia
- Asia MinorTurkeyThe peninsula between the Black Sea and the Mediterranean, a high dry plateau ringed by mountains with the Greek cities on its western coast. Roman Asia, the province Paul worked from Ephesus, was only its western end. Wikipedia
Towns sit on their excavated or traditional site. Regions, rivers and seas are ringed rather than dotted, because for those a single point is only an anchor. Coastlines from Natural Earth.
Commentary
- Enduring Word (David Guzik): enduringword.com Guzik examines the Hellenist/Hebrew conflict, the apostles' delegation, the qualifications of the seven, and Stephen's introduction.
- Jamieson-Fausset-Brown (1871): blueletterbible.org A critical and explanatory commentary on the whole Bible, more concise than Matthew Henry and closer to the Hebrew and Greek, with attention to historical and geographical detail. Public domain.
- Matthew Henry's Exposition (1710): blueletterbible.org A devotional verse-by-verse commentary in the Puritan tradition, still among the most widely read three centuries on. Public domain.
Videos
Articles
- GotQuestions.org: gotquestions.org On the whole book: an overview of the book of Acts -- who wrote it, when, why, and how it fits the rest of Scripture.
Links open on the publisher's own site. Nothing here is reproduced on this page.
Reflection
- Noticing the Overlooked (v.1) — The Greek-speaking widows were being neglected in the daily distribution, not out of malice but through oversight. Who in your community might be quietly falling through the cracks?
- Spirit-Filled Service (v.3) — The qualification for the practical task of serving tables was still being full of the Holy Spirit and wisdom. Do you treat your everyday responsibilities as Spirit-filled service, or only the visibly "spiritual" ones?
- Priorities of Prayer and the Word (v.4) — The apostles delegated practical needs so they could devote themselves to prayer and the ministry of the Word. What would it take for you to protect time for those same two priorities?
- Growth Follows Right Priorities (v.7) — When leadership focused on prayer and the Word while practical needs were entrusted to qualified servants, the word of God increased. Is there a structural change you need to make to free up what matters most?
- Irrefutable Wisdom (v.10) — Stephen's opponents could not resist the wisdom and the Spirit by which he spoke, so they resorted to false accusation instead. Have you ever faced opposition simply because your faith couldn't be argued away?
- Peace Under Pressure (v.15) — Stephen's face appeared like an angel's even as he stood before the council that would condemn him. How do you maintain peace when you're facing real hostility for your faith?