“Acts 6: The Seven”

Friday, January 06, 2017

Do you remember in chapter 4 (verses 32-37) that there were many needy Christians among the saints in Jerusalem? Have you thought about the reason for that?

First, there were no government programs designed to take care of the poor. If Christians didn’t provide for each other, no one else would either.

Second, there were so many needs because of the situation they found themselves in. Think again about the circumstances surrounding the beginning of the church. The Jews had come to Jerusalem for Passover (about the time of the crucifixion) and had remained there for the next fifty days until Pentecost (Acts 2). When many of them were converted to Christ (3000 on the first day alone and then daily additions after that), they wanted to stay even longer in Jerusalem than they had originally planned. No doubt, some of them went home sooner than others, but many of these new Christians didn’t want to leave so quickly.

Naturally, they had brought enough provisions for almost two months, but have now been there for a much longer period of time. Their food was long gone. Many of them needed help. As a matter of fact, some of them needed daily help (“the daily distribution”).

For the most part, everyone’s needs seemed to be met. But there was a group that was being overlooked. This neglect was probably unintentional. But unintentional or not, these Hellenistic widows were not being helped and it caused a serious problem that had the potential to derail the early church from its mission.

The apostles propose (by inspiration?) that the church members look among themselves, choose seven men, who met certain qualifications and who could be trusted to do the job faithfully. This solves the potentially divisive problem.

As important as that need was, there was one thing even more important. The apostles had to continue preaching the word, accompanied by prayer. While the seven cared for the physical needs of the widows, the apostles continued to meet the spiritual needs of both the disciples and the lost.

At the end of the chapter, Stephen is arrested, setting up the events of Chapter Seven.

--Roger Hillis

Share