The big picture
The group of Jesus' followers is growing. Now it faces a complaint from within. Jesus is the risen Lord whose apostles, his chosen messengers, lead the teaching. Some widows miss out on the daily help. The apostles ask the group to choose men to lead that care. They must be men the group trusts. One of those men, Stephen, also speaks and performs signs. Men who oppose his words soon bring charges against him. He must face the ruling council.
In this chapter
- Seven Men Oversee the Daily Care Acts 6:1-7
Greek-speaking Jews in the group bring a complaint.
- Stephen’s Words Withstand Opposition Acts 6:8-10
Stephen is full of faith and power, and he performs great signs among the people.
- False Witnesses Bring Him Before the Council Acts 6:11-15
Unable to answer Stephen, his opponents secretly recruit men to accuse him.
Central truth
The believers address neglected widows through trusted shared leadership, while Stephen's effective witness draws false charges from opponents.
Scripture beside the summary
Acts · King James Version · 15Acts 6:1-7
Seven Men Oversee the Daily Care
Greek-speaking Jews in the group bring a complaint. Their widows lack the daily help given to the Hebrew-speaking widows. The twelve apostles gather the community. They must continue prayer and teaching, but the neglected care needs responsible oversight. They ask for seven men known for wisdom and the Holy Ghost, God's Spirit. The group chooses Stephen, a man of faith, and six others. The apostles pray and lay hands on them to appoint them. God's word spreads, followers multiply in Jerusalem, the chief Jewish city, and many priests come to believe. The group has heard the need and named men to meet it.
In everyday life
A food-bank volunteer notices that residents who speak another language keep missing their meal parcels. The coordinator gathers the whole team and appoints trusted people to check the daily list. The teaching sessions continue while the missed households receive proper attention. Neither task has to erase the other. The apostles appoint Spirit-filled men within a community devoted to God's word.
Notice
Acts 6:3 The task is to give out food. Yet it calls for wisdom and the Spirit. Care for those in need calls for people whose lives can be trusted.
Acts 6:1-7
King James Version1And 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.
Acts 6:8-10
Stephen’s Words Withstand Opposition
Stephen is full of faith and power, and he performs great signs among the people. Members of several synagogue groups, Jewish gatherings for worship and teaching, begin disputing with him. They come from several regions but all oppose his message. They cannot overcome the wisdom and Spirit with which he speaks. His new role in daily care has not confined him to handling supplies. He speaks in public too. His words stand firm, and his foes cannot make them fall.
In everyday life
A library volunteer explains a disputed local record to several readers gathered at the map table. Each challenge leads her back to clear evidence and a careful answer. The readers grow frustrated, but none can answer the point she makes. Her usual shelving work has not measured the limits of her ability. Stephen speaks with wisdom from God's Spirit.
Notice
Acts 6:10 The opponents cannot answer the wisdom of Stephen's speech. The charges come after their debate has failed. They have found no sound reply to his words.
Acts 6:8-10
King James Version8And 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.
Acts 6:11-15
False Witnesses Bring Him Before the Council
Unable to answer Stephen, his opponents secretly recruit men to accuse him. They claim he speaks against God and Moses, the leader who gave their ancestors God's law. They stir up the crowd, elders, and law teachers, then seize him. Before the council, false witnesses say he attacks the temple, their sacred worship place, and the law. They claim he says Jesus of Nazareth, the town where Jesus grew up, will destroy it and change inherited customs. Everyone looks intently at Stephen. His face appears like that of an angel, God's heavenly messenger.
In everyday life
A workshop apprentice watches critics abandon a failed technical argument and circulate a false complaint about her tutor. The hearing sheet now accuses him of words he never said. She brings her notes, aware that the issue has shifted from testing an idea to damaging a person. Stephen faces charges about God's law and holy place before the council.
Notice
Acts 6:13 Acts calls the witnesses false before giving their accusation. Their claims about Stephen's words must not be treated as a neutral summary of his teaching.
Acts 6:11-15
King James Version11Then 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.
Details worth noticing
The opening image
Acts 6:1 begins with “And 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…”
Where the chapter turns
Acts 6:9 forms a natural hinge: “Then 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…”
The final note
Acts 6:15 leaves the reader with “And all that sat in the council, looking stedfastly on him, saw his face as it had been the face of an angel.”
A word trail through the chapter
The words disciples, faith, full, Holy, Stephen, word help reveal the chapter’s repeated concerns.
KJV words made clear
- ministration
- Service or distribution of help, here the daily provision for widows.
- suborned
- Secretly persuaded people to make dishonest accusations.
- blasphemous
- Speaking in a way that dishonours God or what is sacred.
Music and video connected to the passage
Related media appears when its Scripture reference overlaps this study. Music and video can illuminate a theme while the biblical text remains the foundation.
