Deacons are Added to the Growing ministry
3 Year Lectionary Series A • Sermon • Submitted • Presented
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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. And the twelve summoned the full number of the disciples and said, “It is not right that we should give up preaching the word of God to serve tables. Therefore, brothers, pick out from among you seven men of good repute, full of the Spirit and of wisdom, whom we will appoint to this duty. But we will devote ourselves to prayer and to the ministry of the word.” And what they said pleased the whole gathering, 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. These they set before the apostles, and they prayed and laid their hands on them. And the word of God continued to increase, and the number of the disciples multiplied greatly in Jerusalem, and a great many of the priests became obedient to the faith. And Stephen, full of grace and power, was doing great wonders and signs among the people. Then some of those who belonged to the synagogue of the Freedmen (as it was called), and of the Cyrenians, and of the Alexandrians, and of those from Cilicia and Asia, rose up and disputed with Stephen.
And Stephen said: “Brothers and fathers, hear me. The God of glory appeared to our father Abraham when he was in Mesopotamia, before he lived in Haran,
“You stiff-necked people, uncircumcised in heart and ears, you always resist the Holy Spirit. As your fathers did, so do you. Which of the prophets did your fathers not persecute? And they killed those who announced beforehand the coming of the Righteous One, whom you have now betrayed and murdered, you who received the law as delivered by angels and did not keep it.” Now when they heard these things they were enraged, and they ground their teeth at him. But he, full of the Holy Spirit, gazed into heaven and saw the glory of God, and Jesus standing at the right hand of God. And he said, “Behold, I see the heavens opened, and the Son of Man standing at the right hand of God.” But they cried out with a loud voice and stopped their ears and rushed together at him. Then they cast him out of the city and stoned him. And the witnesses laid down their garments at the feet of a young man named Saul. And as they were stoning Stephen, he called out, “Lord Jesus, receive my spirit.” And falling to his knees he cried out with a loud voice, “Lord, do not hold this sin against them.” And when he had said this, he fell asleep.
These Days
Widows
What was a widow’s situation in those days?
Grieving (as today)
Has lost her families income
Daily Distribution - they were imitating the Jewish model from that time and providing daily for the needy in there community and abroad
True Religion James 1 (caring for orphans and widows)
Father of the fatherless and protector of widows is God in his holy habitation.
What needs are there around us that we ought to be helping meet?
Comfort for those who have lost loved ones?
Feeding the hungry. Clothing the naked. Housing the homeless.
If we don’t care for those in need, what does that say about us?
I Cor. 13 - “If we have not love...”
James - We don’t have true religion
Appointing 7 men
didn’t hesitate to solve the problem and didn’t argue or get defensive
qualities
devoted to widows
devoted to word
The context of the passage "These days" referring to chapter 5 events. They had been devoting themselves to the ministry of the word, gathering daily at the temple and from house to house, and didn't cease preaching Christ. They were actively and daily distributing to the needy, specifically widows. They wanted to keep doing this and provided Deacons to ensure that the widows among the Hellenists were not neglected. The whole congregation was assembled and were asked by the apostles to appoint 7 men who were full of wisdom and the Holy Spirit. This also ensured that the even higher priority of the ministry of the word (the Gospel of Christ) and prayer were not neglected. God blessed these dual, but tiered, priorities and the disciples multiplied greatly. One of the Deacons was doing great wonders and signs among the people, and preaching with wisdom and the Spirit, besides his new duties in caring for the widows. This drew the charge of blasphemy and he preached a sermon to them with a face like an angel.
His sermon showed that he had been devotedly studying the Scriptures as he gave a summary of Jewish history from Genesis and Exodus, as well as quoting Amos, the Psalms, and Isaiah. What Jew could argue with this great recap of their history. To summarize, he showed how God graciously called Abraham, faithfully cared for His chosen people, and delivered them from Egypt to take them to the promised land. He recounts how God used the patriarchs and prophets to speak to the people and lead them. But he also pointed out how rebelliously the people acted by not trusting God's guidance, rejecting His prophets, and even turning from the living God to idols and despicable false gods. He also showed them from the Prophets that God was never contained in a building made with human hands. This meant that they had been misunderstanding God's plan for the Tabernacle and Temple. Now the gloves come off and he delivers a sudden and furious blow. He equates the Jews he is preaching to with the worst examples of the Israelites in the OT with all their rebelliousness, stubborn unbelief, and resistance to the Lord's leading. He even accuses them of betraying and murdering the Righteous One, the Messiah, that God sent them as He promised in their Scriptures. They claimed to be the people of God, the descendents of Abraham, the ones who followed God's Word, and deserved to live in the promised land and be blessed, BUT they were instead the ones God condemned, the descendents of idolaters, the ones who rejected God's Word and the Savior, and whom would not be allowed into the eternal promised land.
Is it any surprise that they then stoned him?
It is interesting that He didn't end on a Gospel note at all in his sermon. Yet His acceptance of HIs death, His proclamation of a vision from God, and his prayer to Jesus and for his murderers proclaimed the truth and grace of Christ clearly.
The cross: Stephen’s word’s echoes those of Christ Jesus on the Cross!
He then "falls asleep" and doesn't "die" in the sense that it is only a temporary state for him for he will wake up and rise to new life!
Father forgive us for neglecting widows, orphans, and other needy neighbors that you have called us to love and protect.