INTRODUCTION

We see in this passage the formation of the Christian diaconate. The noun for deacon is not used here, but the context makes it pretty obvious. There was a daily distribution of food to widows and some inequities in that distribution were causing problems. The Twelve said that they should not leave the diakonia of the Word (v. 4) in order to diakoneo tables (v. 2). The noun form is the word for deacon (diakonos). And what we can learn from this is the evangelistic potency of good church government. 

THE TEXT

“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 neglected in the daily ministration. Then 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. Wherefore, 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. But we will give ourselves continually to prayer, and to the ministry of the word. And 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: Whom they set before the apostles: and when they had prayed, they laid their hands on them. And 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 6:1–7). 

SUMMARY OF THE TEXT

Notice that we are in the sixth chapter, and the church is still exploding. The number of disciples was multiplying (v. 1). In this context, it is not surprising that some friction developed—a murmuring of the Hellenistic Jews against the Hebraic Jews because their widows were being neglected in the daily distribution (v. 1). The Twelve summoned the congregation and said that they should not be distracted by this particular task of service (diakoneo), however worthy it might be (v. 2). So the Twelve told the brothers to select seven men of good reputation, full of the Spirit and wisdom, and they would appoint them to it (v. 3). The Twelve would remain at their post—prayer and the ministry (diakonia) of the Word (v. 4). The congregation was pleased with this, and they chose Stephen, full of faith and the Spirit, along with six others—Philip, Prochorus, Nicanor, Timon, Parmenas, and Nicolas, a proselyte from Antioch (v. 5). All seven men have Greek names. These men were set before the apostles, who then prayed and laid hands on them (v. 6). This resulted in more growth that is described in three ways—the Word increased (v. 7), the number of Christians in Jerusalem increased (v. 7), and a large number of priests came to obey the faith (v. 7).    

GROWTH PAINS

It is not possible for a body to grow the way the early church did without creating stresses and strains. Remember that we have noted that a number of pilgrims at the day of Pentecost had stayed over. This is our textual indication that a number of them were still there. The KJV renders one of the groups as Grecians, but this is not referring to Gentile Greeks. Rather, it is referring to Hellenized Jews from the Dispersion. The Hebraic Jews were the hometown Jews. And the seven men selected were all in a position to guard the interests of those who had been neglected. 

The growth of the church was not hindered because of the mere fact of a dispute. The dispute was actually the result of the church growing, the dispute was resolved in an honorable way, and the result of this good governance was that the church grew even more. Honest dealing with internal church affairs is honoring to God and attractive to outsiders.

Notice the pattern (that we seek to follow), which is to have qualifications for office established by the existing leadership, to have the men of the congregation elect them, and then to have the existing leadership ordain them, setting them apart.    

MALE LEADERSHIP

It is worth pointing out that all twelve apostles were men. They told the congregation to pick out seven Spirit-filled men. And when the apostles addressed the congregation, they said, “Wherefore, brethren . . .” Now remember that the church is the bride of Christ, which means that collectively, we are feminine. As the bride of Christ, we are to be submissive to Him, which means that the rule of the church is to be limited to men (1 Tim. 2:12). 

Someone may well ask about Phoebe, who was a servant of the church at Cenchrea (Rom. 16:1). But this was not a woman on the board of deacons, but was rather a different serving office (1 Tim. 3:11).

GROWTH IS GOOD, BUT…

We have been reminded many times in the book of Acts thus far that the church in Jerusalem was growing and expanding. Three thousand were added the very first day (Acts 2:41). More were added every day (Acts 2:47). A short time later the number of men was around five thousand (Acts 4:4). The Christians were held in awe (Acts 5:13), but continued to grow anyway—“multitudes” were added (Acts 5:14). Our passage begins with the note that the number of believers was multiplied (Acts 6:1), and concludes on a similar note (Acts 6:7).

Luke does in fact point to numerical growth as a sign of God’s blessing, as a sign of God’s authentication. But it is not an automatic indicator. Morning glory grows. Cancer grows. As Luke records the testimony of Gamaliel, the revolt of Theudas enjoyed some flash-in-the-pan growth, but then collapsed (Acts 5:36). The same thing happened to Judas of Galilee (Acts 5:37). Growth in isolation does not signify. 

So we should conclude with the understanding that it is the growth of the Word that fundamentally matters (Acts 6:7). The Word of God increased. What is the Bible doing in all of this? Obviously, the Scriptures themselves do not grow—this is a way of saying that the influence of the Word in the lives of the people is growing. This means qualitative growth, and not just numerical growth. For example, thanks to the Bible Reading Challenge many of you have read the Bible through more times in the last several years than you did in your entire life before. That is what we are talking about. And the size of our many congregations is directly related to that.

And so what is the center of the Word that must grow and increase at the center of our lives? It is the grace of God in Christ. It is Christ crucified for sinners. It is Christ raised for our justification. It is Christ over all, now and forever.    

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INTRODUCTION

One of the more remarkable blessings that the presence of the Holy Spirit brings is the ability He gives to believes to suffer scorn gladly. This is a remarkable thing in the moment, but it also serves as a portent of what it is to come. It is a statement in the present and a sign for the future.

 

THE TEXT

“And when they had brought them, they set them before the council: and the high priest asked them, Saying, Did not we straitly command you that ye should not teach in this name? and, behold, ye have filled Jerusalem with your doctrine, and intend to bring this man’s blood upon us. Then Peter and the other apostles answered and said, We ought to obey God rather than men . . . (Acts 5:27–42).

 

SUMMARY OF THE TEXT

So the apostles were gathered up, set before the council, and the high priest spoke (v. 27). Didn’t we command you not to do this (v. 28)? But you have filled Jerusalem with your doctrine (v. 28), and this doctrine includes the bloodguilt of Jerusalem’s rulers (v. 28). Peter and the other apostles replied with the great principle that obedience to God trumps obedience to man (v. 29). The God of our fathers vindicated Christ by raising Him from the grave, but the reason He was in the grave was because you murdered Him and hanged Him on a tree (v. 30). God raised Him exalted to be a prince and savior, to grant repentance and forgiveness to Israel (v. 31). The apostles are witnesses, and the Holy Spirit is a witness (v. 32). He is given to those who obey (v. 32). Hearing this, they were cut to the heart, convicted, and answered the charge of murder by taking murderous counsel (v. 33). Gamaliel, Paul’s former instructor, a famous rabbi, intervened and had them go into executive session (v. 34). Gamaliel kept his head and urged them all to keep theirs (v. 35). Remember Theudas, who thought he was something (v. 36)? Remember Judas of Galilee, and what happened to him (v. 37)? Gamaliel urged them to leave these men alone—if their cause is of men, it will come to nothing (v. 38). But if it is of God, you don’t want to be found fighting Him (v. 39). And so they consented, and brought the apostles back in. They had them beaten and reissued their (plainly empty) command (v. 40). And so the apostles left the council, rejoicing in the honor of being dishonored, the grace of being disgraced (v. 41). And the threats from the authorities didn’t even slow them down. They continued to teach and preach Jesus Christ, both in the Temple and in every house (v. 42).

 

WHERE THE SHAME BELONGS

When we are treated shamefully for the sake of the gospel, we are instructed, very directly, not to be ashamed of the shame we are accorded.

“Yet if any man suffer as a Christian, let him not be ashamed; but let him glorify God on this behalf” (1 Peter 4:16). “For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ: for it is the power of God unto salvation to every one that believeth; to the Jew first, and also to the Greek” (Romans 1:16). “For whosoever shall be ashamed of me and of my words, of him shall the Son of man be ashamed, when he shall come in his own glory, and in his Father’s, and of the holy angels” (Luke 9:26).

The shame rightly belongs to the persecutors. As William Gurnall stated, “Paul does not blush to tell, it is for the gospel he is in bonds. The shame belonged to them that put on the chain, not to him that wore it.”

When the proto-Reformed Jan Huss was given a safe conduct to the Council of Constance, he was double-crossed by the Emperor Sigismund and there executed. When Huss reproached the emperor, the ruler visibly blushed at his lack of good faith. When Luther was given a similar safe conduct at the Diet of Worms (1521), the Emperor Charles V was urged to do the same thing, and he said, “I shall not blush as Sigismund did at Constance.”

We are to live in such a way as that our slanderers are forced to glorify God in the day of visitation (1 Pet. 2:12).

 

GRACE IN THE FURNACE

The Lord Jesus gave us explicit instructions in this regard.

“Blessed are they which are persecuted for righteousness’ sake: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are ye, when men shall revile you, and persecute you, and shall say all manner of evil against you falsely, for my sake. Rejoice, and be exceeding glad: for great is your reward in heaven: for so persecuted they the prophets which were before you” (Matthew 5:10–12).

We are sometimes taunted by mockers, as though we think we are persecuted simply because someone differs with us. No, but Jesus here includes being reviled as an aspect of persecution, not to mention the fact that people say “all manner of evil” concerning us. This is a nightmare for PR consultants, but Jesus tells us to maintain a different attitude toward it all.

“But rejoice, inasmuch as ye are partakers of Christ’s sufferings; that, when his glory shall be revealed, ye may be glad also with exceeding joy. If ye be reproached for the name of Christ, happy are ye; for the spirit of glory and of God resteth upon you: on their part he is evil spoken of, but on your part he is glorified” (1 Peter 4:13–14).

 

JOY AS HARBINGER OF WRATH 

This glorious and gracious demeanor is a sign of three things. It is a sign that God is with us in the present, sustaining us. It is a sign that the mojo has entirely shifted. The persecutors are always trying to hang onto a vanishing world, and the persecuted represent the future. And last, this grace is a sign that the God who is with us in this moment will also be with us in the day of wrath. And so what will become of those who are against us in this moment?

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INTRODUCTION

The Founder of the Christian faith, the Lord Jesus, was murdered by the authorities. This is a fact that cannot be emphasized too much. After He ascended into Heaven, the second generation of Christian leaders all found themselves in jail within a matter of just a few weeks. This should tell you something about the nature of the faith we profess.

 

THE TEXT

“Then the high priest rose up, and all they that were with him, (which is the sect of the Sadducees,) and were filled with indignation, and laid their hands on the apostles, and put them in the common prison. But the angel of the Lord by night opened the prison doors, and brought them forth, and said, Go, stand and speak in the temple to the people all the words of this life . . .” (Acts 5:17–26).

 

SUMMARY OF THE TEXT

The Sadducees were the dominant party in the Temple establishment. They were theological liberals, but conservative enough when it came to protecting their own power. They rose up together, full of indignation (v. 17), arrested the apostles and threw them into jail (v. 18). This set the stage for the first angelic jail break in the book of Acts. The angel opened the doors, brought them out, and gave a command (v. 19). The command was for them to go back into the Temple and by speaking the words of life to the people to disobey the authorities (v. 20). The apostles obeyed this command, doing this first thing in the morning (v. 21). Meanwhile, the authorities convened their council, and sent to have the apostles fetched from the prison (v. 21). The officers went to the prison, but soon enough came back without them (v. 22). They reported that the prison was locked up, and the guards were there, but nobody was inside (v. 23). When the authorities heard this, they began to worry about what could be next (v. 24). So then a messenger came in and said that the escapees were in the Temple, teaching the people (v. 25). And so then the captain and the officers went to bring them in, but gingerly, because they were afraid of being stoned by the crowd (v. 26).

 

DEALING WITH JESUS MOBS

We do have something in common with first century Palestine. We, like they, are living in a time of violent emotions and high tension. And in that moment, in a time like that, Jesus came into the powder keg of Jerusalem, and did not call for dialog. He came as a supremely effective provocateur. He went up to the Temple, and began flipping over tables.

Were there people in the Israel of that day who were on the side of John the Baptist, and Jesus, but who did not fully grasp the import of the Sermon on the Mount? Why were the religious authorities so careful about their plotting against Jesus? They thought “people will stone us” (Luke 20:5-6). The chief priests and scribes “feared the people” (Luke 20:19). They wanted to kill Jesus, but they “feared the people” (Luke 22:2). This is also said a few times in the second gospel (Mark 11:18, 32; 12:12). And when Peter cut off the ear of Malchus, he also had not grasped the nature of the plan that Jesus was living out (John 18:10).

Jesus did not entrust Himself to men (John 2:23-25), but it is also very, very clear that He did not worry about their misunderstandings. Their confusions did not even slow Him down.

 

THE WORD OF GOD IS NEVER BOUND

One of the things that Luke does for us in the Book of Acts is illustrate in a figure how the gospel cannot be thwarted or imprisoned by the wit of man. The gospel cannot be imprisoned, and Luke shows us this multiple times and in multiple ways.

“Wherein I suffer trouble, as an evil doer, even unto bonds; but the word of God is not bound.” (2 Timothy 2:9). At least five of Paul’s epistles were written from prison, bringing life and liberty everywhere those letters have gone.

Luke shows us this by having two angelic jail breaks (here, and in Acts 12). Then he has an earthquake bust the prison of Philippi wide open, thus liberating the jailer (Acts 16). And then Paul is arrested in Acts 21:33, from which position he evangelizes two Roman governors (Acts 24:25; Acts 26:24), King Agrippa (Acts 26:28), a leading citizen of Malta named Publius (Acts 28:7), and the rabbis of Rome (Acts 28:23-24). The Word of God is not bound.

The gospel runs free when the evangelists do, and the gospel also runs free when the evangelists are chained to the wall.

 

THE UNCHAINED WORD OF LIFE

We see in this passage the total legitimacy of activities like Bible smuggling. Is it against the law? That actually doesn’t matter. We don’t care. The civil authorities do not have the authority to prohibit the gospel from functioning in their realm. What does the Great Commission rest on (Matt. 28:18-19)? “All authority in Heaven and on earth has been given to me . . .” No civil authority has the right to say no to the gospel of free grace.

On top of that, neither do religious authorities have the right to get a bit and bridle on those who preach the word in truth. John Bunyan, author of Pilgrim’s Progress, spent years in prison, and in a Christian country, and for what? Not for preaching, but for preaching without a license. When free grace starts running around freely, it is just a matter of time before some ecclesiastical fussers want to get their foot on the brake. They will come to a man, preaching hot gospel, and they will ask him, as they asked Jesus, “By what authority do you do these things?” Look to your Bibles. Whose question is this (Matt. 21:23; Mark 11:28; Luke 20:2)?

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Introduction

Jesus Christ was a murder victim, killed by the ungodly men who ran the ecclesiastical machinery of ancient Jerusalem. They thought that they had dispensed with the Christ threat, but He exploded their plans by coming back from the dead. Now this risen one had predicted that He would come back from the dead, as His enemies well knew (Matt. 27:63). This prediction had been fulfilled, as they also knew (Matt. 28:11-15). But in addition to this, He had also predicted that Jerusalem would be flattened within one generation (Matt. 24:34). The city was now on death row, and the clock running down. The resurrection was therefore the guarantee that the destruction to follow was certain.

In this context, the great apostle Peter was offering the miscreants terms. He was giving them a chance to repent. Many did, but—in the teeth of the evidence—many others did not. It was not a matter of evidence.

 

The Text

“Repent ye therefore, and be converted, that your sins may be blotted out, when the times of refreshing shall come from the presence of the Lord; And he shall send Jesus Christ, which before was preached unto you: Whom the heaven must receive until the times of restitution of all things, which God hath spoken by the mouth of all his holy prophets since the world began. For Moses truly said unto the fathers, A prophet shall the Lord your God raise up unto you of your brethren, like unto me; him shall ye hear in all things whatsoever he shall say unto you. And it shall come to pass, that every soul, which will not hear that prophet, shall be destroyed from among the people. Yea, and all the prophets from Samuel and those that follow after, as many as have spoken, have likewise foretold of these days. Ye are the children of the prophets, and of the covenant which God made with our fathers, saying unto Abraham, And in thy seed shall all the kindreds of the earth be blessed. Unto you first God, having raised up his Son Jesus, sent him to bless you, in turning away every one of you from his iniquities” (Acts 3:19–26).

 

Summary of the Text

In the first half of this chapter, Peter has preached the objective facts of the gospel—the death and resurrection of the Christ of Israel. He now comes to an appeal for the subjective response to that gospel. He tells his listeners to repent, to be converted, with the result that their sins will be blotted out (including the sin of crucifying Christ), and they will enjoy times of refreshing that will come straight from the presence of the Lord (v. 19). God will send Jesus Christ back again, the same one just preached to you (v. 20)—but this Christ must remain in Heaven until the “times of restitution of all things” (v. 21). These times of restitution have been spoken about by God from the world’s beginning, through all His holy prophets (v. 21).

Moses, for example, predicted that God would raise up a prophet like him, and the people were instructed to listen to everything He taught (v. 22). Moses also said that anybody who did not heed that prophet would be destroyed (v. 23). All the prophets, from Samuel on, were foretelling these days (v. 24). Those listening to Peter were children of these prophets, and children of the covenant that God made with their fathers (v. 25). This covenant was made when God spoke to Abraham, saying that in his seed all the families of the earth would be blessed (v. 25). And so consequently God, having raised up Jesus, sent Him to bless those who had murdered Him. That blessing would be in turning anyone from his iniquities (v. 26).

 

Faithful Prophecy

 Prophecy should be understood as having two components. There is the forthtelling—where the prophet speaks to the people, in the name of God, telling them what their current spiritual condition actually is. But how can the people know whether this message is truly from God or not? This leads to the foretelling, the predicting. Fulfilled prophecy proves that the messenger of God is truly speaking on behalf of the God who is in full control of all history. This is why Isaiah is able to taunt the idols. “Shew the things that are to come hereafter, that we may know that ye are gods: Yea, do good, or do evil, that we may be dismayed, and behold it together” (Isaiah 41:23).

Look at the showdown between Hananiah and Jeremiah (Jer. 28), revolving around just this point. The same was true of Micaiah and Zedekiah (1 Kings 22:15-25). “And Micaiah said, If thou return at all in peace, the Lord hath not spoken by me. And he said, Hearken, O people, every one of you” (1 Kings 22:28). False gods do not know the future, and the true God does.

Immediately after the passage that Peter quotes, false prophecy is made a capital offense (Deut. 18:20). But how can we tell? the people ask. The answer is straightforward. “When a prophet speaketh in the name of the Lord, if the thing follow not, nor come to pass, that is the thing which the Lord hath not spoken, but the prophet hath spoken it presumptuously: thou shalt not be afraid of him” (Deut. 18:22).

This is a central qualifying characteristic of a true prophet. Christ met that description.

 

The Great Unforced Error in Apologetics

A number of years ago, I traveled with the atheist Christopher Hitchens, debating him, and one of his arguments was that Christ thought the end of the world was going to happen . . . and then it didn’t. Christ was clearly mistaken, Hitch thought, and so why should we listen to Him? The atheist Bertrand Russell thought the same: “He certainly thought that his second coming would occur in clouds of glory before the death of all the people who were living at that time. There are a great many texts that prove that.”

But Matthew 24 was not about the end of the space/time continuum, but rather (very clearly) about the looming destruction of Jerusalem by the Romans. “Your house will be left to you desolate” (Matt. 23:38). Not one stone will be left on another (Matt. 24:2). The disciples naturally ask when will this happen (Matt. 24:3)? Jesus says it will be within one generation (Matt. 24:34). People are confused because of the collapsing solar system word pictures (Matt. 24:29). But everywhere in the Old Testament that such imagery is used, it is always describing the destruction of a city, and never the destruction of the cosmos—as we discussed in the fifth sermon of this series, it is used of Babylon (Is. 13:10), of Edom (Is. 34:4), of the northern kingdom of Israel (Amos 8:9), of Egypt (Ezek. 32:7), and of Israel (Joel 2:28-32).

One of the great tragedies in the world of apologetics is that many conservative believers have interpreted Matthew 24 in a way that robs Christ of His great vindication, and robs Peter of the great and forceful point of this sermon. Listen to the prophet, and stand in awe, which is not the same as moving the fulfillment of His prophecy to the end of the world, well out of reach.

 

Christ the Faithful Prophet

Peter is at pains to show that Christ was the prophet that Moses had predicted would come. For Moses truly said. This prophet would be raised up, and moreover, He would be raised up again. You must listen to Him about everything. And every soul that will not listen will be destroyed. Will you not come? Will you not believe? What more could you want?

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