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Acts 6 NKJV
1 ¶ Now in those days, when the number of the disciples was multiplying, there arose a complaint against the Hebrews by the Hellenists, because their widows were neglected in the daily distribution.
During the initial days of the Church in Jerusalem, while it was yet very young, the Church experienced substantial growth in numbers. People were being saved on a daily basis and in some instances, multitudes were coming to Christ. Initially it was manageable by the 12 Apostles, the original 11 plus Matthias. The Apostles administrated the full affairs of the Church and made every decision as needed. However …
When the number of converts became larger than 12 men and their assistants could well manage, problems began to surface. It was evident the Church needed more anointed decision makers who would shoulder some of the burden of leadership with a servant’s heart. The Holy Spirit wisely included this account and God’s remedy for us in Acts 6.
The stress and strain on Church leadership is well documented throughout the Bible. Moses was told to ordain 70 Elders to help him make decisions. Then he ordained captains over groups of 50’s, 100’s, and 1,000’s, to help lead, teach, guide, guard and govern the people. Moses was given a trickle-up model of leadership by God. He told those whom he had set over various groups and to those whom he had delegated authority, to answer all of the questions and handle all of the matters within the congregation which they felt they could handle collectively and only bring matters before him which they could not settle. This, the scriptures say, kept Moses from wearing away which, in turn, kept the people from wearing away and from lack of attention to their needs. (Exodus 18 & Numbers 11)
Every growing group of God’s people afterwards instituted the same type of organizational structure to aid in decision making and workload. There is only so much time in a day and only so many decisions a person is capable of making and only so many people any one person can care for. The difference between a smart business or government model and the Church is that in the Church, leaders answer a calling, need an anointing and are seen to be acting for and with God. There is a higher demand and a greater burden. Instead of using money as a bottom line, Church leaders are working for the eternal souls of every person on earth. For this work to continue as planned, God has chosen the Church as His vehicle. We are the Bride of Christ, the Body of Christ and the Family of God in the earth. The far majority of ministry is accomplished by volunteers who carry a great spiritual burden for the Church and do so without promise of pay.
Here in Acts 6, we find the newly formed Church of Believers in Jesus reached critical mass very quickly. There was no way the 12 Apostles, even as anointed as they were, could handle all of the personal needs and concerns of the congregation. The Children of God have never been easy to satisfy. God couldn’t even do it. They feel entitled. The answer in Acts 6 was not to reduce the number of people getting saved nor todivide the Church into multiple locations under denominational leaders who were free to self-determine their own individual Church doctrine and practice.
The answer was to reproduce and release more leadership within the Church who were givendelegated authority to make the administrative decisions necessary to meet the needs of God’s people. The answer was, is and always will be … more laborers.
Matthew 9:37 Then He said to His disciples, “The harvest truly is plentiful, but the laborers are few.
Church is designed by God to be big, (Luke 14:23 … compel them … that My house may be full.). God wants His Church to be big and full and growing and increasing on a daily basis. He has provided a pattern and a structure to handle as much growth as the saints can muster. God knows multiplied people means multiplied problems … always has and always will … but it also means multiplied successes. Sheep reproduce sheep …
Acts 6:1 Now in those days, when the number of the disciples was multiplying, there arose a complaint against the Hebrews by the Hellenists, because their widows were neglected in the daily distribution.
The Church was started in Jerusalem with Jews who accepted Jesus of Nazareth as the Messiah. There were two larger groups of Jews in Jerusalem in those days. I’m not talking about the sects of the Pharisees andSadducees; I’m talking about those Jews who were commonly known as Hebrews and those recognized as Grecians or what the NKJV calls Hellenists.
The Hebrews were Jews who lived in Jerusalem and followed a more traditional way of life and spoke Hebrew. Grecians/Hellenists were the Jews who were not originally from Jerusalem or who were strongly influenced by other cultures and who chose to speak Greek as their common language. They were seen as more modern and more acquainted with the Roman ways of life. These two groups were somewhat divided in their upbringing, personal opinions and viewpoints. But they were both Jewish and both were being saved in great numbers in Jerusalem and were being added tothe Church by God. Both of these groups came under the spiritual care of the Apostles. As well, as needs arose, people looked to the Church for help.
When the Church grew so big that the Apostles did not have the time to pray, preach and watch closely over every daily detail of the ministry, which included benevolence, there arose a murmuring complaint against the Hebrew Believers by the Hellenists Believers. The Hellenists felt the needs of their widows were being neglected in the daily distribution of food. The fact that they self-identified as part of a different group is concerning to God and any Church leader. They felt discriminated against because they weren’t Hebrews and imagined Hebrews were being better cared for.
Interesting to note that they must have fed a lot ofpeople each day. “Give us this day our daily bread”, kind of ministry. With at least 5 thousand people already in the Church and more being born-again each day, I can imagine it was a fairly big job to watch over all of the daily needs of the congregation … especially with almost all of them being new converts. We reasonably expect less complaints from seasonedBeliever, as we do from anyone who has some maturity under their belt, however … these new Believers had just come out of the world where it was all about them. Moses had these same problems in his day and so did Jesus in His.
The remedy for the newly formed Church in Jerusalem was the same remedy God gave Moses and the same thing we saw Jesus do in His earthly ministry … choose, train and ordain more servant leaders.
Acts 6
2 Then the twelve summoned the multitude of the disciples and said, “It is not desirable that we should leave the word of God and serve tables.
3 “Therefore, brethren, seek out from among you seven men of good reputation, full of the Holy Spirit and wisdom, whom we may appoint over this business;
4 “but we will give ourselves continually to prayer and to the ministry of the word.”
The work will continue to increase in a growing Church and thus the need for a growing leadership structure. I’m sure, because of the human nature we all bring with us from the world to the Church, that some people didn’t like Stephen or Phillip being in charge and deciding what each person received from the Church … they probably preferred Peter and John and some probably took it personally, as is always the case in a growing Church. Nonetheless, the Church could not have continued to grow without promoting and accepting additional ordained leadership. It was not just about food … it was about souls … Peter was more effective for Christ and the Church preaching and teaching instead of deciding disputes between families in the Church.
Thank God for this pattern. The Church still needsmore laborers today. Those who feel the call, answer it and begin ministry right where they are. Those who are bearing fruit and bringing souls to the Lord and people to the Church; Laborers who have a good reputation, are full of the Holy spirit and wisdom, and willing to be appointed to be over a portion of the business of the Church.
As well, we accept the fact that no one person can do it all. We need to protect those who give themselves continually to prayer and ministry of the Word. When Jesus broke the fish and loaves to supply food, He did not feed the people. Jesus gave the supply to His disciples and the disciples fed the multitude. In fact, Jesus is not here in His earthly ministry today and has not been here for 2000 years. He only supplies the milk and meat for the Church … His disciples still feed the people.
It would be counter-productive to imagine that weshould not have to be fed by anyone but Jesus. For the Body of Christ to function as intended, we must all be willing to accept those God gives and recognize their vital link in the plan of God. This is the answer …
