Growing Pains

1In those days when the number of disciples was increasing, the Grecian Jews among them complained against the Hebraic Jews because their widows were being overlooked in the daily distribution of food. 2So the Twelve gathered all the disciples together and said, “It would not be right for us to neglect the ministry of the word of God in order to wait on tables. 3Brothers, choose seven men from among you who are known to be full of the Spirit and wisdom. We will turn this responsibility over to them 4and will give our attention to prayer and the ministry of the word.”

5This proposal pleased the whole group. They chose Stephen, a man full of faith and of the Holy Spirit; also Philip, Procorus, Nicanor, Timon, Parmenas, and Nicolas from Antioch, a convert to Judaism.6They presented these men to the apostles, who prayed and laid their hands on them.

7So the word of God spread. The number of disciples in Jerusalem increased rapidly, and a large number of priests became obedient to the faith.

8Now Stephen, a man full of God’s grace and power, did great wonders and miraculous signs among the people.9Opposition arose, however, from members of the Synagogue of the Freedmen (as it was called)—Jews of Cyrene and Alexandria as well as the provinces of Cilicia and Asia. These men began to argue with Stephen, 10but they could not stand up against his wisdom or the Spirit by whom he spoke.

11Then they secretly persuaded some men to say, “We have heard Stephen speak words of blasphemy against Moses and against God.”

12So they stirred up the people and the elders and the teachers of the law. They seized Stephen and brought him before the Sanhedrin.13They produced false witnesses, who testified, “This fellow never stops speaking against this holy place and against the law. 14For we have heard him say that this Jesus of Nazareth will destroy this place and change the customs Moses handed down to us.”

15All who were sitting in the Sanhedrin looked intently at Stephen, and they saw that his face was like the face of an angel.

Acts 6

The first five chapters of Acts have shown us much about the early Church, what the apostles did, and how their work, inspired by the Holy Spirit, led many people to abandon their previous lives and to accept Jesus as their Saviour. We see more and more people decide to become Christians. This next chapter is no different; the Church continues to grow, but for the first time we start to see the growing pains, particularly as the burden on the early Church leaders increases. In chapter six we also see once again how God’s work can lead to persecution, and the affirmation that whilst praying and preaching are the central elements of the Church’s work, looking after others is also very important.

In this chapter of Acts we stumble upon what the early Church considered to be the most important element of their work. The apostles feel that the focus of their work should “prayer and the ministry of the word,” that is teaching people about Christ. As the church grew the apostles found that they had more and more pressures on their time, and in Acts 6, we see that the disciples are getting concerned that they are being expected to administer aid to the needy, especially in this case to the Greek widows, as well as continuing their efforts teaching and healing all those who came to them. Whilst they may have been able to cope with the demand in the early days of the church, there are now a significant number of people who have signed up to follow Christ, and the disciples find themselves really pushed for time. The apostles decision, however, is to appoint others with the specific task of administering aid, enabling them to focus on their core ministry. This is telling since it reveals what the apostles believed their main focus should be; praying and teaching others about Jesus. They felt that they had been tasked with this role, and believed that they had been given the gifts necessary to carry out this function effectively. Do we as Christians today recognise the principle importance of prayer and the word? Do we dedicate ourselves to these activities in our own lives, to praying regularly and seeking out good teaching? If we feel that we have gifts in these areas do we share them with other people?

Whilst praying and teaching were considered by the apostles to be the most important element of what they did, they recognised that these were just two roles of many that the Church should carry out. In this passage we also see the importance that they place on supporting the needy and giving aid to those who needed it. When the leading apostles were asked what they should do, since they did not have time to teach, pray and administer aid, they could have responded that since teaching and prayer were the most important, the disciples should stop supporting the needy in order to focus on the Church’s primary task. They don’t do this, however. Instead, they task other people who were not so heavily involved with the Church’s teaching ministry to take over the tasks of providing aid to those who were in need. Even though the apostles place a firm emphasis on praying and teaching, they still believe that it is important for the Church to look after people. This is an example to us; do we as a Church support those less fortunate than ourselves, both inside and outside the Church? Do we look after those in need in our society, or do we neglect them? If this element of Christian service was important enough for the early Church, it makes sense that it should be important for us too!

There is a warning in this chapter, however, of the danger that doing God’s work can bring, as we have already seen several times in Acts. We see in this passage that the Church is continuing to grow, and every day more and more people are giving their lives to Christ. Luke, the writer of Acts, also tells us that even some Jewish Priests became Christians as a result of the teachings of the apostles. Unfortunately, this success did not go unnoticed by the highly religious people of Jerusalem, who clearly felt very threatened by the growth of the Christian Church. We witness Stephen, who had been appointed to take care of the Greek widows, performing great wonders and miraculous signs amongst the people. This angered some of the Jews, who took Stephen to the Sanhedrin on a trumped up case of blasphemy. Yet again, though, we see the Holy Spirit inspiring a Christian in times of trouble; they found that they could not argue against him, hence the need to lie to the Sanhedrin. If the Word of God is faithfully taught, we can expect to see jealousy and opposition, since it is threatening to those who do not believe, and it challenges their lives. If the opposition do not choose to accept the gospel, they can try to discredit and attack God’s workers. If we stand firm, though, God will come to our aid.

This chapter of Acts shows us much of great importance concerning the early Church. We see the centrality of the preaching of the word and of prayer to their mission. We also see that they do not neglect other areas of ministry, but believe that it is important to support those who are less fortunate. By witnessing what happens to Stephen, we also once again see how doing God’s work can lead to persecution, yet how the Holy Spirit will support us in our times of need. Above all else, we see the Church continuing to grow as more and more people accept Jesus as their saviour. Wouldn’t it be great if we could see that happening today!

Plan of Man or God?

If this plan or this undertaking is of man, it will fail; but if it is of God, you will not be able to overthrow them.

Acts 5:38b-39a

Do you remember Rabbit Telecom? The chances are that you probably don’t! I vaguely remember it from around the mid 1990s. It was a telephone system a little bit like a cordless home phone in the days before mobile phones. The idea was that you had a phone handset, and in shops and other public places there was a Rabbit base station. If you stood near a base station you could make phone calls. If you wandered too far away, though, just like with your cordless phone, you would lose the signal. Rabbit did not last very long because within a year or two people had started buying mobile phones. A few years later, everyone had one, and there was no need for the Rabbit system.

Sometimes new products emerge which seem like a good idea, and often they are. For various reasons, though, they sometimes fail. It might be because a better product comes along, it might be because it’s too expensive, or maybe the producer does not have the marketing budget to get the message into the retail world. In today’s verse, we see a similar idea. Gamaliel, a prominent rabbi and the teacher of Paul, speaks good sense to the Sanhedrin during their trial of the apostles. He tells them that if the apostles are frauds, then in time their message will be forgotten and everyone will go back to their normal lives and forget all about them and their message of salvation through Christ. If, however, the apostles are genuinely teaching God’s message, then they will succeed, whether or not the Sanhedrin tries to stop them. Here we are, 2,000 years later still talking about the message that those twelve men worked to hard to get out into the world. If Gamaliel could see the global church now, I am sure that he would have no doubt whatsoever that the Christian message is genuinely from God!

Sometimes we all have doubts about our faith, and wonder if perhaps the Christian message is made up and meaningless. To me, though, the fact that many of the apostles were willing to die for their beliefs, that over 2,000 years later millions of people still live their lives for Christ, and many of those can speak of the way in which Jesus has transformed their lives, seems to suggest that the Christian message is real and genuine. If it is, then we need to think how we respond to this. Do we follow Christ and seek to serve him, sure that Christ has won us eternal life, or do we ignore him, live purely for ourselves, and reject his gift of salvation?

Jesus – Prince and Saviour

God exalted Jesus to his own right hand as Prince and Saviour that he might give repentance and forgiveness of sins to Israel.

Acts 5:31

Do you ever find yourself wondering why you’re doing something? Sometimes when I’m at work my boss asks me to do something which seems to me to have no purpose whatsoever. I get on with it, of course, but am left wondering what the point of this particular task is. The same was true when I was at school. I went to a school where I had to study Latin, but I really did not see the point. Now, of course, I understand why Latin is useful to know, and I wish that I had tried harder in my lessons!

There was no doubt at all as to what Jesus’ mission was. God was in no doubt at all as to why he sent his only son to Earth. Jesus was in no doubt as to his task. And now the apostles clearly have no doubt about the reason for Jesus living amongst them. This is expressed very clearly in this quote from Peter’s speech to the Sanhedrin after they find themselves up before them once again. When Jesus ascended into heaven, God brought him to his right hand to rule with him. Jesus rules with God as his Crown Prince, his son, who is given responsibility over all things. God also raised Jesus to be Saviour, saving the souls of all his people. He was Saviour so that he could give repentence and forgiveness of sins. As a consequence of Jesus’ death and resurrection, he has the authority to wipe our sins away – if we ask for forgiveness. In this verse Peter specifies that Jesus has authority to take away the sins of the people of Israel, since these were the people the Sanhedrin were most concerned about. Since Jesus himself commanded the apostles to “make disciples of all nations,” however, we can be confident that Jesus can forgive all peoples, and not just the Jewish people.

This short verse hidden away in Acts 5, which doesn’t even get a mention in my study Bible, seems to me to be tremendously powerful, and to encapsulate the gospel message in just a few words. Give thanks today that God has made Jesus the Saviour, who can give repentence and forgive our sins!

Mission Leading to Growth

Nevertheless, more and more men and women believed in the Lord and were added to their number.

Acts 5:14

When I first joined Twitter in May 2007, I knew almost no-one else who used the micro-blogging service, and didn’t really understand what the point was. At that point, I was member number 6,412,182. Now, three years later, Twitter is used by about 154,000,000 people around the world. It’s strange how few people were interested, and then all over a sudden, perhaps a year ago, everyone was talking about Twitter and the number of members grew exponentially. People told people, who told people, who told people, and suddenly the world and his dog (well, maybe not the dog) are on Twitter.

The early church experienced sudden and rapid growth too. After Jesus’ death, many who had been followers drifted away. When the Holy Spirit came upon the apostles at Pentecost, however, and inspired their teaching, more and more people came to faith. Today’s verse is just one of many in Acts that talks about the huge growth experienced by the church. The reasons for that growth are clear. The apostles were doing as they had been instructed to do by Christ, and were acting as his witnesses to all those with whom they came into contact. They were filled with the Holy Spirit, and that enabled and equiped them for the ministry to which God had called them.

God calls us all into ministry. It might not be standing outside a temple teaching, it might not be healing, but we are certainly called to serve our Lord. What is important is that we fulfil the ministry to which we have been called. We need to pray that God shows us what he wants to do. Once we have established what our calling is, we can be assured that the Holy Spirit will enable, equip and support us, just as it did the apostles. We can also be certain that by doing so, we will be helping to further God’s kingdom, and we too will see real growth in our churches.

They heard the message and believed

But many who heard the message believed, and the number of men grew to about five thousand.

Acts 4:4

I used to teach in a large boys’ school right in the middle of the City of London. Whilst there, I took on the running of the Christian Unions, which was a real privilege, because it was a unique opportunity to teach young people about Jesus, but also because the boys were very receptive to listening to and talking about ideas. It was still at times hard work to entice students to come along, so I used to provide food. At the end of each term we had a party, in which we had extra food, which usually brought in crowds and crowds. The school had a large number of Jewish students, and on one occasion I witnessed the interesting sight of seeing Jewish boys arguing over whether Prawn Cocktail crips were Kosher or not! Once we had given out copious amounts of free food, the boys settled down to listen to a talk based on a passage of scripture.

The food might have been the important bit of the meeting to the boys, but to me the crucial element was also the Bible teaching, and this is something that the apostles firmly believed too. Throughout Acts, we see larger and larger numbers of people joining the early church, and the principle reason for this is always the faithful teaching of the message, which works in people’s hearts, challenges their beliefs, and ultimately convicts them of their sin and leads them to follow Christ. Here in this verse, in only the fourth chapter of the Acts, we see the number of followers growing to 5,000, quite a sizeable number for such an early stage of the apostles’ mission, especially considering the relatively small population of Jerusalem at that time. Luke believes that the principle reason for this is because of the preaching of message, which led people to believe in Christ.

We must never miss an opportunity to share the Word of God with people. Grasp every opportunity that you have to do just that in the week ahead.

The Courage of the Apostles

1The priests and the captain of the temple guard and the Sadducees came up to Peter and John while they were speaking to the people.2They were greatly disturbed because the apostles were teaching the people and proclaiming in Jesus the resurrection of the dead. 3They seized Peter and John, and because it was evening, they put them in jail until the next day. 4But many who heard the message believed, and the number of men grew to about five thousand.

5The next day the rulers, elders and teachers of the law met in Jerusalem. 6Annas the high priest was there, and so were Caiaphas, John, Alexander and the other men of the high priest’s family. 7They had Peter and John brought before them and began to question them: “By what power or what name did you do this?”

8Then Peter, filled with the Holy Spirit, said to them: “Rulers and elders of the people! 9If we are being called to account today for an act of kindness shown to a cripple and are asked how he was healed,10then know this, you and all the people of Israel: It is by the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, whom you crucified but whom God raised from the dead, that this man stands before you healed. 11He is
” ‘the stone you builders rejected,
which has become the capstone. 12Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to men by which we must be saved.”

13When they saw the courage of Peter and John and realized that they were unschooled, ordinary men, they were astonished and they took note that these men had been with Jesus. 14But since they could see the man who had been healed standing there with them, there was nothing they could say. 15So they ordered them to withdraw from the Sanhedrin and then conferred together. 16″What are we going to do with these men?” they asked. “Everybody living in Jerusalem knows they have done an outstanding miracle, and we cannot deny it. 17But to stop this thing from spreading any further among the people, we must warn these men to speak no longer to anyone in this name.”

18Then they called them in again and commanded them not to speak or teach at all in the name of Jesus. 19But Peter and John replied, “Judge for yourselves whether it is right in God’s sight to obey you rather than God. 20For we cannot help speaking about what we have seen and heard.”

21After further threats they let them go. They could not decide how to punish them, because all the people were praising God for what had happened. 22For the man who was miraculously healed was over forty years old.

23On their release, Peter and John went back to their own people and reported all that the chief priests and elders had said to them. 24When they heard this, they raised their voices together in prayer to God. “Sovereign Lord,” they said, “you made the heaven and the earth and the sea, and everything in them. 25You spoke by the Holy Spirit through the mouth of your servant, our father David:
” ‘Why do the nations rage
and the peoples plot in vain?
26The kings of the earth take their stand
and the rulers gather together
against the Lord
and against his Anointed One. 27Indeed Herod and Pontius Pilate met together with the Gentiles and the people of Israel in this city to conspire against your holy servant Jesus, whom you anointed. 28They did what your power and will had decided beforehand should happen. 29Now, Lord, consider their threats and enable your servants to speak your word with great boldness. 30Stretch out your hand to heal and perform miraculous signs and wonders through the name of your holy servant Jesus.”

31After they prayed, the place where they were meeting was shaken. And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and spoke the word of God boldly.

32All the believers were one in heart and mind. No one claimed that any of his possessions was his own, but they shared everything they had. 33With great power the apostles continued to testify to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus, and much grace was upon them all. 34There were no needy persons among them. For from time to time those who owned lands or houses sold them, brought the money from the sales35and put it at the apostles’ feet, and it was distributed to anyone as he had need.

36Joseph, a Levite from Cyprus, whom the apostles called Barnabas (which means Son of Encouragement), 37sold a field he owned and brought the money and put it at the apostles’ feet.

Acts 4

What do you think counts as a courageous action? When I was little, I used to associate courage with lion tamers, who would put their heads into the mouths of their lions. Now I’m a little older I think of that more as stupidity than courage! Nowadays, I associate courage more with soldiers fighting in other countries, especially Iraq and Afghanistan, who find themselves confronting a dangerous enemy every day. Do you associate courageousness with faith? Maybe you think that Christians in countries such as China are courageous, but do you think of yourself as having courage? Courage was something that the early Christians had to have, and it jumps off the page as we read Acts 4.

Peter and John need plenty of courage in this chapter from Acts as they find themselves up before the Sanhedrin. They have been courageously preaching and teaching about Christ, even though they know what had happened to Jesus himself. When they are arrested, they know only too well what could happen at this stage. Christ himself appeared before the Sanhedrin, and it was this council that handed him over to the authorities and consequently brought about his death. Now Peter and John have come to the council’s attention. The apostles’ courageous teaching has angered the religious leaders, since they have been proclaiming that belief in Christ can lead to believers gaining resurrection from the dead, an idea that was categorically rejected by the Sadducees. What’s more, Peter and John have healed a cripple, which has created quite a stir around the city. Their actions have won them more than 5,000 followers, provoking real concern amongst the religious leaders, who feel greatly threatened. The leaders, therefore, waste no time in pulling Peter and John in. They arrest them in the evening, and put them into prison in preparation for the trial the next day. Teaching in the face of adversity, just as Peter, John and the other apostles had been doing, was a very courageous action.

Peter and John had to be courageous as they appeared before the Sanhedrin. This council could have terminated their ministry right there and then, yet they defended themselves with courage. They also presented the Sanhedrin with a real difficulty; the religious leaders did not know what to do about the healing of the cripple. They can reject the idea of resurrection of the dead as a lie, but the cripple the apostles healed is standing there in the courthouse with them. There is clear evidence that this man has been healed. What worries the Sanhedrin is that if they can really heal a cripple the rest of their message might also be true. Peter certainly believes that there is little difference between healing physical ailments and eternal salvation, and believes that both flow uniquely from Christ; he states in verse twelve that “salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to men by which we must be saved.” Peter is clear that the crippled beggar was healed through Christ, and believes that similarly Christ alone can grant salvation. They found themselves with a real problem; they faced a group who were shaking up the city, who were a real threat to their own beliefs, were recruiting large numbers of people, and yet had the weight of evidence on their side. Christ challenged the existing order before he was executed, now his followers were continuing to prove to be a challenge. His followers were not intimidated, but faced them with courage.

The apostles had courage because they believed in their message. They had followed Christ at close quarters, and had seen the miracles he had performed. They were witnesses to both his death and resurrection. They had watched him ascend into heaven. Consequently, there was no doubt at all in their minds that they were speaking the truth. They believed that those who followed Christ could have eternal life. They also believed that it was through Christ alone that salvation could be gained. They therefore proclaimed with courage the uniqueness of Christ to all who would listen in Jerusalem. That message provoked a strong response, hence they find themselves before the Sanhedrin. As they seek to defend themselves, they tell the council that they are the servants of Christ, saying “it is by the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, whom you crucified but whom God raised from the dead, that this man stands before you healed.” They are clear that it is Christ who has healed the cripple, not them. In the end, Peter and John escaped serious punishment, but still found themselves being warned not to speak of Christ again. The priests had to find some way of stopping the mass conversion of people to the new Christianity, and they desperately tried to silence the message. When they were sent away from the council they told them that they should “judge for themselves whether it is right in God’s sight to obey you [the council] rather than God. For we cannot help speaking about what we have seen and heard.” Even as they departed from the council, they were still displaying real courage.

Peter and John drew courage from the Holy Spirit. When Peter found himself up against the council, he was filled once again with the Holy Spirit, which supported him as he gave his defence. It was clear to the Sanhedrin that something remarkable had happened to Peter and John; here were two ordinary, uneducated men, yet they addressed them with great wisdom and courage. Luke tells us that the members of the council were “astonished” by what they saw. They recognised, however, that both Peter and John had been with Jesus, and clearly felt that it was because of Jesus that they were able to speak so well. The Holy Spirit continued to grant the apostles courage, even after the trial. Their parting shot was that they could not help teaching about Christ, and they rejoined the rest of the believers, and prayed together that God would continue to perform “miraculous signs and wonders” through the name of Jesus. Despite the fact that they could potentially have lost their lives for what they had been doing, the first thing they do when they are released is to pray that God will continue to work through them! The Sanhedrin might threaten them, but ultimately could not stop them from their mission to spread the gospel.

Peter and John demonstrate great courage in this chapter of Acts. They preach the message of Christ courageously, and that gains the attention of the religious leaders. The apostles find themselves up in front of the Sanhedrin, which has been antagonised by the message that the apostles have been teaching. Yet Peter and John have courage, because they believe in their message. They don’t give up on their beliefs when they find themselves facing difficulties, but defend their ideas, potentially facing death in the process. Peter and John are not alone, however, They are filled with the Holy Spirit, which equips them for the problems they face, and gives them the courage and the words they need to face the council. Do we courageously tell people of our beliefs? Do we talk to people about our faith, even when we know it could lead us into trouble doing so? Do we trust that the Holy Spirit will equip us to face any difficulties we encounter by sharing the gospel of Christ? Peter and John are radical missionaries for Christ, and find themselves unable not to speak of Christ to all they encounter. Are we as excited as Peter and John about our faith?