At that time, as the number of disciples continued to grow, the Hellenists complained against the Hebrews because their widows were being neglected in the daily distribution. 2 So the Twelve called together the community of the disciples and said, “It is not right for us to neglect the word of God to serve at table. 3 Brothers, select from among you seven reputable men, filled with the Spirit and wisdom, whom we shall appoint to this task, 4 whereas we shall devote ourselves to prayer and to the ministry of the word.” 5 The proposal was acceptable to the whole community, so they chose Stephen, a man filled with faith and the holy Spirit, also Philip, Prochorus, Nicanor, Timon, Parmenas, and Nicholas of Antioch, a convert to Judaism. 6 They presented these men to the apostles who prayed and laid hands on them. 7 The word of God continued to spread, and the number of the disciples in Jerusalem increased greatly; even a large group of priests were becoming obedient to the faith.
The first community of Jewish converts lived for a short while under utopian conditions, but as more followers of the ‘Way’ gathered, the Apostles could no longer preach as well as be administrators. Two distinct groups of Jews emerged; the Aramaic speaking Jews of Palestine (the Hebrews), and the immigrant Jews of the Diaspora (outside of Palestine) who spoke Greek (the Hellenists) and had settled in Jerusalem. As the community struggled to survive from day to day the Hellenists complained that their widows were being neglected in the distribution of food by the Hebrews who administered the daily sustenance.
The disciples, in order not to be distracted from their primary mission to preach in Jesus’ name to all nations (Acts 1:8), offered to let the Hellenists select seven men “filled with the Spirit and wisdom (v. 3)” from their group to help the with those administrative functions and the community agreed. The seven selected had similar qualifications to the Twelve. Steven and Philip worked great signs and wonders and Stephen became one of the first documented Martyrs of the Christian Church. The act of laying on of hands on the seven by the Twelve transferred both function and power to them although they were subordinate in the community to the Apostles.
Almighty God, your beloved Son revealed to us how we should live so that our lives would be pleasing to you. Shower us with your grace that in hearing the Word of your Son we may act in accordance with your will and be granted the gift of eternal life. This we pray through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen!
__________________________________
References
Chiu, José Enrique Aguilar, et al. The Paulist Biblical Commentary. Paulist Press, 2018.
Brown, Raymond Edward, et al. The New Jerome Biblical Commentary. Upper Saddle River, NJ, United States, Prentice Hall, 1990.
Chiu, José Enrique Aguilar, et al. The Paulist Biblical Commentary. Paulist Press, 2018.
Brown, Raymond Edward, et al. The New Jerome Biblical Commentary. Upper Saddle River, NJ, United States, Prentice Hall, 1990.
Comments