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Atos 6

ARC · Chapter 6/28

1Ora n'aquelles dias, crescendo o numero dos discipulos, houve uma murmuração dos gregos contra os hebreos, porque as suas viuvas eram desprezadas no ministerio quotidiano.

2E os doze, convocando a multidão dos discipulos, disseram: Não é razoavel que nós deixemos a palavra de Deus e sirvamos ás mesas.

3Escolhei pois, irmãos, d'entre vós, sete varões de boa reputação, cheios do Espirito Sancto e de sabedoria, aos quaes constituamos sobre este importante negocio.

4Porém nós perseveraremos na oração e no ministerio da palavra.

5E este parecer contentou a toda a multidão, e elegeram Estevão, homem cheio de fé e do Espirito Sancto, e Philippe e Prochoro, e Nicanor, e Timon, e Parmenas e Nicolau, proselyto de Antiochia:

6E os apresentaram ante os apostolos, e estes, orando, lhes impozeram as mãos.

7E crescia a palavra de Deus, e em Jerusalem se multiplicava muito o numero dos discipulos, e grande multidão dos sacerdotes obedecia á fé.

8E Estevão, cheio de fé e de poder, fazia prodigios e grandes signaes entre o povo.

9E levantaram-se alguns que eram da synagoga chamada dos libertinos, e dos cyreneos e dos alexandrinos, e dos que eram da Cilicia e da Asia, e disputavam com Estevão.

10E não podiam resistir á sabedoria, e ao espirito com que fallava.

11Então subornaram uns homens, para que dissessem: Ouvimos-lhe proferir palavras blasphemas contra Moysés e contra Deus.

12E excitaram o povo, os anciãos e os escribas; e, arremettendo contra elle, o arrebataram e o levaram ao conselho.

13E apresentaram falsas testemunhas, que diziam: Este homem não cessa de proferir palavras blasphemas contra este sancto logar e contra a lei:

14Pois nós lhe ouvimos dizer que esse Jesus Nazareno ha de destruir este logar e mudar os costumes que Moysés nos deu.

15Então todos os que estavam assentados no conselho, fixando os olhos n'elle, viram o seu rosto como o rosto de um anjo.

📖 Chapter study

Summary

A complaint arises about the distribution of food to the Greek-speaking widows, and the church chooses seven men, including Stephen, to handle this task. Stephen, full of faith, is falsely accused and brought before the Sanhedrin.

Explanation

This is one of the first examples of administrative organization in the church: faced with a practical conflict, the apostles delegate responsibilities instead of holding onto everything themselves, showing wisdom in dividing tasks according to different gifts (some preach, others serve). It's the origin of what would later be called the diaconate. Stephen, though chosen to 'wait on tables,' also preaches and performs miracles — a reminder that a call to serve doesn't diminish anyone; it can be a platform for great spiritual impact.

Fun facts

  • The names of the seven chosen (Stephen, Philip, Prochorus, Nicanor, Timon, Parmenas, and Nicolas) are all Greek, suggesting that the church resolved the tension by putting leaders from the Hellenist group itself in charge of the problem.
  • The Greek word used for their service is diakonia (from which we get 'deacon'), the same term Jesus used when he said he came to serve.

Verse-by-verse explanation

  1. Atos 6:1The murmuring of the Grecians is not about pagan Greeks, but about Greek-speaking Jews from outside Judea against Aramaic-speaking Jews of Jerusalem. The friction was over the daily distribution of food to widows, showing that the church already had cultural diversity from the very beginning.
  2. Atos 6:2The apostles explain that it makes no sense for them to leave preaching to handle the daily distribution of food; it marks the beginning of the division of tasks between spiritual leadership and practical administration in the church.
  3. Atos 6:3Choosing seven men to handle the distribution of food is generally seen as the origin of what later becomes the office of deacon, though that word does not appear here. The solution separates those who handle administration from those who handle teaching.
  4. Atos 6:4In contrast with serving tables, the apostles choose to devote themselves only to prayer and to the ministry of the word, setting a clear focus for their own role.
  5. Atos 6:5Among the seven chosen, Nicolas was a proselyte of Antioch, that is, a Gentile who had converted to Judaism before coming to know Jesus. His presence on the list shows that the group already included people from outside the Jewish ethnicity.
  6. Atos 6:6The community presents the seven chosen men to the apostles, who pray and lay their hands on them—a gesture of blessing and official recognition of their new role.
  7. Atos 6:7Luke records a remarkable growth: even a large number of temple priests come to accept the Christian faith, people who would be tied precisely to the group most resistant to the message.
  8. Atos 6:8Stephen, one of the seven chosen to handle the administrative side, also performs great wonders and signs among the people, showing that his role was not limited to bureaucracy.
  9. Atos 6:9The synagogue “of the Libertines” was probably made up of Jews who had been, or were descended from, slaves freed by Rome, many coming from North Africa and Asia Minor. It was this group that began the campaign against Stephen.
  10. Atos 6:10Stephen’s opponents are unable to overcome his arguments in open debate, which drives them to resort to another, less honest strategy in the next verse.
  11. Atos 6:11Unable to defeat Stephen through argument, his adversaries pay or persuade men to lie, inventing that he had spoken blasphemous words against Moses and against God.
  12. Atos 6:12The false accusation is enough to stir up the people and the authorities, and Stephen ends up being seized by force and brought before the council (the Sanhedrin) for trial.
  13. Atos 6:13The false witnesses repeat the accusation that Stephen spoke against the temple (“this holy place”) and against the Jewish law, a charge serious enough to justify a trial.
  14. Atos 6:14The accusation that Jesus was going to destroy the temple and change the customs handed down by Moses echoes a real statement Jesus made about the temple’s destruction, but distorted by the false accusers to look like a direct attack on Jewish law.
  15. Atos 6:15Even under false accusation, Stephen’s face is described as looking like the face of an angel before the whole council, a detail suggesting calm and a special presence of God in him at that moment.

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