Acts Chapter 6

Hi! ☀️

"When disciples followed a rabbi, they followed him closely so they would never be out of his sight, never be someplace where they couldn’t hear him speak. They followed him so closely that his sandals often kicked up dust."

May you be covered in His dust.

If this is your first time getting Covered in His Dust, WELCOME!

You can access my previous notes on Acts and Luke by signing into your account. Click 'Read Online' at the top right of this post and scroll down to find them waiting for you.

Even though Chapter 6 is the shortest of Acts, there’s A LOT to cover. Let’s get going!

Acts has a lot of firsts, and Chapter 6 doesn’t disappoint.

Chapter 1: Marks the first time the ministry is entrusted to the Apostles.

Chapter 2: We see the first outpouring of the Holy Spirit. Peter preaches the first gospel sermon. We see the first converts to Christianity. And we witness the first Christian community.

Chapter 3: This is the first miracle by the Apostles after the ascension.

Chapter 4: The first persecution takes place when Peter and John are arrested.

Chapter 5: The first Judgment within the early Christian church happens when Ananias and Sapphira are punished for lying to the Holy Spirit about their offering.

Chapter 6: This chapter sees the first appointment of deacons. Seven men are chosen to serve and distribute food to the widows, ensuring fair treatment and allowing the apostles to focus on prayer and the ministry of the word.

Raise your hand if you, too, didn't pay attention in history class.

No problem. Here’s a short lesson on Hellenism.

• In the 4th century BC (about 320-330 years before the birth of Jesus), Alexander the Great, King of Macedonia, embarked on a series of military campaigns that expanded his empire across Greece, Egypt, Persia, and into India.

• Alexander established numerous cities throughout his empire, which became centers of Greek culture, language, and administration.

• Alexander and his successors encouraged the mixing of Greek and local cultures. This was achieved through marriage between Jews and non-Jews, the establishment of Greek-style institutions, and the promotion of Greek education and arts.

• After Alexander’s death, his empire was divided among his generals, who continued to promote Greek culture.

• Greek became the common language of the Eastern Mediterranean and Near East and was used for leadership, trade, and literature. This helped spread Greek traditions throughout these regions.

Are you with me? Great. How do we get to the current Roman control?

• The Roman expansion began about 300 years before Jesus' birth and continued until He was born. This period saw the growth of Roman power and influence throughout the Mediterranean and beyond.

• The Romans gradually conquered the Hellenistic kingdoms.

• Rome defeated the Greek city-states in 146 BC and incorporated Greece into the Roman Republic.

• The last Hellenistic kingdom, Egypt, fell to Rome in 30 BC.

• By the 1st century BC, Rome had established itself as the dominant power in the Mediterranean, encompassing former Greek territories.

• Although Rome ruled politically, Greek culture, language, and education continued to have a significant influence. The Romans admired and adopted many aspects of Greek culture, a process known as "Hellenization."

Here’s a quick summary of the two groups that made up the early church.

Hellenists: These were Jews who spoke Greek and adopted Greek culture, usually from living in areas outside of Jerusalem and influenced by Hellenism. They were more worldly, with different customs and perspectives than the Hebrews. Their main language was Greek.

The Hellenists didn’t read from the Hebrew Scriptures but from the Septuagint, the ancient Greek translation of the Hebrew Bible (the Old Testament). It was translated by Jewish scholars for the Jewish community living in the Hellenistic world, where Greek was the common language.

Hebrews: These were Jews who retained their traditional Jewish customs and primarily spoke Aramaic or Hebrew. They were often more conservative and adhered closely to Jewish traditions and practices.

At this point in Acts, there were almost 400 synagogues in Jerusalem.

Some synagogues were made up of different cultural and language groups. For instance, Greek-speaking Jews (Hellenists) had different customs than Aramaic-speaking Jews. They had their own synagogues so they could worship separately.

The way they interpreted Jewish law also varied. Some synagogues followed stricter rules, while others were more relaxed or included additional traditions.

Now… they’re one church.

With all that additional information, let’s re-read verse one.

It reads differently, right?

There was conflict between the two groups because the Hellenists felt their widows were being left out of the daily distribution of food and aid. To fix this, the church decided to appoint seven deacons to ensure everything was shared fairly and the Hellenist widows were taken care of.

Seven deacons are chosen.

Did you notice? All seven had Greek names.

This shows the early church wanted to address the Greek-speaking Jews' concerns by picking leaders from their group. By doing this, the church made sure everyone was treated fairly and had good representation.

I love that we have a written record of the early church! And I love how the physician, Luke, didn’t leave anything out.

He could have left out the punishment of Ananias and Sephira. But he didn’t.

He could have left out the gossip and complaining by the Hellenists, which God hates, but he didn’t.

In Chapter 6, we can see the structure of the church coming together.

• The 12 Apostles: The primary leaders chosen by Jesus to spread his teachings.

• Disciples: The growing group of followers who adopted and spread the teachings of Jesus.

• Seven Deacons: Appointed to address practical needs within the community, such as the distribution of food, ensuring that the Apostles could focus on preaching and teaching.

By choosing seven deacons, the Apostles prioritized preaching the Word of God over ‘serving tables’ or humanitarian work.

Side track.

When my wife and I landed in Guatemala City in 2012, we couldn’t wait to do “missionary” work.

“Let me build a house.
Let me feed the hungry.
Let me help the sick.”

And for ten years, we did just that.

We did exactly the opposite of what the Apostles were doing in Acts. We were serving tables at the expense of preaching the Gospel.

When the Israelites left Egypt, they wandered the desert for forty years. What should have taken 11 days took 40 years.

Why?

Remember, the Israelites were slaves in Egypt for 400 years and had essentially become like Egyptians in many ways. It took 40 years to get Egypt out of the Israelites.

In the wilderness, they shed their old ways and learned to trust and obey God fully.

Like the Israelites, I think it took us 10 years to shed our American ways.

As Americans, we’re confident in our own abilities.
As Americans, we act first and ask questions later.
As Americans, we value independence and self-reliance.

We were doing what we thought was right.

Is a social gospel valuable and important? Absolutely.

and

Why didn’t I prioritize sharing the gospel?

CLEARLY, the Apostles thought taking care of the widows was important. But…

not
at
the
expense
of
sharing
the
gospel

It took a lot of self-reflection and humility to come up with an answer, but here it is…

I was unprepared, and I was lazy.

I was busy, but I wasn’t sharing the gospel.

I was married.
We were raising our 3 kids.
We adopted 5 little ones.
We were feeding the poor.
We were helping the sick.
We were taking care of widows.
We founded a Christian middle school.

All good things… but I wasn’t sharing the gospel.

Paul didn’t tell Timothy to preach when he had time.

This verse stresses the importance of spreading the gospel. Being ready in season and out of season means being prepared to share Christ's message all the time, whether it's convenient or not.

Make being prepared a priority.

I heard a saying recently that I can’t shake.

If you teach for one hour and are not prepared, you’ve just wasted 300 hours of God’s time if there are 300 people listening.

“How can I get prepared to share the message of Christ?”

That's coming on Wednesday, along with the rest of Chapter 6. See you then.

I love you,

George
Uncovering Scripture

George Sisneros is a full-time missionary in Guatemala and the founder of Ordinary Missionaries and the El Rosario Christian Academy for Boys.

He’s been married to his wife, Vonda, for 26 years. He’s a father to nine children, five adopted.

George and his family are expanding to Cuba in 2024.

You can get George’s bestselling book, Do You Love Me? Giving up the American Dream to Serve the Underprivileged, on Amazon.