The In-Between Years - Part 30

The In-Between Years — Part 30

Let’s step back and see where we are as we begin chapter 6 today in the book of Acts. Remember, Acts is the companion volume to Luke’s gospel. It’s his account of what happened to the disciples after Jesus was resurrected.

It began with the ascension of Jesus back to heaven in chapter 1. Jesus left a small group of 120 followers with a promise and a prediction… 

8 But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.”  Acts 1:8 (ESV)

The promise was divine power through God’s Spirit. The prediction was their subsequent witnessing to his resurrection and kingdom, something that would eventually make its way to the ends of the earth. 

In Acts 2 the promise is kept with the coming of the Spirit (Pentecost) and the birth of the church. The witnessing began that very moment in Jerusalem with Peter standing up and addressing the crowds with a sermon on Jesus. Those listening were cut to the heart and asked, “What shall we do?” The answer was  repent, putting your faith and trust in Christ. So many did, the newly born church grew from those first 120 or so disciples to over 3,000 the same day. And then we saw the first of a number of snapshots Luke provides…. 

42 And they devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and the prayers. 43 And awe came upon every soul, and many wonders and signs were being done through the apostles. 44 And all who believed were together and had all things in common. 45 And they were selling their possessions and belongings and distributing the proceeds to all, as any had need. 46 And day by day, attending the temple together and breaking bread in their homes, they received their food with glad and generous hearts, 47 praising God and having favor with all the people. And the Lord added to their number day by day those who were being saved.  Acts 2:42–47 (ESV)

In chapters 3 and 4 we had the healing of the man born lame and all that went with that. It caused such a ruckus Peter and John were arrested and brought before the council. Peter boldly preached Jesus again and they were let go. Luke gave us another snapshot…

32 Now the full number of those who believed were of one heart and soul, and no one said that any of the things that belonged to him was his own, but they had everything in common. 33 And with great power the apostles were giving their testimony to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus, and great grace was upon them all. 34 There was not a needy person among them, for as many as were owners of lands or houses sold them and brought the proceeds of what was sold 35 and laid it at the apostles’ feet, and it was distributed to each as any had need.  Acts 4:32–35 (ESV)

Chapter 5 began with the sad and tragic story of Ananias and Sapphira, two believers whom God called home early because they lied about what they gave to the church. Amazingly, this act of discipline by God spurred the church on to even greater growth…

14 And more than ever believers were added to the Lord, multitudes of both men and women,  Acts 5:14 (ESV)

Peter and the apostles didn’t slow down, boldly preaching Jesus in Solomon’s Portico, a place in the temple reserved for the rabbis’ teachings. That got them arrested and imprisoned once more. They were miraculously freed by an angel who commanded them to “speak to the people all the words of this life.” They did that very thing before the council of religious leaders and elders who became so enraged by what they heard they wanted to kill them.

But a council member named Gamaliel wisely advised they leave these rabble rousers alone. If they were not of God they’d fizzle out. If they were, nothing could stop them. The council agreed with his wisdom. They were beaten and let go. We were amazed with their response…

41 Then they left the presence of the council, rejoicing that they were counted worthy to suffer dishonor for the name. 42 And every day, in the temple and from house to house, they did not cease teaching and preaching that the Christ is Jesus.  Acts 5:41–42 (ESV)

The movement’s momentum just keeps going as we now get to chapter 6…

1 Now in these days when the disciples were increasing in number… Acts 6:1a (ESV)

The events of chapter 5 led to an extended time of growth as we come into chapter 6. Some estimate they could have numbered by that time as many as 10,000 believers in a city of 40,000. As with any organization or movement, when you get that big you start having growing pains…

1 Now in these days when the disciples were increasing in number, a complaint by the Hellenists arose against the Hebrews because their widows were being neglected in the daily distribution.  Acts 6:1 (ESV)

Anyone serving in ministry through a local church immediately identifies with this: “a complaint arose.” As young and innocent a church as they were, as much as they enjoyed unheard of unity, problems cropped up. It just comes with the territory. Difficulties are a given. It’s how you handle them that matters. What they did in response to what we can assume was the first major complaint teaches us so much about church, we’ll have to spend more than one message in the first seven verses of this chapter.

Let’s go back to verse one and see if we can figure out what caused the issue…

1 Now in these days when the disciples were increasing in number, a complaint by the Hellenists arose against the Hebrews because their widows were being neglected in the daily distribution.  Acts 6:1 (ESV)

The key here is figuring out who the problem originated with. It was within two groups of people: the Hellenist and the Hebrew church members. The issue isn’t obvious to us, but it would have been to someone reading this back in the 1st Century (particularly a Jew).

The Hellenists. They were full-fledged Jews ethnically who spoke only Greek and adopted Greek culture to an extent because they most likely had been born and raised in Roman provinces far removed from Jerusalem. It’s kind of like how it is with my wife, Angie. You may be shocked to know this but she was raised a Yankee far north of the Mason-Dixon Line. She’s been married to an Alabama boy and lived in the South for the better part of her life. So much so that when she goes up North, her people don’t think she’s one of them anymore.

So these were practicing Jews, who didn’t act as Jewish as the next group would like them to.

The Hebrews. These were more Jewishy Jews. They spoke Aramaic (the language of Jesus and the disciples spoken by most of the Near East back then) and they probably knew Greek as well. But the Hebrews were more traditional, less integrated into Greek culture.

One scholar explains why they would have experienced tension:

The antagonism between these two groups is likely rooted in the Hebraic Jews viewing other Jews with suspicion—seeing them as not purely Jewish or as compromisers of their identity. This antagonism represents an obstacle to the early church’s goal of becoming a new expression of humanity, united in Christ rather than divided along ethnic or social lines (compare 1 Cor 12:13; Gal 3:28).[1]

The problem is even more specific to a certain kind of person within the Hellenist and Hebrew camps: widows. Widows were a particularly vulnerable group in 1st Century Jerusalem. When their husbands died they relied totally on children and especially sons to provide for them, since the husbands wealth would go to the sons and not her. If a widow had no children, she was left destitute.

There is some evidence that a large population of widows may have lived in Jerusalem because their husbands would move them there in their later years so they could be buried in the holy city. The guys often went first.

Added to that, many widows may have lost support from what children they had when they accepted Christ and became part of the church. We’ve already seen how the religious weren’t keen on them at all.

So the church made a critical ministry out of sharing what they had with those in their community who needed it most. This is directly tied to what we’ve already seen in Luke’s snapshots…

44 And all who believed were together and had all things in common.  Acts 2:44 (ESV) 

32 Now the full number of those who believed were of one heart and soul, and no one said that any of the things that belonged to him was his own, but they had everything in common. 33 And with great power the apostles were giving their testimony to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus, and great grace was upon them all. 34 There was not a needy person among them, for as many as were owners of lands or houses sold them and brought the proceeds of what was sold 35 and laid it at the apostles’ feet, and it was distributed to each as any had need.  Acts 4:32–35 (ESV)

Daily food was taken to the widows — some of the most vulnerable in 1st Century Jewish society — so they wouldn’t go hungry or have to beg on the streets. Look at it as a kind of ancient version of meals on wheels. And because of cultural differences within the church at that time, some widows weren’t getting theirs. I’m sure it wasn’t intentional. But because of those tensions between the groups it was allowed to happen. Grumbling began. Folks get grumpy when they are hungry. Word got back to the apostles.

We will look at how they responded to all this next time, but for today I think it’s important to take note here that from the very beginning the church was not JUST about preaching the word. It was supremely important as we’ve already seen. The church is compelled to speak to the people all the words of this life. The gospel is meant to be heard and responded to. The church has always been and will always be about that. This will be supported in a big way in this story as you’ll see in a bit, but when you study the church in Acts it cannot be denied they were also about meeting the practical needs of the poor and helpless in their circle of influence to the point of establishing ministries to do so. 

This focus on the poor is not something they came up with on their own, though, it’s something they learned from the life and teachings of Jesus.

Jesus, the Son of God by and through whom all was made in the heavens and the earth, the One who is the Author of Life and embodiment of Truth itself, did not come to us in royal trappings as we might expect. He was born in a feeding trough to poor, lowly parents from the hick town of Nazareth. The only thing he owned we know of was the clothes on his back…

57 As they were going along the road, someone said to him, “I will follow you wherever you go.” 58 And Jesus said to him, “Foxes have holes, and birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay his head.”  Luke 9:57–58 (ESV) 

Throughout his ministry he had the poor on his heart…

12 He said also to the man who had invited him, “When you give a dinner or a banquet, do not invite your friends or your brothers or your relatives or rich neighbors, lest they also invite you in return and you be repaid. 13 But when you give a feast, invite the poor, the crippled, the lame, the blind, 14 and you will be blessed, because they cannot repay you. For you will be repaid at the resurrection of the just.”  Luke 14:12–14 (ESV) 

He even challenged a rich man wanting eternal life this way…

22 When Jesus heard this, he said to him, “One thing you still lack. Sell all that you have and distribute to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow me.”  Luke 18:22 (ESV) 

It is no accident some of the greatest praise Jesus ever gave was directed towards a poor widow…

41 And he sat down opposite the treasury and watched the people putting money into the offering box. Many rich people put in large sums. 42 And a poor widow came and put in two small copper coins, which make a penny. 43 And he called his disciples to him and said to them, “Truly, I say to you, this poor widow has put in more than all those who are contributing to the offering box. 44 For they all contributed out of their abundance, but she out of her poverty has put in everything she had, all she had to live on.”  Mark 12:41–44 (ESV)

Look at this. Jesus said…

20 And he lifted up his eyes on his disciples, and said: “Blessed are you who are poor, for yours is the kingdom of God.  Luke 6:20 (ESV)

He didn’t mean that being poor was an automatic ticket to heaven, he meant that those who have no earthly possessions to put their trust in are more likely to turn towards heaven. And this is why Jesus also said it’s easier for a rich man to go through the eye of a needle than to enter the kingdom of God.

Don’t miss this. Jesus was drawn to the poor and the down and out, and they were drawn to him.

Did you know Jesus didn’t introduce these things to the disciples? God emphasized meeting the needs of the poor in the OT long before. He actually codified it into his Laws…

7 “If among you, one of your brothers should become poor, in any of your towns within your land that the Lord your God is giving you, you shall not harden your heart or shut your hand against your poor brother, 8 but you shall open your hand to him and lend him sufficient for his need, whatever it may be. 9 Take care lest there be an unworthy thought in your heart and you say, ‘The seventh year, the year of release is near,’ and your eye look grudgingly on your poor brother, and you give him nothing, and he cry to the Lord against you, and you be guilty of sin. 10 You shall give to him freely, and your heart shall not be grudging when you give to him, because for this the Lord your God will bless you in all your work and in all that you undertake. 11 For there will never cease to be poor in the land. Therefore I command you, ‘You shall open wide your hand to your brother, to the needy and to the poor, in your land.’  Deuteronomy 15:7–11 (ESV)

That’s just one of many examples. By the time of Jesus, one of the greatest signs of piety and godliness among the Jews was caring for and remembering the poor. 

God had a heart for the poor and lowly, so much so he accommodated them in the Law. Jesus had a heart for the poor and lowly, so much so they were drawn to him (which makes sense when you consider Jesus is God come to us in the flesh). And the Christ-followers of the early church had a heart for the poor and lowly, so much so the first key ministry they took up was to widows.

The rest of the NT carries this same theme. Paul reminisces about his early days as an apostle when he met with the Jerusalem church pillars, Peter, James, and John…

9 and when James and Cephas and John, who seemed to be pillars, perceived the grace that was given to me, they gave the right hand of fellowship to Barnabas and me, that we should go to the Gentiles and they to the circumcised. 10 Only, they asked us to remember the poor, the very thing I was eager to do.  Galatians 2:9–10 (ESV)

James wrote in his letter… 

15 If a brother or sister is poorly clothed and lacking in daily food, 16 and one of you says to them, “Go in peace, be warmed and filled,” without giving them the things needed for the body, what good is that?  James 2:15–16 (ESV)

The present-day Baptist equivalent of that is, “Bless your heart. I will pray for you.”

The apostle John takes it up a level…

17 But if anyone has the world’s goods and sees his brother in need, yet closes his heart against him, how does God’s love abide in him? 18 Little children, let us not love in word or talk but in deed and in truth.  1 John 3:17–18 (ESV) 

Those are just three of many examples.

Folks I’ve just scratched the surface. This is a major thread woven throughout the Bible, and even the history of the church. Somehow for most of my ministry I missed this. I held to the notion that the church is all about preaching the Word. And if you do that and nothing else, you are being faithful.

I had seen what happened when a church neglected the word in trying to meet needs and I was determined it wouldn’t happened to in my ministry. Problem was I had to ignore all the word says about ministering to the poor.

TBH, I am still fishing out what this looks like in my life as a Christ-follower and in my ministry as a pastor. How do we live this out in our culture and our day? Jury is still out.

Conclusion: Let me close with what I believe is one of many takeaways of Luke’s account in Acts 6: A church isn’t a church if it isn’t speaking the words of this life to the people, if it isn’t preaching the gospel, if it isn’t teaching the Scriptures, but it also isn’t a church if it isn’t ministering to people, meeting needs, caring for the vulnerable.

It’s not the word or meeting needs. It’s both.

Why do you think there were so many widows in the church? They fed them, built a relationship with them, then preached to them in actions and words the gospel of the kingdom.

Doesn’t this show the loving heart of our God and Savior? Jesus cares about the down and out. The lowly. The outcast. You want to know one thing God cannot resist?

17 The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit; a broken and contrite heart, O God, you will not despise.  Psalm 51:17 (ESV)

18 The Lord is near to the brokenhearted and saves the crushed in spirit.  Psalm 34:18 (ESV)

Think about that and then think about the verse I close every sermon with… 

13 For “everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.”  Romans 10:13 (ESV)