11 Then they got men to say, He has said evil against Moses and against God, in our hearing.
Now the chief priests and all the Sanhedrin were looking for false witness against Jesus, so that they might put him to death; And they were not able to get it, though a number of false witnesses came.
And when they put themselves against him, and said evil words, he said, shaking his clothing, Your blood be on your heads, I am clean: from now I will go to the Gentiles.
Who kept faith with God who gave him his place, even as Moses did in all his house. And it was right for this man to have more honour than Moses, even as the builder of a house has more honour than the house. For every house has a builder; but the builder of all things is God. And Moses certainly kept faith as a servant, in all his house, and as a witness of those things which were to be said later;
Though I had said violent words against God, and done cruel acts, causing great trouble: but I was given mercy, because I did it without knowledge, not having faith;
Let us not do evil so that good may come (a statement which we are falsely said by some to have made), because such behaviour will have its right punishment.
And when he came, the Jews who had come down from Jerusalem came round him, and made all sorts of serious statements against him, which were not supported by the facts.
Requesting Festus to give effect to their design against him, and send him to Jerusalem, when they would be waiting to put him to death on the way.
And after five days, the high priest, Ananias, came with certain of the rulers, and an expert talker, one Tertullus; and they made a statement to Felix against Paul. And when he had been sent for, Tertullus, starting his statement, said, Because by you we are living in peace, and through your wisdom wrongs are put right for this nation, In all things and in all places we are conscious of our great debt to you, most noble Felix. But, so that I may not make you tired, I make a request to you of your mercy, to give hearing to a short statement. For this man, in our opinion, is a cause of trouble, a maker of attacks on the government among Jews through all the empire, and a chief mover in the society of the Nazarenes: Who, in addition, was attempting to make the Temple unclean: whom we took, [] And from whom you will be able, by questioning him yourself, to get knowledge of all the things which we say against him. And the Jews were in agreement with his statement, saying that these things were so. Then when the ruler had given him a sign to make his answer, Paul said, Because I have knowledge that you have been a judge over this nation for a number of years, I am glad to make my answer: Seeing that you are able to make certain of the fact that it is not more than twelve days from the time when I came up to Jerusalem for worship; And they have not seen me in argument with any man in the Temple, or working up the feelings of the people, in the Synagogues or in the town: And they are not able to give facts in support of the things which they say against me now.
And when it was day, the Jews came together and put themselves under an oath that they would take no food or drink till they had put Paul to death. And more than forty of them took this oath. And they came to the chief priests and the rulers and said, We have taken a great oath to take no food till we have put Paul to death So now, will you and the Sanhedrin make a request to the military authorities to have him sent down to you, as if you were desiring to go into the business in greater detail; and we, before ever he gets to you, will be waiting to put him to death.
Crying out, Men of Israel, come to our help: this is the man who is teaching all men everywhere against the people and the law and this place: and in addition, he has taken Greeks into the Temple, and made this holy place unclean.
And hearing it, they gave praise to God; and they said to him, You see, brother, what thousands there are among the Jews, who have the faith; and they all have a great respect for the law: And they have had news of you, how you have been teaching all the Jews among the Gentiles to give up the law of Moses, and not to give circumcision to their children, and not to keep the old rules. What then is the position? They will certainly get news that you have come.
And he who says evil against the name of the Lord will certainly be put to death; he will be stoned by all the people; the man who is not of your nation and one who is an Israelite by birth, whoever says evil against the holy Name is to be put to death.
For Moses, from times long past, has his preachers in every town, reading his law in the Synagogues every Sabbath.
This is the same Moses, who said to the children of Israel, God will give you a prophet from among your brothers, like me. This is the man who was in the church in the waste land with the angel who was talking to him in Sinai, and with our fathers; and to him were given the living words of God, so that he might give them to you. By whom our fathers would not be controlled; but they put him on one side, turning back in their hearts to Egypt,
And they got false witnesses who said, This man is for ever saying things against this holy place and against the law:
They will do these things to you because they have not had knowledge of the Father or of me.
This was their answer: We are not stoning you for a good work but for evil words; because being a man you make yourself God. In answer, Jesus said, Is there not a saying in your law, I said, You are gods? If he said they were gods, to whom the word of God came (and the Writings may not be broken), Do you say of him whom the Father made holy and sent into the world, Your words are evil; because I said, I am God's Son?
We are certain that God gave his word to Moses: but as for this man, we have no knowledge where he comes from.
Put out of your minds the thought that I will say things against you to the Father: the one who says things against you is Moses, on whom you put your hopes. If you had belief in Moses you would have belief in me; for his writings are about me. If you have no belief in his writings, how will you have belief in my words?
And when they had come together with those in authority, and had made their decision, they gave much money to the watchmen, saying, Say, His disciples came by night and took him away secretly while we were sleeping. And if this comes to the ruler's ears, we will see that he does not make you responsible. So they took the money, and did as they had been ordered: and this account has been current among the Jews till the present time.
And get two good-for-nothing persons to come before him and give witness that he has been cursing God and the king. Then take him out and have him stoned to death. So the responsible men and the chiefs who were in authority in his town, did as Jezebel had said in the letter she sent them. They gave orders for a day of public sorrow, and put Naboth at the head of the people. And the two good-for-nothing persons came in and took their seats before him and gave witness against Naboth, in front of the people, saying, Naboth has been cursing God and the king. Then they took him outside the town and had him stoned to death.
Worthy.Bible » Commentaries » Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible » Commentary on Acts 6
Commentary on Acts 6 Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible
CHAPTER 6
Ac 6:1-7. First Election of Deacons.
1. the Grecians—the Greek-speaking Jews, mostly born in the provinces.
the Hebrews—those Jews born in Palestine who used their native tongue, and were wont to look down on the "Grecians" as an inferior class.
were neglected—"overlooked" by those whom the apostles employed, and who were probably of the Hebrew class, as being the most numerous. The complaint was in all likelihood well founded, though we cannot suspect the distributors of intentional partiality. "It was really just an emulation of love, each party wishing to have their own poor taken care of in the best manner" [Olshausen].
the daily ministration—the daily distribution of alms or of food, probably the latter.
2-4. the multitude—the general body of the disciples.
It is not reason—The word expresses dislike; that is "We cannot submit."
to leave the word of God—to have our time and attention withdrawn from preaching; which, it thus appears, they regarded as their primary duty.
to serve tables—oversee the distribution of provisions.
3. look ye out among you—that is, ye, "the multitude," from among yourselves.
seven men of honest report—good reputation (Ac 10:22; 1Ti 3:7).
full of the Holy Ghost—not full of miraculous gifts, which would have been no qualification for the duties required, but spiritually gifted (although on two of them miraculous power did rest).
and wisdom—discretion, aptitude for practical business.
whom we may appoint—for while the election was vested in the Christian people, the appointment lay with the apostles, as spiritual rulers.
4. we will give ourselves to prayer—public prayer, as along with preaching their great work.
5. Stephen, &c.—As this and the following names are all Greek, it is likely they were all of the "Grecian" class, which would effectually restore mutual confidence.
6. when they had prayed, they laid their hands on them—the one proclaiming that all official gifts flowed from the Church's glorified Head, the other symbolizing the communication of these to the chosen office-bearers through the recognized channels.
7. word of God increased … disciples multiplied in Jerusalem greatly—prosperity crowning the beautiful spirit which reigned in this mother community.
a great company of the priests were obedient, &c.—This was the crowning triumph of the Gospel, whose peaceful prosperity was now at its greatest height. After Stephen's teaching and trial made it clear that sacerdotal interests could not stand with the Gospel, such priestly accessions became rare indeed. Note (1) how easily misunderstandings may arise among the most loving and devoted followers of the Lord Jesus: but (2) How quickly and effectually such misunderstandings may be healed, where honest intentions, love, and wisdom reign: (3) What a beautiful model for imitation is furnished by the class here complained of, who, though themselves the majority, chose the new office-bearers from amongst the complaining minority! (4) How superior to the lust of power do the apostles here show themselves to be, in not only divesting themselves of the immediate superintendence of temporal affairs in the Christian community, but giving the choice of those who were to be entrusted with it to the disciples at large! (5) How little of formal organization did the apostles give to the Church at first, and when an emergency arose which demanded something more, how entirely was the remedy suggested by the reason of the thing! (6) Though the new office-bearers are not expressly called Deacons here, it is universally admitted that this was the first institution of that order in the Church; the success of the expedient securing its permanency, and the qualifications for "the office of a Deacon" being laid down in one of the apostolical Epistles immediately after those of "a Bishop" (1Ti 3:8-13).
Ac 6:8-15. Stephen Arraigned before the Sanhedrin.
8. And Stephen, &c.—The foregoing narrative seems to be only an introduction to what follows.
full of faith—rather, "of grace," as the best manuscripts read.
9, 10. synagogue of the Libertines—Jewish freedmen; manumitted Roman captives, or the children of such, expelled from Rome (as appears from Josephus and Tacitus), and now residing at Jerusalem.
Cyrenians—Jews of Cyrene, in Libya, on the coast of Africa.
them of Cilicia—amongst whom may have been Saul of Tarsus (Ac 7:58; 21:39).
and of Asia—(See on Ac 16:6).
10. not able to resist the wisdom and the spirit by which he spake—What he said, and the power with which he spake it, were alike resistless.
11-14. blasphemous words against Moses—doubtless referring to the impending disappearance of the whole Mosaic system.
and against God—This must refer to the supreme dignity and authority which he claimed for Christ, as the head of that new economy which was so speedily to supersede the old (compare Ac 7:56, 59, 60).
15. as … the face of an angel—a play of supernatural radiance attesting to all who beheld his countenance the divine calm of the spirit within.