6
In those days the number of believers was growing. The Greek Jews complained about the non-Greek Jews. They said that the widows of the Greek Jews were not being taken care of. They weren't getting their fair share of food each day. 2 So the 12 apostles gathered all the believers together. They said, ‘It wouldn't be right for us to give up teaching God's word. And we'd have to stop teaching to wait on tables. 3 Brothers and sisters, choose seven of your men. They must be known as men who are wise and full of the Holy Spirit. We will turn this important work over to them. 4 Then we can give our attention to prayer and to teaching God's word.’ 5 This plan pleased the whole group. They chose Stephen. He was full of faith and of the Holy Spirit. Philip, Procorus, Nicanor, Timon and Parmenas were chosen too. The group also chose Nicolas from Antioch. He had accepted the Jewish faith. 6 The group brought them to the apostles. Then the apostles prayed and placed their hands on them.
7 So God's word spread. The number of believers in Jerusalem grew quickly. Also, a large number of priests began to obey Jesus' teachings.
6:1–7 Jesus' 12 apostles continued to pray and to teach God's word. More and more people joined the community of people who trusted and obeyed Jesus. But they faced problems as they tried to live together in peace. Widows from one people group were being treated unfairly. That went against how Jesus taught his followers to live. He had taught them to treat others with love and to give freely. The apostles needed to keep praying and doing the work of teaching God's word. So the believers appointed other servants in their community. They served as deacons and made sure that everyone was treated fairly. They made sure that everyone received the food they needed. The problem was taken care of through prayer and wisdom from the Holy Spirit. It was also taken care of through the community working together. In Jerusalem, many saw how the believers lived. They heard God's word preached. More and more people started to follow Jesus. This included many priests.
8 Stephen was full of God's grace and power. He did great wonders and signs among the people. 9 But members of the group called the Synagogue of the Freedmen began to oppose him. Some of them were Jews from Cyrene and Alexandria. Others were Jews from Cilicia and Asia Minor. They all began to argue with Stephen. 10 But he was too wise for them. That's because the Holy Spirit gave Stephen wisdom whenever he spoke.
11 Then in secret they talked some men into lying about Stephen. They said, ‘We heard Stephen speak evil things against Moses and against God.’
12 So the people were stirred up. The elders and the teachers of the law were stirred up too. They arrested Stephen and brought him to the Sanhedrin. 13 They found witnesses who were willing to tell lies. These liars said, ‘This fellow never stops speaking against this holy place. He also speaks against the law. 14 We have heard him say that this Jesus of Nazareth will destroy this place. He says Jesus will change the practices that Moses handed down to us.’
15 All who were sitting in the Sanhedrin looked right at Stephen. They saw that his face was like the face of an angel.
6:8–15 The religious leaders treated Stephen the same way they had treated Jesus. They opposed Stephen and argued with him. They couldn't trap him through his words because he spoke with wisdom from the Holy Spirit. So they arrested him. Liars falsely accused him of crimes. Jesus had warned his disciples that this would happen to them (Luke 21:12–19). Stephen remained faithful to Jesus when he was treated badly.