1. Internal Problems

Today we will read together from the Acts of the Apostles, chapter 6. Although the early church grew steadily since the day of Pentecost, we learn from this reading that there were certain disputes occurring within the community.

Conflicts among God’s children! It should be impossible, it should not be, because such hostile conduct only makes God sad. Naturally, we too might feel that way. However the Bible reveals the truth. Disagreements are normal for human beings, and if such disturbances occur we should not try to conceal them. Rather, we should pray for a peaceful resolution, and seek to find the cause and then settle the dispute harmoniously.

Luke, the writer of the book, the Acts of the Apostles, reported the problems in an open and transparent manner. We will try and grasp his message by turning our attention to his writings which describes just what happened, and how the church dealt with it.

The episode begins: “In those days when the number of disciples was increasing, the Grecian Jews among them complained against the Hebraic Jews because their widows were being overlooked in the daily distribution of food” (Acts 6:1).

The first reason for the disagreements was the fact that the community grew too fast for them to remain organised as they were before the increase of believers. The Pentecost event attracted a large number of people which resulted in many conversions. Thus it became impossible to co-ordinate thousands of new believers in the same way as they did in previous years. Therefore feelings of dissatisfaction, followed by disagreements arose within the church.

It happened between the Hebraic and the Grecian Jews. Naturally the first generation of disciples were the Hebraic Jews, who were born and lived in Judea. Their mother language was Hebrew. However, later, descendants of the diaspora became believers too. Their ancestors had been scattered out from Judea because of invasions by foreign powers, events which happened very often throughout Jewish history.

Those particular citizens spoke Greek, so they were called “The Grecian Jews.” They had come back from their native countries to Jerusalem and converted to Christianity. Even though they were originally Jewish, their cultural background was already a mixture of Judaism and Hellenism, which created a certain gap. So, conflicts became rife between the Hebraic and Grecian Jews. Luke wrote: “their (The Grecians), widows were being overlooked in the daily distribution of food” (Acts 6:1). Trouble concerning the distribution of food created a hostility which triggered disputes.

Many of the believers in the early church lived a communal life, where the rich sold their possessions and donated the wealth to the community. The church distributed that wealth to the poor, a system which allowed all believers to live adequately. Proportionate amounts of the allocations would be calculated by the twelve Disciples, and executed by the Hebraic believers, who represented a majority of the community.

But, as ordinary humans, they allotted shares in accordance with their personal choice and relationship. For example, more was given to those who were close and favoured friends. Besides, because of the language barrier. there might be misunderstandings too. In consequence, the Grecians found the system of distribution unfair. Even though the church is a community based on the same faith, there were problems concerning money. As you may well know, money troubles experienced in the contemporary church today is very similar to that of the early church.

2. Chosen to Serve

As I said previously it was natural that disagreements sprang from inside the early church. We now focus on how believers found a solution in order to settle these disputes. The leaders of the community held a meeting consisting of all believers for that purpose. “So the Twelve gathered all the disciples together and said, ‘It would not be right for us to neglect the ministry of the word of God in order to wait on tables. Brothers, choose seven men from among you who are known to be full of the Spirit and wisdom. We will turn this responsibility over to them’” (Acts 6:2-3).

The Twelve thought the issue was important and took advantage of the occasion to re-organize the structure of the church, by holding a meeting. They nominated others to chose people who would take care of daily and earthly matters. From that election the office of stewards in the church was formed. The term “deacon,” which signifies a lay officer appointed to assist a minister, especially in secular affairs, is derived from Diaconos in Greek, a “servant”.

Thus the church established the office of which staff would deal with secular works in order for the Disciples to concentrate on their spiritual ministries: ”… while we, for our part, will devote ourselves to prayer and to serving the word” (Acts 6:4). Every task within the church comes from the necessity for its most important mission of praying and preaching. The Twelve Disciples re-organized the early church while still respecting those prior missions. In contrast, the Japanese Christian community traditionally appreciate Pastors who visit and take care of the believers’ daily lives, rather than those who are gifted in preaching and presentation. Pastors should not try, or be expected to try, to do everything. Instead, the work of the church should be spread out among its members.

At the time of their appointment, “They presented these men (chosen stewards) to the apostles, who prayed and laid their hands on them” (Acts 6:6). The act of praying and laying hands on the nominated people who are taking an office position is still practised today as the rite of a designated appointment. The prayers are for God’s wisdom and guidance, so the new functionaries will be filled with spiritual power to achieve their tasks.

That tradition supports the belief that leaders of the church should always be chosen by the congregation. We elect those who show proficiency in their chosen field of service. Then they receive the gift from God through the rite of praying, and the laying-on of hands. In summary, the leaders of a church are chosen by believers, appointed, and empowered by God.

Regarding myself, on one hand I was chosen as your Pastor by yourselves. So as long as you consider me to be proficient in this office, I can remain here. On the other hand, I was appointed by God and received His gifts in order to serve here as a Pastor. If it happens that I am deprived of those gifts, for example, I begin to feel indifferent to my original calling, I could not remain here as Pastor to this church. Therefore the office of the Pastor always needs to be monitored, while remaining vigilant to the other functionaries of the church. So I ask you, our dear stewards, please continue to be guided by the God’s Holy spirit. Be attentive to the needs of the church, and make every effort to remain in God’s love, and therefore, gifted for the services he has called you to do.

3. From Tragedy to Triumph.

We should notice the names of the chosen stewards in Acts 6. All of them were Greek names. It shows that the majority of the community, who were the Hebraic Jews, commenced to give consideration to the Grecian Jews. Such awareness helped the community to be more harmonious, flexible, and ready to leap forward into the future.

Further, in the same chapter Luke records the arrest and martyrdom of Stephen, one of the chosen stewards. At that time the Disciples understood Jesus’ teachings still in the context of Judaism. They went to the Temple to pray, respected the practice of circumcision and observed the law.

However the believers who were born in foreign countries, like the Grecian Jews, were free from Jewish traditional rites. Consequently they were hated and oppressed by Jewish legalists. Stephen was one of those who brought accusations against Israel for opposing the spirit, and the insignificance of their law since the coming of Jesus (Acts 7).

Such words were intolerable for the ruling legalists, who gave extreme importance to the temple and the law. They arrested Stephen and stoned him to death. From this reading in Acts Chapter 6, we can see how the Grecian Jews inherited Jesus’ teachings, and not the Hebraic Jews.

I chose Acts 8:4-5 for today’s invocation verses which tells of those who were scattered and the evangelisation of Samaria. “Those who had been scattered preached the word wherever they went. Philip went down to a city in Samaria and proclaimed the Christ there.” But, to understand the circumstances better, we will need to read the preceding part of Acts 8:1, “On that day (execution of Stephen) a great persecution broke out against the church at Jerusalem, and all except the apostles were scattered throughout Judea and Samaria.” The verse above tells us what occurred just after Stephen’s martyrdom (Acts 7), and I want you to pay particular attention to the expression,"except the apostles.”

That means the Grecian Jews were expelled from Jerusalem, not the Hebraic Jews. Because the latter remained within the confines of Jewish traditional teachings. The oppressors had no need to persecute them.
The expelled believers scattered across the world, spreading the Good News. For example Philip, another chosen steward, went to Samaria and preached there. In this way Jesus’ teachings were carried to regions and countries beyond Jerusalem. Some others went to Syria, where they founded the church in Antioch, the city where the disciples were first called “Christians.” For the first time the followers of Jesus were clearly distinguished from Jews. (Acts 11:26). Indeed, Antioch became a sort of home base for preaching activities to foreigners living throughout the Roman Empire.

To summarise the events thus far, we see that conflicts between the Hebraic and the Grecian Jews, ironically gave birth to the function of stewards. Then the newly chosen stewards’ faith grew strong and became more powerful through the fulfilment of their tasks. Such rapid growth of a movement caused the Jewish authorities to oppress them. However, that oppression set in motion a chain of events which caused Jesus’ teachings to be spread all over the world. That is the Providence of God. God’s power changes the bad into good. From conflicts inside the church, to the power of preaching beyond Jerusalem. There is a message here for us in which we must grasp: “don’t be afraid of disagreements within the church.”

It is rather natural that disputes and disagreements spring from within the church. When such events occur we should never try to conceal them. We must openly discuss, reflect, and pray over the reasons which cause the conflict. Through these efforts, God will show us wisdom and understanding, and reveal desirable solutions. God turns tragedies into triumphs. He turns harm into good. God can direct human affairs to a positive end, even when human beings act in immoral and unprincipled ways (50:19-20). May He continue to pour out His blessings upon our church.