WEEKLY
SUNDAY SCHOOL LESSON
An
international Sunday school lesson commentary
For
Sunday August 6, 2017
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135,000 readers worldwide
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CHRISTIANS
ARE CALLED TO SERVE
(We
are called to witness through our behavior)
(Acts
6)
Racial hostility and ethnic disputes are not problems of
opposition that were born during the infancy stages of our nation’s existence,
but rather, they are problems that have been around since the infancy of human
existence. In Acts chapter 6, verses 1-7, Luke gives us a vivid description of just
such a case of “ethnic opposition”, which led to the birth of the “Deacon
concept” in the Christian Church.
Here in this particular passage, we see rumblings of discontent
involving “Greek speaking Jewish believers”, who were being discriminated
against by “Hebrew speaking Jewish believers”. The Hebrew speaking Jews were
unfairly distributing food, showing favoritism toward their own respective “widow
population”.
In order to resolve these disputes, the twelve Disciples of CHRIST,
called a meeting of all the current believers. At that meeting they expressed
how they, as Apostles, needed to spend their time preaching and teaching the
Word of GOD, not administering a food program.
And so they called on the believers to choose from among themselves,
seven extraordinary men, who were full of the HOLY SPIRIT and wisdom, and put
those men in charge of the food distribution program in the Church. And so we
see here, that, even when we work in a domestic capacity in the Church, we must
still be as serious, faithful, honest, and hardworking as any Church leader is
expected to be. We must exhibit the same good character as we would expect to
see from the pastor of the Church. Here these seven men were known for
exhibiting character comparable to the most respected of men in GOD’s house.
This idea presented by the apostles pleased the people of both groups,
and they chose from among them, Stephen, a man full of faith and the HOLY
SPIRIT, Philip, who later went on to preach the Gospel from Samaria to
Caesarea, Procorus, Nicanor, Timmon, Parmenas, and Nicolas of Antioch, a
Gentile convert, first, to the Jewish Faith, and then later, to Christianity.
The Apostles then ordained the men, and prayed for them while laying
hands on each of those individuals. This action by the people of the early
church, freed up a wealth of time for the apostles, and afterwards, GOD’s
message was preached in ever-widening circles, and the number of believers
greatly increased in Jerusalem. Many Jewish Priests also converted to
Christianity during this time and the Church began to position itself for
greater growth throughout the Roman Empire.
With that said, let us now focus on one of those seven men, who was
chosen that day to serve in the Church at Jerusalem, the one who is called,
Stephen. Stephen, whose name means “wreath”, or “crown”, was a man who was full
of GOD’s grace and power. He performed many amazing miracles and signs among
the people of Jerusalem. In fact, his ministry, arrest, and trial are very
similar to that of our LORD and SAVIOR, JESUS CHRIST.
And just like anyone else whose life is patterned after JESUS in this
world, opposition arose against Stephen one day in the form of a group of men
from the “Synagogue of Freedmen” called “Libertines. They made their
headquarters in a Temple in Jerusalem that was dedicated to the Jews who were
former slaves of Roman citizens.
The majority of these “Libertines”, came from Cyrene and Alexandria in
northern Africa, the province of Asia, and Cilicia, Paul’s home country, where
Tarsus is located. They had all been converted to “Judaism”, probably by Saul
(Paul) himself, following their release from slavery.
Now apparently, these men tried to debate against Stephen, and were not
able to prevail against him in a public theological debate forum, and so, they
began to conjure up lies about him, falsely accusing him of blaspheme against
Moses, and, against GOD, both offenses punishable by “death by stoning”, in the
Jewish communities.
Their accusations aroused the crowds, the elders, and the teachers of
religious law against Stephen, and as a result, he was placed under arrest and
brought before the high council. These “lying witnesses” spoke of the time when
they heard Stephen re-iterate the misunderstood words of JESUS, when HE said HE
would destroy the temple, and when HE tried to clarify the meanings of the laws
of Moses. Of course these words that they spoke of were taken way out of
context, and in fact, had been totally perverted and skewed.
Whenever we side with CHRIST JESUS, we automatically put ourselves in
the position to be opposed by the world. JESUS HIMSELF warned of this in the
Gospel of John (John 15:18-25), after HE had taken HIS twelve apostles into
private teaching shortly before HIS crucifixion. He told them that, “When the
world hates you, remember it hated ME before it hated you. The world would love
you if you belonged to it, but you don’t. I chose you to come out of the world,
and so it hates you” (John 15:18-19) - NLT).
JESUS went on to tell them, that, “Since they persecuted ME, naturally
they will persecute you. And if they had listened to ME, they would listen to
you! The people of the world will hate you because you belong to ME, for they
don’t know GOD WHO sent ME. They would not be guilty if I had not come and
spoken to them. But now they have no excuse for their sin. Anyone who hates ME
hates MY FATHER too….This has fulfilled what the Scriptures said: “They hated
ME without cause” (John 15:20b-25) (NLT).
In the Greek, the word used for “World” is “Kosmos”, and it is from that
word that we derive our English word “Cosmos”. In the spiritual sense, “it is
that complex intertwining of sinful desires that shape our world of “lost
humanity”. When we choose the “Christian Walk”, we automatically become
strangers to “worldly behavior”. We are no longer permanent residents of this
earth, but rather, we become citizens of Heaven, and therefore, the Laws of
GOD, just as they were to Stephen and many other “true witnesses”, must become
paramount to us, also.
A Sunday school lesson by,
Larry D. Alexander
LARRY D. ALEXANDER- Official Website
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