Acts 6 - Day 717 (link to reading)
Scripture: Acts 6:1-7 Commentary: Those with political power generally repressed complaining minorities; here the apostles hand the whole system over to the offended minority. This may thus be the first recorded instance of what we might today call “affirmative action.” 6:1. Some scholars think that the “Hellenists” (NRSV) here are simply Greek-speaking Palestinian Jews, but most Jews in Palestine were bilingual, and Greek was probably the first language for most Jerusalemites. The more likely proposal is that this text refers to Diaspora Jews who have settled in Jerusalem, as opposed to natives of Jewish Palestine. The Bible mandated caring for widows, who had no other means of support if they had no family nearby. Judaism took this responsibility seriously, in contrast to Gentile cultures. But because it was considered virtuous to be buried in the land of Israel, many foreign Jews would come to spend their last days there, then die and leave widows. (Palestinian rabbis eventually provided further theological incentive to immigrants; according to one common tradition, the dead would be resurrected only in Israel, so the righteous dead of other lands would have to roll the whole way back to Israel underground, and this was thought to be a very unpleasant experience.) Thus a disproportionate number of foreign Jewish widows lived in Jerusalem, which did not have enough foreign Jewish synagogues (6:9) for their distributors of charity to supply all the widows adequately. This urban social problem of Jerusalem spilled over into the church. Keener, C. S. (1993). The IVP Bible background commentary: New Testament (Ac 6:1–7). Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press. Application: Every member is a minister and can contribute to the whole. The apostles could have taken this task upon themselves, but they realized that their intervention would have prevented the distribution of responsibilities amongst the membership. Prayer: Lord, send workers for Your harvest... Comments are closed.
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January 2024
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