The New Testament Deacon Prototype (Acts 6:1-7)
This week I'm preparing to preach on the New Testament Deacon. The following are some exegetical notes on a passage in Acts 6 where Deacons are first prototyped:
6:1 In those days when the number of disciples was increasing, the Hellenistic Jews among them complained against the Hebraic Jews because their widows were being overlooked in the daily distribution of food. 2 So the Twelve gathered all the disciples together and said, βIt would not be right for us to neglect the ministry of the word of God in order to wait on tables. 3 Brothers and sisters, 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 4 and will give our attention to prayer and the ministry of the word.β
5 This proposal pleased the whole group. They chose Stephen, a man full of faith and of the Holy Spirit; also Philip, Procorus, Nicanor, Timon, Parmenas, and Nicolas from Antioch, a convert to Judaism. 6 They presented these men to the apostles, who prayed and laid their hands on them.
7 So the word of God spread. The number of disciples in Jerusalem increased rapidly, and a large number of priests became obedient to the faith. (Acts 6:1-7)
I'm always learning new things about this passage each time I teach through it or preach on it. At first glance, it's a straightforward story; the story starts with a problem, then moves to a solution, then concludes with a resolution. In this straightforward story, we get a ton of detail about the earliest church conflicts and the earliest solutions to those conflicts.
Under examination, we see the story has some fascinating features.
- There is a situation described (6:1a)
- A problem then arises from the situation (6:1b)
- The problem threatens the situation (6:1b)
- A gathering is called to seek a solution (6:2a)
- Some people are set apart as decidedly not a solution (6:2b)
- Other people are delegated as a part of the solution (6:3a)
- Qualifications for those solution people are included (6:3)
- This proposed solution will not disrupt other groups' mission in serving the community (6:4)
- Reception to the proposed solution was positive from the group experiencing the problem (6:5a)
- The proposed solution is enacted via a selection of qualified nominees (6:5b)
- Nominees were then presented to the group that proposed the solution (6:6a)
- A confirmation of the nominees was then enacted establishing purpose and authority (6:6b)
- The result of the resolution is recounted with massive success (6:7)