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Hechos 6

VBL · Chapter 6/28

1Durante este tiempo, cuando el número de creyentes crecía rápidamente, los creyentes que hablaban en idioma griego comenzaron a discutir con los creyentes que hablaban en idioma Arameo. Ellos se quejaban de que sus viudas estaban siendo discriminadas en cuanto a la distribución diaria de alimento.

2Entonces los doce apóstoles convocaron una reunión de todos los creyentes y les dijeron: “No es apropiado que nosotros dejemos de predicar la palabra de Dios por servir las mesas.

3Hermanos, elijan entre ustedes a siete hombres fieles, llenos del Espíritu y de sabiduría. Nosotros les entregaremos esta responsabilidad a ellos.

4Nosotros mismos dedicaremos toda nuestra atención a la oración y al ministerio de la predicación de la palabra”.

5Todos estuvieron contentos con este acuerdo, y eligieron a Esteban, (un hombre lleno de fe en Dios y del Espíritu Santo), Felipe, Prócoro, Nicanor, Timón, Parmenas, y Nicolás, (quien era originalmente un judío de Antioquía que se había convertido).

6Estos hombres fueron presentados a los apóstoles, quienes oraron y pusieron sus manos sobre ellos para bendecirlos.

7La palabra de Dios seguía siendo esparcida, y el número de discípulos en Jerusalén aumentó grandemente, incluyendo a un gran número de sacerdotes que se comprometieron a creer en Jesús.

8Esteban, lleno de gracia y del poder de Dios, realizaba milagros maravillosos entre el pueblo.

9Pero algunos comenzaron a discutir con él. Eran de la sinagoga llamada “de los libertos”, y también había algunos de Cirene, Alejandría y gente de Cilicia y de Asia menor.

10Pero estas personas no podían enfrentarse a la sabiduría de Esteban ni al Espíritu con el que hablaba.

11Así que sobornaron a algunos hombres para que dijeran: “¡Hemos oído que este hombre dice blasfemias contra Moisés, y también contra Dios!”

12Y estos hombres incitaron al pueblo, y junto con los ancianos y los maestros de la ley, fueron a arrestarlo. Luego lo llevaron ante el concilio,

13y llamaron falsos testigos para que testificaran en su contra, diciendo: “este hombre siempre está difamando el santo Templo.

14Lo hemos oído decir que este Jesús de Nazaret destruirá el Templo y cambiará las leyes que recibimos de Moisés”.

15Y todos los que estaban sentados en el concilio miraban atentamente a Esteban, y su rostro brillaba como el rostro de un ángel.

📖 Chapter study

Summary

A complaint arises about the distribution of food to the Greek-speaking widows, and the church chooses seven men, including Stephen, to handle this task. Stephen, full of faith, is falsely accused and brought before the Sanhedrin.

Explanation

This is one of the first examples of administrative organization in the church: faced with a practical conflict, the apostles delegate responsibilities instead of holding onto everything themselves, showing wisdom in dividing tasks according to different gifts (some preach, others serve). It's the origin of what would later be called the diaconate. Stephen, though chosen to 'wait on tables,' also preaches and performs miracles — a reminder that a call to serve doesn't diminish anyone; it can be a platform for great spiritual impact.

Fun facts

  • The names of the seven chosen (Stephen, Philip, Prochorus, Nicanor, Timon, Parmenas, and Nicolas) are all Greek, suggesting that the church resolved the tension by putting leaders from the Hellenist group itself in charge of the problem.
  • The Greek word used for their service is diakonia (from which we get 'deacon'), the same term Jesus used when he said he came to serve.

Verse-by-verse explanation

  1. Hechos 6:1The murmuring of the Grecians is not about pagan Greeks, but about Greek-speaking Jews from outside Judea against Aramaic-speaking Jews of Jerusalem. The friction was over the daily distribution of food to widows, showing that the church already had cultural diversity from the very beginning.
  2. Hechos 6:2The apostles explain that it makes no sense for them to leave preaching to handle the daily distribution of food; it marks the beginning of the division of tasks between spiritual leadership and practical administration in the church.
  3. Hechos 6:3Choosing seven men to handle the distribution of food is generally seen as the origin of what later becomes the office of deacon, though that word does not appear here. The solution separates those who handle administration from those who handle teaching.
  4. Hechos 6:4In contrast with serving tables, the apostles choose to devote themselves only to prayer and to the ministry of the word, setting a clear focus for their own role.
  5. Hechos 6:5Among the seven chosen, Nicolas was a proselyte of Antioch, that is, a Gentile who had converted to Judaism before coming to know Jesus. His presence on the list shows that the group already included people from outside the Jewish ethnicity.
  6. Hechos 6:6The community presents the seven chosen men to the apostles, who pray and lay their hands on them—a gesture of blessing and official recognition of their new role.
  7. Hechos 6:7Luke records a remarkable growth: even a large number of temple priests come to accept the Christian faith, people who would be tied precisely to the group most resistant to the message.
  8. Hechos 6:8Stephen, one of the seven chosen to handle the administrative side, also performs great wonders and signs among the people, showing that his role was not limited to bureaucracy.
  9. Hechos 6:9The synagogue “of the Libertines” was probably made up of Jews who had been, or were descended from, slaves freed by Rome, many coming from North Africa and Asia Minor. It was this group that began the campaign against Stephen.
  10. Hechos 6:10Stephen’s opponents are unable to overcome his arguments in open debate, which drives them to resort to another, less honest strategy in the next verse.
  11. Hechos 6:11Unable to defeat Stephen through argument, his adversaries pay or persuade men to lie, inventing that he had spoken blasphemous words against Moses and against God.
  12. Hechos 6:12The false accusation is enough to stir up the people and the authorities, and Stephen ends up being seized by force and brought before the council (the Sanhedrin) for trial.
  13. Hechos 6:13The false witnesses repeat the accusation that Stephen spoke against the temple (“this holy place”) and against the Jewish law, a charge serious enough to justify a trial.
  14. Hechos 6:14The accusation that Jesus was going to destroy the temple and change the customs handed down by Moses echoes a real statement Jesus made about the temple’s destruction, but distorted by the false accusers to look like a direct attack on Jewish law.
  15. Hechos 6:15Even under false accusation, Stephen’s face is described as looking like the face of an angel before the whole council, a detail suggesting calm and a special presence of God in him at that moment.

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