Slides: Acts 5:1-6:7
Slide 1
Acts Five
Arrested again (5:17-32)
Released by an angel
Commanded to preach in temple
A Pharisaic moderate’s support (5:17-32)
Slide 2
5:1-1: Addressing Sin in the Camp
One man’s sin brought judgment on all (Josh. 7)
How seriously do we take sin today? (holiness vs legalism)
DSS: Pythagoreans turnover possessions after trial period
Early Christians: voluntary, love
DSS excluded such as offender from communal meal for a year and reduced food rations by 25%; cf. Gehazi lying to God in 2 Kgs 5:20-27)
But God executes death sentence
Judgment because of pretense of commitment
Slide 3
5:3: Satan filled your heart:
accuser, tempter, deceiver
5:5: God striking those violating what’s holy: Lev 10:2: 2 Sam 6:7
5:6: immediate burial
- Wrapped: protects honor of deceased
- Carried out- as in Lev 10:4
- Burials right away
- Because land sold, no burial plot
- Church acts as family, provides burial
- (cf. burial association)
Slide 4
5:7: Sapphira looking for husband
Judean women (vs. old Athens) allowed to market, etc., if hair covered
5:11: great fear
Judgment miracles generated fear Num 16:34; 2Ki 1:13-14)
Executions: fear as a deterrent (Dt 13:11; 17:13; 19:20)
5:13: others afraid to join: i.e., to fake, like Ananias and Sapphira!
5:14: but far more converts in long run
Slide 5
Further Miracles (5:12-16)
Shadow
Thought attached
Unclean if ones’ shadow overshadowed a corpse
Some: injuring shadow hurt person
Power as a substance: pagan magical concept
But cg. Also Lk 8: Ac 19:11
God touched them
Miracles force response:
Faith (5:14) or persecution (5:17-32)
Slide 6
5:17-32: Arrested Again
First warning ignored
Sadduccees’ honor now at stake
Sad’s not popular (vs. apostles, Pharisees)
5:17:
“jealousy”: common charge in polit. Histories
Sadd’s as “sect” (Josephus; like Greek philosophic school)
Slide 7
5:18: Jails: detention until trial
5:19:
Greek miraculous escape stories (Dionysus)
Pre-Christian story about Moses in Artapanus real life here, but audience will recall stories
5:20-21
gates of Temple open again at midnight
but the people returned only at daybreak
Law: hearing schedules for day
5:22-26
Jewish Levite guards
5:28: charge: inciting arrest against municipal aristocracy
5:32: God gives HS to obedient- not Sanhedrin!
Slide 8
5:33-42 A Pharisaic Moderate’s Support
5:33: leading priestly families used force
5:34-35 Gamaliel 1
most prominent pupil of the gentle Hillel
prob. most influential Pharisee
Jerusalem aristocrat as well
Josephus: his son Simon powerful
Later rabbis extolled his piety and learning
Slide 9
Pharisees
Little political power
But if Chr’s kept law of Moses they should not be punished
Slide 10
5:36: Theudas
c. AD 44- 10 years after Gamaliel’s speech
Lk may simply fill in names of most prominent revolutionary leaders known by his own period
Historical genre allowed
Jos: Jewish “magician” promised to part Jordan
Governor Fadus: beheaded Theudas
Slide 11
5:37 Judas the Galilean
led tax-revolt of AD 6
Romans destroyed Sepphoris
Judas’s son revolted in 66-70: crucified
Judas helped by Pharisee named Saddok
Sanhedrin: vested interests in Roman rule
Slide 12
5:38-39: “fighting against God”: like Pentheus! (kick vs goads)
comparing Jesus to Theudas and Judas:
misunderstandings as merely political
5:40: up to 39 Iashes (Jewish)
5:41-42
“Teaching”: primarily instruction
“preaching: saving gospel
Slide 13
The Seven Charity- Distributors
Acts 6:1-7
Complaining minorities generally repressed; heard here
Minority in church- may be bridge to church’s future
This could be good or bad- need HS
6:1: widows
OT: care for widows
Widows lacked other means of support if w/o families
Slide 14
“Hellenists”
meant those who absorbed Greek culture
Here prob. “foreign” Jews vs Judeans
Considered virtuous to be buried in Eretz Israel
- thus many foreign Jews spent last days there, then left widows
- one later trad; resurrected only in Israel; roll underground
- not enough foreign-Jewish synagogues there (6-9) for all their widows
Do society’s problems ever spill in to the church today?
Slide 15
6:2-4: new leaders
Groups of 7 leaders (elders- judges)
Ex 18 allusion
- Moses delegated administrative duties:
- God- fearing and trustworthy (Ex 18:21)
- So he could devote himself to prayer and to teaching (Ex 18: 19-20)
Reputation: public credibility (cf.1Timothy 3:7)
Slide 16
Electing officials
Greek practice
Essenes elected officials
Deut 1:13: people choose and leader ratifies choice
Full of HS and wisdom: so Joshua after Moses laid hands (Deut 34:9)
Slide 17
6:5 (the seven names)
Names: all 7 had Greek names
-many Jerusalemites had Greek names (inscr’s)
-even in Rome, less than 40% of Jews had any Greek in their name
-only or two of the 12 had Greek names
-Thus “hellenists” (6:1) obvious hellenists
One even had a proselyte: many proselytes in Antioch (cf. 11:19)
Slide 18
6:6: laying on hands
- Blessing in Gen 48:14
- Appointing Joshua as successor (Nu 27:18,23)
- So he’s filled with spirit of wisdom (Deut 34:9)
- Later rabbis: smicha (1Tim 4:14, 2Tim 1:6)
How important then social ministry?
Slide 19
Summary statement, 6:7
Summary statements often concluded sections
upper-class priests mainly, Sadducees
but not with poorer priests; some even Pharisees
Slide 20
6:8-7:1
Stephen Arraigned
- Jesus commanded Gentile mission (1:8)
- But apostles remained in Jerusalem as late as Acts 15:2
- Bicultural minority within Jerusalem church that holds promise for future
- Lk focuses on 2 examples (6:5)
a. Stephen (ch 7)
b. Phillip (ch 8)