Acts - Week 19

Week 19 Acts 6 

Day 1 

READ 

Acts 6:7 

7 So God’s message continued to spread. The number of believers greatly increased in Jerusalem, and many of the Jewish priests were converted, too. 

This verse is worth dwelling on more. Notice the three items: 1) the message continued to spread; 2) the number of believers in Jerusalem greatly increased; and 3) many Jewish priests were converted. All of this resulted from the apostles being emboldened by the Holy Spirit to announce to the religious leaders they would obey God rather than human authority. Plus, they were supported by the prayers of fellow believers who prayed to the God who made heaven, earth, the sea and everything in them.  

REFLECT 

Do you see this verse as a recipe for revival? Is it something you could encourage? 

RESPOND 

Talk with your disciple about what can be done to see an outreach as seen in Acts 6:7. What can the two of you do? 

Day 2 

READ 

Acts 6:8-10 

8 Stephen, a man full of God’s grace and power, performed amazing miracles and signs among the people. 9 But one day some men from the Synagogue of Freed Slaves, as it was called, started to debate with him. They were Jews from Cyrene, Alexandria, Cilicia, and the province of Asia. 10 None of them could stand against the wisdom and the Spirit with which Stephen spoke. 

Stephen had been chosen as one to help serve the Greek-speaking widows. He also had the ability to do miracles and signs. He is the only one named in Acts, other than the apostles, who did miraculous works. These Jewish believers debated Stephen but they could not match his wisdom and the Spirit with which he spoke. This was a contest between unbelieving Jews and a Christ-follower who was filled with the Holy Spirit. It was really no contest. 

REFLECT 

Does this encourage you that with Bible knowledge you can successfully compete in differing opinions with unbelievers? 

RESPOND 

Encourage yourself and your disciple to be as knowledgeable about the Bible as possible so you can present the truth of God’s Word to those who would oppose Him. 

Day 3 

READ 

Acts 6:11-12 

11 So they persuaded some men to lie about Stephen, saying, “We heard him blaspheme Moses, and even God.” 12 This roused the people, the elders, and the teachers of religious law. So they arrested Stephen and brought him before the high council. 

Because the Jews from the synagogue of the Freemen could not successfully argue with Stephen, they sought those who would lie about him. They were more concerned about the possibility of blaspheming Moses than blaspheming God, which they were doing in their unbelief. Stephen was arrested and brought before the high council, just as Peter and John had been. This council was the highest judiciary body in Israel.  

REFLECT 

Think of what it is like if someone cannot successfully answer you; they recruit some who would lie about you. Has this ever happened to you? 

RESPONSE 

With your disciple, read Revelation 21:7-8 to see what eventually happens to those whose lives are characterized by lying.  

Day 4 

READ 

Acts 6:13-14 

13 The lying witnesses said, “This man is always speaking against the holy Temple and against the law of Moses. 14 We have heard him say that this Jesus of Nazareth will destroy the Temple and change the customs Moses handed down to us.” 

Central in Jewish thinking was the holiness of the temple and the law of Moses. Their religion was more important to them than a relationship with the Messiah. They did not think that anything good could come out of Nazareth (see John 1:45-46). They reported what Jesus had said but did not understand that what He said referred to His body, not to the temple in Jerusalem.  To the unbelieving Jews, Jesus was not the Messiah but only a Nazarene.  

REFLECT 

Think how it must have hurt Jesus to see such unbelief and lies directed at Stephen by those He came to save. 

RESPOND 

Read John 2:19-22 to see what Jesus meant when He told of raising up the temple after it had been destroyed. Not even the disciples understood the statement until after Jesus’ resurrection.  

Day 5 

READ 

Acts 6:15 

15 At this point everyone in the high council stared at Stephen, because his face became as bright as an angel’s. 

Ponder what this verse is saying: everyone in the highest legislative body of Israel could do nothing but stare at Stephen. His face had become “as bright as an angel’s.” This is a surprising statement about these who did not believe in angels. In their history, however, they knew what the Scriptures said about the face of Moses shining (see Exodus 34:29, 35). They at least knew that what they saw in Stephen was supernatural.  

REFLECT  

What a difference it makes when God is on your side! Thank Him for the victory. 

RESPOND 

Faces of believers today may not shine like angels, but notice 2 Corinthians 3:12-18 and what it says about veils and believers. Reading and heeding the Word of God enables this.