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An Apostolic Model: Ministering to a Growing Church
How did Twelve Apostles minister to multitudes of disciples of a growing Church?
- Who would lead change after hearing their murmurings,
  - (And THAT, knowing that some came to Christ from one TRADITION,
  - while others came to the Lord from diverse ethnic standards of community, family and worship of God.)
- How can WE help relieve so many PERSONAL problems for hundreds of families belonging to our growing church?
- WHEN will we ever have time to minister to our church family?
- What must we do for each and every saint of our Lord Christ Jesus?
ACTS of the Apostles and the Jerusalem CHURCH 6:1-7

Now in these days when the disciples were increasing in number, a complaint by the Hellenists arose against the Hebrews because their widows were being neglected in the daily distribution.
ACTS of the Apostles 6:1 ESV

Leading through diverse difficulties of a growing Church

‘.. but we have always done it THIS way?’
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(This isn't going to be so easy, is it?)

Luke reveals the cultural challenge of the church familiar to him, however most of us (in this 21st century) will not understand the root of the problem: 

Mixing gentiles with Jews. Even bringing the traditional challenge of some Jews joining in fellowship with other Jews divides political alliances in the Sanhedrin of Jerusalem.

Therefore I will begin by including a background for our scene in first century Jerusalem, as well as outcomes of church ministry which have occurred over two millennia. - RH
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First let’s clarify some ‘church‘ terms we derive from the Greek language of the New Testament.

Who are Apostles? (and who are Disciples?)
HOW MANY APOSTLES?
TWELVE (our standard answer)
WHO ARE THE APOSTLES?
No need here to recite them by name, but remembering:
ALL Apostles at this point in ACTS are leaders of the Church in Jerusalem.
Matthias has now replaced Judas.
Saul of Tarsus will soon encounter the risen Christ Jesus and join in ministry as Paul, the Apostle to the Gentiles.

ἀπόστολος – full definition linked here
Disciples (disciples)

μαθητής

Strictly speaking, disciples are the ones taught; that is, anyone who follows the teachings or traditions of any teacher or rabbi.

The disciple^G3101 is not above his master [didaskalos],
nor the servant [doulos] above his lord [kyrios].
Instruction of Jesus Christ – Matthew 10:24

לִמּוּד

54:13 וְכָל־בָּנַיִךְ לִמּוּדֵי יְהוָה וְרַב שְׁלוֹם בָּנָֽיִךְ׃

And all thy children shall be taught^H3928 of the LORD; and great shall be the peace of thy children.
prophesy of the Messiah by Yeshaiya (Isaiah) 54:13

μαθητής mathētḗs, math-ay-tes’; from G3129; a learner, i.e. pupil:—disciple.
- The Twelve were disciples of Jesus who followed their Teacher full-time for three years.
  - You’ve probably noticed that most translations of the Bible capitalize ‘disciple’ to avoid confusion when referring to the Twelve Disciples [Apostles].
- Many others of the multitudes also became disciples and followed Jesus Christ in the early days before his crucifixion and resurrection.
Now, in our scene in Jerusalem after the Lord’s resurrection, the Church in Jerusalem has many disciples – disciples of the Holy Spirit (who of course first receive the Holy Spirit, as we have just read from Luke’s account).

Yet from Jesus’ instruction from the Gospel of the Apostle Matthew, note another distinction of this relationship between rabbi and pupil: that of master (or lord) and servant.

These also apply in Luke’s account describing the model by which the Apostles lead the early Church.

Our NEW Pastors 🙂

(Some call them: ‘ministers‘)
- FIRST: Jesus was the Rabbi. And Jesus was the Master.
- THEN: The APOSTLES became the Rabbis. And the Apostles were then masters of their sheep (students; flocks, servants, community, school, fold, gathering, or whatever you may choose to call this multitude of the Church).
Woe be unto the pastors that destroy and scatter the sheep of my pasture! saith the LORD.
Israel is a scattered sheep; the lions have driven him away: first the king of Assyria hath devoured him; and last this Nebuchadrezzar king of Babylon hath broken his bones.
Jeremiah 23:1, 50,17 KJV

But it shall not be so among you: but whosoever will be great among you, let him be your minister; G1249
Gospel of Matthew 20:26 KJV – Teaching of Jesus to His disciples

The Twelve, led by two of Jesus’ inner circle of Apostles, Simon Peter and John, now lead the New Testament Church as rabbis to a multitude of disciples.

Lambs of the Apostles’ fold

The Apostle John, who Luke records as standing at Peter’s side on the day of Pentecost, opens our eyes to the resurrected Jesus, where the Lord calls on Peter to restore the foundation of his calling:

“Tend My lambs.” .. “Shepherd My sheep.” .. “Tend My sheep.
The risen Master’s loving command to Simon Peter to minister to His church – Gospel of John 21:15,16,17

These new disciples of the Twelve include NOT ONLY men from traditional Judaism, but also men, women and children accepted into fellowship, tender young lambs of Jesus who could NEVER before have been full members of their community of faith in the Lord God.

“And I have other sheep that are not of this fold; I must bring them also, and they will listen to My voice; and they will become one flock, with one shepherd. For this reason the Father loves Me, because I lay down My life so that I may take it back.
Jesus teaching the Jews that He will Shepherd the gentiles, as scripture has said. – Gospel of John 10:16-17 NASB20
- And what happens when ANY two groups of differing cultural traditions choose to follow one leader?
- Dissension and murmuring by some unwilling to abide by rules and traditions imposed by others.
Who is the master ministering to these NEW lambs?

“They too will listen to my voice, and there shall be one flock and one shepherd.

“Go; behold, I am sending you out like lambs in the midst of wolves.
Instruction of the Master Jesus to seventy-two [72] disciples + Gospel of Luke 10:3 NASB20

Master – διδάσκαλος – didaskalos

The KJV translates Strong’s G1320 in the following manner: Master (Jesus) (40x), teacher (10x), master (7x), doctor (1x).

Doctor:
a teacher (from didasko, “to teach”), cp. didaskalia, “teaching, doctrine, instruction,” is translated “doctors,” with reference to the teachers of the Jewish religion, Luk 2:46. Cp. paideutes, “a teacher.”
See MASTER, TEACHER.
Vine’s Expository Dictionary of New Testament Words 1 Strong’s Number: g1320 Greek: didaskalos – via BlueLetterBible.org

The rabbis of Jerusalem quarreled with each other as they had also challenged the legitimacy that Jesus’ MANY disciples should call the Lord, ‘Master.’ Now that Peter, John and the Apostles have remained in Jerusalem as Jesus commanded, MANY disciples remained faithful to the church gathered under the leadership of the Apostles.

Note from earlier, after Peter preached in the Temple,

“Now when they saw the boldness of Peter and John and realized that they were uneducated and ordinary men, they were amazed and recognized them as companions of Jesus.
Acts records the reactions of other rabbis

These Apostolic Masters of the Church community now face division and opposition just as Jesus had encountered in Jerusalem prior to His execution and resurrection from the dead.

Lord

We will never understand our role as a servant of the Church until we know the sacrificial love of its servant-Master.
Roger@TalkofJESUS.com
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"lord" occurs 7,790 times in 6,587 verses in the NASB20. Page 1 / 132
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Here too I urge caution and prayerful understanding of terms frequently used and misused by the church. i.e. Lord, Master, servant, slave (even God and ‘love,’ translated from several different Greek and Hebrew words in Scripture).
- LORD – Yᵊhōvâ – יְהֹוָה
  - i.e. So Noah acted in accordance with everything that the LORD^H3068 had commanded him.
- From הָיָה (H1961)
  - i.e. Genesis 27:29 הָוָה
May peoples serve you,
And nations bow down to you;
Be master of your brothers,
And may your mother’s sons bow down to you.
Cursed be those who curse you,
And blessed be those who bless you.”

And God said to Moses, “I AM^H1961 WHO I AM^H1961”; and He said, “This is what you shall say to the sons of Israel: ‘I AM^H1961 has sent me to you.’”
Exodus 3:14 NASB20

אָמַרְתְּ לַֽיהוָה אֲדֹנָי אָתָּה טוֹבָתִי בַּל־עָלֶֽיךָ׃
I said to the LORD [Yᵊhōvâ}, “You are my Lord [;ăḏōnāy];
I have nothing good besides You.” – Tehillim (Psalms) 16:2
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For this is what the Lord GOD, the Holy One of Israel, has said:
“In repentance and rest you will be saved,
In quietness and trust is your strength.”
But you were not willing,
Isaiah 30:15
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κυρίῳ kyrios – Lord
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"lord" occurs 106 times in 100 verses in the book of 'Act' in the NASB20.
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And increasingly believers in the Lord^G2962, large numbers of men and women, were being added to their number,
Acts of the Apostles 5:14 NASB20

ἐκκλησία – ekklēsia – ‘Church‘

Luke has only used the term ‘church’ once at this point in Acts of the Apostles to describe these ‘large numbers of men and women.’ He opens his second account describing the miraculous growth of the church:

Acts of ALL with one accord

Acts 2:1 And when the day of Pentecost was fully come, they were all with one accord in one place.
- And now HOW has Luke just introduced the Church by name?
A Church Seized by Signs and Wonders

Acts 5:11 KJV And great fear came upon all the church, and upon as many as heard these things.
- The Church (that is, the early church) lives as a community of love in fear of God, yet joyful of Christ’s anointing Spirit given to His disciples of the Church who will ‘follow Jesus, as their Master.’
- The saints of the Apostolic community serve the Living God and obey the Apostles as their lords and masters.
The disciple^G3101 is not above his master [didaskalos],
nor the servant [doulos] above his lord [kyrios].
Instruction of Jesus Christ – Matthew 10:24

the servant [doulos]

Now that we have defined some of these ‘Christian‘ terms so foundational to understanding Luke’s account of the Acts of the Apostles; NEXT, God-willing, we will examine the role the these servants of the Church.
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ACTS of the Church 6: 
To be continued...
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December 22, 2021
Acts 5 Not so fast to justice – Gamaliel – גַּמְלִיאֵל
Who is this man Gamaliel?

An angel brought the Apostles out of their prison cell, unbeknownst to the ruling council of Jerusalem who are about to try them for speaking the Name of Jesus AGAIN. When they discover that the Apostles somehow once again preach to the people in the Temple, they order the captain of the guard to bring them back to trial. He does so without violence or strong-armed coercion. Gamaliel in ‘a word to the wise’ cautions the Sanhedrin against zeal in their haste to prevail.
Who is this man Gamaliel?
ACTS 5: Advice from Gamaliel
Gamaliel = “my recompenser is God” Γαμαλιήλ
‘Take heed to yourselves’
Gamaliel advises them to cease and desist
Tehillim (Psalms) 37 :
θεομάχος – Fighting against God
Encouraging the persecuted church three decades later
The Jewish War and the Destruction of Jerusalem
Arrested AND Released

But Peter and the other apostles answered and said: “We ought to obey God rather than men. – Acts 5:29 NKJV

And as Simon Peter now enrages some by his boldness of speech, an important leader of the Sanhedrin, Gamaliel, stands and orders the Apostles to be removed from their court before sentencing.

He is not the high priest or even a member of the majority leading party of Sadducees. But the Pharisee Gamaliel obviously holds a high position of accountability as a minority leader who is involved in these proceedings.

ACTS 5: Advice from Gamaliel

Then one in the council stood up, a Pharisee named Gamaliel, a teacher of the law held in respect by all the people, and commanded them to put the apostles outside for a little while.
Acts 5:34 NKJV

35 And he said to them: “Men of Israel, [be careful] take heed to yourselves what you intend to do regarding these men [referring to the outspoken Apostles Peter and John].

Gamaliel = “my recompenser is God” Γαμαλιήλ

Why do enraged leaders who demand instant justice even listen to reason?

Gamaliel holds a reputation of wise council and teaching respected even by those with other beliefs. In addition to God’s providential intervention (as Luke has just shown us by the angel’s leading of the Apostles back to the temple), Gamaliel is a political VIP. Look at his resume (below).

His Name:

Γαμαλιήλ, ὁ, (גַּמְלִיאֵל recompense of God [God, the Avenger, Fürst]; Numbers 1:10; Numbers 2:20), indeclinable (source: Thayer’s Greek Lexicon STRONGS NT 1059: Γαμαλιήλ)

Gamaliel (distinguished by the Jews from his grandson of the same name by the title הַזָּקֵן, the elder),
- a Pharisee and doctor of the law,
- son of R. Simeon, grandson of Hillel, and
- teacher of the apostle Paul.
- He is said to have had very great influence in the Sanhedrin, and to have died [~A.D. 52} eighteen years before the destruction of Jerusalem.
- A man of permanent renown among the Jews: Acts 5:34; Acts 22:3.
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Recall now in hearing this caution of Gamaliel to Jerusalem's leaders in about A.D. 33 that Luke records these ACTS for readers some thirty years later after A.D. 61.
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‘Take heed to yourselves’

And he said to them, “Men of Israel, be careful as to what you are about to do with these men.
ACTS 5:35 NASB – Caution to the leaders of Jerusalem by Rabbi Gamaliel

The renowned rabbi Gamaliel gives them solid examples WHY the other leaders ought to be careful before they make a rash judgment against the Apostles.
- 36 Some time ago Theudas appeared, claiming to be somebody, and about four hundred men rallied to him.
  - [YET] He was killed,
  - all his followers were dispersed,
  - and it all came to nothing.
- 37 After him, Judas the Galilean appeared in the days of the census and led [drew away] a band of people in revolt.
  - He too was killed,
  - and all his followers were scattered.
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These revolts from various Jewish wars against their Roman masters likely remained familiar to the Jews at the time Luke wrote ACTS of the Apostles just a few years before the fall of Jerusalem.
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Gamaliel advises them to cease and desist

38 And so in the present case, I say to you, stay away [ἀφίστημι] from these men and leave them alone..

[As the rabbi likely paused here.. and as Gamaliel would have done frequently with his disciples to let his teaching sink in.. those hearing this respected Pharisee awaited his reason for such advice..]

..for if the source of this plan or movement is men, it will be overthrown..

[Of course, every man must have thought..]

but if the source is God, you will not be able to overthrow them; or else you may even be found fighting against God.”
Acts of the Apostles 5:39 – the caution of Gamaliel to religious rulers of Jerusalem
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[Oh.. (and perhaps some would have thought of the Psalm of David)]
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Tehillim (Psalms) 37 :

כִּי יְהוָה אֹהֵב מִשְׁפָּט וְלֹא־יַעֲזֹב אֶת־חֲסִידָיו לְעוֹלָם נִשְׁמָרוּ וְזֶרַע רְשָׁעִים נִכְרָֽת׃
Psalm 37:28 WLC
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A Psalm of David.
Do not get upset because of evildoers,
Do not be envious of wrongdoers.
For they will wither quickly like the grass,
And decay like the green plants.
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For the LORD loves justice
And does not abandon His godly ones;
They are protected forever,
But the descendants of the wicked will be eliminated.
Psalm 37:28 NASB20

θεομάχος – Fighting against God

Therefore Gamaliel concludes:

But if it is from God, you will not be able to overthrow them. You may even find yourselves fighting against God!”
Acts of the Apostles 5:39 NLT

40 His speech persuaded them.

They called the apostles in and had them flogged.

Then they ordered them not to speak in the name of Jesus, and let them go.

Encouraging the persecuted church three decades later

PUBLISHED ~A.D. 61 + Acts of the Apostles + a History of Christ’s Church

Luke tells us in these early stories of the ACTS of the CHURCH and of the APOSTLES in JERUSALEM why the Gospel JESUS CHRIST will cause believers much suffering.

Gamaliel, now known as the Apostle Paul’s mentor, has also died by now. History will continue to prove him right as the Church grows in Jerusalem, BUT NOT without much suffering.

Therefore, the early readers of ACTS will be personally encouraged by the example of the Apostles Luke records at the end of this section about the Church in Jerusalem.

The Jewish War and the Destruction of Jerusalem

There is scarcely another period in history so full of vice, corruption, and disaster as the six years between the Neronian persecution and the destruction of Jerusalem. The prophetic description of the last days by our Lord began to be fulfilled before the generation to which he spoke had passed away, and the day of judgment seemed to be close at hand. So the Christians believed and had good reason to believe.

Under the last governors, Felix, Festus, Albinus, and Florus, moral corruption and the dissolution of all social ties, but at the same time the oppressiveness of the Roman yoke, increased every year.

At last, in the month of May, A.D. 66, under the last procurator, Gessius Florus (from 65 onward), a wicked and cruel tyrant who, as Josephus says, was placed as a hangman over evil-doers, an organized rebellion broke out against the Romans, but at the same time a terrible civil war also between different parties of the revolters themselves, especially between the Zealots, and the Moderates, or the Radicals and Conservatives.
Source: BibleHub.org – History of the Christian Church, Volume I — Philip Schaff

ACTS of the Apostles continued..

5:41 The apostles left the Sanhedrin, rejoicing because they had been counted worthy of suffering disgrace for the Name.

And every day, in the temple and from house to house, they did not stop teaching and preaching the good news of Jesus as the Christ.
Acts of the Apostles 5:42 NASB20
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And .. To Be Continued...
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December 4, 2021
Arrested AND Released
So they arrested the apostles and put them in the public jail.
But an angel of the Lord opened the doors of the jail during the night, brought them out..
Acts of the Apostles 5:18-19a – CSB

ACTS of Arrests witnessed by the Apostles

Politically motivated religious leaders of Jerusalem now begin to develop a dossier of accusations against Peter, John and the Apostles, because as disciples of the Messiah Jesus they boldly proclaim the Lord’s resurrection from His horrific death on a cross.

As they once again imprison the Apostles, let’s look back briefly at what Annas, Caiaphas and the ruling council of Jerusalem have on them. Herod’s palace records also add evidence.

Simon, a Galilean fisherman, aka Peter, had been a disciple of John the Baptist.

John baptized disciples, even JEWS, to REPENT about three years ago.

Herod had John the Baptizer beheaded.

Pharisees report that Simon and John were part of Jesus’ inner circle of Apostles.

The Pharisees and their scribes began grumbling to His disciples, saying, “Why do you eat and drink with the tax collectors and sinners?”
Gospel of Luke 5:30 NASB20

Simon Peter identified near Jesus’ trial

Witnessed just three months ago just prior to the Passover feast by a servant of the High Priest:

Now when they had kindled a fire in the midst of the courtyard and sat down together, Peter sat among them. And a certain servant girl, seeing him as he sat by the fire, looked intently at him and said, “This man was also with Him.”
Gospel of Luke 22:55-56 NKJV

A Noteworthy Sermon from Solomon’s Portico

Just days ago the Sanhedrin, Jerusalem’s High Court, orders Peter NOT to say anything about Christ Jesus. Although Peter and John were arrested for preaching repentance, Jerusalem’s leaders released them from prison as a politically palatable concession to the crowds who had witnessed Peter healing a man lame from birth.

By what power? Political prowess by the powers that be

And when they had summoned them, they commanded them not to speak or teach at all in the name of Jesus. – ACTS 4:18

Arrested, yet the Apostles boldly remain in Jerusalem

ACTS of the Apostles 5:

12 At the hands of the apostles many signs and wonders were taking place among the people; and they were all together in Solomon’s portico…

And increasingly believers in the Lord, large numbers of men and women, were being added to their number, to such an extent that they even carried the sick out into the streets and laid them on cots and pallets, so that when Peter came by at least his shadow might fall on any of them. The people from the cities in the vicinity of Jerusalem were coming together as well, bringing people who were sick or tormented with unclean spirits, and they were all being healed. But the high priest stood up, along with all his associates.. laid hands on the apostles and put them in a public prison.

Previously, the authorities brought Peter and John before the council, however on this occasion the Lord sends an angel to open their prison door!

and leading them out, he said,
“Go, stand and continue to speak to the people in the temple area all the words of the whole message of this Life.”
ACTS of an Angel of the Lord 5:19b-20

Daybreak after another night in prison

At daybreak they entered the temple courts, as they had been told, and began to teach the people.
ACTS of the Apostles 5:21 NIV

(Of course, these same officials of Jerusalem’s political elite who had seized them believed that the Apostles were still imprisoned as before.)

Not just another day at the office

BIG political victory last evening. Those Apostles opposed to OUR LEADERSHIP of JEWISH JERUSALEM await OUR VERDICT of what to do with them.

(Or so they thought, as these religious officials arrived at work in a Jerusalem guarded by Roman centurions.)
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ACTS 5:21b
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Now when the high priest came, and those who were with him, they called together the council, all the senate of the people of Israel, and sent to the prison to have them brought.

But when the officers came, they did not find them in the prison, so they returned and reported,

“We found the prison securely locked and the guards standing at the doors, but when we opened them we found no one inside.”

(REMEMBER their dilemma of JESUS’ EMPTY TOMB just a couple of months ago?) NOW what?

Who does this Galilean we arrested think he is?
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Narrative of this private conversation is a speculative fiction behind the scenes in ACTS 5.
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On that day when we arrested this Simon of Capernaum the first time what was it I said?

When we released him after he drew crowds to himself in the Portico of Solomon proclaiming in Jesus the resurrection from the dead, he challenged our very authority to hold or release him.

So when the others asked, “What are we to do with these men?”

I insisted, DO NOT release them to cause more trouble.

But when they couldn’t find cause to keep these men in prison I said, “You had better start a dossier on them, because we will just have to arrest them again.”

For this Simon Peter had confirmed my distrust when he answered:

“Whether it is right in the sight of God to listen to you rather than to God, make your own judgment; for we cannot stop speaking about what we have seen and heard.”
Acts of the Apostles 4:19b-20 NASB20

Let’s punish them this time!

So I was all prepared to tell you, “I WARNED YOU about these men.”

But what’s this we hear now after having arrested these crowd-stirring Galileans again so soon? Listen to this new report as we assembled this morning:

The Captain of the Temple Guard’s Report

But on arriving at the jail, the officers did not find them there. So they went back and reported,
“We found the jail securely locked, with the guards standing at the doors; but when we opened them, we found no one inside.”
ACTS of the Captain of the Temple Guard 5:22-23 NIV

Even though it seems impossible, these rabble-rousers must have escaped and run home to Galilee.

(Maybe not such a bad thing for us.)

NOW what do we do?

Now when the captain of the temple guard and the chief priests heard these words, they were greatly perplexed about them as to what would come of this.

25 But someone came and reported to them, “The men whom you put in prison are standing in the temple area and teaching the people!”

The Apostles Now have Thousands of Disciples

And Peter, John and the others are preaching boldly as the Angel has commanded them to continue with the words of the Gospel of Jesus Christ as they return to preach in the Temple.

IT IS YET ANOTHER SIGN, not to be taken lightly by those who had seized them the previous day, throwing the Apostles into Prison.

26 Then the captain went along with the officers and proceeded to bring them back without violence (for they were afraid of the people, that they might be stoned).

(A riot against the capitol police? Roman soldiers in Jerusalem would certainly never condone such RAGE by any Jewish crowd throwing stones at Jerusalem’s politicized religious police.)

Would you, the arrested, convict US?

27 After they brought them in, they had them stand before the Sanhedrin, and [Caiaphas, or possibly Annas] the high priest asked,

“Didn’t we strictly order you not to teach in this name?

Look, you have filled Jerusalem with your teaching and are determined to make us guilty of this man’s blood.”

[Peter had convicted them of their complicity in Jesus’ Sacrifice on the Cross; however the Apostle had also stated that God the Father had allowed it AND that JESUS had been raised from the grave!]

But Peter and the apostles answered,

“We must obey God rather than men.

30 The God [theos] of our fathers raised up Jesus, whom you put to death by hanging Him on a cross. He is the one whom God exalted to His right hand as a Prince [archēgos] and a Savior [sōtēr], to grant repentance to Israel, and forgiveness of sins.

32 And we are witnesses of these things; and so is the Holy Spirit, whom God has given to those who obey Him.”

GUILTY!

When they heard this, they were furious [diapriō – cut to the quick] and wanted to put them to death.

It is what we should have done the first time we jailed them.

WE know that these men have escaped, but HOW? Never-the-less, WE cannot allow them to continue to sway all of Jerusalem to become disciples of this JESUS we hung on a Roman cross just two months ago.

AWAY WITH THEM!

οἱ δὲ ἀκούσαντες διεπρίοντο καὶ ἐβούλοντο ἀνελεῖν αὐτούς
But when they heard this, they became infuriated and nearly decided to execute them.
ACTS of the Sanhedrin 5:33

An Appeal Against Rash Reaction

But a Pharisee named Gamaliel, a teacher of the Law, respected by all the people, stood up in the Council and gave orders to put the men outside for a short time.
ACTS of Gamaliel 5:34 NASB
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To be continued...
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December 1, 2021