New Testament Lesson # 29 Acts 6–9
“The Number of the Disciples
Was Multiplied”
Introduction
This week’s lesson focuses on three
great men in the New Testament: Two of the first Seventies: Stephen, known as
the first martyr of the Church, Philip who brought the Gospel to an Ethiopian,
and the Apostle Paul who is responsible for much of the New Testament after
Christ’s mortal ministry. It also introduces us to the expansion of Church
organization as a pattern of what we have today. The theme as I see it, is
conversion. A side note introduces us to Simon Magus, whose incomplete
conversion led him to feel he could buy the “trick” gift of the Holy Ghost.
President Monson said, “Against the philosophy rampant in today’s
world—a doubting of the authenticity of the Sermon on the Mount, an abandonment
of Christ’s teaching, a denial of God, and a rejection of His laws— . . . true
believers everywhere treasure the testimonies of eyewitnesses to His resurrection.
Stephen, doomed to the cruel death of a martyr, looked up to heaven and cried,
‘Behold, I see the heavens opened, and the Son of man standing on the right
hand of God.’ Saul, on the road to Damascus, had a vision of the
risen, exalted Christ. Peter and John also testified of the risen Christ. And
in our dispensation, the Prophet Joseph Smith bore
eloquent testimony of the Son of God, for he saw Him and heard the Father
introduce him: ‘This is My Beloved Son. Hear Him!’[1] . . . “This is the knowledge that sustains.
This is the truth that comforts. This is the assurance that guides those who
are bowed down with grief—out of the shadows and into the light.”[2]
Acts 6
Seven men—presumably the origin of our
present Quorums of the Seventy[3]—were
chosen to help diffuse the burden of administering the Church and resolve
concerns that arose as members of different ethnic backgrounds and, presumably,
old hostilities came together in the nascent Church. According to the New
Testament Institute Manual, “To address the growing need to care for widows and
others, seven men were called and given authority to assist the Twelve. These
men served under the direction of the Twelve with the specific task of caring
for the poor and needy. It is not known what priesthood office the seven men
held. In the Church today, bishops and branch presidents have the
responsibility to ensure that those in need receive help: The bishop has a
divine mandate to seek out and care for the poor (see D&C
84:112). He directs the welfare work in the ward. His goal is to help
members help themselves and become self-reliant. (In branches, the branch president
has these same welfare responsibilities.)”[4] Two
of these we will study about are Stephen and Philip.
Acts 6:8–7:60
Immediately the Sanhedrin recognized that
they were mistaken in believing that with the death of Jesus Christ, the threat
that He represented would go away. Stephen, “full of faith” testified strongly
and incurred opposition: “Those who opposed Stephen were from one or more
synagogues where Jews from foreign lands worshipped (see Acts 6:9).
Libertines were former slaves who had gained their freedom. Cyrenians were Jews
from Northern Africa, Alexandrians were Jews from the Egyptian city of
Alexandria, and Cilicia was a Roman province of Asia Minor. . . . His opponents
were angered by his teachings that the coming of Jesus Christ had redefined
basic Jewish concepts regarding the land of Israel, the law of Moses, and the
temple of Jerusalem. Stephen’s opponents ‘suborned men’ (Acts 6:11),
meaning that they persuaded men to commit perjury.”[5] Pres.
Faust said, “We read in the book of Acts the account of the disciple Stephen,
who was ‘full of faith and power, [and] did great wonders and miracles among
the people.’ Stephen encountered a hostile audience in Jerusalem who falsely
accused him of blasphemy even though he was transfigured before them. Stephen
testified of the divinity of the Savior, and when he called them to repentance,
several in the crowd turned on him. ‘But he, being full of the Holy Ghost, looked
up stedfastly into heaven, and saw the glory of God, and Jesus standing on the
right hand of God.’ Even as he was stoned to death, the last words on Stephen’s
lips were ‘Lord, lay not this sin to their charge.’”[6]
Stephen is called before the Sanhedrin and
is transfigured before them (6:15), Elder Bruce R. McConkie identified the
reason why Stephen’s face shone like an angel: “Stephen was transfigured before
them, visible witness thus being given that God was with him. In a lesser
degree, it was with Stephen as it had been with Moses, the skin of whose face
shone visibly after he had communed with the Lord for forty days on the
mountain (Ex.
34:29–35.)” (Doctrinal New Testament Commentary, 2:67).
Stephen then
gives in masterful discourse a history of the Jews, all the time building his
testimony of Jesus Christ and with increasing force condemning his hearers for
their unbelief. Starting in verse 1 with “men, brethren, and fathers,” he casts
them in role of the “patriarchs” who sold Joseph into Egypt; the children of
Israel both in Egypt and in the desert to Moses; and to Solomon whose heart
turned to earthly power and glory. Having started in a mild-mannered way,
Stephen finally thunders, “Ye stiffnecked and uncircumcised in heart and ears,
ye do always resist the Holy Ghost: as your fathers did, so do ye. Which of the
prophets have not your fathers persecuted? and they have slain them which
shewed before of the coming of the Just One; of whom ye have been now the
betrayers and murderers: Who have received the law by the disposition of
angels, and have not kept it (7:51–53).
Their response was to stone him to
death. Joseph Smith said, “Stephen saw the Son of Man. He saw the Son of Man
standing on the right hand of God. [There are] three personages in heaven who
hold the keys—one to preside over all. . . . Any person that has seen the
heavens opened knows that there are three personages in the heavens holding the
keys of power.”[7]
And here we have our first reference to Saul/Paul “and the witnesses laid down
their clothes at a young man’s feet, whose name was Saul” (v. 58).
Acts 8
Before we turn to Saul’s conversion, we have
the story of Philip. It is important to note, however, the zeal with which Saul
“made havoc of the Church” (8:3). Because of his background, I imagine he would
have studied what he was fighting against which would be important to his later
conversion.
Philip, another of the seven men chosen in
Acts 6, taught in Samaria and in coastal cities. “Philip appears to have
ministered as a holder of the Aaronic Priesthood—he had the authority to
baptize but did not have the authority to give the gift of the Holy Ghost (see D&C
84:107–8). Those whom Philip baptized had to wait for the arrival of Peter
and John, holders of the Melchizedek Priesthood, to receive the gift of the
Holy Ghost.”[8]
Regarding Simon Magus, President James E. Faust said: “This greatest of
all powers, the priesthood power, is not accessed the way power is used in the
world. It cannot be bought or sold. … Worldly power often is employed
ruthlessly. However, priesthood power is invoked only through those principles
of righteousness by which the priesthood is governed” (in Conference Report,
Apr. 1997, 59–60; or Ensign, May 1997, 43). Interestingly, from Simon
came the term given to the practice of buying or selling a church office or
position, simony.
More important than the confrontation with
Simon, is the conversion of the man from Ethiopia. Elder Holland said, “We are,
in fact, all somewhat like the man of Ethiopia to whom Philip was sent. Like
him, we may know enough to reach out for religion. We may invest ourselves in
the scriptures. We may even give up our earthly treasures, but without
sufficient instruction we may miss the meaning of all this and the requirements
that still lie before us. So we cry with this man of great authority, ‘How can
[we understand,] except some [teacher] should guide [us]?’” (“A
Teacher Come from God,” Ensign, May 1998, 25).
Acts 9
Saul’s conversion. Saul was his Hebrew name,
Paul the Graeco-Roman version. He was a Pharisee (Acts 23:6; 26:5); a Jew
through the lineage of Benjamin. He had Roman citizenship (Acts 16:37;
22:25–28) and spoke both Greek and Hebrew (Acts 21:37–40). As a Pharisee, he
believed in oral tradition which Jesus had decried (Matthew 15:1–3; Mark 7:8);
he would not have believed in revelation and would have held that authority was
vested in the elders. Hence his zeal in fighting what he believed to be wrong.
But Paul was going to be an Apostle and presumably had been foreordained to be
such (see Alma 13:1–10). Joseph Smith described Paul, “He [the Apostle Paul] is
about five feet high; very dark hair; dark complexion; dark skin; large Roman
nose; sharp face; small black eyes, penetrating as eternity; round shoulders; a
whining voice, except when elevated, and then it almost resembles the roaring
of a lion. He was a good orator” (in “Extracts from William Clayton’s Private
Book,” p. 4, Journals of L. John Nuttall, 1857–1904, L. Tom Perry
Special Collections, Brigham Young University; copy in Church History Library).[9]
Paul had been sent by the Sanhedrin to stamp
out Christianity in Damascus but he had another mission to fulfill. His vision
is recounted here and in Acts 22 and 26 and is worth comparing with Alma’s in
Mosiah 27 and Alma 36. Though coming from different motives, there are
similarities with Joseph Smith, “His experience on the road to Damascus shares
several similarities with Joseph Smith’s First Vision. Both Saul and Joseph
Smith saw a light from heaven. Both fell to the earth and heard a voice calling
them by name. Both saw the Son of God and heard Him speak to them. Both
received divine instruction when they inquired what they should do. Both were
later persecuted for saying they had seen a vision, and both nevertheless
continued to affirm that they had seen a vision.”[10]
“kick against the pricks” v. 9. One commentator
likened this to walking along a road in sandals and kicking the cactus! A very
futile and painful exercise. “A
‘prick’ refers to a goad, which is a sharp spear or stick used to poke animals
to make them move ahead. Rather than move forward, stubborn animals sometimes
kick back to retaliate, literally kicking ‘against the pricks.’ Such a reaction
only adds distress as the animal incurs more painful prompting from its master.
The Savior is making clear that if Saul continues to fight against Him, he will
only bring distress upon himself. In Greek literature, ‘kicking against the
pricks’ was a well-known metaphor for opposing deity.[11]
Ananias is, ironically, the
leader of the Saints in Damascus whom Saul/Paul had been sent to stamp out.
“Lord, what wilt thou have me
to do?” As we have looked at conversion in this week’s lesson, shouldn’t this
be the question that we ask. It also goes along with our ongoing topic of
discipleship. What is it that we are not doing that we should be doing, and
what is it that we should be doing that we are not, and what should we continue
doing that is good.
Bible Video
The Road to Damascus
https://www.lds.org/bible-videos/videos/the-road-to-damascus?lang=eng
[3]
https://www.lds.org/church/leaders/quorums-of-the-seventy?lang=eng.
A historical perspective on the Seventies can be found here: https://www.lds.org/ensign/1976/07/the-seventies-a-historical-perspective?lang=eng&query=history+seventies.
[7]
Kent F. Jackson, ed., Joseph Smith’s
Commentary on the Bible (Salt Lake City: Deseret Book, 1994), 148.
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