Stephen - Full of the Ruach HaKodesh
( Acts 6:1-8 )
MARTIN BOARDMAN
In Acts 6 we get a glimpse into the multicultural tensions within the early Messianic community in Jerusalem . There were two subsets of the Jewish community , those with a Hellenistic ( Greek ) cultural background and those with a Hebrew background . No doubt there were many similarities between these two groups , but there were also differences , which sometimes led to arguments , and the community did always treat everyone the same . Differences in addressing the practical needs of members from different backgrounds rose to the surface and created problems for the community .
The problem presented at the beginning of the chapter concerned the widows . Many widows at that time were dependent on their families for support following the death of their husbands .
D E C E M B E R 2 0 2 2 • T I K K U N A M E R I C A R E S T O R E | 1 9