ActsChapter 6

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¹In those days the number of disciples was growing. Some of them were Jews who spoke Greek. Others were Jews who spoke Hebrew. The Greek-speaking Jews began to complain about the others. They said their widows were being left out when food was handed out each day. ²So the Twelve called all the disciples together. They said, "It isn't right for us to stop teaching the word of God so we can serve food at tables. ³So, brothers, choose seven men from among you. They must be known to be full of the Spirit and wisdom. We will put them in charge of this job. ⁴Then we will give our time to prayer and to teaching the word." ⁵This plan pleased the whole group. They chose Stephen, a man full of faith and of the Holy Spirit. They also chose Philip, Prochorus, Nicanor, Timon, and Parmenas. And they chose Nicolas from Antioch, who had become a Jew. ⁶They brought these seven men to the apostles. The apostles prayed and placed their hands on them. ⁷So the word of God kept spreading. The number of disciples in Jerusalem grew quickly. A large number of priests also came to obey the faith. ⁸Stephen was full of grace and power. He was doing great wonders and signs among the people. ⁹But some men stood against him. They were from a group called the Synagogue of the Freedmen. There were Jews from Cyrene and Alexandria. There were also men from Cilicia and Asia. They began to argue with Stephen. ¹⁰But they could not stand up against his wisdom. They could not stand against the Spirit who helped him speak. ¹¹Then they secretly got some men to say, "We heard Stephen speak evil words against Moses and against God." ¹²So they stirred up the people, the elders, and the teachers of the law. They went after Stephen and grabbed him. They took him to the Sanhedrin. ¹³There they brought in false witnesses. These witnesses said, "This man never stops speaking against this holy place and against the law. ¹⁴We have heard him say that Jesus of Nazareth will destroy this place. He said Jesus will change the customs Moses handed down to us." ¹⁵Everyone sitting in the Sanhedrin stared at Stephen. They saw that his face looked like the face of an angel.