6:1 And in those days, when the number of the disciples was multiplied, there arose a murmuring of the Grecians against the Hebrews, because their widows were neglected in the daily ministration.

2 Then the twelve called the multitude of the disciples unto them, and said, It is not reason that we should leave the word of God, and serve tables.

3 Wherefore, brethren, look ye out among you seven men of honest report, full of the Holy Ghost and wisdom, whom we may appoint over this business.

4 But we will give ourselves continually to prayer, and to the ministry of the word.

5 And the saying pleased the whole multitude: and they chose Stephen, a man full of faith and of the Holy Ghost, and Philip, and Prochorus, and Nicanor, and Timon, and Parmenas, and Nicolas a proselyte of Antioch:

6 Whom they set before the apostles: and when they had prayed, they laid their hands on them.

7 And the word of God increased; and the number of the disciples multiplied in Jerusalem greatly; and a great company of the priests were obedient to the faith.

“And in those days, when the number of the disciples was multiplied, there arose a murmuring of the Grecians against the Hebrews.” Yeah, as soon as the Lord shows up in revival, then the devil shows up.

“In those days, when the number of the disciples was multiplied, there arose a murmuring of the Grecians against the Hebrews, because their widows were neglected in the daily ministration.” “Grecians.” Are Grecians Gentiles or Jews? Gentiles. All right, then, you’ve got one Body here with Jew and Gentile in that Body, in a local church before Paul was ever saved. It’s not a Jewish church; it’s got Gentiles in it.

QUESTION: I have a commentary here that says that they called the Grecians Jews.

ANSWER: That’s the best way to get out of it. They’ll say, “It doesn’t mean what it says.”

QUESTION: Is this one huge church in Jerusalem, or is this a bunch of little churches where the apostles numbered?

ANSWER: This is one. This is one church with 5,000 members.

QUESTION: Where are they meeting then?

ANSWER: They’re meeting in Solomon’s porch, back in chapter 5, verse 12. “And daily in the temple.” A mob of ‘em!

“Because their widows were neglected in the daily ministration. Then the twelve called the multitude of the disciples unto them, and said, It is not reason that we should leave the word of God, and serve tables.” That’s the verse you want to give to your wife when she tries to get you to wait on the table! “It is not reason that we should leave the word of God and wait on tables!”

And then she can quote that one to you that says, “A man turns a dish upside down and wipes it dry” in Kings — and then you can start throwing dishes at each other!”

“It is not reason that we should leave the word of God, and serve tables. Wherefore, brethren, look ye out among you seven men of honest report, full of the Holy Ghost and wisdom, whom we may appoint over this business.” Now, they’re not called “deacons” here, but that’s what they are. They turn out to be deacons. And there’s no arrangement for deacons up till now, so this is an expedient that has to be adopted. There’s nothing in the Old Testament that tells them how to handle this situation, so they have to pray about it, and make a decision, and decide how they’re going to take care of it.

A deacon is responsible for widows’ tables, The Lord’s table, and the pastor’s table. That’s the deacon’s job. The deacon’s job is to wait on the widow’s table, and the Lord’s table, and the pastor’s table. And God gave an evangelist a wife to keep him humble, and God gave deacons to keep a pastor humble.

And many of the brethren just fire all the deacons. I’ve been in ten churches this year, they don’t even have any deacons. Just get, by the time they’ve been through three church splits, the pastor just says, “Well, no deacons from now on. Drop ‘em.”

If we ever get a church building going out here, why, we’ll elect deacons. And we’ll elect them, have the congregation elect them, and vote closed ballot, and write ‘em down on the board.

QUESTION: What are those three tables again?

ANSWER: The Lord’s table, the widow’s table, and the pastor’s table. The deacon’s job is to see to it that the pastor is well taken care of. It’s not his job to cut him down, see how small he can keep him.

QUESTION: What’s meant by the “widow’s table”?

ANSWER: Widow’s table? Right here, their widows were neglected. They had to supply food and wait on those tables. The word “deacon” means literally a “runner through the dust.” He’s a “table waiter.”

Except in the Southern Baptist Convention! In the Southern Baptist Convention, he’s a Masonic Shriner and a big shot and a church operator and a preacher hirer and firer.

Acts chapter 6, verse 3: “Wherefore, brethren, look ye out among you seven men of honest report.” First requrement for deacons. “Full of the Holy Ghost.” Second requirement for deacons. “And wisdom.” Third requirement for deacons

“Whom we may appoint over this business.” Not a business meeting. Not checks. Not the money. The business of waiting on widows’ tables.

“But we will give ourselves continually to prayer, and to the ministry of the word.” Now, that’s one of the great verses in the Bible for an Apostolic ministry or a Biblical ministry. The minister’s power or the pastor’s power in the Bible is spiritual — only. And his rulership is spiritual only, and his authority is spiritual only.

In the New Testament, the pastor or the elder, his only power is spiritual power. And his ministry, when you reduce it right down to two things, is two things: The ministry is to give himself continually to prayer and to the ministry of the word. That’s the calling to ministry. Full-time.

“Give ourselves continually to prayer, and to the ministry of the word.” Now, the ministry of the word is the teaching part and the preaching part. “Those that labor in word and doctrine,” Paul says. The prayer part is the spiritual part, and a powerful part, and the Holy Spirit part. And if it’s all pray and no Bible, it’s wildfire. And if it’s all Bible and no prayer, it’s dead. And the minister should give himself continually to prayer and to minister the word, and if you can do that, you will have accomplished a miracle! Because there isn’t one pastor in a hundred any more in America that can give himself continually to prayer and the ministry of the word. So much other junk comes in, it’s just pitiful.

Now, the Southern Baptists — you get in a Southern Baptist church, you’ll have the GAs, and the RAs and the Sunbeams, and the Lottie Moon offering, and the Training Union hour, you know. And the Young People’s Fellowship. And the Women’s Missionary Union. And the convention. And the association. And the fellowships. And the Sunday school literature. And the building program. And the simultaneous revival. And the Sunday school drive. And the campaigns. You’ll have all that stuff. You get tied with so many cogs and wheels and machinery, you just come to a grinding halt.

And you get into an independent work, and some of them aren’t any better. You get in the independent work and try to run the whole thing for yourself, you’ll be worrying about the heating system, and the cooling system, and the tuning the piano, and changing the flowers, and getting the nominating committee, and taking care of the nursery.

The average pastor in America does everything except the two things he ought to do: pray and preach. Pray and preach.

QUESTION: Shouldn’t you delegate authority?

ANSWER: Yes sir, that’s the thing to do. Delegate authority. Pass it out. Any job anybody else can do, give it to them. So you can have time to pray and time to preach.

Visitation, putting out fires, and going around the hospital, will take up so much of your time that you won’t have any time to prepare your message. As a message, it won’t be worth hearing.

A minister who spends all his time in the study will never build any kind of a work, and a preacher who spends all his time visiting and making contacts will never be worth hearing when he gets in the pulpit.

QUESTION: But what about visiting in the hospitals?

ANSWER: Well you’re going to have to, some of it. You’re going to have to do some of that. You’re going to have to make some calls. But you don’t overdo it.

There are pastors in this town that spend half the week visiting their own members. And then they spend twenty hours a week drinking coffee and eating cake with their own members. And half that time is trying to get that member to come back next Sunday, who missed last Sunday.

And if you have somebody in your church that only comes to church when you visit them the week before, visit them two times and don’t ever see them again. Don’t ever go back. Get you somebody else.

QUESTION: Would that be part of the deacon’s job? Visitation?

ANSWER: The deacon’s job in the New Testament is a spiritual ministry to assist the pastor in his spiritual duties. Now, I know that sounds like heresy, but that’s what his job is in the New Testament. And the quicker you can teach your people that, the better deacons they’ll elect.

But the average congregation’s idea of a deacon is a big money man who can run the church.

QUESTION: Why are deacons chickening out so much?

ANSWER: Because, brother, it’s just almost impossible these days to find men who are soldiers in Christianity. And the trick is to find men who have guts, like you say. And they do chicken out. The way they chicken out is, they’ll want to stay in good with the preacher and in good with the congregation. And, time after time, an issue will come up where, if you take the preacher’s side, you’re gonna offend somebody in the congregation. And time after time there’s going to be a situation where if you take somebody’s side in the congregation, you’re gonna offend the preacher. And there’s where the real deacon shows through, see?

And this church here only has one deacon per thousand members. So God takes for granted — you fellows who get out in the ministry, I would never think of putting in a deacon more than one for one hundred members. Because you’re not gonna find a man, unless you’ve got a hundred men to choose from, that can qualify. Because he’ll not stand by you when the chips get down and the cards are stacked.

And there are two sides to it. The problem comes up there, what happens when a pastor does something that’s obviously wrong? Can a deacon back him up? And the answer is, no. So, when you set up a deacon board, you ought to have this understanding with the deacons. If you’re going to be a deacon in this church, you’re going to back me up on every decision I make — except where I’m Scripturally wrong. Right? Right?

SURE! Don’t be hesitant! And if it’s Scripturally wrong, you don’t have to back me up. Now, it’s a fair deal, see? And if a man won’t be a deacon in those circumstances, he’s got no business on a deacon board.

Now, you find those fellows who say, “Well, now, preacher, when I — “

GET OFF, man! Fly away, boy!

Because when he starts, “Well, I — this and that — you know — “ he’s got in mind getting along with some rascal out there in the congregation. See? And they’ve got no business on the board.

You know, you stand up here where I am, and where you’re going to be some day preaching to a bunch of folks and pointing out their sins, and you’re going to take a beating. They’re going to crawl all over you and criticize you, and unless you’ve got guts, you’re gonna wither under it.

Now, what a deacon wants to do is sit back in the congregation and anonymously hide in the shelter of the fold without exposing himself and then in the back room make the decisions for the church. And then the pastor gets blamed if something goes wrong.

The best deacon I ever had was a fellow named Roy Clipper. If I could get me a church with seven of those guys in it, man, I’d just tear the town all to pieces. Roy Clipper makes about 800 dollars a week, counting expenses. Probably a base of about 600 dollars a week. And Roy Clipper has been working for GMAC all his life; he’s head of the whole state of Louisiana for GMAC. And that old fellow does not drink, and does not smoke, and he goes to GMAC parties, when he’s invited with his staff and sits down and orders milk. Ha ha ha! And the guy witnesses, and he passes out tracts, and he’ll deal with people on the job — Catholics and Jews — in his work.

And, when I got in a scrape here about twelve years ago and was hauled off to court, he went with me and took the suit in the law court in his home town where he lived at the risk of his job.

Now, brother, there’s a deacon, man!

That bird can deac!

You get seven like that, man, and you’d have you something. But, boy, when they get money and influence like that, they’re very rarely of that moral fiber, they don’t have that character, see?

QUESTION: If you had a deacon for a hundred people, that’d be a full time job, wouldn’t it?

ANSWER: Yeah, but these deacons here, there are seven of them taking care of five thousand people.

QUESTION: In that case, would it be wise to pay the deacons?

ANSWER: I never thought about that. You could pay them a salary. Well, the best thing to do in that case is make an ordained elder out of him and put him on salary. Yeah.

QUESTION: Are elders and deacons the same thing?

ANSWER: No. They’re two different offices.

QUESTION: Then why do some Southern Baptists call elders deacons?

ANSWER: Well, the Southern Baptists are just not very Scriptural, if you want to be right frank about it. An elder is ordained as an elder, a “presbuteros,” a presbyterian. A deacon is ordained as a “diakonas,” they’re two different offices. An elder is like a bishop or a pastor. An ordained elder labors in the word and doctrine. An ordained deacon labors in assisting the elders in their spiritual duties. A deacon visits. He takes flowers. He distributes food. He sets the Lord’s Supper. He helps takes care of the church in the services, ushering and collecting, and those kinds of things. That’s a deacon’s job.

QUESTION: I always thought an elder was an older man.

ANSWER: It is. Sometimes “elder” is used as an older man. Sometimes it’s used as an office.

QUESTION: Can a person hold both offices?

ANSWER: I wouldn’t think so. Unless you had a deacon for a pastor. A pastor is an ordained elder. For the same office, you’d have a deacon for a pastor. Which is all right, if God calls him into the pastorate. But the experience with deacons generally is, that deacons — how’d we get off on this? My goodness, we’re in Acts 6. Let me close with this. When I was pastoring down at — what time have we got? — when I was pastoring down at Brent, we had this situation. Now, I don’t point this out as a big thing. This is just typical, see. You run into it regularly.

When I first came down there, they had 21 deacons. And 200 members. And those 21 deacons were left from about something like six or seven hundred members. And when I came there and first came there, I told them I’d supply for them until they got a pastor, and then I was going to drop out. They called a guy to come named E.C. Sheehan; he accepted it and then turned it down when he saw the bills. And they called a guy named Pete McGuire from Texas; and he accepted it, then he turned it down.

And, finally, they called me. And when they called me, they gave me to understand the deacon board runs this church. And I said, “OK, fine. You run it.”

I mean, I can fool a lot of people. I’m the most unambitious fellow you ever met in your life. Any time you think I’m ambitious, brother, you just misjudged me, boy! I don’t want any big responsibilities. I’ve got a lot of nigger blood in me along some lines, you know. I tell you what I like to do, man. I like to hang around in my bare feet and old clothes, and kicking the ground and fry fish. See, I mean, wherever this stuff goes, “Rah rah rah! Let’s go push and promote! Ta-da-da da-da-da da-da-da,” you know, confetti — I don’t go, I’m not too strong on that. And I was in the infantry, a platoon leader in the infantry for four years in the Army. And I found out that 41 men is enough to take care. You’ve got enough blood on your hands with 41 men without asking for 200. And so, when it comes to being ambitious and wanting to get to the top, I’m real slow with it, see. Real slow.

And so, when those deacons said, “We’d run it,” I said, “OK. You run it.”

Which is all right with me.

Ahh, those were the golden years when they ran the church! I mean, I had hours and hours to myself, man. I’d take these guys. I was single then, and we had a lot of single students. We got us an old $200 Pontiac station wagon, and every afternoon we’d drive over to Alabama Point. And I mean, man, we were fishing out there Monday night, Tuesday night, Thursday night, Friday night. And, boy, quail hunting season would come, and dove shooting season would come, load that thing with a shotgun and take off. I didn’t have nothing to do, man! I had to do was just preach and draw a salary. Wonderful days!

And those deacons ran that church and got to arguing among themselves. And they disagreed with this, and they’d come around, and they’d say, “Brother Ruckman, help us!”

I said, “You run it, you run it. Go and run it!”

I mean, I was just drawing a salary.

They finally got desperate. It came to a head finally one time when a few deacons got mad and left the church because they didn’t like how the money was being spent. Two more were about to leave. Then a woman at the church decided she’d start a little private school in a building behind the church, cafetorium. I mean, signed the agreement with the deacons, she’d pay them so much, the church so much for rent and utilities, and stuff. And she’d got a little old school going, you know, and tried to compete Horton next door, which was ridiculous. And she got the thing going, you know, with about fifteen students. Went along about three months — she never paid nuthin’.

And finally, the deacon board came to me and said, “Brother Ruckman, that woman’s using the property and the light bill, and this and that. And the church is getting in an uproar.”

I said, “Well, you’ve got an agreement?”

“Yes.”

“Didn’t she sign the paper?”

“Yeah.”

“Well, call her and put her on the spot.”

“Brother Ruckman, you be there to help,” you know.

“No!” I said, “You guys are running it. You go ahead and run it! I’m going fishing!”

Well, I went to the meeting that day. And that dear sister, bless her heart, she had more demon in her than a turkey stuffed full of Christmas dressing, man. You’d sit in church, and she’d put her hair like this, you know. You’d say something funny, and she’d — You’d say something sad, and she’d — You’d say something scary, and she’d —

She had ‘em, boy. Just crawling with ‘em.

And she was back there in that room, you know, and here these deacons in the board, something like sixteen deacons, get on up to the table. I was enjoying myself, you know, everybody arguing, you know, and talking up and down. I’d just listen.

I mean, if you want to be a pastor, just let folks run the church, man! If they want to run it, run it, man! I ain’t doing nuthin’ about it.

And I sat there long after awhile, and one of those deacons said, “Well, Mrs. So-and-So, you do owe us this money. Are you going to pay us this money?”

And that woman, with her husband sitting on one side and her father sitting on the other — both of them deacons — slammed that table and she said, “I’ll have you know this is my school! I’m not paying you a cent!”

You know.

And all those men turned around and looked at me.

I didn’t want them looking at me, you know. I don’t go around beating up women.

But, you know, there’s something about my personality, you know. Personality. Something about personality a woman just senses, you know, that things just aren’t gonna go exactly the way you want them to go.

And so they all looked at me, you know, and I said, I shrugged my shoulders and sat there and looked around in the room, and said, “Well, fellows, it’s getting late. I gotta go!”

I got up and went out. And one guy ran to the door and grabbed me by the arm and said, “Don’t go now! Don’t go now!”

I said, “Well, you guys take care of it. You’ve got the chairman of the board there, man. See you around!” And went out the door.

And, boy, let me tell you, the next weekend that whole deacon board came to me and said, “Brother Ruckman, you gotta do something!”

And I said, “Well, you guys are — “

They said, “Well, we’ll back you up. We’ll back you up. You make the decision, and we’ll back you up.”

I said, “OK.”

So I went to the lady and I said, “Now, sister, I’ll tell you how it goes. You owe the church so much money. You’re three months overdue. If the money isn’t paid by such-and-such, we’re locking down the cafetorium.”

Well, she blew her top, and her husband came around and met me outside the church and said, “You so-and-so, I’ll get you!” A big ol’ fellow, too! About 6-2, about 230. Worked out there in the Naval Air Station. He said, “I’m gonna get you, boy, next week I’m gonna get you!”

And I said, “Well, you better get God too, while you’re at it. He’s taking care of me.”

You know, I practice some things I learned in church history, and I remember some of those lions. And I went across the street. And the next night her father came around. “We’re gonna sue you! We’re gonna take you to court!” you know. “Rrrrr rrrah rrahh rraahh,” you know, and run away.

And I laughed at him. And I said, “You think a man who’s been through what I’ve been through is worried about that?” I said, “Run on, fellow, I’m busy,” and went back in the house.

Well, to make a long story short, they left the church. And they left the church, and what happened? Four of those deacons went over to her and apologized to her and held her hand and had prayer with her, and talked about big ol’ bad Brother Ruckman crucifying her and kicking her out of the church, and we want to be friends and get along, and this and that, blah blah blah.

Now, that’s what’s wrong with deacons. No guts! That’s what’s wrong with deacons. That’s what you asked about, wasn’t it, brother?

Well, you get your deacons here who’ve got guts, and you’ll have a good man. Yeah, the curtain came down!

OK, that’s all for tonight.

All right, the last time I commented on verse 4, and I mentioned the fact that a minister should give himself continually to those things, and I made some remarks in regard to the fact that you wouldn’t get much time to spend on those things, because yoube doing so much of everything else, you wouldn’t have time to do it. And I made some remarks in regards to deacons, and some other things.

And in verse 5, “And the saying pleased the whole multitude: and they chose.” Now, in the Bible, the congregation chooses the deacons. “And they chose.” The multitude. Now, when you fellows get out and get to pastoring, and get churches going, you can figure out any way you want to get them, but make sure that your congregation understands what a deacon is before they choose him. And, when they choose him, it’s best to vote closed ballot, and not “Nay” and “Nay” and “Yay” “Yay” and hands and all that mess. It’s best to vote with closed ballot. And those ballots should be counted with witnesses. And don’t ever trust it to four witnesses. Have at least thirty witnesses. You have to be a lot more careful in church than you do in a law court.

They’re crookeder!

Acts 6:5: “And the saying pleased the whole multitude: and they chose Stephen, a man full of faith — “ a qualification for deacon — “and of the Holy Ghost, — “ a qualification for deacon — “and Philip, and Prochorus, and Nicanor, and Timon, and Parmenas, and Nicolas a proselyte of Antioch.” Now, that’s the first time the word shows up in Scripture. According to the law of first mention, which is a law in hermeneutics and interpretation, you should always pay very close attention to a word the first time it shows up in Scripture. Because the first time it shows up, it will fix the meaning of that thing from then on.

And the first time the word “Antioch” shows up in Scripture, it shows up in connection with Spirit-filled deacons.

Look at what word shows up in verse 9. You see “Alexandria”? The first time “Alexandria” is mentioned in the New Testament, it’s mentioned with a bunch of Libertines who had Stephen stoned. Don’t you students of manuscript evidence find that “veddy intedesting,” as the Germans say? “Veddy intedesting.”

All right, 6: “Whom they set before the apostles: and when they had prayed, they laid their hands on them.” There’s an ordination service. And when Paul says “lay hands on no man suddenly,” that’s probably what he’s referring to. Don’t ordain a man quickly without testing him through a period of time.

“Whom they set before the apostles: and when they had prayed, they laid their hands on them.” A deacon’s ordained just like a preacher’s ordained. And that shows that a deacon’s office is a spiritual office. That shows it conclusively. A deacon’s office is to help minister. It has to be; he’s ordained, just like a ministry. He’s like a pastor.

“And the word of God increased; and the number of the disciples multiplied in Jerusalem greatly; and a great company of the priests were obedient to the faith.” That is, the body of revealed truth at that time. “The faith.”

6:8 And Stephen, full of faith and power, did great wonders and miracles among the people.

9 Then there arose certain of the synagogue, which is called the synagogue of the Libertines, and Cyrenians, and Alexandrians, and of them of Cilicia and of Asia, disputing with Stephen.

10 And they were not able to resist the wisdom and the spirit by which he spake.

11 Then they suborned men, which said, We have heard him speak blasphemous words against Moses, and against God.

12 And they stirred up the people, and the elders, and the scribes, and came upon him, and caught him, and brought him to the council,

13 And set up false witnesses, which said, This man ceaseth not to speak blasphemous words against this holy place, and the law:

14 For we have heard him say, that this Jesus of Nazareth shall destroy this place, and shall change the customs which Moses delivered us.

15 And all that sat in the council, looking stedfastly on him, saw his face as it had been the face of an angel.

“And Stephen, full of faith and power, did great wonders and miracles among the people.” So, although Stephen is not an apostle, he has the apostolic signs. This indicates that he believed under the ministry of an apostle; that is, he was converted under Peter, James, and John, one of them.

“Then there arose certain of the synagogue, which is called the synagogue of the Libertines.” Now the word originally had a good connotation. It meant “freed slaves,” “slaves set at liberty.”

But words degenerate. And the surest proof that man is degenerate and apostate, and the surest proof that man is Adamic, is the fact that his good words generate into bad words, and his bad words get good connotations on them. The surest proof that man is wrong is that his vocabulary goes wrong.

For example, “libertine” now refers to a wicked, licentious fornicator. That’s what a libertine is. But originally it meant a freed slave.

A “parasite” now means something that lives off somebody else. But a parasite back in the old days was a government official who took care of the grain elevators and gave people grain when they were starving.

Back in the old days, “cunning” meant “talented, able.” Now it means “slick and crafty and sly, and I’m gonna jew you out of everything I can get my hands on,” see?

So, one of the surest proofs that men are depraved is their vocabulary goes to pieces.

“Piker.” A “piker” in the old days was a fellow who wouldn’t pay the toll pike, and would walk the pike rather than ride across it. He didn’t want to pay the toll fare. But now a “piker” now is a sucker; he’s a chump, see?

So those words degenerate.

And “libertine” meant a slave set free. It no longer means that.

I’ll give you another good word. A “liberal.” You know what “liberal” used to mean? It meant a fellow who was generous. It doesn’t mean that any more. It means a guy that’s generous with your stuff. And a “liberal” in theology now means a Christ-rejecting modernist; it doesn’t mean somebody who’s generous or loves God. It means somebody who’s so broad-minded with the Bible that they throw about 80 percent of it out.

All right, “And Cyrenians, and Alexandrians, and of them of Cilicia and of Asia, disputing with Stephen. And they were not able to resist the wisdom and the spirit by which he spake.” And it’s not meant there the Holy Spirit there, but his attitude; that is, the human spirit.

“Then they suborned men.” Old English; it means “to hire.” “Sub” means to “put down.” “Sub-earned”; it means to put a fellow underneath you by bribing him; it’s to hire the fellow and bribe him.

“Then they suborned men, which said, We have heard him speak blasphemous words against Moses, and against God.” Now look at that hypocritical charge. What’s the greatest crime? Blaspheming God or Moses? God. But notice how they turn it around to appeal to the prejudice of those old scribes and Pharisees.

“We have heard him speak blasphemous words against Moses.”

OHHHHHHHHHHHH!

“And God.”

Oh, well, yeah, oh.

“And they stirred up the people, and the elders, and the scribes, and came upon him, and caught him, and brought him to the council.” Every time the word “council” shows up, it’s a bad word.

“And set up false witnesses.” I wonder what this reminds you of? The trial of Jesus Christ. He’s growing right slap through it, the same thing. They said, “We’ve heard him trying to overthrow the government, saying he’s Christ the king, and he’s committed blasphemy, and they got false witnesses.”

And they said, “This man ceaseth not to speak blasphemous words against this holy place,...” first appeal to prejudice “...and the law.” Well, the law is more important than the holy place.

“For we have heard him say, that this Jesus of Nazareth shall destroy this place.” Matthew 24.

“And shall change the customs which Moses delivered us. And all that sat in the council, looking stedfastly on him, saw his face as it had been the face of an angel.” Now this is the first man in the Bible to die for the sake of Jesus Christ after the resurrection. This is the first martyr. And the reason why it’s so interesting is that his name is the Greek name for “crown.” His name is “stefanos.” And the word for “Stephen” means “crown.” That’s what it means. And the first man in the Bible to get a crown of life was Stephen. And his word means “crown.”