Acts 6:12

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, 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....

12.Being overcome with the power of the Spirit, they give over disputing, but they prepare false witnesses, that with false and slanderous reports, they may oppress him; whereby it appeareth that they did strive with an evil conscience. For what can be more unmeet than in their cause to lean unto lies? (359) Admit he were a wicked man, and guilty, yet he must not have false witness borne against him. (360) But hypocrites, which shroud themselves under zeal, do carelessly grant themselves leave to do that. We see how the Papists at this day corrupt manifest places of Scripture, and that wittingly, whilst that they will falsely wrest testimonies against us. I confess, indeed, that they offend for the most part through ignorance; yet can we find none of them which doth not grant himself liberty to corrupt both the sense and also the words of the Scripture, that they may bring our do

8-15 When they could not answer Stephen's arguments as a disputant, they prosecuted him as a criminal, and brought false witnesses against him. And it is next to a miracle of providence, that no greater number of religious persons have been murdered in the world, by the way of perjury and pretence of law, when so many thousands hate them, who make no conscience of false oaths. Wisdom and holiness make a man's face to shine, yet will not secure men from being treated badly. What shall we say of man, a rational being, yet attempting to uphold a religious system by false witness and murder! And this has been done in numberless instances. But the blame rests not so much upon the understanding, as upon the heart of a fallen creature, which is deceitful above all things and desperately wicked. Yet the servant of the Lord, possessing a clear conscience, cheerful hope, and Divine consolations, m...

Verse Acts 6:12. _AND THEY_] The Libertines, c., mentioned before, _stirred up the people_-raised a _mob_ against him, and, to assist and countenance the mob, got the _elders_ and _scribes_ to conduct it, who thus made themselves _one_ with the basest of the people, whom they collected and then, altogether, without _law_ or _form of_ _justice_, rushed on the good man, seized him, and brought him to a council who, though they sat in the seat of judgment, were ready for every evil work....

AND THEY STIRRED UP THE PEOPLE - They “excited” the people, or alarmed their fears, as had been done before when they sought to put the Lord Jesus to death, Matthew 27:20. THE ELDERS - The members of the Sanhedrin, or Great Council. SCRIBES - See the notes on Matthew 2:4. TO THE COUNCIL - To the Sanhedrin, or the Great Council of the nation, which claimed jurisdiction in the matters of religion. See the notes on Matthew 2:4....

EXPOSITION ACTS 6:1 _Now in these _for _and in those, _A.V. (it is not ἐκείναις_, _answering to מהֵהָ מימַיָבַּ, but ταύταις); _multiplying _for _multiplied, _A.V._; Grecian Jews _for _Grecians, _A.V._ _THE GRECIAN JEWS; _the Hellenists, _for this is the appellation of them in the Greek; it means properly those who spoke Greek or otherwise followed Greek usages, applied to foreigners, here of course to Jews. Of a similar form and meaning is the word "to Judaize," translated "to live as do the Jews" (A.V., Galatians 2:14), and the forms "to Demosthenize," "to Platonize," "to Atticize," etc. The Hellenists were those Jews of the dispersion who lived in countries where Greek was spoken, and who th

AND THEY STIRRED UP THE PEOPLE,.... The common people, who were easily wrought upon, and soon incensed and provoked, when at any time it was suggested to them that the rituals and ceremonies of the law of Moses were treated with any neglect or contempt; see Acts 21:27. AND THE ELDERS AND THE SCRIBES; who belonged to the sanhedrim, to whom they reported these things, as persons, under whose cognizance they properly came: AND CAME UPON HIM; at an unawares, and in an hostile way: AND CAUGHT HIM; seized him with violence: AND BROUGHT HIM TO THE COUNCIL; the great sanhedrim, then sitting at Jerusalem, to whom it belonged to judge of blasphemy....

CHAPTER 6 _ 1. The Murmuring of the Grecians against the Hebrews (Acts 6:1)._ 2. Stephen; His Ministry and Arrest (Acts 6:8). Another failure is brought before us. The enemy acts again. From without and from within Satan pressed upon that which was of God. While the Lord Jesus Christ and the Holy Spirit acted in Grace and power, the enemy came in to disturb. It is still so. Whenever there is a door opened there are also many adversaries (1 Corinthians 16:9). The flesh manifested itself in murmuring. The assembly took care of the poor; widows being specially helpless, were the objects of daily ministrations. The Jews themselves in connection with the synagogue had special funds for them. They must h

ATTACK ON STEPHEN. This Hellenist Christian draws upon himself the attention of the people. He was full of grace; the inspiration which gave him his power led to disturbance from a synagogue or synagogues of foreign Jews from various countries settled at Jerusalem. Hellenistic Jews could be as narrow as those at Jerusalem (_cf._ 2 Corinthians 10-13). To the statement that they could not resist him _D_ adds: because they were boldly confuted by him and could not face the truth. These disputes not yielding any matter for a charge, they got others to come forward and accuse him of attacking Moses and God, and thus stirred up the people, till now so favourable to the believers. The elders and scribes are also worked upon; Stephen is brought before the Sanhedrin. The charges are, to some extent, borne out by the following speech (Acts 7:48), as the charge against Jesus ...

THE FIRST OFFICE-BEARERS (Acts 6:1-7)...