Insiders and Outsidrs

<p>INSIDERS and OUTSIDERS</p> <p>We finished reading in Acts chapter five with the account of the apostles rejoicing that they were counted worthy to suffer shame for the name of Jesus. They continued preaching daily in the temple and proclaiming to all the people this new way of life, which was not just about doing what they were meant to do but about being who they were meant to be. We follow the account of the growth of the emerging church as we come to Chapter six.   ACTS 6:1. It was not long before the number of disciples had greatly increased, and the Hellenists (Greek speaking Jews), developed a grudge against the Hebrews. The Greek widows were being neglected in the common daily provision of food and necessary supplies.</p> <p>Hellenists were the people influenced by ancient Greece with its culture and language and philosophy which all began in the fourth century BC. when Alexander the Great conquered the then known world including Judea.  Many thousands of Jews were scattered all over the Mediterranean coastal areas and up into Asia Minor, where over a period of time they began to practice a code of Judaism that became even stricter than it was back in Jerusalem. </p> <p>Then the Romans conquered all these nations in 65 BC, and Hellenistic Jews were made slaves - but in due time they were set free and became known as the Freedmen.  The Hellenist Freedmen that we come across in Acts chapter six were descendants of the people that were made slaves by the Romans two generations earlier, and these people worshipped in their own synagogues in Jerusalem. Many traditional Jews back in Jerusalem viewed Greek culture as a threat to their religious identity and resisted Hellenistic influences - thus the underlying conflict.</p> <p>In the last few chapters, we have been seeing how love was flourishing in this new community of faith. All was good in the new emerging Church, full of power and love - until things went wrong - an act of ‘unlove’ occurred. The widows who were of Greek, or Hellenistic origin were being n