Acts 6:1 - A dispute arose

6:1

The chapter begins with a brief interlude describing a practical problem that had arisen, and the solution to that problem. We might think that we would like it if the church was always about purely “spiritual matters”. However, that is not the case, and actually we probably wouldn’t like it, as practical matters are important. So, there were signs and wonders, but also arguments. So a dispute had arisen between Hebraic and Hellenistic Jews. The Hebraic Jews were Palestinian Jews who spoke Aramaic as their first language. The Hellenistic Jews spoke Greek as their first language, and may have come from outside Palestine. The Hellenistic Jews thought that the Hebraic Jews were being favoured in the daily food distribution. As an aside, this shows that at this early stage the church was already quite organised.