The Relationship of Jewish and Gentile Believers to the Law Between A.D. 30 and 70 in the Scripture

51 which the seven belong. 18 Ultimately the question of whether Stephen was a hellenist can not be resolved. What can be resolved, however, is how Stephen is depicted in the text. The important question is how Luke portrays Stephen literarily. If Stephen's identity is important to Luke ' s message we would expect Luke to make that issue clear ; in fact, he does. Luke never states the Stephen was a hellenist but he does describe him multiple times as a man of wisdom and of the Spirit. In the solution to the problem of the widows the Apostles asked the people to find "seven men of good reputation, full of the Spirit and of wisdom, whom we may put in charge of this task" (6:3) . Stephen, of course , meets the qualifications. Then as Stephen preaches Luke describes him again in similar terms "And Stephen, full of grace and power , was performing great wonders and signs among the people" (6:8). Those who dispute with him are "unable to cope with the wisdom and the Spirit with which he was speaking " (6 :10) . Before his speech he has a face " like the face of an angel " (6 :15), a person who is close to God and reflects some of his glory as a resul t of being in hi presence (Ex . 34 :29). 19 After his speech and defense Luke states that "being full of the Holy 18 Joseph B. Tyson , "Act 6 :1-7 and Dietary Regulation in Early Chri tianit ' Perspectives in Religious Studies 10 (1 983): 159 . Though Cadbury feel that the Luke int nd the meaning Gentiles by hellenist , he caution that the connection b tw en teph n ' 11 d helleni m and hi martyrdom i tenuou . "The connexion b tween th hoi e f th the controver y of tephen i not clo e, and it i not tated that the f r ign r at th na- go u of th Libertini hou ld be call ed H 11 ni t . Th lo nn i n f n b ur pa ag are pre ed too hard when all the e d du tion ar dra n fr m th m ." H nr J . adbury , 'Th H lleni t , " in The Beginning of 'hri tianity : The A t of the po tie , . J . I-- s Jac n, and Kir pp L k , ed . , ol. 4 ( rand Rapid : B k r B k H u , 1 7 ) : 2. 19 Mar h 11 , A t , I l . ' D' illeur , d n 1 d'h mm d' n ; ell un n ten e Rel1g1eu e