The issue was that Grecian (non-Palestinian Jewish) widows were being neglected in the daily distribution, leading the Grecians to murmur against the Hebrews.
Acts 6:1 records the Grecian Jewish believers complaining that their widows were being overlooked in the daily ministration. Les Feldick clarifies that the Grecians were not Gentile Greeks but Jews living outside Palestine—so the dispute was an internal conflict among Jewish believers, not a disagreement with Gentile Greeks.
Acts 6:1 — This verse directly identifies the murmuring of the Grecians against the Hebrews and names the cause as neglect of the Grecian widows in the daily ministration.
Acts 6:1 states that 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. The daily ministration was the organized distribution of food or financial help to the widows in the believing community. The twelve apostles responded by calling the multitude of disciples and telling them that it was not appropriate for the apostles to leave the word of God to serve tables. The congregation was directed to select seven men of honest report, full of the Holy Ghost and wisdom, to be appointed over this business, so that the apostles could give themselves continually to prayer and to the ministry of the word (Acts 6:2-4).
Les Feldick teaches that a Grecian was not a Gentile Greek but a Jew who was not a native of Palestine. He describes them as Jews who were citizens of other nations or who lived in Greek-speaking parts of the Roman Empire and used the Greek language. By contrast, Greeks were Gentiles. When Les refers back to Acts 6, he says that the widows of the Grecians were not getting their fair share. This explains the murmuring in the early church. The conflict was between two groups of Jewish believers—the non-Palestinian Grecians and the Hebrews—not between Jews and Gentile Greeks. Les later applies the same terminology to Acts 11, where he emphasizes that when Jewish believers began speaking to the Greeks at Antioch, that was a complete change of venue because Greeks were Gentiles.
No. Les Feldick explains that a Grecian was a Jew who was a citizen of another nation outside Palestine, or who had adopted the Greek language. The word 'Greek' in his teaching refers to a Gentile. Therefore, the Grecians in Acts 6 were Jewish believers, and the dispute was not a Gentile-versus-Jewish conflict.
According to Acts 6:2-4, the twelve apostles gathered the disciples and said that it was not reason for them to leave the word of God and serve tables. They directed the congregation to choose seven men of honest report, full of the Holy Ghost and wisdom, to be appointed over the daily distribution. This allowed the apostles to continue in prayer and the ministry of the word.
Why Repentance Was Offered to Israel — Acts 5 Explained
Now some of you may have heard of him and some of you may have never heard of him. But Watchman Nee was a Bible teacher in China just before the communists took over. And Watchman Nee did much the same as I and many others do. And he never taught that much in the local organized church. He taught in little home Bible studies, all over Shanghai in particular.
Grecians Are Non-Palestinian Jews
Les defines a Grecian as a Jew from outside Palestine and directly references Acts 6, saying the widows of the Grecians were not getting their fair share.
Grecians vs. Greeks (Gentiles)
Les distinguishes Grecians (Greek-speaking Jews) from Greeks (Gentiles), proving the Acts 6 dispute was not a Gentile issue.
Why Paul Went to Arabia: The Revelation of Grace
Now, still no reference to death, burial, and resurrection, because that they didn't understand either yet, but at least they're approaching these Gentiles. And the Lord was with them, and a great number believed and turned unto the Lord. And then tidings of these things came to the ears of the church, or the assembly again, which was in Jerusalem.
Grecians in Jerusalem
Les again defines Grecians as non-Palestinian Jews and notes that Paul later disputed against the Grecians in Jerusalem, reinforcing the term's meaning.
Why God Separated Israel: The Meaning of the Blood on the Doorposts
Now I'm saying all this to get you ready for someday when we get to the New Testament and when the apostle Paul begins going to the Gentiles, how did the Jews feel about it? Oh, it upset them. See? Who in the world has the right to go to those pagan Gentiles? Well, now, we don't want to come too hard on these Israelites because of that, because after all, for almost two thousand years, God has bee…
Israel's Blindness & the Fullness of the Gentiles — Romans 11:25
Those are the only Gentiles that God is filling, and filling, and filling, and He's bringing them in. Now let's go back to Acts chapter 15 this time. Go back to Acts chapter 15, and of course this is the big controversy now between Peter and the eleven down at Jerusalem with Paul, and his dealing with the Gentiles up at Antioch.
Why Israel's Fall Opened Heaven's Door for the Gentiles
They had a spiritual hunger that Israel could not comprehend. And of course if you know the book of Acts, every place that Paul went and preached the Gospel when the Jews were rejected, and he'd go to those pagan Gentiles, what would those Gentiles do? Oh they'd embrace it, they were thrilled by it.
Acts 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.
This verse records the exact complaint that sparked the dispute between the Grecians and the Hebrews.
Acts 6:2: 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.
This verse shows the apostles' immediate reaction to the complaint about the neglected widows.
Acts 6:3: 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.
This verse records the solution of appointing seven men to oversee the daily distribution.
Acts 6:4: But we will give ourselves continually to prayer, and to the ministry of the word.
This verse explains why the apostles delegated the daily service: to keep their focus on prayer and preaching.
According to Les Feldick, the Grecians were Jewish believers who were not natives of Palestine. They were Jews who lived in Greek-speaking parts of the Roman Empire, such as Greece, or who had become citizens of other nations. They were not Gentile Greeks.
The Grecian widows were being neglected in the daily ministration. Acts 6:1 says the Grecians murmured against the Hebrews because their widows were not receiving their fair share of the daily provision.
The twelve called the disciples and directed them to choose seven men of honest report, full of the Holy Ghost and wisdom, to oversee the daily distribution. This allowed the apostles to devote themselves to prayer and the ministry of the word (Acts 6:2-4).
Watch the Teaching: Why Repentance Was Offered to Israel — Acts 5 Explained