The Synagogue of Freedmen and Stephen's Message of True Freedom
April 15, 2024 - Monday of the Third Week of Easter
Acts 6:8-15; Psalm 119:23-24, 26-27, 29-30; John 6:22-29
According to Jewish sources, there were 390 different synagogues in Jerusalem before the Romans destroyed the city in 70 AD. One among them was the one mentioned in today's first reading: "the so-called Synagogue of Freedmen". The term "freedmen" refers to those captured by the Romans during an armed conflict and later were granted freedom. In 63 BC, the Roman General Pompey captured Jerusalem and took some Jews as prisoners to Rome. Some biblical scholars think that Luke refers here to the descendants of those Jews. Furthermore, Luke indicates that the members of that synagogue were Jews coming from North Africa (Cyrene and Alexandria) and Asia Minor (Cilicia and Asia).
The name of the synagogue indicates that its members considered themselves free men, but in reality, they were enslaved by sin. Jesus once said to the Jewish audience in Jerusalem that "everyone who sins is a slave to sin" (John 8:34). The members of the synagogue could not withstand "the wisdom and the Spirit with which [Stephen] spoke", so they brought some false witnesses to accuse him of blasphemy (Acts 6:10-11). Stephen tried to lead them to Jesus, the only one who could set them free from the power of sin: "if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed" (John 8:36). But apparently, they refused.
Psalm 119, which accompanies the first reading, is the longest in the Bible. It presents God’s Law as the source of happiness, wisdom, and life (Ps. 119:1, 93, 98). It begins with the proclamation that “blessed are they who follow the law of the Lord” (Ps 119:1; see Ps 1:1-2). The word "law" - in Hebrew "torah" - is associated with the five books ascribed to Moses: Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, and Deuteronomy. From meditating upon the law of the Lord, the psalmist gained insight that there is “the way of falsehood” and “the way of faithfulness” (see Ps 119:29-30).
Luke describes Stephen as filled with grace, power, wisdom, and the Holy Spirit. The first martyr of the Church knew the Scripture so well that nobody could successfully debate with him. Under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, Saint Stephen could prove what the risen Christ revealed to his closest disciples, namely that the entire Scripture points to Jesus Christ. Jesus summarizes it in his sermon in the synagogue in Capernaum. When the audience asked Jesus: “What can we do to accomplish the works of God?” Jesus answered and said to them, “This is the work of God, that you believe in the one he sent” (John 6:28-29).
Luke tells us that Stephen's face looked like that of an angel. In the biblical tradition, an angel is a messenger of God. Saint Stephen was the messenger of Jesus Christ bringing the Good News of salvation and "working great wonders and signs among the people" (Acts 6:8). But those who considered themselves "freedmen" refused to believe the message of Stephen and become free indeed. They preferred slavery to sin over the freedom of the children of God.