The early church was experiencing phenomenal growth, marvelous miracles, pulsating power, and unlimited blessings. Then, right in the middle of this success story, dissension arose. The Greek speaking
widows were being neglected in favor of the Hebrew speaking widows.
The Apostles said that they didn’t need to leave their role as leaders of the fellowship and proclaimers of the Word to deal with this problem. They, therefore, told the congregation to select a group of men, who most scholars believe were the first Deacons. They were to address the conflict by leading the church to serve the needs of the widows in an effective and efficient manner. And this they did. This group of men worked well at providing the servant leadership needed to address the problem and get the church back on the road to pleasing God.
As we look at the process, we note that the qualifications for those elected were described by the Apostles, then men were elected by the church that met these qualifications, and once elected, they were prayed over by the Apostles, who laid hands on them.
We readily understand the importance of setting qualifications for those who might serve, and the propriety of having the congregation elect those who were found to be qualified. We understand the importance of praying for them as they start their work. But why do we lay hands on them? Before we consider why we lay hands as part of the ordination service, let’s first consider the biblical practice of laying on hands.
Laying on Hands in the Old Testament.
1. Laying on hands was involved in passing along a curse.
A. Laying hands on a sacrificial animal.
Every sin offering put forth in the Book of Leviticus commands that hands be laid on the animal to demonstrate how the curse of the sins of the individual or the people were being placed on a sacrificial animal (Leviticus 1:3-4; 3:1-2; 4:15; 16:20-22).
This, of course, symbolized the actual and ultimate sacrifice for sin that was offered by our Savior at Calvary.
B. Laying hands on a blasphemer.
When people blasphemed the name of God, the individual who committed blasphemy had hands laid on him so he would bear the curse he invoked. “Bring out of the camp the one who cursed, and let all who heard him lay their hands on his head, and let all the congregation stone him. And speak to the people of Israel, saying, Whoever curses his God shall bear his sin” (Leviticus 24:14-15).
This, of course, also reminds us of how Christ suffered our curse “outside the city gate” or “outside the camp” (Hebrews 13:12-13).
Interestingly enough, we do not see the laying on of hands associated with curses in the New Testament. Perhaps, that’s because through the cross, Christ bore our curse for us. The imagery is no longer needed, since the reality has come.
“But Christ has rescued us from the curse pronounced by the law. When he was hung on the cross, he took upon himself the curse for our wrongdoing. For it is written in the Scriptures, ‘Cursed is
everyone who is hung on a tree.’” - Galatians 3:13
2. Laying on hands was involved in passing along a blessing.
Such was the case with fathers blessing their sons (Genesis 48:14-19), and the blessing of new leaders (Numbers 8:10; 27:18; Deut. 34:9).
Laying on Hands in the New Testament.
As mentioned previously, we do not find laying on hands associated with passing along a curse in the New Testament, but simply to pass along a blessing.
A. Jesus.
Jesus laid hands on others to bless them. He did this with children (Mark 10:16; Matthew 19:15). He also did this when healing the sick.
“While Jesus was in one of the towns, a man came along who was covered with leprosy. When he saw Jesus, he fell with his face to the ground and begged him, ‘Lord, if you are willing, you can make me clean.’ Jesus reached out his hand and touched the man. ‘I am willing,’ he said. ‘Be clean!’ And immediately the leprosy left him.” - Luke 5:12-13
So Jesus laid hands on many that He healed; however, He also healed without laying His hands on people. In fact, there were times when He was nowhere in the vicinity of those He healed. So while He did lay hands on many He healed, it wasn’t so healing could take place, but to convey blessing to those He healed.
B. The Apostles.
Like Jesus, the Apostles laid hands on others in order to bless them. Now, like Jesus, there were people who were healed who they laid hands on, but the purpose wasn’t to heal, but to convey blessing. Some people were healed when the apostles laid hands on them, but others were healed without an Apostle touching them (Acts 5:15 - Peter’s shadow; Acts 19:11-12 - Paul’s handkerchiefs or aprons).
Likewise, there were occasions when the Holy Spirit came upon those whom the Apostles laid hands on, but also when they had not (Acts 19:4-6; 10:44-46).
The point is that laying on hands was not a requirement to believers receiving the Holy Spirit. In fact, the instances in Acts served a signs to the early church affirming God’s approval of taking the gospel to the Samaritans and Gentiles. The normative experience since Acts is that believers receive the Holy Spirit upon conversion (Ephesians 1:13b).
So, why do we lay hands on a person when we ordain them?
We do it as a sign of blessing. As illustrated by the ordination of the first Deacons, there are at least three ways we bless the one being set aside to serve when we lay hands on them.
1. We affirm that God has called you - vs. 1-2
Mordecai told Esther, “Who knows but that you have come to your royal position for such a time as this?” (Esther 4:14). God has a plan for each of us, and when we lay hands on a candidate, we affirm that serving in this capacity is part of God’s plan, just like the first Deacons.
Sadly, in too many churches, there are Deacons who have confused position with performance. These are men who are more into self-exaltation than servant leadership. They have forgotten that this is a ministry to which God has called them. They are more into serving themselves than serving god and His church.
A teenager came out of a witness training class with a real burden to share the gospel with everyone he saw. He approached a man after church and said, “Sir, are you are saved?” The man replied, “I’ll have you know I’m a deacon.” The boy replied, “That’s all right. The Bible says that God can forgive anything!”
2. We acknowledge that God has equipped you - v. 3
The congregation was told by the Apostles to select seven men who they recognized to be 1) Faithful - “from among you”; 2) Reputable - “who are known”; 3) Spiritual - “full of the Spirit”; 4) Teachable - “full of . . . wisdom”; and 5) Responsible - “we will turn this responsibility over to them.” It was obvious to the congregation that God had prepared these men for this work.
“They must first be tested; and then if there is nothing against them, let them serve as deacons.” - 1 Timothy 3:10
When we lay hands on someone in setting them aside to serve as a Deacon we are blessing them by saying that we acknowledge that God has been at work preparing them to serve in this way.
A college student sent a letter to his mother prior to the Christmas break. “Dear Mom, I have flunked all my classes. When I come home for the holidays. I will be moving back home. Prepare Pop.” The following week, the student received a letter from his mother which read, “Pop prepared. Prepare yourself!”
There’s nothing worse than going into something unprepared. When we lay hands on a candidate, we’re blessing them by saying, we believe God has prepared you for this.
“Do not be hasty in the laying on of hands . . .” - 1 Timothy 5:22a
3. We are accept that God has assigned you - v. 7
When we ordain a man as a Deacon, we give them the title, “Deacon.”
Now, entitlement is a hot topic today. The root word entitled means exactly what it says - to give someone a title. As people think of entitlement today, they think of rights. Their focus is on themselves.
Well, when we ordain a Deacon, we entitle them. But not so they might think of their rights. Not so they might focus on themselves.
What does the title of “Deacon” mean? It means “Servant.”
When we lay hands on them, we are saying that we believe God has assigned them to the role of servant. And that is a blessing.I understand that the meaning of the name of the prophet Elijah is “the Lord is God.” I find it interesting that the high point of his ministry was when he challenged the prophets of Baal to a contest on Mount Carmel. Where, once God had answered Elijah’s prayer with fire, the people proclaims, “The Lord is God!”
Conclusion: As we come now to the time for the laying on of hands, may you be blessed to know that this congregation affirms that God has called you to serve Him in this way; that God has equipped you to serve Him in this way, and that God has assigned you to this church to serve Him in this way. And may you go forward from here and live up to the title you are given today: servant.
