Of Saints & Shepherds

Quick Facts

• Pronunciation: prō-to-stä’-tās
• Strongs Concordance: #G4414
  • one who stands in the front rank
    • a leader, chief, champion
• Appears 1 times in 1 verses in the New Testament
• Common translations
  • “ringleader” (1x)

How and where prōtostatēs is used in the New Testament

1. Acts 24:5 NASB – “5 “For we have found this man a real pest and a fellow who stirs up dissension among all the Jews throughout the world, and a ringleader of the sect of the Nazarenes.”

My observations and perspective

In the single times that prōtostatēs is used in the New Testament, it is the Jewish religious leaders speaking about the apostle Paul and his role of stirring up those who were beginning to follow Jesus Christ. The context does not indicate that this gave Paul authority, only that he was “at the front of the line”, and one influencing others. No basis for exercising authority over the saints can be found in the use of prōtostatēs in the New Testament.