God’s Mission Is On Track
Acts 1:15-26
In his book “Joy Unspeakable," Dr. Martyn Lloyd Jones illustrates the normal Christian life like a son walking hand-in-hand with his father down the sidewalk of life. The son feels the firm grip of his father, he looks up to his father and as his father looks down at the son he has a sense of settled confidence. No words are spoken but there is a trust and hope that is expressed from the son to the father. Martin Lloyd-Jones describes this as the normal Christian life.
But then there are times when the father sweeps up the young child in to his arms, he hugs him tightly. Then the father pulls the son away just enough so they can look face to face. And that son sees in his daddy's face a look of complete love and acceptance. And the Father says, “I am so glad that you are mine – I love you and I will always be there for you.”
Our son, Trevor, who we adopted into our family when he was 2 ½ months old, from the time he could understand language I would speak these words to him, “You are God’s special gift to me, I'm so thankful you are my son – I love you very much.” Just last week I had to discipline Trevor for a disobedient act, but then after I disciplined him, I took him up in my arms and said, “Trevor – you are God’s special gift to me, I'm so thankful you are my son, I love you very much.” And I kissed him on the forehead.
Lloyd-Jones says those times when God sweeps us off our feet, embraces us firmly and speaks words of love and acceptance to us and gives us a kiss of affection, that’s what the Bible describes as the infilling of the Holy Spirit. When His presence wraps us up and envelopes us. It’s what Jesus described in verse 8 that we looked at last week – you will receive POWER when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my witnesses.” Last week we saw when you are filled by the Spirit, it is a powerful moment which produces a bold witness in your life. That bold witness is a result of God expressing his presence and love for you in unmistakable ways through His Spirit.
I want you to consider another image this morning. Imagine this same father and young son, walking hand-in-hand down the sidewalk in the same way. Again, this represents the normal daily Christian life, you walking with God. And as you are walking along suddenly you see walking towards you a very wild looking man. His hair is a matted mess, his eyes glazed over and piercing - he looks right at you, the little kid, and says, "Hey stupid - still holding on to your mama's hand?"
As a little kid, you're terrified. Tiny kid looking up at a wild-eyed maniac who's speaking to you in threatening ways. As you look away from his terrifying face, up to your father's face, what do you want to see in his face as he looks at this wild man? You don't want to see the same face you were enjoying a minute earlier, the face of love and acceptance, kindness and tenderness he had when he held you close and affirmed his love for you. You want to see in your father strength, confidence and indignation. Why? So you can know you're safe & secure. As a young child you want to know that your father will protect you in a threatening or hostile situation.
These two aspects of a father's character and role in the life of a young child illustrate two aspects of God's character. We have a heavenly father who loves us, and when we draw near to him he draws near to us; he whispers to our soul through his Word and His Spirit words of love and acceptance. What a comfort it is to look into the face of our God and see that we are fully loved, forgiven and accepted. But by the same token, when we go through hardships, difficulties, trials - when it looks like the world around us is going to hell in a handbasket, we want and we need to see a God who is in control; to see a God who is not swayed by these circumstances that toss us about; to see a God with a confident resolve moving forward. That's the face of God we see in this passage and that's why I've entitled this message, "God's Mission Is On Track."
Let's read the text and then see if it reveals to us the resolute purpose on the face of God.
15In those days Peter stood up among the brothers (the company of persons was in all about 120) and said, 16“Brothers, the Scripture had to be fulfilled, which the Holy Spirit spoke beforehand by the mouth of David concerning Judas, who became a guide to those who arrested Jesus. 17For he was numbered among us and was allotted his share in this ministry.” 18(Now this man acquired a field with the reward of his wickedness, and falling headlong he burst open in the middle and all his bowels gushed out. 19And it became known to all the inhabitants of Jerusalem, so that the field was called in their own language Akeldama, that is, Field of Blood.) 20“For it is written in the Book of Psalms, “‘May his camp become desolate, and let there be no one to dwell in it’; and “‘Let another take his office.’ 21So one of the men who have accompanied us during all the time that the Lord Jesus went in and out among us, 22beginning from the baptism of John until the day when he was taken up from us—one of these men must become with us a witness to his resurrection.” 23And they put forward two, Joseph called Barsabbas, who was also called Justus, and Matthias. 24And they prayed and said, “You, Lord, who know the hearts of all, show which one of these two you have chosen 25to take the place in this ministry and apostleship from which Judas turned aside to go to his own place.” 26And they cast lots for them, and the lot fell on Matthias, and he was numbered with the eleven apostles.
Now in the passage we studied last week Jesus reminded the disciples in verses 4-5 of the promise he had made to them - that they would be baptized in the Holy Spirit. Then in verse 8 he told them that Holy Spirit would endue them with POWER to fulfill the mission. Next week we'll study the passage when they were baptized in the Spirit; when the Spirit rested on them with fire and they spoke in tongues, communicating the gospel of Jesus to a multitude of nationalities that were in Jerusalem. And sandwiched between the promise of the Holy Spirit and the outpouring of the Holy Spirit is this somewhat strange passage before us. It's the account of when the apostles dealt with the elephant in the room, if you will - the Judas issue. And when first reading this you might be tempted to think, "Why did Luke, under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, include this episode?" You have the promise of the Spirit from Jesus in chapter 1, and the fulfillment of that promise in chapter 2, why concern us with the process they went through to replace Judas? Why even bring this up?
I think the answer to that question (which I will try to demonstrate this morning) is that even in this situation God is powerfully at work, displaying his sovereign rule and reign. And when we look up at that face of God, the God of complete control and unswerving determination to his purpose of redemption - it settles our hearts. Three things I want you to notice from the text today that demonstrate God's mission is on track. Number one...
I. The INFALLIBILITY Of The Word
“Brothers, the Scripture had to be fulfilled...
We didn't read this section of the chapter, but after Jesus ascended, they descended the mount of Olives and took the 1/2 mile walk back into Jerusalem and entered the house where they were staying and made their way up to the upper room - presumably the same upper room where 45 days earlier they were sharing the first communion meal; the same upper room where Jesus originally promised the coming Holy Spirit; the same Upper Room where he washed their feet - including Judas' feet. And verse 14 says they were devoting themselves to prayer. They were in expectant prayer anticipating the coming of the Holy Spirit. And while they were praying, Peter stood up and speaks to this issue: Judas who had been with them for all of those fantastic events in this upper room was not there for this anticipated event.
And Peter speaks with such trust and confidence these words, “Brothers, the Scripture had to be fulfilled... I love the fact that it's Peter who says these words. The same Peter that told Jesus, "No, no, no, you're not going to die!" If you die, it'll ruin everything. Surely you dying is not in God's plan.
But this is after the resurrection. This is after Jesus walked on the road to Emmaus with two disciples as Luke records in the first volume to Theophilus. And here's what Jesus did on that road to Emmaus: And beginning with Moses and all the Prophets, he interpreted to them in all the Scriptures the things concerning himself. Luke 24:27 Then, later that same night, went to the upper room and did it all over again for all of them, explained the Old Testament, connected all the dots between the Old Testament prophecies and the New Testament fulfillment that He accomplished. They, for the first time, get it. Peter and the other disciples realize that for the previous three years they were living out Old Testament prophecy - fulfilled right in their midst. And he realizes that God's plan and God's mission is right on track; he realizes the infallibility of the Word of God.
What Scriptures did Jesus open up to them? Surely there weren't that many. Try over 100 specific OT prophecies that were fulfilled and accomplished in exact detail. Here’s just a few:
OT Prophecy Topic NT Fulfillment
Micah 5:2 Born in Bethlehem Matt 2:1
Gen 12:3 Descendent of Abraham Luke 3:34
Ps 132:11 Descendent of David Matt 1:6
Is 35:5-6 Will perform miracles John 11:47
Mal 3:1 Enter Temple w/authority Matt 21:12
Zech 9:9 Enter Jerusalem on donkey Matt 21:1-10
Zech 13:7 Forsaken by disciples Matt 26:31
Ps 22:14 Pierced hands and feet John 19:34
Is 53:12 Numbered with criminals Mark 15:27
Is 53:9 Buried with the rich Matt 27:56
Ps 16:10 Raised from the dead Acts 13:35
Those are just a few of the over 100 Old Testament messianic prophecies that Jesus fulfilled in exact detail which proves the INFALLIBILITY of the Word of God. But there are so many more Scriptures that though they are not messianic prophecies, they are shadows of Christ’s work. Surely Jesus opened the eyes of the disciples to understand that the entire OT was pointing to him.
Gen 3:15 the protoevangeleum, the first gospel that was preached to Eve after the Fall – the promise that her seed would crush Satan.
Gen 3:21 – God slew an animal, shed it’s blood and made a covering for Adam and Eve’s sin and shame. Jesus was slain, shed his blood in order to cover our sin and shame.
Gen 6 – Noah and his family were saved from the wrath of God against the sin of humanity in an ark of safety and how Jesus is that ultimate ark of safety to deliver us from the wrath of God.
Gen 22 Abraham takes his son Isaac to offer him as a sacrifice and God provided a substitute – Jesus is our substitute.
Exodus 12 – Passover was instituted to provide deliverance from the angel of death that every home where the blood of the lamb was applied was saved from destruction. Wherever the blood of Jesus is applied is saved from destruction.
Exodus 16 – God provides manna from heaven to give sustenance to his people – Jesus is the true manna from heaven, the bread of life.
Exodus 17 – Where the rock once smitten release life giving water and Jesus when he was smitten became the fountain of living water.
Leviticus – all the sacrifices, all the offerings, the day of atonement, the scapegoat - they all point to Jesus.
I’m just to the third book of the Bible and there are hundreds more I could point out. Like how he’s the kinsman redeemer in Ruth, the faithful husband in Hosea, or the fourth man in the fiery furnace in Daniel. Jesus opened their eyes to all these passages and suddenly they had tremendous meaning to them. The Bible, from cover to cover, has one hero – Jesus.
Peter mentions two OT passages from David in the book of Psalms recorded in verse 20. One references how Judas’ office would become vacated, the other references how that vacancy should be filled.
But in verse 16 Peter communicates WHY the word of God is infallible, has no errors or flaws. He said, “Brothers, the Scripture had to be fulfilled, which the Holy Spirit spoke beforehand by the mouth of David concerning Judas…
Perhaps there’s not a clearer statement on the inspiration of Holy Scripture than that. The Holy Spirit spoke by the mouth of David. You see although Scripture is the writing of men, it is writing that was supernaturally inspired by the very Spirit of God. Later in his second epistle Peter describes it like this: For no prophecy was ever produced by the will of man, but men spoke from God as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit. 2 Peter 1:21
God’s word is infallible because it is wholly inspired by the Holy Spirit. And we can know and trust that God’s mission is on track because of the infallibility of the WORD – here’s the second reason we can know God’s mission is on track. Because of…
II. The INVINCIBILITY Of The Work
God’s purpose, God’s plan to provide salvation through his one and only son is an invincible plan. If you were an impartial observer of the events going on during that last week of Jesus’ life; and if you saw one of his closest friends, one of the inner 12 not only forsake him but completely betray him by selling him out to his executioners, no doubt you would think that the wheels were falling off the plan of God. How in the world could someone who had ministered with Jesus, heard Jesus teach, saw Jesus heal the sick, raise the dead, calm the sea and save your fearful life – how in the world could someone who had been with Jesus through all of that betray him the way he did. Surely that reveals some weakness in the organization, some cracks in the armor; some vulnerability in the plan. No, just the opposite. Judas betraying Jesus for 30 pieces of silver was always part of the plan.
Peter described Judas' purpose in verse 16: Judas, who became a guide to those who arrested Jesus. Judas guided the arresters to Jesus. And in so doing he was playing his part in the unfolding drama, he was fulfilling his role to perfection. Psalm 41:9 predicted it like this: Even my close friend in whom I trusted, who ate my bread, has lifted his heel against me. Psalm 41:9
Zechariah 11:13 even predicts how much he would betray him for and what he did with the money: So I took the thirty pieces of silver and threw them into the house of the LORD. Zechariah 11:13 Judas did exactly what the Old Testament said he would do. It’s an amazing thing. Now obvious question that you may be asking right about now is this – “Is Judas guilty if he was doing what God had already determined he would do.” Absolutely he is. He was making his own choices, operating in his own fallen realm of freedom, he did exactly what his evil heart wanted and purposed to do. And yet he did it in precise fulfillment of the purpose of God. The sovereignty of God and the choice of man combine in complete and total correspondence.
Nothing could derail the work of Jesus Christ; nothing can thwart God’s purpose and plan of redemption. Notice a few other OT passages that confirm this truth: Our God is in the heavens; he does all that he pleases. Psalm 115:3
“For I am God, and there is no other; I am God, and there is none like me, declaring the end from the beginning and from ancient times things not yet done, saying, ‘My counsel shall stand, and I will accomplish all my purpose.’” Isaiah 46:9-10
Job realized this truth and confessed it with certainty towards the end of his trying ordeal. He confessed: “I know that you can do all things, and that no purpose of yours can be thwarted.” Job 42:2
It’s verses like these and many others that bring us consolation and comfort when we’re that scared little child clinging to the hand of the father when the maniacal foe makes his threat and we look up to see the resolute determination in the face of our Father. We can move forward with confidence and assurance that God’s mission is on track, in spite of what the enemy throws at us. We know God’s mission is on track because of the INFALLIBILITY of the Word concerning Christ; the INVINCIBILITY of the WORK of Christ; but finally…
III. The INTEGRITY Of The Witness
...one of these men must become with us a witness to his resurrection.
In verse 18-19 Luke puts a parenthetical graphic description of what happened to Judas. He fell headlong into a field, a field purchased with the money he was paid to betray Jesus. And when he fell his bowels burst out. Now some see that as a discrepancy with what Matthew tells us happened to Judas. Matthew reports in chapter 27 of his gospel that Judas went out and hanged himself. So which is it? It’s both. He hung himself in a field and either one of two things happened. Either 1) the branch on the tree that he hung himself on broke and he fell headlong onto some jagged rocks and his midsection was split wide open or; 2) his body hung there for days (perhaps weeks) in the scorching Palestinian sun, decomposing until finally his corpse slipped through the noose and his body burst open upon impact onto what became known as Akeldama, that is, Field of Blood.
Thus Judas is done for, he’s gone. And Peter stands up among them and says, “We need to find a replacement.” He makes a biblical argument for why they need to replace Judas, as in verse 20 he quotes Psalm 109:8, “Let another take his office.” Now the question I asked when studying this was “why?” Why not just go with 11 apostles? I mean, Paul would be added later on as an apostle, so why add another one? Some have actually argued that they made a mistake here, they jumped the gun by selecting Matthias to replace Judas, but nothing in the text indicates they made a mistake. Surely at this critical juncture the Lord would not have allowed such a blunder. So why fill Judas’ office?
The answer, not surprisingly, is in the text. The reason they replaced Judas was to maintain the integrity regarding the apostolic witness concerning Jesus Christ. Notice the qualifications they laid out for who can fill this office in verses 21-22: 21So one of the men who have accompanied us during all the time that the Lord Jesus went in and out among us, 22beginning from the baptism of John until the day when he was taken up from us—one of these men must become with us a witness to his resurrection.”
The qualifications they laid out were:
1) The replacement had to be a man. There were men and women in the room, verse 14 says as much – including Mary the mother of Jesus. This is not sexism or chauvinism, this is God’s order and creative design for the office of primary leadership in His church. This probably disqualified half the people in the room.
2) This person had to have been with Jesus from the time he was baptized by John. There were 120 followers of Jesus, some no doubt came late to the group, others perhaps halfway through the 3 year ministry of Jesus. But the replacement must be someone who was a follower of Jesus from the very beginning.
3) He had to have been a follower the entire 3 year period of time up until the ascension – when Jesus was taken up from them.
Apparently two who were gathered there met those qualifications – Barsabbas (not to be confused with Barabbas) and Matthias. Now the last phrase of verse 22 answers the question “Why” they replaced Judas: one of these men must become with us a witness to his resurrection.”
In God’s plan and purpose he desired 12 men who had been with Jesus from the beginning. 12 men who could describe in exact detail all that they witnessed in Jesus’ ministry – his teaching, his praying, his healing, his feeding of the thousands, his raising dead children and adults back to life; his arrest and crucifixion. Someone who talked with him, who was consoled by him, and someone whose life came crashing down when he died. Barsabbas and Matthias met those qualifications. But beyond that, they saw the resurrected Christ, they ate breakfast with him, they heard him describe all the ways the OT pointed to him. And so one of them was chosen to complete the 12 to provide undeniable integrity to the apostolic witness of the resurrected Christ.
What’s interesting in this passage is how they decided between the two qualified candidates – they cast lots. Kind of like our drawing straws – and the longest straw went to Matthias. That seems something like an arbitrary and irrational way to choose. One thing to keep in mind is that the casting of lots was a common and acceptable way in the Jewish tradition to make determinations about God’s will. What’s also interesting is this is the last recorded occurrence of casting lots in the Scripture – I think because of what happens in the next chapter – the indwelling and empowering of the Holy Spirit in the life of every believer. But they functioned according to a truth they believed fully as described in Proverbs 16:33: The lot is cast into the lap, but its every decision is from the LORD. Proverbs 16:33
They believed fully that God was in control, he’s sovereign even over the casting of a lot, the tossing of dice. And Christian, if God exhibits his sovereign rule in something as miniscule as the tossing of dice, will he not much more exhibit his sovereign rule in every aspect of your life, no matter what you’re facing? And this truth gives us confidence, assurance and hope as that young child, clinging tightly to the hand of our Father, even in the face of a devastating foe, we look up to his face and see God’s perfect resolve; taking confidence in the fact that
The WORD concerning Christ is infallible
The WORK of Christ for our redemption is invincible
And the WITNESS regarding the triumphant, resurrected Christ has iron-glad integrity, preserved in the testimony of 12 chosen apostles.
Last Thought: No matter the circumstance you experience TAKE JOY in the truth that our faithful Father is SOVEREIGN OVER US!
