The New Apostle
Acts 1:15-26
Jeff Hughes – January 26, 2003
Calvary Chapel Aggieland
I. Introduction
a. The early church had a vacancy. Jesus had named twelve apostles to carry out the ministry of being His witnesses. However, now there was only eleven. There was one position left to fill. That was a big opening to fill.
b. In the past two weeks, we have studied the Great Commission and the Ascension of Christ and how it these events helped to shape the early church.
c. Today though, we are going to look at the church’s first business meeting if you will. Last week, we were introduced to the remaining eleven apostles, This week, we are going to look at the replacing and the replacement for number twelve, and why this is significant.
d. Many people think that the way in which the replacement apostle was chosen was wrong, we are going to look at that this morning.
e. Some others think that the wrong choice was made in who was selected to fill the vacancy in the twelve. We will also look at this in depth as we continue our journey through Acts.
f. We also saw last week that the apostles and other disciples of Christ were gathered together in one accord in prayer and supplication. They were commanded to wait for the coming Holy Spirit. Choosing the new apostle is an important part of that wait, and for our benefit, because, why would God choose for it to be there unless it was for our benefit?
g. Let’s pray, and ask God to come and bless our study in the Word this morning.
II. PRAYER
III. Illustration
a. Sergeant Kenneth E. Neu was stationed in the U.S. Airborne unit in Germany, where the parachute drop zone was located next to a Mercedes-Benz test track. One windy day, a gust of wind blew his parachute over the track. Knowing how hard a landing on asphalt can be, he braced himself, landed and checked for broken bones. Amazingly, he was fine. Suddenly the wind inflated Neu’s parachute and started dragging him down the track. He hit the chute’s canopy release and looked up just in time to see a car speeding toward him. Acting quickly, he grabbed his chute and ran to the edge of the track. Out of breath but uninjured, he thought, “How lucky can I be?” Relieved, he turned, stepped into a gopher hole and sprained his ankle.
b. Similarly, on NBC’s Tonight Show, Johnny Carson read an item from the lost-and-found column of a midwestern newspaper: “Lost dog—brown fur, some missing due to mange, blind in one eye, deaf, lame leg due to recent traffic accident, slightly arthritic. Answers to the name of ‘Lucky’!
c. Folks, there is no such thing as luck. If we believe that the God of all creation is watching over us this morning, then nothing happens without His knowledge. God is at work in the earth moving and directing. Scripture tells us that the number of hairs on your head (some of us have a decling number) are known by Him. The age old question – If a tree falls in the forest, who hears it? The answer is God. God hears it.
IV. Study
a. Intro
i. But, like I mentioned earlier, the choosing of the new apostle was an important event in the early church at Jerusalem. The scriptures we are going to look at this morning deal with the suicide of Judas Iscariot, and the subsequent selection of a replacement for Judas in the office of apostle.
ii. In the previous weeks, we looked at the promise of the coming Holy Spirit, and next week, we will look at the fulfillment of that promise on the day of Pentecost.
iii. Now stuck in between these two events is the choosing of the new apostle. The question that naturally comes to mind is why? Why is this here?
iv. Well, it has to do with God’s Will being done on the earth no matter what the circumstances. Obviously, the other eleven apostles were shocked and surprised at Judas’ betrayal, even though Jesus wasn’t.
v. Really, if you take a look at these eleven verses, we get a look at the sovereignty of God. We see God’s plans being carried out even though the apostles were one short. We will see this played out in our lesson today. Our passage comes again from Acts chapter one, starting in verse 15, and continuing to the end of the passage. We will finish up chapter one this week, and in February, we will start up with Acts chapter 2. So, follow along with me if you would. If you need a Bible, just raise your hand, and we will get one to you.
vi. Acts is just past the gospel of John in the New Testament, kind of toward the back, just before Romans. Acts chapter 1, starting in verse 15.
vii. 15 And in those days Peter stood up in the midst of the disciples (altogether the number of names was about a hundred and twenty), and said, 16 "Men and brethren, this Scripture had to be fulfilled, which the Holy Spirit spoke before by the mouth of David concerning Judas, who became a guide to those who arrested Jesus; 17 for he was numbered with us and obtained a part in this ministry." 18 (Now this man purchased a field with the wages of iniquity; and falling headlong, he burst open in the middle and all his entrails gushed out. 19 And it became known to all those dwelling in Jerusalem; so that field is called in their own language, Akel Dama, that is, Field of Blood.) 20 "For it is written in the book of Psalms: ’Let his dwelling place be desolate, And let no one live in it’; and, ’Let another take his office.’ 21 "Therefore, of these men who have accompanied us all the time that the Lord Jesus went in and out among us, 22 beginning from the baptism of John to that day when He was taken up from us, one of these must become a witness with us of His resurrection." 23 And they proposed two: Joseph called Barsabas, who was surnamed Justus, and Matthias. 24 And they prayed and said, "You, O Lord, who know the hearts of all, show which of these two You have chosen 25 to take part in this ministry and apostleship from which Judas by transgression fell, that he might go to his own place." 26 And they cast their lots, and the lot fell on Matthias. And he was numbered with the eleven apostles.
viii. When I studied this passage, I saw five main ideas that we can glean out of this passage. This morning, we are going to look at the spokesman, the suicide, the scripture, the specifications, and the selection. There’s an outline in the back of your bulletin so you can take notes and write down things that stick out to you.
b. The Spokesman (Acts 1:15-17)
i. The first point we are going to look at is the spokesman. We find this in verses fifteen through seventeen in Acts chapter one. We read here:
ii. 15 And in those days Peter stood up in the midst of the disciples (altogether the number of names was about a hundred and twenty), and said, 16 "Men and brethren, this Scripture had to be fulfilled, which the Holy Spirit spoke before by the mouth of David concerning Judas, who became a guide to those who arrested Jesus; 17 for he was numbered with us and obtained a part in this ministry."
iii. So, this is the scene, about a hundred and twenty disciples were gathered together in the upper room. They were probably packed in there pretty tight, by our standards.
iv. Generally, eastern peoples have a smaller personal space than us Americans. Especially in the Far East, people have a much smaller space. Here, ours is about 18 inches. If you get closer to me than that, unless you’re related to me, or I know you real well, I start to get kind of jumpy.
v. Peter stands up and starts addressing these one hundred and twenty people. Scholars tell us that there was between half a million and 4 million people in Palestine at the time of Christ. We also know that there are about 4 or 500 disciples of Christ. In this verse we see a hundred and twenty gathered together. Any way you slice it, the Christians make up a small minority of the local population at the time. But, as we will see, from this small group gathered here, the whole world will be changed in a few hundred years.
vi. Peter then begins a discourse on why they should replace Judas in the twelve apostles. He says that in order to fulfill prophecy written by David in the Psalms, which we will look at in a little while.
vii. Peter goes on to tell them that this prophecy was concerning Judas Iscariot, the apostle who betrayed Jesus, and guided those who would arrest Jesus, and later have him crucified.
viii. Peter’s reasoning was that Judas was numbered with them and that he obtained a part in this ministry.
ix. Without giving the scriptures away that we will cover later, I want to try and explain something. Over the history in the church, there has been much debate over what Peter was doing here was right or not. Some would say that Peter became impatient in the ten days of prayer between the Lord’s ascension and the coming of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost. Personally, I believe that Peter was being led by the Lord in replacing Judas. Some would say that the twelfth spot was for Paul, and that the eleven acted too quickly to replace Judas.
x. When we get into the qualifications or specifications of the twelfth apostle we will see why I don’t think this place was for Paul.
xi. It is clear that from verse 16 Peter was well intentioned, and that he was sincere about fulfilling scripture concerning Jesus’ betrayer.
xii. One of the reasons people cite in saying that the apostles made the wrong choice here is that the guy that is chosen is never heard about again. Well, that can be said about the majority of the eleven and certainly the majority of the one hundred and twenty gathered. We don’t hear about most of these others in the rest of the New Testament. Does that mean that they weren’t used of God as well? I think not. So, when I look at it, I think that argument is pretty shallow.
xiii. So, why did they want to replace Judas anyway? Well, besides the two scriptures Peter cites, we have a few clues.
xiv. The first is that 12 is a complete number in scripture. Eleven is not. There were 12 tribes of Israel. The woman who touched Jesus with the flow of blood, had her problem twelve years. The apostles took up twelve basketfuls of crumbs after the 5000 were fed. In Revelation, we see the New Jerusalem having 12 foundations, on each was written a name of the twelve apostles. We also see in scripture that there will be twelve thrones, on which the twelve apostles will judge the nation of Israel.
xv. So, the number twelve has a significant role in the Bible. I made sense in a Biblical sense to replace Judas. But, before we get to Judas’ replacement, Dr. Luke gives a description of the events surrounding Judas’ death, and we will look at this in the next two verses, eighteen and nineteen.
c. The Suicide (Acts 1:18-19)
i. 18 (Now this man purchased a field with the wages of iniquity; and falling headlong, he burst open in the middle and all his entrails gushed out. 19 And it became known to all those dwelling in Jerusalem; so that field is called in their own language, Akel Dama, that is, Field of Blood.)
ii. Right off, we notice that these two verses are in parentheses. Luke is taking a short aside from his historical account to enlighten his readers as to the circumstances around Judas’ death.
iii. First off, in verse eighteen, Luke tells us that Judas bought a field with the wages of his iniquity. This seems to contradict with other accounts in the scripture. In actuality, it lines up perfectly. The field was purchased with his money, by proxy, by the temple officials who had paid the bribe to Judas.
iv. The religious leaders bribed Judas to lead them to Jesus so that they could kill Him. Judas did just what they wanted. He led them to Jesus and Jesus was crucified. We cannot be sure what Judas’ motives were, but we do know that it was prophesied, and we will look at that next.
v. But, after Jesus’ death, Judas was overcome with guilt and remorse, and he returns the money he took from the religious leaders. The leaders, in their hypocrisy, won’t take the money, as it was blood money, but instead, use the money to buy a field that potters used to gather clay.
vi. An interesting thing to note is that Judas was not repentant about his actions, just remorseful. Judas’ remorse led him to commit suicide, and Matthew’s account tells us that Judas hanged himself. Luke’s account here in Acts doesn’t contradict Matthew’s, it just adds to it. Either the rope or the branch broke at some point, either before or after Judas’ death, and he was split open on the rocks below.
vii. Some people believe that the same field that the religious leaders bought was the same one that Judas hanged himself in. We cannot know this for sure. But, personally, I think that Judas died somewhere else, because Jewish tradition would not let them use a field that someone committed suicide in for a sacred burial place.
viii. Regardless, because the field was bought with blood money, the people of Jerusalem called the place, Akel Dama, or field of blood.
ix. This is the end of Luke’s brief explanation; so, let’s pick up Peter’s speech in the next verse, verse 20.
d. The Scriptures (Acts 1:20)
i. 20 "For it is written in the book of Psalms: ’Let his dwelling place be desolate, And let no one live in it’; and, ’Let another take his office.’
ii. Peter is taking the lead here in the upper room. There’s nothing wrong with this, as we will see Peter taking a lead role in the apostles in the first chapters of Acts, and Peter has been somewhat of a spokesman for the group, even while the Lord was on the earth, and as we saw earlier in our lesson today.
iii. There must have been some there expressing concern over Judas’ betrayal and suicide, but Peter seeks to reassure them that these events were foretold in Scripture. He then goes on to quote two.
iv. The first, ’Let his dwelling place be desolate, And let no one live in it’ is taken from Psalm 69 verse 25. It predicts Judas’ removal from his position as an apostle. The second, ’Let another take his office’ is taken from Psalm 109 verse 8. Both of these clearly point to the time of the Messiah’s death, in context.
v. As I said earlier, what Peter is doing, is reassuring his listeners, the early church gathered there in the upper room, that Judas’ betrayal and death was all part of God’s plan.
vi. He was also trying to reassure them through the Scriptures that replacing Judas in the twelve was part of God’s plan, too. So, who should they choose? How should they choose the new apostle?
vii. That’s a good question. One that we get an answer to in verses 21 through 25 of Acts chapter 1.
e. The Specifications (Acts 1:21-25)
i. 21 "Therefore, of these men who have accompanied us all the time that the Lord Jesus went in and out among us, 22 beginning from the baptism of John to that day when He was taken up from us, one of these must become a witness with us of His resurrection." 23 And they proposed two: Joseph called Barsabas, who was surnamed Justus, and Matthias. 24 And they prayed and said, "You, O Lord, who know the hearts of all, show which of these two You have chosen 25 to take part in this ministry and apostleship from which Judas by transgression fell, that he might go to his own place."
ii. Peter starts the selection process by naming the specifications or the qualifications for Judas’ replacement. We see here in verse 21 and 22 that the man had to have been with the apostles all the time that Jesus was with them. Starting with Jesus’ baptisim by John the Baptist in the Jordan River, and finishing up with Jesus’ Ascension. They had to be a witness of Jesus’ entire earthly ministry. They had to have seen the miracles, and heard the Lord’s teaching.
iii. The replacement apostle had to be an eyewitness of the Lord’s resurrection. This is important because as we will see in later chapters, when these guys go out and speak, the main theme they speak about is the resurrection of Jesus, because that is the core of the Christian faith.
iv. We see in verse 23 that two of the disciples there met the qualifications. Joseph called Barsabas, who was surnamed Justus, and Matthias these were the only two of the hundred and twenty gathered that met the qualifications set forth by Peter.
v. Now, we don’t know a whole lot about these two, they weren’t mentioned in Scripture before this and we won’t hear about either one of them again. One thing interesting to note here is that Matthias’ name means “gift of God”.
vi. In verses 24 and 25, we see the apostle’s prayer. Now, we just saw two specifications for the new apostle in verses 21 and 22. Here, in verses 24 and 25, we see the third and most important qualification for an apostle, and that is, that he is chosen by God and not men. The remaining eleven were, chosen by God, by Jesus.
vii. So, knowing this, they prayed that the Lord would show which of these two You have chosen to take part in this ministry and apostleship from which Judas by transgression fell, that he might go to his own place.
viii. One thing I notice here is the last phrase. Judas chose his fate by his own free will. The place he is at is Hell. Just like anyone else who chooses to turn away from God, God doesn’t choose that they go to Hell, they do.
ix. But, the most important thing to note in these two verses, is that they prayed and sought God’s will concerning who should fill the twelfth place.
x. Some over the years have argued that Peter and the other ten apostles should not have made this choice here, and that Paul was really the twelfth apostle of the Lord’s choosing. I could not disagree more.
xi. There are two reasons why I disagree.
xii. First, I don’t think that the Lord would make a mistake with the early church. Establishing the church was an important thing for the Lord, and this was an important aspect of it. Why would the Lord let them put the wrong man in place for the job?
xiii. Well, that leads me to the second reason why I disagree, and I think that the replacement was the right thing to do. They prayed, they asked the Lord for His direction in this matter. As we will see in the last verse, verse 26, that was made pretty clear.
xiv. If the Lord had wanted them to wait for Paul, wouldn’t the Lord have told them to wait some way or another? I think he would.
xv. The ministry of the twelve was to the nation of Israel. We see that clearly in the Scriptures several places. The gospel is for the Jew first and then the gentile or Greek. We see this clearly in Romans chapter 1, and Romans chapter 2.
xvi. Paul did not meet the specifications laid out here in scripture. He was not a follower of Jesus until after his death. He did not see the Lord baptized, and he didn’t follow Jesus during His earthly ministry.
xvii. While Paul was an apostle, he wasn’t part of the twelve. While he wasn’t inferior to the others, which we see in scripture, he definitely had a different job. Paul’s job was to take the gospel to the gentiles, and we will spend a lot of time looking at that over the next year.
xviii. I think it might be interesting to note here, what part of the consequences the office of apostle carried with it.
xix. Matthew suffered martyrdom by being slain with a sword at a distant city of Ethiopia.
xx. John was put in a caldron of boiling oil, but escaped death in a miraculous manner, and was afterward banished to Patmos.
xxi. Peter was crucified at Rome with his head downward.
xxii. James, was beheaded at Jerusalem.
xxiii. James, the son of Alphaeus, was thrown from a lofty pinnacle of the temple, and then beaten to death with a fuller’s club.
xxiv. Judas the son of James was likely beaten and stoned to death by magicians.
xxv. Bartholomew was flayed alive.
xxvi. Andrew was bound to a cross, whence he preached to his persecutors until he died.
xxvii. Thomas was run through the body with a lance at Coromandel in the East Indies.
xxviii. Matthias was first stoned and then beheaded.
xxix. Luke, the writer of Acts was hanged upon an olive tree in the classic land of Greece.
xxx. Jude was shot to death with arrows.
xxxi. Mark expired at Alexandria, after being cruelly dragged through the streets of that city.
xxxii. Paul, after various tortures and persecutions, was at length beheaded at Rome by the Emperor Nero.
xxxiii. A martyr’s death awaited all of these men. But God called them, not men. It would be easy to walk away from an office appointed by men. Appointed by God, they walked in the position that the Lord gave them until their demise.
xxxiv. So, who was chosen? We will see that in verse 26.
f. The Selection (Acts 1:26)
i. 26 And they cast their lots, and the lot fell on Matthias. And he was numbered with the eleven apostles.
ii. So, they do all this praying and then they cast lots. First off, apostles weren’t throwing dice. What they were doing here was to allow the Lord to make His choice. This was something commonly done in Israel at the time. It was an acceptable means for determining God’s will in the Old Testament. We see in Luke chapter 1 that Zacharias was chosen to burn incense before ht Lord by his lot being drawn. Proverbs 16:33 tells us this - 33 The lot is cast into the lap, But its every decision is from the Lord.
iii. So, clearly this was an acceptable means of choosing the new apostle. However, this is the last time we see this means being employed to choose in Scripture. Why is that?
iv. Well, it is because of the Holy Spirit. We have the Holy Spirit to lead us in our decision making now.
v. The Lord had made His choice. Matthias would be the replacement for Judas. If it had been a mistake, God would have told us that in Scripture. This event would not be recorded for us if it were wrong.
vi. Guys, this tells me that there is no such thing as luck. I’d like to close today with a story, one that is fitting for our lesson today.
vii.
V. Conclusion
a. Marcel Sternberger was a methodical man of nearly 50, a native of Hungary. He always took the 9:09 Long Island Railroad train from his suburban home to Woodside, N.Y., where he caught a subway into the city.
b. On the morning of January 10, 1948, Sternberger boarded the 9:09 as usual. While on his way, he suddenly decided to visit a friend who lived in Brooklyn and was ill.
c. So Sternberger changed trains for Brooklyn, went to his friend’s house, and stayed until midafternoon. He then boarded a Manhattan-bound subway for his Fifth Avenue office. Here is Marcel’s incredible story:
d. The car was crowded, and there seemed to be no chance of a seat. But just as I entered, a man sitting by the door suddenly jumped up to leave, and I slipped into the empty place. I’ve been living in New York long enough not to start conversations with strangers. But being a photographer, I have the peculiar habit of analyzing people’s faces, and I was struck by the features of the passenger on my left. He was probably in his late 30s, and when he glanced up, his eyes seemed to have a hurt expression in them. He was reading a Hungarian-language newspaper, and something prompted me to say in Hungarian, “I hope you don’t mind if I glance at your paper.”
e. The man seemed surprised to be addressed in his native language. But he answered politely, “You may read it now. I’ll have time later on.”
f. During the half-hour ride to town, we had quite a conversation. He said his name was Bela Paskin. A law student when World War II started, he had been put into a German labor battalion and sent to the Ukraine. Later he was captured by the Russians and put to work burying the German dead. After the war, he covered hundreds of miles on foot until he reached his home in Debrecen, a large city in eastern Hungary.
g. When he went to the apartment once occupied by his family, he found strangers living there. Then he went upstairs to the apartment that he and his wife once had. It also was occupied by strangers. None of them had ever heard of his family.
h. As he was leaving, full of sadness, a boy ran after him, calling “Paskin bacsi! Paskin bacsi!” That means “Uncle Paskin.” The child was the son of some old neighbors of his. He went to the boy’s home and talked to his parents. “Your whole family is dead,” they told him. “The Nazis took them and your wife to Auschwitz.”
i. Auschwitz was one of the worst Nazi concentration camps. Paskin gave up all hope. A few days later, too heartbroken to remain any longer in Hungary, he set out again on foot, stealing across border after border until he reached Paris. He managed to immigrate to the United States in October 1947, just three months before I met him.
j. All the time he had been talking, I kept thinking that somehow his story seemed familiar. A young woman whom I had met recently at the home of friends had also been from Debrecen; she had been sent to Auschwitz; from there she had been transferred to work in a German munitions factory. Her relatives had been killed in the gas chambers. Later she was liberated by the Americans and was brought here in the first boatload of displaced persons in 1946.
k. Her story had moved me so much that I had written down her address and phone number, intending to invite her to meet my family, to help relieve the terrible emptiness in her life.
l. It seemed impossible that there could be any connection between these two people, but as I neared my station, I fumbled anxiously in my address book. I asked in what I hoped was a casual voice, “Was your wife’s name Marya?”
m. Bela turned pale. “Yes!” he answered. “How did you know?”
n. He looked as if he were about to faint.
o. I said, “Let’s get off the train.” I took him by the arm at the next station and led him to a phone booth. He stood there like a man in a trance while I dialed her phone number.
p. It seemed hours before Marya Paskin answered. (Later I learned her room was alongside the telephone, but she was in the habit of never answering it because she had so few friends and the calls were always for someone else. This time, however, there was no one else at home and, after letting it ring for a while, she responded.)
q. When I heard her voice at last, I told her who I was and asked her to describe her husband. She seemed surprised at the question, but gave me a description. Then I asked her where she had lived in Debrecen, and she told me the address.
r. Asking her to hold the line, I turned to Paskin and said, “Did you and your wife live on such-and-such a street?”
s. “Yes!” Bela exclaimed. He was now white and trembling.
t. “Try to be calm,” I urged him. “Something miraculous is about to happen to you. Here, take this telephone and talk to your wife!”
u. He nodded his head in mute bewilderment, his eyes bright with tears. He took the receiver, listened a moment to his wife’s voice, then suddenly cried, “This is Bela! This is Bela!” Then he began to mumble hysterically. Seeing that the poor fellow was so excited he couldn’t talk coherently, I took the receiver from his shaking hands.
v. “Stay where you are,” I told Marya, who also sounded hysterical. “I am sending your husband to you. We will be there in a few minutes.”
w. Bela was crying like a baby and saying over and over again. “It is my wife. I go to my wife!”
x. At first I thought I had better accompany Paskin, lest the man should faint from excitement, but I decided that this was a moment in which no strangers should intrude. Putting Paskin into a taxicab, I directed the driver to take him to Marya’s address, paid the fare, said goodbye, and sent him on his way to reunite with his wife.
y. Skeptical persons would attribute the events of that memorable afternoon to mere chance. But was it chance that made Marcel Sternberger suddenly decide to visit his sick friend and hence take a subway line that he had never ridden before? Was it chance that caused the man sitting by the door of the car to rush out just as Sternberger came in? Was it chance that caused Bela Paskin to be sitting beside Sternberger, reading a Hungarian newspaper?
z. Was it chance—or did God ride the Brooklyn subway that afternoon?
