Lechem Panim #118 "Matthias Replaces Judas" (Acts 1:15-26) Pastor Cameron Ury

Hello, and welcome to Lechem Panim. 

Not Just Another Business Meeting— You will remember that last week we explored the nature of how the Jews viewed history; and how deeply they loved and sought to ingrain the Word of God into their hearts and minds. And I wanted to lay that foundation for you because when we come to this point in Acts 1, we see that the eyes of the disciples have been opened to understand in a whole new way the scriptures that they had hidden in their hearts; they now understood them in the light of Jesus Christ and were beginning to see how the entirety of God’s plan fit together and what their own place was in it. And when we understand that, the first board meeting of the Church here in chapter 1 (which we might be tempted at first glance to think of as kind of a boring way to kick off the book of Acts) is really a time of wondrous excitement and purpose. Peter (whose name means “rock”), but who had recently denied Jesus, was now standing in the midst of the company of the disciples and is telling them what the Old Testament means and what their immediate plan of action needs to be. And notice nobody is saying to him, “Who are you to tell us anything, you’re not a rock; you’re a chicken!” Nobody is saying anything like that. Because they know Peter is not just speaking from his own wisdom anymore, which we know rarely worked for him. Rather they acknowledge now that he has been led by God into an understanding of the Word of God; and he is speaking out of that understanding. And that was somebody they were willing to follow. It says in…

Acts 1:15-17 (ESV)— 15 In 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. 17 For he was numbered among us and was allotted his share in this ministry.” 

God’s Plan Unhindered— Now the betrayal of Jesus by Judas is a sad story. But what it shows us (and this is key) is that even a betrayal at the most intimate and personal level (the level of a disciple of the Son of God) could do nothing to thwart the plans of God. God’s plan of salvation didn’t miss a beat. And even though it says Satan entered into Judas (twice in scripture it says that), God was able to use even that betrayal to bring about the fulfillment of His plan; the provision of His Son to die on the cross in order to make atonement (to pay for) our sins. Now it says of Judas’ subsequent suicide (after he realized what he had done)…

Acts 1:18 (ESV)— 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. 

Hung vs. Falling— Now the description here of Judas’ death is very graphic; and it is meant to be so. But why is it so different from Matthew’s account? In Matthew’s account we have a different description of Judas' death than what is given to us here. In Matthew it simply says that Judas went out and hung himself (Mt. 27:5). Is it a contradiction (as some people say it is)? Well, not really. Judas apparently had hung himself on a tree next to a cliff (which is very plausible when you consider the topography of the land). And either the rope broke during his initial attempt to hang himself or the body fell after decomposing for a while and then burst open upon hitting the ground. 

Why The Variance?— So Luke and Matthew merely emphasize different things. But why? And why does Luke’s emphasis have to be so graphic; so gory? Well remember that Matthew’s account was written to a Jewish audience. And the Jewish mind would have connected Judas being hung with Deuteronomy 21:23, which says “he who is hanged is accursed of God”. And so the emphasis is placed on Judas’ being hung because that is what is going to resonate most deeply with a Jewish audience. However, remember that Luke is a gentile writing to a gentile audience who wouldn’t know the text (at least to the same degree). And you'll remember that the gentiles (especially the Greeks and those influenced by Greek culture, which was pretty much any gentile in the Roman empire) placed an enormous weight of value on the human body. You don’t have to see too much of Greek artwork from that period to understand they pretty much worshiped the body. The body was the picture of perfection in the mind of the Greek. And so for a Greek person to hear of the physical mutilation and destruction of the body of Judas sent home the same emotion a Jew would've felt in hearing about the "hanging" of Judas “on a tree”. So there is no contradiction. Matthew and Luke merely emphasize different details based on who their audience is in order to generate the same gut-wrenching reaction so to speak. Now Peter continues in…

Acts 1:19-20 (ESV)— 19 And 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.’

12 Witnesses— And so once again Peter, who is looking back at these Old Testament prophecies (which are Ps 69:25 and Ps 109:8), now understands what they are supposed to do in preparation for the building of God’s Church. Peter recognized that they needed another eyewitness to the life, ministry, death, and resurrection of Jesus. And that’s first of all because people take eyewitness testimony more seriously than other claims. But it was also important because Jesus had chosen twelve disciples as representative of the 12 tribes of Israel. In the mind of the Jew that was a very sacred number. And so it was vital that this renewal movement within Israel be marked by this very important number. So Peter takes the initiative (no doubt with the Holy Spirit’s leading) and says they need to choose another apostle who will help them too represent the 12 tribes of Israel to the world. So he says in…

Acts 1:21-26 (ESV)— 21 So one of the men who have accompanied us during all the time that the Lord Jesus went in and out among us, 22 beginning 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.” 23 And they put forward two, Joseph called Barsabbas, who was also called Justus, and Matthias. 24 And they prayed and said, “You, Lord, who know the hearts of all, show which one of these two you have chosen 25 to take the place in this ministry and apostleship from which Judas turned aside to go to his own place.” 26 And they cast lots for them, and the lot fell on Matthias, and he was numbered with the eleven apostles.

2 Characterizing Words— Now I love how Barsabbas doesn’t mention any problem in the voting system or demand a recount. He doesn’t say, “Fine, you think Matthias is better than me, I’ll find some other place to go down the street.” No, he (along with all of them) accept it as God’s choice. They are unified in this. And that really serves to drive home the point that if you were to characterize the driving force of this early Christian community in two words, those two words would be “unity” and “prayer”. It says in verse 14 that All these with one accord were devoting themselves to prayer, together with the women and Mary the mother of Jesus, and his brothers.

“with one accord”— Now that phrase [“with one accord,” {is} a phrase that is found six times in Acts (1:14; 2:1, 46; 4:24; 5:12; 15:25; and note also 2:44). There was among these believers a wonderful unity that bound them together in Christ (Ps. 133; Gal. 3:28), the kind of unity that Christians need today {(especially now in a time of such disunity in the world)}.] Notice how none of them are asking, “Who is the greatest?” or, “Who committed the greatest sin?”] No, they are simply [praying together, standing together in the Lord, and worshipping together as they wait to be prepared for the work ahead of them.

Achdut— One Jewish man I read recently said that [the one precondition G-d said for every miracle that occurred to the Jewish people, and there was only one thing that was a precondition, is unity, achdut. {He said} From when we stood at Mount Sinai as "one people with one heart," …to the time when Queen Esther told Mordecai to "gather all the Jews together" to fast for her success.… It is in every miracle, in the rescue of Ethiopian Jews, of Russian Jews, of Syrian Jews - achdut is the one thing G-d demands of us and all of us have to work to see that this is the case.] And you know, he’s right. This is why Jesus in His High Priestly prayer in John 17 prays over and over again for His disciples to be one, as He and the Father are one. Well, His prayer is finally being answered. They ARE becoming one; and God is using prayer to do it.

The Disciples Criticized— Now some criticize the disciples for this and say that they should've waited until the Holy Spirit was given rather than choosing an apostle themselves. They say that it would've been better for the Holy Spirit of God to choose an apostle than for them to trust such an important choice to blind chance. But it is important to note that the disciples did not believe that their choice (although made by casting lots) was blind choice. It's as it says in Proverbs…

Proverbs 16:33 (ESV)— 33 The lot is cast into the lap, but its every decision is from the Lord.

Not Chance— So they understand that it's not blind chance. They're not just rolling the dice as you and I roll dice in Candyland or any other board game that my kids like to play with me. No, after a season of intense prayer (and that is key) and knowing that God is moving in and through them and would guide their decision, they cast lots.

God Will Lead Us— And similarly when we abide in prayer (both corporately but individually) we can trust that God will lead us to make the right decisions and will move in the way we need Him to. That is why we must always persist in prayer. Prayer we see in the book of Acts was the life-blood of the Early Church. In almost every chapter in Acts you find a reference to prayer, and over and over again we see throughout the book clearly demonstrated the truth that things happen when God’s people pray. This is certainly a good lesson for the church today. {It has been said that} Prayer is both the thermometer and the thermostat of the local church, for the “spiritual temperature” either goes up or down, depending on how God’s people pray. John Bunyan, author of Pilgrim’s Progress, said, “Prayer is a shield to the soul, a sacrifice to God, and a scourge to Satan.” In the book of Acts, you see prayer accomplishing all of these things.]

​The Word, Unity, & Prayer— And so I want to encourage you today (and me as well) let us be a people who are characterized by prayer. And may we (in prayer) be united with one another in such a unity so as to cause us to be a force to be reckoned with as we seek to further the Kingdom of God. Amen.