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PEOPLE OF THE BIBLE

Introduction

Acts 1:12-26

Luke gives us here in the book of Acts eleven figures who are presented in his list of the original apostles.

The twelfth position is empty. That was the place of Judas Iscariot who played a leading part in the arrest and trial of the Lord Jesus Christ.

The absence of his name from the list of the apostles indicates that he was the apostle who by his own character purged himself from that list. He was a traitor who betrayed the Lord Jesus Christ and then took his own life in the end.

But here we see the rest of the apostles gathered in the upper room at Jerusalem and while they were assembled, they chose a successor to fill Judas’ place referring to what David recorded.

Psalm 109:8–“Let his days be few; and let another take his office.”

From a study of the ancient prophecy the apostles knew that the vacant place must be filled.

What is clearly evident about the choice of a successor to Judas is that it was the Holy Spirit who prompted David to predict that a successor to the betrayer must be found who had all the qualifications necessary for the office of apostle.

The question is, was Matthias the successor whom Christ called (for He it was who called the twelve as He entered His ministry)?

I.         THE PURPOSE OF THEIR ASSEMBLY. (Acts 1:1-5; Luke 24:46-49)

The indwelling presence of the Holy Spirit had not been given yet. It is by the Holy Spirit that the apostles were to be chiefly guided from this point on.

            They were still in the upper chamber praying and waiting for the promise of the Father.

II.       THE PROBLEM OF THEIR APPOINTMENT.

Seeking to fill the vacancy in the group of the apostles, Peter stood forth and, rehearsing the deed and death of Judas, pressed upon the rest the necessity of choosing a successor.

The qualifications Peter laid out were that the replacement should be one who had been a constant companion and disciple of Jesus, and who was able to bear witness to His life as well as His death, burial, and resurrection.

            There were many who were well-known to the apostles who fulfilled these qualifications.

            (Acts 1:21-22)

Two were appointed, namely, “Joseph called Barsabas, who was surnamed Justus and Matthias.”

As to Barsabas, we have no knowledge of his personal history apart from the fact that after being an adherent of John the Baptist, he was one of those who followed Christ.

He was probably also one of the seventy that Christ sent forth, and he satisfied all of the qualifications that Peter mentioned.

It is likewise true that we have no clue as to the identity of Matthias, the one who was ultimately chosen. This is the first and last time that we hear of him as he is never mentioned again in Scripture.

The problem is this: Can Matthias be reckoned, by divine right, as the twelfth apostle, even though he doubtlessly is included in the twelve of whom Luke speaks of in

            Acts 6:2?

            The validity of the whole proceeding by Peter has been questioned upon several grounds.

The small company of believers approved Peter’s suggestion that a successor to Judas should be chosen by lot, and Matthias was elected.

But although the election to office was an honest transaction, it was nevertheless a human choice, being made by the eleven apostles themselves who acted on their own initiative to appoint a successor.

            It would seem as if there is sufficient reason to believe that:

                        1.         They were not divinely directed in their action.

                        2.         They were premature in their action.

Jesus had constantly laid emphasis on the fact that the disciples were His choice and His alone. (Acts 1:2)

                                    John 6:70–“Have not I chosen you twelve?”

                                    John 15:16–“Ye have not chosen me, but I have chosen you.”

            Could it be that the apostles undertook to do what Jesus had kept to His own Power?

Quoting David’s prediction about another filling the place of Judas, they concluded that they should act upon the matter themselves and so they resolved to appoint a successor.

Doubtless they thought that a man should be appointed in time to partake of the promised blessing of Pentecost when it came, but there is no hint that they sought guidance from God before the choice of the two candidates who were presented.

Evidently they took it for granted that the Lord would approve, and only prayed when a decision of choice was necessary. They prayed in verse 24, “show whether of these two thou hast chosen.”

Doesn’t that imply that, having made their choice of Barsabas and Matthias, they were giving God the choice between the two, without submitting to Him the questions, whether anyone was to be appointed at that time, or whether there was any other whom He thought best?

Are we not guilty of doing the same thing sometimes ourselves? We make up our minds to do certain things, and ask God to bless them and bring good out of them.

We go to Him, not before a course of action, but after we have decided upon it. We don’t ask Him what to do, but to bless what we are doing.

            We don’t want Him to take charge of the springs of action, but only to direct their results.

Are we like those in the upper chamber who presented their choice of two out of many disciples, then asked the Lord to show which of the two He had chosen, when the truth was that they had chosen both themselves?

            Do we act and then pray?

The answer to their prayer as to which of the two should take the vacancy left by Judas was to be decided by casting lots.

While Barsabas and Matthias were on the same level as far as qualifications for apostleship was concerned, I wonder how far the eleven were guided more by their preference than by the guidance they sought from the Searcher of hearts?

The usual way of casting lots in such cases was to write each name on a tablet, place them in an urn, and then shake it till one came out– This was a practice recognized by the Law.

            (Leviticus 16:8)

The lot fell upon Matthias, or his name fell out of the urn first, and “he was numbered with the eleven apostles,” but was he God’s choice as the last of the twelve?

            THE PURPOSE OF THEIR ASSEMBLY.

            THE PROBLEM OF THEIR APPOINTMENT.

III.      THE PROVISION BY THEIR ADVOCATE.

            Who was the divinely-chosen successor to Judas? Solomon reminds us in Proverbs 16:33

            that “the lot is cast into the lap; but the whole disposing thereof is of the Lord.”

How did the Lord dispose of the matter? Were His ways higher than those of the apostles in their choice Matthias?

I think they were in that the Lord quietly ignored the action of the apostles and filled the vacant place left by Judas Himself in His own wise way, without human aid, by calling Saul of Tarsus whom the Church has recognized as the divine choice.

Saul was the last apostle to be chosen by Christ Himself, just as He had chosen the twelve personally. (Galatians 1:1)

It was from the Son of God that Paul received his apostleship, and in numerous places he reiterates this privilege.

Romans 1:1–“Paul, a servant of Jesus Christ, called to be an apostle, separated unto the gospel of God,”

Romans 1:5–“By whom we have received grace and apostleship, for obedience to the faith among all nations, for his name:”

The first Corinthian epistle is heavy with Paul’s claim as a divinely elected apostle.

1 Corinthians 1:1–“Paul, called to be an apostle of Jesus Christ through the will of God”

1 Corinthians 9:1-2–“Am I not an apostle? am I not free? have I not seen Jesus Christ our Lord? are not ye my work in the Lord? 2If I be not an apostle unto others, yet doubtless I am to you: for the seal of mine apostleship are ye in the Lord.”

As soon as the miracle happened on that Damascus Road, the Lord, who saved him, declared to Ananias of Saul, who became Paul, “He is a chosen vessel unto me, to bear my name before the Gentiles, and kings, and the Children of Israel.” Acts 9:15

And we know that Paul did go forth and became the mightiest figure, apart from Christ, in Church history.

Therefore, I believe that it should be clear that the Apostle Paul occupies the place that Judas forfeited.

Matthew 19:28–“And Jesus said unto them, Verily I say unto you, That ye which have followed me, in the regeneration when the Son of man shall sit in the throne of his glory, ye also shall sit upon twelve thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel.”

I also believe that Paul’s name will adorn the twelfth foundation of the Holy City, The New Jerusalem.

Revelation 21:14–“And the wall of the city had twelve foundations, and in them the names of the twelve apostles of the Lamb.”

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