Acts 1:18-26 (With the payment he received for his wickedness, Judas bought a field: there he fell headlong, his body burst open and all his intestines spilled out. Everyone in Jerusalem heard about this, so they called that field in their language Akeldama, that is, Field of Blood.) For, said Peter, it is written in the book of Psalm, “‘May his place be deserted: let there be no one to dwell in it,’ and, may another take his place of leadership. Therefore, it is necessary to choose one of the men who have been with us the whole time the Lord Jesus was living among us, beginning from John’s baptism to the time when Jesus was taken up from us. For one of these must become a witness with us of his resurrection.” So they nominated two men: Joseph called Barsabbas (also known as Justus) and Matthias. Then they prayed, “Lord, you know everyone’s heart. Show us which of these two you have chosen to take over this apostolic ministry, which Judas left to go where he belongs.” Then they cast lots, and the lot fell to Matthias; so he was added to the eleven apostles.
In the above focus, we see Peter addressing the need to add another apostle to their group because Judas had betrayed the Lord, handing Jesus over to his enemies. The number twelve has a connotation in Hebrew as being complete, satisfying the number to complete a task. Twelve is also the number of Jacob’s sons, the fathers of the tribes of Israel. Also Jesus promised the twelve disciples that in the kingdom of God they would sit on thrones and judge the tribes of Israel. You are those who have stood by me in my trials. And I confer on you a kingdom, just as my Father conferred one on me, so that you may eat and drink at my table in my kingdom and sit on thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel. (Luke 22:28-30) We know that when He promised the disciples that position of honor in the kingdom of God, the Lord knew Judas would betray him, but the promise was for twelve so a disciple must be added to the group. Judas’ lack of fidelity to Jesus and his teaching came from his need to have money in his possession: his desire to have individual wealth. Within the community of Jesus’ followers, he claimed to be concerned about the poor, yet his heart was not true but deceptive. He was focused on his wellbeing, not the condition of the poor. But one of his disciples, Judas Iscariot, who was later to betray him, objected, “Why wasn’t this perfume sold and the money given to the poor? It was worth a year’s wages.” He did not say this because he cared about the poor but because he was a thief; as keeper of the money bag, he used to help himself to what was put into it. (John 12:4-6) This coveting of wealth is endemic in all humans to some extent. Paul beseeches Timothy to cut away from the human tendency of desiring wealth and the security it brings. He reminds Timothy as a servant of Christ he should live not for gain or recognition in this world but for the benefit of the Good News. But godliness with contentment is great gain. For we brought nothing into the world, and we can take nothing out of it. But if we have food and clothing, we will be content with that. Those who want to get rich fall into temptation and a trap and into many foolish and harmful desires that plunge people into ruin and destruction. For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil. Some people, eager for money, have wandered from the faith and pierced themselves with many griefs. (1 Timothy 6:6-10) Judas fell into this trap of coveting money. His life ended with his bowels bursting out of his body, a tragic ending of a man that Jesus called by name. We wonder how many times Judas heard his name called by Jesus as a name of endearment. How many times did he hear the tone of Christ’s love for him in his ears, but his ears were stopped and his eyes blinded, so he did not really hear or see the Messiah. He traded the Messiah, the Son of God, to his enemies for only thirty pieces of silver. Jesus was not valuable to him. We now see Peter calling for another disciple to be named in place of the disgraced Judas, completing the number twelve that will sit on the thrones in the Kingdom of God to judge the people of Israel.
The choice of which one of these two men should be the twelfth apostle was chosen by lot. By choosing the apostle by lot, they gave the selection to God. Sacred lots were often the way God was given authority over the children of Israel in the Old Testament. The tribes received their land allotment in Canaan by lot; it would be God’s choice, not theirs. Now these are the areas the Israelites received as an inheritance in the land of Canaan, which Eleazar the priest, Joshua son of Nun and the heads of the tribal clans of Israel allotted to them. Their inheritances were assigned by lot to the nine and a half tribes, as the Lord had commanded through Moses. (Joshua 14:1-2) This was not a process of chance or perhaps gambling: it was done to allow God without man’s involvement or interference to choose the direction of his people. God was heavily involved in guiding the Jewish community from the very beginning. Standing up, Paul motioned with his hand and said: “Fellow Israelites and you Gentiles who worship God, listen to me! The God of the people of Israel CHOSE our ancestors; he MADE the people prosper during their stay in Egypt; with mighty power he LED them out of that country; for about forty years he ENDURED their conduct in the wilderness; and he OVERTHREW seven nations in Canaan, GIVING their land to his people as their inheritance. All this took about 450 years. (Acts 13:16-20) Paul goes on and tells how God selected their judges and kings; God was involved in every part of the Israelites’ kingdom. Yet they rejected his authority over them. But now we see the people in the upper room placing God in his rightful place of authority by drawing lots for who should be the twelfth disciple. The lot fell upon Matthias. Matthias had been with the followers of Jesus from the very beginning. He had been an observer in everything Jesus did for three years. He probably participated in the seventy-two that Jesus sent out to towns that He was going to minister in. After this the Lord appointed seventy-two others and sent them two by two ahead of him to every town and place where he was about to go. He told them, “The harvest is plentiful, but the workers are few. Ask the Lord of the harvest, therefore, to send out workers into his harvest field. Go! I am sending you out like lambs among wolves. Do not take a purse or bag or sandals; and do not greet anyone on the road. (Luke 10:1-4) Matthias was not only a follower, he probably was active in every part of the Lord’s mission of bringing the Kingdom of God to the people. Jesus told his followers, Heal the sick who are there (in the towns) and tell them, ‘The kingdom of God has come near to you.’ (Vs 9)
Matthias knew the cost of following Christ. He had seen Jesus crucified. He knew the hatred that the Jews had for the Christians. He was aware of the fact that the disciples fled the scene when Jesus was arrested. He maybe even knew of Peter’s denial of Jesus. He had walked the same road that the disciples had walked with Jesus. So he was not going into the role of apostleship without knowing the danger of accepting this position. In fact, custom says he died a martyrs’ death. But he was willing to go all the way with Jesus as a believer in Jesus’ divinity. Of course, as Jesus’ popularity grew in his ministry of healing and casting our demons, many were his followers, but Jesus said to some of them, you follow me for the fishes and loaves, what you can gain from me as Judas did. A number of them wanted to be in Jesus’ inner circle, the retinue around him. As they were walking along the road, a man said to him, “I will follow you wherever you go.” Jesus replied, “Foxes have dens and birds have nests, but the Son of Man has no place to lay his head.” He said to another man, “Follow me.” But he replied, “Lord, first let me go and bury my father.” Jesus said to him, “Let the dead bury their own dead, but you go and proclaim the kingdom of God.” Still another said, “I will follow you, Lord; but first let me go back and say goodbye to my family.” Jesus replied, “No one who puts a hand to the plow and looks back is fit for service in the kingdom of God.” (Luke 9:57-62) Who is fit to for the kingdom of God? Only those who are totally committed without looking back at anything in this world. These people are those who are baptized into the will of the Father, not their own lives or wills. God is still demanding zealous commitment from the followers of Jesus. No one can follow Jesus rightly if he or she is double-minded. James said that that kind of man will get nothing from the Lord. A life of being half in and half out is a wasted life, a shallow life with little commitment to God under stress. Sometimes faith in Christ and other times little or no faith in him, depending on the circumstances of life. Mathias was not that kind of man. He would go on with his life, testifying of the resurrection of Jesus Christ. Something that would bring him great scorn and ridicule by the supposedly sane in the world. As Peter said in the lot drawing, one of these must become a witness with us of his resurrection. This one was Mathias. Jesus says to each one of us who name the Christ as our lives. “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.” (Matthew 11:28-29) How can we find rest in our souls in a troubled and trying world? How can we know the purpose of living in this awareness we call life? We find it as Mathias found it, by committing our lives to Jesus Christ completely. Peter said, Where else would I go. You are the Christ. Simon Peter answered Jesus, “Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life. We have come to believe and to know that you are the Holy One of God.” (John 6:68-69) Breakfast companions, have you come to believe that Jesus is the Holy One of God? Is this belief part of every fiber of your being? Does it fill your body from skin to skin? Or is it just some philosophical belief you hold in your mind? If it is not your everything, you will not hold firm when the trials of life enter your domain. You must build your house on the Rock!
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