Presented to Swift
Current 19 May 2013 and Corps 614 Regent Park on 20 Sept 2015 by Captain
Michael Ramsay
Today we are going to start a sermon series and Wednesday a
Bible study series on the book of Acts. If you have time on Wednesday evenings,
I would invite you to join us at the corps at 7pm. This will be an exciting
opportunity to dig deeper into the book of Acts.
Did you know that the book of Acts is the only 'history'
book in the NT? The book of Acts was written by Luke? Can anyone tell me what
other book in our NT Luke wrote? (Luke). It is neat: these two books read sort
of like a two volume set. Acts really does pick up right where Luke leaves off.
It is interesting: did you know that Luke-Acts comprises more than 30% of the
NT. Almost 1/3rd of the whole NT is recorded in these pages, thus Susan and I
thought this might be a good book to look at for a little while.
Now in Canada we are in the middle of another election
campaign where people seem to want us to choose this person over that person or
this philosophy over that philosophy or this party over that party; so I
thought that we would look a little bit also at how we actually make choices
for different things in our society.
1) How do we choose an important employee, manager, CEO,
etc.? (Resume, ability)
2) How do we choose the Head of State? (Heredity: intense
job-training program from the moment they are born)
3) How do we choose Canadian Idol talent show winners and
the politicians who run this country? (Popularity contest, election)
4) What is the traditional way that one decides whether the
one they fancy truly loves them or not: ‘she loves me, she loves me not’?
(Removing leaves from a flower)
5) How does one decide which team is going to start with the
ball in Canadian football or in a soccer game? (Coin toss)
6) How does one decide where to transfer Salvation Army
Officers? (Prayer and fasting?)
Near the conclusion of Acts Chapter 1, believers gathered in
Jerusalem – about 120 of them – and they are faced with a choice to make: they
need to choose a successor to one of the 12 disciples. This passage raises a
number of questions for us to consider such as:
·
Who are these disciples - particularly Judas Iscariot?
·
Why do they need a successor to Judas?
·
And did they choose the correct successor? What about
the Apostle Paul?
Once we have resolved these issues, it will bring us to the
most important question inherent to the text: how should we resolve difficult
questions in our lives? How should we as Christians make important decisions we
have to make in our life on a daily basis?
In answering these questions, let's review the context of
our pericope here. We said that this book, Acts, is the second book Luke wrote
to his friend Theophilus. What is the first book Luke wrote to Theophilus?
(Luke.) Acts 1:1-2, Luke writes, ‘In my
former book, Theophilus, I wrote about all that Jesus began to do and to teach
until the day he was taken up to heaven, after giving instructions through the
Holy Spirit to the apostles he had chosen.’Acts is a sequel to Luke's gospel.
Luke then tells Theophilus how Jesus told the believers to
stay in Jerusalem and wait for the Holy Spirit to give their post-resurrection
ministry a kick-start. Once Gods sends the Holy Spirit like a starter pistol,
Luke tells us, the believers are to run to the ends of the earth sharing this
Gospel of Salvation with everyone they meet (Acts 1:1-11). This review of his
earlier book is how Luke sets the stage for this book of Acts.
Now let's look at some of the questions that we asked
ourselves off earlier. Who are the 12 disciples? Acts 1:13 mentions them by name. Peter, James and John were
Jesus’ inner circle of disciples. They were fishermen in their previous career,
as was Andrew. Peter is the one who is going to take a leadership role among
the disciples. Philip we will learn more about in the next few chapters of
Acts. We know the story of doubting Thomas. We also recognize the name of
Matthew in the list. What book of the Bible did Matthew write? (Matthew). Luke
also mentions, Verse 13, Simon the Zealot, Judas son of James, James son of
Alphaeus, and Bartholomew. These were the 11.
Who was the 12th disciple? (Judas Iscariot). For what is
Judas infamous? Judas Iscariot, Judas is remembered as Jesus’ betrayer. He led
the Romans and the priests to Jesus and betrayed him with a kiss, then Jesus
was led off to be killed. Judas Iscariot was one of Jesus’ 12 chosen disciples
and he was the one trusted to be in charge of the disciples’ money. He was
their treasurer. Luke tells us a few more things about Judas Iscariot here.
Acts 1:15-20 records that Judas, with the money he was paid for helping arrest
Jesus, he bought and field and he killed himself. Judas was one of Jesus’
closest twelve followers, he betrayed Jesus for whatever reason, and then he
took his own life (Acts 1:18-20; cf. Matthew 27:3-10).
This is sad and this raises more questions: Why do the
disciples need a successor to Judas? And did they choose the right successor?
Why do the disciples even need a successor to Judas? As
Jesus is already crucified, resurrected, and glorified; why do they need
someone to replace Judas? We don't have any record in the Bible of them
replacing any of the other disciples when they die; so, why do they need to
replace Judas when Judas dies? Matthew 19:28 and Luke 22:30: Jesus tells us
that “at the renewal of all things,” his twelve disciples will “sit on twelve
thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel.” OT Scriptures, in particular the
psalms, also speak to this need: Psalm 69:25, 109:8.
John, in the book of Revelation writes that at “the consummation of God’s
redemption as a ‘Holy City, Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God’,
having twelve gates with ‘the names of the twelve tribes of Israel’ written on
them and twelve foundations with ‘the names of the twelve apostles of the Lamb’
written on them (Revelation 21:10, 12, 14).”
Israelite tradition, Jesus’ teaching and subsequent Christian thought and
belief record that the apostles have a role still to play after they die, at
the resurrection of the dead. Jesus says that it is their job to judge the
tribes of Israel at the eschaton.
So then, it is not because Judas died that he needs to be
replaced because he will be raised on the last day with all the rest of us. It
is because Judas abrogated his responsibility, he forfeited his position as one
of the twelve judges of Israel when he betrayed Jesus.
This is why they need a replacement; this is why they need a twelfth disciple.
They need a twelfth person who will help judge the twelve tribes of Israel on
the last day. As a side note, this is probably where originates the idea
originates that we should have twelve people sitting on juries in court today.
The next natural question is then did they choose the
correct successor? What about the Apostle Paul? Some people say that Paul was
supposed to be the successor to Judas Iscariot, not Matthias. According to
Luke, did the disciples make a mistake in selecting Matthias? No. The short
answer is no. Scholar Howard Marshall writes,
“Some commentators have argued ... that the
church acted wrongly in choosing Matthias: it should have waited for the
‘twelfth man’ of God’s own choice, Paul, instead of giving God his choice
between two others who are never heard of again. But we never hear any more of
[any of] the other members of the Twelve (apart from Peter, James, and John) in
Acts, and Paul did not [even] possess the essential qualifications to be one of
the Twelve.”
The list of the qualifications for the job of disciple here include:
·
Acts 1:21, that, “… it is necessary to choose one of
the men who have been with us the whole time the Lord Jesus was living among
us” (The expression “was living among us” is a Semitic idiom for familiar and
unhindered association; cf. Deuteronomy 31:2; 2 Samuel 3:25; Psalm 121:8; Acts
9:28).
·
Acts 1:22: “For one of these must become a witness with
us of his resurrection.” He must have seen Christ in person both before and
after the resurrection.
·
And, Acts 1:14, Judas’ successor must also be appointed
by the same Lord who appointed the Eleven.
The Apostle Paul does not meet all these criteria.
God used the Apostle Paul greatly -as Paul himself acknowledges- as an apostle
to the gentiles not necessarily as one to judge the tribes of Israel at the resurrection
(cf. Galatians 1:18, 2:1-10).
In our text then the disciples have before them then two
viable candidates to replace Judas, Acts 1:23-26, “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.”
Luke records that these people who are gathered together in Jesus’ name when it
comes time to make a decision pray, “Lord, You know everyone’s heart. Show us
which of these two You have chosen.”
This is important and this brings us to our most important
question today. How do we make decisions in our lives? I know that Susan, the
kids and I have had to discern God’s leading in a few significant matters in
our lives. How do we discern which paths to take in our own lives?
When we were called by God into full-time ministry with The
Salvation Army, it was a tough decision. We were first called as urban
missionaries in Vancouver’s infamous downtown eastside. We had two small
children. I had businesses both on the Island (Victoria, Saanich, Sidney) and
in and around Greater Vancouver; but my home, my wife with my children and our
immediate families were all on the Island. I loved my businesses. I would have
to give up my businesses that I founded and raised almost like a first child in
order to enter the ministry and we would have to leave our long-time friends
and extended family.
We had to make a decision. We could make an economic
decision and stay on the Island with our house and our businesses or we could
say, “Lord, You know everyone’s heart. Show us which of these two [options] You
have chosen.” We could make a family decision and stay near the children’s
grandparents and at that time great-grandparents or we could pray, “Lord, You
know everyone’s heart. Show us which of these two You have chosen.” We could
make a sentimental decision and stay by all that we have ever known and loved
on the Island or we could pray, “Lord, You know everyone’s heart. Show us which
of these two You have chosen.” As we are here today we thankfully took the
latter option as our way forward. Praise the Lord; we followed Him into the
mission field.
But our reliance on God is not a one-time thing. There are
still many more decisions that each and every one of us are faced with everyday
in our lives. And every time we are faced with a decision we have to decide
whether we are going to try to decide on our own or whether we are going to
trust God to show us the way and then follow Him.
I must admit that I have been a little nervouse here lately
because our first month or so after arriving in our previous appointment, I
think every staff member of our Thrift Store quit including the manager. We
were forced to trust God. Every year the Army also has to decide whether we
Officers are going to stay in our communities or whether we are going to be
transferred as Susan, the kids and I were this year. In any of these situations
any of us can just try to make up our own minds; we can dig our heels in and
say to the Lord that, no, we are not going to do what you or anyone else says
but really we will always gain much better results if instead of any making up
our own minds about what to do, we would pray like the disciples in Acts 1,
“Lord, You know everyone’s heart. Show us which of these two You have [already]
chosen.” And then we need to wait to see how He actually responds.
When we don’t do this we can be tricked into making the
wrong choice. I remember once when I was living in a different part of the
country, there was an election. I prayed. I looked at the various candidates in
my riding. I checked out their resumes and past experiences and there were two
of the myriad people running who seemed to have the prerequisite qualifications
for the position, so I picked one and voted for him. He was elected but no
sooner was he elected then he immediately betrayed those of us who voted for
him by joining an opposing political party. He ran as if he belonged to one
party so everyone who voted for him thought they were voting for a member of
political party 'A' but as soon as he was elected, before he was ever even
sworn it, he defected to political party 'B'; so in essence political party 'B'
had two candidates in that riding in that election. No matter how much effort I
put into casting my ballot, like everyone else who voted for this candidate, I
was betrayed.
The disciples, in our passage today, have before them then
two viable candidates to replace the one who betrayed Jesus, Acts 1:23-26,
“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.” Luke records that these people who are gathered together in
Jesus’ name when it comes time to make a decision pray, “Lord, you know
everyone’s heart. Show us which of these two You have chosen.”
This is important. How do we make decisions that need to be
made in our lives? Do we attempt to make up our own minds or do we -like the
disciples here- correctly attempt to discern the will of the Lord.
The disciples, they don’t pray, “Lord please bless our
decision making process” and then do whatever they see fit; they pray, “Lord,
You know everyone’s heart. Show us which of these two You have already chosen.”
They don’t pray, “Lord, please help us to make the right decision” and then do
whatever they see fit; they pray, “Lord, You know everyone’s heart. Show us
which of these two You have already chosen.” They don’t pray, “Lord, show us
what we should do” and then do whatever they see fit; they pray, “Lord, You
know everyone’s heart. Show us which of these two You have already chosen.”
Do you see the difference? The disciples, they don’t call a
big meeting and pray for God to bless the proceedings and then make up their
own minds anyway after pouring over all of the resumes, conducting interviews,
checking references; they don't make the decision all on their own and then ask
God to bless it. Quite the opposite, they pray, “Lord, You know everyone’s
heart. Show us which of these two You have already chosen.”
So what about us? When we are faced with life’s choices how
do we decide what to do? Do we pray and then make up our own minds or do we ask
for God to show us what he has already decided and keep our eyes and ears open
to see what he is showing us? This is the end to which I would encourage us
today. Whenever we are faced with a critical decision let us each seek the will
of God in our lives and let us each pray as the disciples prayed, “Lord, you
know everyone’s heart. Show us which of these two you have already chosen.” And
then let us actually wait for His answer. I know that as we do, He will show us
what He has already chosen for our lives.
Let us pray.
---
Cf. Richard N. Longenecker, The Expositor's Bible
Commentary, Pradis CD-ROM:Acts/Exposition of Acts/Introduction: The
Constitutive Events of the Christian Mission (1:1-2:41)/D. The Full Complement
of Apostles (1:12-26)/2. Matthias chosen to replace Judas Iscariot (1:15-26),
Book Version: 4.0.2
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