Final Preparations part 3

Introduction

Almost every week for the past four or five weeks people have come and stayed at least one night at our house. We love having people over. It is always great to visit with family and make new friends. However, every time people come over there is something we are required to do first. We have to clean the house. I remember it being the same way at my parents house when I was a kid. “Oh no! Someone is coming over! Quick! Start cleaning!” We used to try to guilt Mom into letting our house be messy by telling her that cleaning up for company was hypocrisy since our house wasn’t normally that clean. She didn’t buy it. Now that I am older and we have people over I have begun to understand the value in cleaning up. We pick up the house so that people feel more comfortable and are more able to relax and connect. Our preparation in cleaning up enables us to more fully enjoy the time with our guests. I have learned that preparation is vital. In the passage we will consider this morning we have the final preparation of the disciples for the coming of the Holy Spirit. This preparation is essential for their effectiveness in the ministry God is calling them to.

It has been three weeks since we were in Acts, and this message is a part three, so let me recap where we are this morning. As we noted previously, this passage deals with preparation. The disciples of Jesus Christ are being prepared to turn the world upside down as they witness of the death, burial, and resurrection of Christ. They have been spiritually prepared. For three years Christ taught them and ministered with them. For the past forty days He has instructed them. They have been promised the indwelling Holy Spirit who will teach and guide them. After they witnessed Christ’s ascension, they were promised that He would return. Back on March 19th we learned about the preparation of prayer. We saw the disciples return to Jerusalem in obedience to Christ and then engage in unified, earnest prayer. On March 26th we continued with their physical preparation, particularly noting how they were being prepared through the placement of Matthias. We discussed two reasons why it was necessary for Judas’ position with in the disciples to be filled. First because of his betrayal, and secondly to fulfill Scripture. To add a point of clarification, when we spoke of Judas’ compromises that lead to the betrayal of Jesus, I noted that we do not want to head down that same path. I want to be clear, I am not saying that we can be ultimately lost as Judas was. If you are saved you are saved forever! However, we can compromise and compromise to the point that severe correction is necessary. When we become so mired in sin that God’s name and His glory is being marred, make no mistake, the Lord will use whatever means necessary to correct us. I just wanted to make that point clear so that there is no confusion.

We need to be prepared. By definition, preparation must proceed need. Make sense? You can’t prepare for something after the fact. You must prepare beforehand. For most of us we know what we are preparing for. When we go grocery shopping, Jess makes a list, I get our reusable bags and ice chests ready. We know we are going shopping and so we prepare for it. In the Christian life, we don’t always know what God is preparing us for. However, We can know with certainty that everything we face is preparing us to serve Christ better.As we noted last week, this passage deals with preparation. The disciples of Jesus Christ are being prepared to turn the world upside down as they witness of the death, burial, and resurrection of Christ. They have been spiritually prepared. For three years Christ taught them and ministered with them. For the past forty days He has instructed them. They have been promised the indwelling Holy Spirit who will teach and guide them. After they witnessed Christ’s ascension, they were promised that He would return. Last week we learned about the preparation of prayer. We saw the disciples return to Jerusalem in obedience to Christ and then engage in unified, earnest prayer. Today we will continue dealing with their physical preparation. The point we are arguing for today, as we did last week, is that… God prepares His children to accomplish the tasks He has set for them.We are further arguing that… The circumstances and situations of life are God’s method of preparing His children for service.We are finally arguing that… A Proper response to the trials, difficulties, and victories of life enables us to serve. An improper response spiritually cripples the child of God. As we see how God physically prepared His disciples for service, it is my prayer that we will better understand His preparation in our lives. In understanding His preparation we will submit to Him and be usable vessels in the hands of the master potter. There are two steps taken by the disciples in preparation for service. We saw the first last week, the…

The point this message is arguing for is that…

God prepares His children to accomplish the tasks He has set for them.

We are further arguing that…

The circumstances and situations of life are God’s method of preparing His children for service.

We are finally arguing that…

A Proper response to the trials, difficulties, and victories of life enables us to serve. An improper response spiritually cripples the child of God.

As we see how God physically prepared His disciples for service, it is my prayer that we will better understand His preparation in our lives. In understanding His preparation we will submit to Him and be usable vessels in the hands of the master potter. There are two steps taken by the disciples in preparation for service. These steps are, first the…

1. Preparation Through Prayer vv. 12-14

After taking the first step of preparation through prayer, the disciples take the second step…

2. Preparation Through Placement vv. 15-26

One of the things to bear in mind about the book of Acts is that it is a volume two. Luke writes with the assumption that his reader, Theophilus, is familiar with the life of Christ as described in his gospel. This is important in our passage because Luke refers to the betrayal of Judas as something familiar and known. Most of us know about his betrayal. It is the absence of Judas in the list of disciples given in v. 13 that sets the stage for the rest of the chapter. Peter views the replacement of Judas as necessary. This is probably for two reasons. First, Jesus had promised that the twelve would rule in heaven judging the tribes of Israel from twelve thrones (; ). There need to be twelve of them to do that. Second, Peter will mention the necessity of fulfilling Scripture. This is an important part of the preparation for the Holy Spirit's coming, and their preaching ministry that is about to begin. The reasoning behind Judas being replaced is given in vv. 15-20 where we find…

Last time we were in Acts we saw…

a. The provocation for placement vv. 15-20

a. The provocation for placement vv. 15-20

As we noted the reason for Judas being replaced was twofold…

We are going to look at these verses a little out of order as we keep in mind the two reasons for replacing Judas that we just saw. The first order of business is…

i. The filling of Judas’ station vv. 16b-19

​ NKJVWhile I was with them in the world, I kept them in Your name. Those whom You gave Me I have kept; and none of them is lost except the son of perdition, that the Scripture might be fulfilled.

This was his failure. Judas compromised and compromised until he found himself having betrayed Christ Himself. Don’t take that first step! Don’t make that first compromise! As Peter prepares the group to replace Judas he also reminds them of Judas’ fate vv. 18-19.Here we are presented with a paradox. An apparent contradiction. What do I mean? This description of Judas’ death at first glance seems to differ from what Matthew revealed in (S).

​ NKJVThen Judas, His betrayer, seeing that He had been condemned, was remorseful and brought back the thirty pieces of silver to the chief priests and elders, saying, “I have sinned by betraying innocent blood.” And they said, “What is that to us? You see to it!” Then he threw down the pieces of silver in the temple and departed, and went and hanged himself. But the chief priests took the silver pieces and said, “It is not lawful to put them into the treasury, because they are the price of blood.” And they consulted together and bought with them the potter’s field, to bury strangers in. Therefore that field has been called the Field of Blood to this day. Then was fulfilled what was spoken by Jeremiah the prophet, saying, “And they took the thirty pieces of silver, the value of Him who was priced, whom they of the children of Israel priced, and gave them for the potter’s field, as the Lord directed me.”

So, which one is true? Let’s examine this and see if we can clear up the misunderstanding. Of first importance is that we believe God’s Word is inspired and true. Therefore, we must believe that both of these accounts are true. Furthermore, we must believe that they do not contradict one another. Based on that belief we seek to reconcile them, not reconstruct them. In saying that Judas purchased a field it does not mean that he had to physically do the purchasing. It could be done in his name. This is seen when the chief priests use they money they paid him to buy a field. It is possible, if not probable, that Judas hung himself, and either burst from swelling after death, had the branch break and he burst, or was being cut down, dropped, and burst. Any of these scenarios would answer the problem. The field into which Judas fell and burst would be the field purchased by the chief priests. They called it the potters field, attempting to distance themselves from the blood money paid and the bloody death of Judas. The people called it the field of blood because it was purchased with blood money and because blood was shed on it. We cannot be 100% certain what happened. But this explanation would reconcile the two accounts.Luke records this so that his readers know for certain what happened to Judas. The filling of Judas’ position as an Apostle was necessary because of his betrayal and subsequent death. I believe that part of Luke’s goal here is to emphasize the consequences of sin. has this to say about desire and sin and where these lead (S).

​ NKJVBut each one is tempted when he is drawn away by his own desires and enticed. Then, when desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and sin, when it is full-grown, brings forth death.

Judas did not resist the devil. He entertained his desires and they led to sin which then literally led to his death. We are commanded to exercise self control (Eph.). We are commanded delight ourselves in the Lord and He will then conform our desires to His (). Judas had to be replaced because his uncontrolled, selfish desires turned into actions and those actions led to his death. We who represent Christ have a responsibility to seek His kingdom first that our desires might be His desires and therefore we will avoid this kind of error. When we live without self-control we open ourselves up to this kind of compromise! This vote to replace Judas is caused by his failure resulting in an empty position in the twelve apostles. There is a second provocation, a second reason for this replacement. That second reason, and possibly more important reason, is…

ii. The fulfillment of Scripture vv. 15-16a, 20

Having established why Judas’ replacement is necessary, Peter and the disciples begin the process of replacing him. And so we have in the final verses of this chapter…

!

​ NKJVknowing this first, that no prophecy of Scripture is of any private interpretation, for prophecy never came by the will of man, but holy men of God spoke as they were moved by the Holy Spirit.

The Holy Spirit gave the words, yet they are still distinctly Davidic. Peter states here that Scripture “had to be fulfilled”. “Had” is the Greek word δεῖ dei meaning must; it is necessary. To be unavoidably determined by prior circumstances. It was necessary for Scripture to be fulfilled. KJV has “must”. We already looked at Judas’ failure and fate. Now we see The prophecy in v. 20. The disciples are all gathered, they are having a prayer meeting. It is likely that they are reading and discussing Scripture when Peter has this epiphany. All this mess with Judas was prophesied! What did David say that had to be fulfilled? Peter quotes from two different Psalms here. The first part of the verse comes from , the second from . The field purchased with the blood money would fit as “dwelling place” it was a burial ground so no one lived there. “Office” is the Greek word ἐπισκοπή episkopē and it means visitation; position, or oversight. It is the office of supervising or having charge and direction of something. This would refer to his role as an apostle. This brings us to what we will deal with next time, on April 9th, which is the actual replacement of Judas. In that message, we will also be dealing with the question, can I be an apostle? There are those who call themselves apostles and claim apostolic authority today. We are going to learn from this passage whether or not that is a Biblical practice.When we back up and look at these verses, I really love the passion for the Word of God that is presented. Peter is saying that Scripture has to be fulfilled. It is a must! It is necessary! This is to be our attitude towards Scripture. It must be fulfilled. It is the very Word of God given through the Holy Spirit and communicated by men! Not one thing that God has promised will fail! This not only gives us hope for the future as we anticipate Christ’s return, it gives us courage and strength right now! How? Consider the promises God has made. We are more than conquerors through Christ ()! He will never leave or forsake us ()! Our labor is not in vain ()! All things work for together for good ()! We can be assured of these promises because the come from God and God never changes! So in your trials and difficulties, take heart! Take courage from God’s promises. He is preparing you for service. Cling to Him, endure the trials, and serve Him passionately at every opportunity. What we see here is that God is at work. This is His plan from beginning to end. David Peterson writes that…

​The Pillar New Testament Commentary: The Acts of the Apostles 1. The Fate of Judas (1:15–20)the punishment of Judas, the fulfillment of certain prophecies, and the election of Matthias as successor to Judas demonstrate the sovereign hand of God at work in this situation. The risen Lord is not frustrated by human rebellion and will not allow even apostasy to hinder the fulfillment of his saving purpose.

The bigger picture here is that God is in control! All of this was revealed in Scripture hundreds of years before it took place! God removed Judas, He will choose his successor. God is at work in your life! He is in control! He is preparing you and equipping you for service!

Conclusion

What do we take away from this? My goal is that we would walk away this morning with two desires. First, the desire to never compromise. The failure of Judas came about through a series of small compromises that led to a big failure. Don’t start down that road. Second, the desire to uphold God’s Word. Peter understood that Scripture is the product of the Holy Spirit working through human instruments. Because it is the produce of God, the Bible is of infinite value and worthy of our disciplined study. Not one thing in God’s Word will fail. He will carry His plan to completion. That is what He is preparing you and me for. Our place in His plan.May we not resist the trials, but allow them to build in us a greater dependency on Christ.Only as we are dependent on Him will we avoid compromise.May we read, study, and memorize Scripture that we “might not sin against God”. When His Word is our food and drink, spiritual maturity will be the result.As we are prepared to serve Him this week let us submit and look forward to how we will be used for His glory!

b. The procedure for placement vv. 21-26

There is a lot of speculation about Matthias placement into the disciples. It is said by some that the disciples are wrong in placing him in their number and that Paul was the one who was supposed to be the twelfth apostle. By the end of this message it is my intention to make it clear why that is not the case. For now let me just say that The placement of Matthias into the 12 is solely the work of God. The requirements that we will see in a moment were such that it had to be someone who had been previously chosen by Christ thus making it God’s choosing. In v. 26 they have the final decision made by lot. has this to say about the lot (S).

Proverbs 16:33 NKJV

The lot is cast into the lap, But its every decision is from the Lord.

The placement of Matthias into the 12 is solely the work of God. The requirements were such that it had to be someone who had been previously chosen by Christ thus making it God’s choosing. Here they have the final decision made by lot and Proverbs states that the disposing of the lot belongs to the Lord.

God is the one who controls how the lot falls! So if this were not His will, He could easily have prevented it from happening. As we deal with the method they used to choose Judas’ replacement we will also be dealing with whether or not someone can be an apostle today. This question is actually fairly easily answered from the text as we see that Judas replacement is…

i. Placed through strict requirements vv. 21-22

The things listed here are very fascinating. They are also very limiting. The first thing that Peter lists here is a Required allegiance in v. 21. There is an interesting and somewhat unique situation in this verse. That is, the first Greek word of the verse is not translated in the NKJV. I find that very unfortunate. It is also not translated in the ESV. NASB has it and, surprisingly enough, so does the NIV. The NASB translates this verse as follows.

Acts 1:21 NASB95

“Therefore it is necessary that of the men who have accompanied us all the time that the Lord Jesus went in and out among us—

Required allegiance v. 21

NKJV lacks the word “necessary”. This is the Greek word δεῖ dei meaning must; it is necessary. To be obligatory – to be required by obligation, compulsion, or convention. Peter is listing requirements here. These are something that an apostle, someone who could fill this role vacated by Judas, must have true of them. What are they? The first is that the person who would replace Judas must be a man. Peter states “of these men”. This is a masculine plural noun and literally means an adult person who is male, as opposed to a woman. So a woman cannot be an apostle. That is made clear right here. This is not to denigrate women. It is not putting them down or relegating them to a position of unimportance. The Biblical reality is that God has given different roles and functions to men and women by design. Look up at v. 14. Women were a vital part of Jesus ministry! Just last week in talking about the resurrection we noted that. Let me give you just one more example of how vital women were to Jesus and the disciples before we move on. (S).

Luke 8:1–3 NKJV

Now it came to pass, afterward, that He went through every city and village, preaching and bringing the glad tidings of the kingdom of God. And the twelve were with Him, and certain women who had been healed of evil spirits and infirmities—Mary called Magdalene, out of whom had come seven demons, and Joanna the wife of Chuza, Herod’s steward, and Susanna, and many others who provided for Him from their substance.

The women listed here, along with many others, provided the physical needs of Jesus and the apostles! This is huge! The Bible is not against women! It simply recognizes that God has made men and women different by design and we experience our greatest satisfaction, contentment, joy, and fulfillment when we function within that design. Okay. To be an apostle you have to be a man.

NOT TRANSLATED δεῖ dei must; it is necessary. To be obligatory – to be required by obligation, compulsion, or convention.

Secondly, They had to have accompanied the disciples the entire time Jesus was with them. Let me ask you a question. Can Paul meet this requirement? No. In fact, no one born after Jesus started His public ministry is qualified to be an apostle! Now, this is not to say that Paul was not an apostle. He just wasn’t an apostle like the 12 were. This is something that Paul himself recognized. Look at (S).

1 Corinthians 15:8–9 NKJV

Then last of all He was seen by me also, as by one born out of due time. For I am the least of the apostles, who am not worthy to be called an apostle, because I persecuted the church of God.

The apostleship of Paul came about in a very different way! He is an apostle, just not like the 12. He is an apostle because He was directly called, commissioned, and trained by Christ Himself. There is no Biblical support whatsoever for the idea of apostolic succession. This one who would replace Judas had to be a man, and had to have been with them the whole time Jesus was ministering.

Men = masculine plural.

Along with this required allegiance, Peter gives Required activity in v. 22. The one who would replace Judas had to be with them from the baptism of John until Jesus ascended. While it is possible that Paul was baptized by John when he was still a Pharisee named Saul, it is not very likely. Especially when we consider the testimony recorded in (S).

Luke 7:29–30 NKJV

And when all the people heard Him, even the tax collectors justified God, having been baptized with the baptism of John. But the Pharisees and lawyers rejected the will of God for themselves, not having been baptized by him.

Again, Paul was an apostle, but not like the 12. Since John was beheaded during Jesus ministry it is even more ironclad that no one today can be an apostle. Why am I stressing this so hard? Because there are those who claim to be apostle’s today. Several weeks ago I saw an advertisement similar to this one on Facebook (S). I couldn’t find the actual one I saw again. Everyone on this flyer is called an apostle! I want all of us to be equipped to spot error. This is what it looks like folks.

Required activity v. 22

To fill Judas’ position you had to be a man, been with them from the beginning to the end, and been baptised by John. Peter also explains what the person who fills Judas position will be doing. Being a witness of the resurrection. This is what Jesus said back in v. 8.

A. T. Robertson writes that…

Word Pictures in the New Testament Acts 1:8

In Acts 1:22 an apostle has to be a “witness to the Resurrection” of Christ and in 10:39 to the life and work of Jesus. Hence there could be no “apostles” in this sense after the first generation.

The apostles are witnesses of the resurrection of Christ. They are to proclaim that He is risen! What fascinates me here is that none of the men present who would meet these requirements had become a disciple expecting to take Judas’ position. They were simply being faithful followers of Christ! They were unaware that the entire time Jesus was preparing them for something they had never imagined! That leads me to this statement.

Where you are, the people around you, and the circumstances of your life can be leveraged to fulfill your calling to the glory of God!

When we are faithful in our pursuit of Christ, He will use everything for His honor and glory! God is working in and through your life to prepare you to for use! Yield to Him, yield to the work of the Spirit. Submit to His molding and shaping with the confidence that this is preparation for use! And when the moment is right, like Matthias, you will be placed into service. Judas replacement, Matthias, is placed through strict requirements. Secondly, he is…

ii. Placed through sovereign revelation vv. 23-26

God may have you step into the role of someone who has passed on or failed. He may call you into a unique role. The point here is that God has a job for you to do.

Revealed through proposition v. 23

“Proposed” – ἵστημι histēmi stand; stand (there). To put forward (nominate) – to propose for appointment to an office or position. Aorist, active, indicative.

Matthias – Gift of God.

Revealed through prayer vv. 24-25

Who knows the hearts - only used twice. Literally means to know the heart as a psychological faculty.

“Show” – ἀναδείκνυμι anadeiknymi appoint; commission. To point out – to indicate carefully and clearly. Aorist, active imperative. They don’t just want God to reveal who He has chosen. They want God to appoint one of these two.

“Chosen” – ἐκλέγομαι eklegomai choose; select. To choose for oneself – to choose especially for oneself or in one’s own behalf. Aorist, middle, indicative. God is the object of this choice. He chooses for Himself. It is middle. God is acting on His own behalf.

Chosen with a purpose. The purpose of service. All of us are! Chosen to serve. Chosen to glorify God!

Ministry is the same word used to describe what Judas did as part of the group.

Revealed through proclamation v. 26

Conclusion

In our preparation to be used by God for His purpose and glory, we must recognize the importance of prayer and acknowledge God’s sovereign placement.