052106 Easter 7

Easter 7, May 28, 2006

The Gift of Unity

Sermon Theme: God’s people are made one by Christ’s saving work.

Text: Acts 1:15–26

Other Lessons: Psalm 133; 1 John 4:13–21; John 17:11b–19

Goal: That the hearer may be drawn by the Word into the reconciling, healing work of Christ demonstrated by the restoration of the apostolic circle.

Rev. Charles J. Evanson, professor and docent of theology, University of Klaipeda, Klaipeda, Lithuania

Liturgical Setting

The final Sunday of the Easter cycle completes our preparation for the descent of the Dove next Sunday. The close-knit band of believers will soon begin to expand into a much larger gathering intended to be just as closely bound to its Lord and to one another.

Psalm: Brotherly unity given by the Lord.

Epistle: The perfect union of the Father, who is love, and the Son, who is the eternal recipient of that love, is reflected in the unity of love among God’s people.

Gospel: Jesus prays for the protection of his Church, made one and sanctified in him.

Textual Notes

V 15: en tais hēmerais tautais, “in [during] those days,” the period of time that followed the ascension.

en mesōi tōn adelfōn, “in the midst of the brothers.” Peter arises to speak the Word, which gathers a community of believers around itself; thus, he who speaks the gathering Word is said to stand in the midst of those gathered by that Word. “Brothers” is used in a figurative sense of fellow members of the gathered community. NIV translates “believers,” which speaks to the relationship of each to the Lord, but lacks the note of mutual relationship and the role of the gathering Word.

V 16: edei plērōthēnai tēn grafēn. edei is an indicative imperfect active of dei, indicating something that is compulsory, necessary, inevitable.

plērōthēnai is an aorist passive infinitive. The will of God that is set down in his Word must be fully accomplished. The NIV, “the Scripture had to be fulfilled,” should not be taken to mean that the fulfillment of prophecies is dependent on human acquiescence.

hēn proeipen to pneuma to hagion dia stomatos dauid, “which the Holy Spirit put into the mouth of David” (author’s translation). The will of God is neither unknown nor a matter of conjecture, for he has caused it to be spoken. Here the will and Word of God and his Spirit are tied together: his will is revealed in the Word put into man’s mouth by the Holy Spirit.

V 17: katerithmēmenos (perfect passive participle), “he had been counted, numbered.” elachen ton klēron, “he was allotted his portion.” It was not through his own decision or efforts that Judas came to be included among the Twelve, but rather he received it (elachen from lanchanō). Neither was it by mere chance or fate, though his selection is rightly called by lot (klēros). The NIV translation, “he was one of our number and shared in this ministry,” blunts the notion of supernatural selection found in the Greek text.

V 20: The first quotation is based on Ps 69:25 (LXX; H. T. 68:26). ērēmōmenē, “be brought to ruin,” becomes erēmos, “abandoned, forsaken,” and en tois skēnōmasin, “in the dwellings,” is left out. In Peter’s quotation from Ps 109:8 (LXX; H. T. 108:8), laboi, a wish, becomes labetō, a command.

episkopēn, “office.” The KJV, “bishoprick,” is based on the use of the masculine of this noun to designate the ecclesiastical leader, the liturgical president and overseer of the assembly, the bishop. Here the word is used to designate official leadership and responsibility.

V 21: sunelthontōn is an aorist active participle, used here of those who lived and traveled with the Lord through his public ministry until after his resurrection.

V 25: diakonias, from diakonia, “ministry,” is descriptive of service toward others, charitable support and help, and of ministerial service to God.

apostolēs, “[of] apostleship,” is literally a mission or a sending for the purpose of accomplishing a particular goal. Although Matthew uses the appellation apostolos very sparingly and prefers “the Twelve” (dōdeka), and even then only with reference to their initial mission (Matthew 10), Luke appears to use the term more generally. In this narrative, however, the reference is clearly to the Twelve whose full number is fully restored when Matthias is added to the Eleven (hendeka).

The NIV collapses “ministry” and “apostleship” into “apostolic ministry” and so makes the two identical. This blunts any special significance of the filling of the number of the Twelve. The Greek does not allow this.

V 26: klerous, “lots”; in the original sense, some small object thrown to make a determination, as in Mk 15:24. The word is also used to indicate that which has been assigned (Acts 8:21). In the ancient world this was not seen as mere chance; it signified a determination made by fate or destiny. The term is used here, in conjunction with its occurrence in v 17 referring to Judas, to indicate that the choice of a man to complete again the number of the Twelve is no more in the hands of men or blind fate than was the choosing of the Eleven and Judas. It is the Lord’s doing.

Sermon Outline

Introduction: In the Book of Genesis, the Lord called the twelve tribes, the sons of Jacob, the whole family of Israel, to be his covenant people. Twelve makes a complete family, all God’s people gathered into one communion, the full portion of his faithful people. That fullness was destroyed by the unfaithfulness of Dan, the first of the children of Israel to turn from the Lord God (Judges 18). The fellowship of God’s Israel is broken. The twelve is now eleven: broken, incomplete. The outward appearance of unity and completeness might be maintained, but what is broken cannot make itself whole again. Sin cannot be undone, except if God himself should do it. He has promised it.

How shall the work of sin be undone? How shall God’s people be made one again?

     1.        During the days that immediately followed Jesus’ ascension, the Eleven and the other disciples, about 120 in number, awaited the coming of the Holy Spirit by devoting themselves to prayer. Their prayer arose out of their study together of the prophets—who had pointed to the incarnation of Christ, his ministry, sufferings, death, and resurrection—and of the Psalter, the prayer book of the twelve tribes of Israel, of the whole people of God, of Christ Jesus, and of the Church in all ages.

                 a.       In the course of their prayers from God’s Word, passages from Psalms 69 and 109 came to Peter’s attention. Here was a Word from the Lord to direct their action. As Israel had been broken and scattered because of sin, so, too, the apostolic circle had been broken by the sin of Judas Iscariot. The Twelve were now only the Eleven. The full number of the Twelve must be restored (vv 15–20).

                 b.       “So one of the men who have accompanied us during all the time that the Lord Jesus went in and out among us, 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” (vv 21–22 ESV).

     2.        Why only one witness more? Why not both Matthias and Barsabbas? If this were simply a matter of adding witnesses, certainly thirteen would be better than twelve. Indeed, soon enough the number of those who proclaim the resurrection would swell, as Barnabas and Paul and Apollos joined in.

                 a.       At the beginning of his earthly ministry, Jesus chose twelve men, the living picture of Israel made one in him and in their call to follow him faithfully. Their unity, too, was broken by unfaithfulness by Judas Iscariot. This time there is no possibility of maintaining the illusion of fullness. The fellowship has been broken.

                 b.       This is what sin does. It drives us away from God and away from one another.

     3.        The restoration of the Twelve is the very picture of our Lord’s saving work. His death breaks the power of sin and his resurrection proclaims healing for the broken and reconciliation of those driven apart by sin.

                 a.       Filling the place that Judas deserted and restoring the full number of the Twelve not only brought an additional witness to the resurrection, but it was also a witness to the power of Christ’s resurrection to reconcile the estranged and make his people, his new Israel, whole.

God’s People Are Made One by Christ’s Saving Work.

                 b.       The man who would complete the number of the Twelve would be like the Eleven with respect to his faithful following of the Lord, a witness to all he said and did in the days of his incarnation. As with the Eleven, he would have followed the Lord, not by chance, his own decision, or his act of commitment, but by the call of his Lord.

     4.        Two disciples met these qualifications: Joseph, also known as Barsabbas and by the Latin name “Justus,” and Matthias. We know nothing about them; they are strangers to us. What is important about them both is that Jesus called them. They faithfully followed him.

                 a.       “Then they cast lots” (v 26). Given that the choice was so important, this course of action must seem particularly inappropriate to us—almost like throwing dice or drawing straws. Why is there no report of personal investigations, interviews, and a thorough discussion?

                 b.       The simple answer is that the assembly is not making the selection. Neither the will of man nor good luck nor blind fate will determine. The choice is not in the hands of men, even men who have called upon God to assist them. As with the Eleven, so now the Lord who called them at first would choose one to complete the number of the Twelve. The whole matter is out of their hands. God’s choice is Matthias.

Conclusion: The number of the Twelve is restored. This is the fruit of the saving death and resurrection of our Lord. Israel is made whole in Christ. We are told no more about Matthias. All our attention is directed to the apostolic witness to Christ and the power of his resurrection. This Good News is proclaimed for nations and peoples as the Twelve, the evangelists, apostles, and apostolic ministers in every age go into all the world, inviting all to the Baptism that incorporates us into Christ and makes us members of his body, announcing forgiveness to the penitent and unbelieving and calling us to oneness in him and with all believers, through our eating his body and drinking his blood in his Supper. So, too, we are called to be witnesses to the resurrection.