Acts - 2

Acts – 2

Acts 1:12-26

Introduction

William Booth, a Methodist preacher in England, founded the Salvation Army with his wife, Catherine, in 1865. It has now spread around the world and is known for being on the largest distributors of humanitarian aid. When Booth was old and his eyesight had failed, he would open up his Bible, which he couldn’t see or read anymore, and run his fingers over the pages as he quoted the book of Acts. When he was finished with a passage, he would say a simple prayer: “Lord, do it again.”

As we anchor ourselves as a church in the book of Acts, we will utter that same prayer countless times as we see the worship and witness of the NT church. That is certainly true in our text for today. As we look at the back half of Acts chapter one, the church faces its first challenge, a leadership challenge.

Acts 1:12-26 – 12 Then they returned to Jerusalem from the mount called Olivet, which is near Jerusalem, a Sabbath day's journey away. 13 And when they had entered, they went up to the upper room, where they were staying, Peter and John and James and Andrew, Philip and Thomas, Bartholomew and Matthew, James the son of Alphaeus and Simon the Zealot and Judas the son of James. 14 All these with one accord were devoting themselves to prayer, together with the women and Mary the mother of Jesus, and his brothers.

15 In those days Peter stood up among the brothers (the company of persons was in all about 120) and said, 16 “Brothers, the Scripture had to be fulfilled, which the Holy Spirit spoke beforehand by the mouth of David concerning Judas, who became a guide to those who arrested Jesus. 17 For he was numbered among us and was allotted his share in this ministry.”18 (Now this man acquired a field with the reward of his wickedness, and falling headlong he burst open in the middle and all his bowels gushed out. 19 And it became known to all the inhabitants of Jerusalem, so that the field was called in their own language Akeldama, that is, Field of Blood.) 20 “For it is written in the Book of Psalms,

“‘May his camp become desolate, and let there be no one to dwell in it’;

and

“‘Let another take his office.’

21 So one of the men who have accompanied us during all the time that the Lord Jesus went in and out among us, 22 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.” 23 And they put forward two, Joseph called Barsabbas, who was also called Justus, and Matthias. 24 And they prayed and said, “You, Lord, who know the hearts of all, show which one of these two you have chosen 25 to take the place in this ministry and apostleship from which Judas turned aside to go to his own place.” 26 And they cast lots for them, and the lot fell on Matthias, and he was numbered with the eleven apostles.

When Jesus began His ministry, he chose 12 of his original disciples and set them apart as “Apostles.” It means “sent ones.” The goal was that Jesus would invest his time and energy into those twelve and once He had finished His work of salvation and resurrection, those 12 would be sent out in His name and take the Gospel to the world. The problem came with Judas Iscariot. To this day, to call someone a “Judas” carries a heavy insult. He rejected Christ and betrayed Him, leading to Jesus’ crucifixion Though he did feel remorse for his sin, instead of coming to the resurrected Jesus in repentance, he took his own life.

So now the 12 are the 11. They have to choose a new one. In the context of a leadership void, someone has to step up to lead. And that person has to be qualified. Peter makes that abundantly clear. Not just anyone can decide they are going to step into a role like this. It must be someone who has, v. 21-22 - 21 … accompanied us during all the time that the Lord Jesus went in and out among us, 22 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.” Apostles are the foundation of the NT church. They are going to be witnesses in the world; therefore they need to be witnesses of what they are witnessing about. He had to have been there the whole time. They go through their process and it all works out well.

Here is what amazes me, that makes me pray “do it again”: I’ve been in countless leadership meetings over the last 21 years, with great leaders in the room. I have watched as gifted men solve leadership crises with much integrity and humility. I have also seen the opposite. I’ve been in the room when weak, insecure men take advantage of times of crisis and bully for more power. This is a risky endeavor for this fledgling group of leaders in Acts 1. Remember, these disciples of Jesus continually bickered with one another for 3 years over which of them was the greatest. Peter typically lacks a verbal filter and cannot control his blurting. James and John had their mommy ask Jesus to put her sons as His top two leaders in His kingdom. This situation is a puddle of gasoline, and these men are a lit match.

Yet, notice how this crisis is solved. There is not one single hint of toxicity, apathy, power struggles, ignorance, or division. They are gracious, God-centered, and humble. These leaders are a gift to this group of people following their lead. And while you could look at this text and focus in on the characteristics of just the leaders, the rest of the people are right there with them. The gap that sometimes exists between the leaders and the people is almost nonexistent. There is leadership for sure. Peter stepping up and directing things is clear. But the people and the leaders are in perfect harmony. And together, they are characterized by some incredible traits. Ones that should make up pray, “Lord, do it again.”

TS – these believers are defined by spiritual health. If you want to be spiritually healthy, if this church wants to continue its commitment to spiritual health, then we must follow the example set before us.

1. POSTURE IN PRAYER

Jesus has been teaching them for the last forty days (Acts 1:3). Now he has ascended into Heaven after promising the Holy Spirit will come to them “not many days from now” (Acts 1:5). They all head back to Jerusalem and what do they spend their time doing as they wait? They aren’t sitting around twiddling their thumbs. They aren’t whiteboarding a new strategic plan. They aren’t dreaming up a new vision for their organization. They are praying. V. 14 - 14 All these with one accord were devoting themselves to prayer, together with the women and Mary the mother of Jesus, and his brothers. As one, they are coming before God in prayer, seeking His will, His direction for them.

They do it again when it comes time to choose Judas’ replacement. This is a big deal. There is much riding on this decision. This new leader with serve as a pillar of the church. His teaching will be authoritative in the life of the church. Two men are put up for consideration who meet the criteria. They didn’t debate the merits of the candidates. They didn’t whiteboard a list of pros and cons. They didn’t even vote. They prayed. V. 23-24a - 23 And they put forward two, Joseph called Barsabbas, who was also called Justus, and Matthias. 24 And they prayed…. No fights. No disappointment. No sore losers. No hurt feelings. No disagreement.

Again, notice their rare unity. Who is there? The 11 apostles are there. Mary, the mother of Jesus is there. Jesus’ brothers are there (Mark 6:3 tells us their names are James, Joses, Judas (Jude), and Simon). And “the women.” There were several women who were part of Jesus’ disciples. Mary Magdalene, Mary and Martha, Susanna, the apostle’s wives, likely Jesus’ sisters as well (though Mark 6 doesn’t give us their names).

They could be fighting and arguing right now. The apostles could turn on each other if they wanted…Peter had denied Jesus, so they could bully him out; James and John had wanted to call down fire to kill an entire Samaritan village, so the others could cancel them; Mary could claim preeminence since she has seniority; Jesus’ brothers could have tried to seize power…after all, they are blood related, and two of them (James and Jude) will write NT letters that are in your Bibles. This could all get chaotic really fast. But they are all v. 14 – with one accord devoting themselves to prayer… “With one accord” translates a word that literally means “with one mind.”

How did they accomplish such a marvelous feat? They weren’t looking at each other to condemn, to manipulate, to bully…they were all looking up. Their focus was on Jesus alone. Who He is and what He has done is the core unifying factor for believers. We can disagree over politics, sports, worldview, various secondary doctrines…but…

Galatians 3:26-28 - 26 for in Christ Jesus you are all sons of God, through faith. 27 For as many of you as were baptized into Christ have put on Christ. 28 There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is no male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus.

If you want to be in unity with someone, if you want to be in unity with your church…it’s simple. Posture in prayer. The Gospel of Jesus Christ has united you together already. But instead of little squabbles separating you, pray. If you are at odd with someone right now, don’t focus your gaze onto them and their mistakes. Look up. If you believe your role in the Body of Christ is to be a critic who focuses on all the things you would do differently, look up. If you want to be spiritually healthy, look up. When we all do that, the Lord works like He worked here in Acts 1.

2. SATURATE WITH SCRIPTURE

When the Gospel accounts end, we aren’t necessarily left with a great impression of the apostles. They are aloof, they fight and argue, they seem to never understand what Jesus has clearly taught them, they abandon Jesus at the cross; they are a bunch of cowardly, bumbling idiots. But something dramatic changes. When the book of Acts opens up, we find the same men, but a very different group of men. They have been transformed. They are now brilliant theologians, brave witnesses to Christ, endowed with miraculous power…what happened? Jesus has been personally teaching them for the last 40 days. And we know at least part of what Jesus is doing is opening their eyes to how rightly understand the Bible. Luke 24:45 - 45 Then he opened their minds to understand the Scriptures,

Because Jesus has opened their eyes to the truth of the Bible, they are now centered upon it and it becomes the foundation of their teaching and the focus of their study. When Peter stood up in front of these 120 believers to solve this leadership crisis, he didn’t present a plan. He didn’t ask for their thoughts on solutions. V. 16 – Brothers, the Scripture… that is all Peter cares about. The Bible is going to guide them. The Bible is going to provide the solutions. They don’t have to figure this all out on their own. God already provided the way.

How do they know they need to replace Judas? Because the Bible said to do it! Peter quotes two OT passages, both from the Psalms (Psalm 69:25 and 109:8). Both Psalms are about King David’s friends who had become enemies and God’s judgement on those enemies. In fact, Psalm 109:8 is a prayer asking for God to remove the traitorous friend and replace him with someone else. Not only were those verses true for King David, but they were also true for David’s greater Son, King Jesus. What do they do when one of Jesus’ friends turns on Him? They replace him, just as Scripture said to do.

Why do they ground themselves in the solid foundation of Scripture? Peter is clear on what the Bible actually is…v. 16 – Brothers, the Scripture had to be fulfilled, which the Holy Spirit spoke beforehand by the mouth of David concerning Judas… The Bible isn’t some mere historical book, or fascinating literature…it is God’s own Word. God’s Spirit has inspired men and women to get God’s Word to the world. When we open this book we aren’t doing a spiritual equivalent of opening the latest bestselling novel or one of the classics. We are setting ourselves in front of God Himself so He can speak to us.

If you want spiritual health, this is the primary way to get it. Anchor in Scripture. Open it up daily. Get on a Bible reading plan. Utilize an app or whatever technology you need. Get into some of the many Bible environments we have here during the week. God wants to speak with you. God wants to teach you. God wants to guide you. It’s all right here!

3. SUBMIT TO SOVEREIGNTY

From the very beginning, these believers humbly and clearly acknowledge who is in charge. While there is clear leadership provided by Peter and by the rest of the apostles, all of them know God is in charge. And they show that to us here.

They could easily cringe in response to what Judas has done. They could be embarrassed. They could be ashamed. The rest of the group could mutiny and say that the apostles obviously can’t be trusted, as one of their own betrayed Jesus. They don’t do that. They look to the source of all things. When Peter says in v. 16 – Brothers, the Scripture had to be fulfilled…, he isn’t just saying the Bible is important. He is declaring that God has orchestrated all of this from the beginning. When the Holy Spirit inspired King David to write the Psalms, the Spirit knew this would find its ultimately fulfillment in Judas. God has known since before the foundation of the world how all of this would go down, so much so that He spoke about in Psalms 1,000 years before it even happened.

God is sovereign. Meaning, He is fully in charge. We speak of Kings and monarchs as ‘sovereigns.’ They are fully in charge. Their word is law. God is The Sovereign. He alone orchestrates history. He rules over all. His Word is Law. His will is unchangeable. What God wants to happen will absolutely happen.

This is shown clearly at the end of the text. Justus and Matthias are put forth as candidates for the position. Again, they don’t debate. They don’t vote. They trust God’s sovereignty. V. 24 – And they prayed and said, “You Lord, who know the hearts of all, show which one of these two you have chosen…” God already has all this worked out. He isn’t worried about who will take Judas’ vacant spot. God, who alone knows the heart, has already chosen His man. The apostles aren’t choosing anything. The people aren’t voting for anything. God already has this worked out. He is sovereign.

They are so committed to this reality, so submitted to God’s sovereignty, that instead of any debate or vote, they cast lots. A little surprising, isn’t it? Casting lots is basically throwing the dice. Names would be written on rocks, placed in a container of some kind, and then shaken until one falls out. That one wins. Seems random. Seems superstitious. Seems pagan. But the casting of lots was a traditional Jewish method of decision making that is frequently used in the OT. These apostles are just being faithful to a God-sanctioned way to make decisions that are God’s, not theirs.

Proverbs 16:33 - 33 The lot is cast into the lap, but its every decision is from the Lord.

Now, it is important to note that this is the final time they do this. This is the last mention of this practice in the entire NT. They stop casting lots. Why? Because they don’t need to anymore. The Holy Spirit falls in chapter 2. God the Spirit, who dwells within them, will now be the guiding presence in their lives. This is why we don’t throw dice to make decisions. We trust God to lead us by His Word through His Spirit.

At the end of the day, the way they look at, and the way they handle this crisis is spiritually healthy. Because they see it as coming from the hand of a sovereign God and that this sovereign God is going to work it all out. He is in charge, not them.

Conclusion

I want to be spiritually healthy, don’t you? This church wants to continue its course in living in and enjoying even greater levels of spiritual health. This is not an elusive pursuit. This is not a waste of time. You can have spiritual health. Our church can enjoy even more of it. We can adopt these practices even more than we already are. And if Acts 1 teaches us anything, it is that this is not only the responsibility of the leaders (though it certainly is), this is for everyone. Because when we all do this, it creates an amazing, unified, one-minded, God-centered group of people who are gracious, kind, filled with the Spirit, loving, and committed to the spiritual health of everyone around them. Wouldn’t it be amazing to live in that reality? Lord, do it again.