Acts 1:12-26 - Judas’ Fate and Replacement: Choosing Church Leaders
Introduction:
Leadership… that is a very powerful word. Remember the game “follow the leader…” the leader would do something or walk a straight line or scratch his head, or whatever, but the point was “to follow the leader, to do what he or she did.” Well, today in our study we will be talking about leadership.
Jesus said to some fishermen "Follow Me, and I will make you fishers of men.” They immediately left their nets and followed Him." (Matthew 4:19-20, NKJV)
There is general categories describe the leadership style of Christ.
· First, He was a leader with a clear mission. Jesus’ primary motivation and purpose were glorification of His heavenly Father.
· Second, Jesus was a leader with consistent character. He lived what He taught and believed.
· Third, He was a leader with a capable team. He knew with committed, gifted individuals around Him, He would reach the world.
A clear mission serves as a compass to point you in the right direction. A mission is what you are to do as you fulfill God’s purpose for your life. A mission focuses you on what’s important. Your mission keeps you on course.
A mission should reflect priorities. When you look over your life, will you be able to say, “I poured my life into what really mattered”? Through the dynamic of a clear mission, you will use the talents God has given you to their maximum potential. Not only will you “spend” your life, but you will “invest” your life in what really matters.
As you do this, you will need leaders within the church.
A.W. Tozer said
| A true and safe leader is likely to be one who has no desire to lead, but is forced into a position of leadership by inward pressure of the Holy Spirit and the press of external situation. |
A. The essentials to choosing church leaders (v.12-15).
1. “Then they returned to Jerusalem from the mount called Olivet…” (v.12a).
a) Essential 1: To obey Jesus—they returned to Jerusalem (v.12).
(1) The disciples had just witnessed the ascension on the Mount of Olives They now obeyed Christ by returning to Jerusalem (Acts 1:4).
(a) And note: their obedience took tremendous courage, why? Because Jerusalem was the very center of opposition against Christ. It would have been much easier to go elsewhere and wait upon the Holy Spirit and serve God there.
(b) But Christ had made His will known and the disciples had committed their lives to obeying Him.
(2) Think about this: In choosing church leaders, believers have to be in the will of God.
(a) Believers cannot know who God’s choice for a leader is unless they are obeying Him. Disobedient and carnal believers end up with disobedient and carnal leaders.
(b) If you have leaders who are fleshy and worldly, they know little if anything about God and His will and the true spiritual matters of the church and its mission.
(3) The Mount of Olives or Olivet: the mountain range was a little more than one-half mile from the city limits of Jerusalem. The range of mountains lie on the east of Jerusalem and stretch only about one or two miles across and this place was loved by Jesus. It was...
(a) where Jesus often spent the night when in Jerusalem (John 7:53-8:1).
(b) where Jesus spent the nights of His last week on earth—praying and seeking God (Luke 21:37).
(c) where Jesus first went when He approached Jerusalem to face His last week on earth (Matthew 21:1f; Mark 11:1f).
(d) where the great sermon on the end time was preached (Matthew 24:3f; Mark 13:3f).
(e) where (at the descent) the Triumphal Entry began (Luke 19:37f).
(f) where Jesus’ terrible agony in the Garden of Gethsemane took place (Matt.26:30).
(g) where the ascension took place (Acts 1:12).
!!! 2. “They went up to the upper room where they were staying…” (v.13).
a) Essential 2: To center around the appointed leaders (v.13).
(1) Note that all eleven of the apostles were present, and they were even meeting in the upper room where the apostles were staying. The building was large enough to hold the 120 disciples gathering there (Acts 1:15).
(2) This may have been the same room in which they had eaten the Last Supper with Christ (Luke 22:12), as well as the location of many of the post-Resurrection appearances.
(3) The church must have and follow spiritual leaders, leaders chosen and appointed by God that will speak the Word of God, empowered by the Spirit of God, to make men and woman of God.
(a) Often times, many people will turn to others who are less godly, less spiritual and less ministry minded, therefore, the result is dead, self-centered or worldly.
(b) Paul gives Timothy some instruction on what to do and why to do it (2Tim.4:1-4).
3. “These all continued in one accord…” (v.14a).
a) Essential 3: To continue in one accord (v.14a).
(1) One Accord: the same mind or spirit; oneness of mind and heart. It means to be one in spirit and purpose. All 120 of the believers were of the same spirit, of the same mind.
(a) The idea is they were after the same thing, the baptism of the Holy Spirit. They were focusing and concentrating their thoughts and energies upon seeking God for the promise of His Spirit.
(b) The word is used only eleven times in Scripture, ten of those times are found in Acts, one is found in Romans.
(i) One accord in prayer (Acts 1:14; Acts 4:24).
(ii) One accord in one place (Acts 2:1).
(iii) One accord in daily worship and the Lord’s supper (Acts 2:46; Acts 5:12).
(iv) One accord in obedience (Acts 8:6).
(v) One accord in a business meeting (Acts 15:25).
(vi) One accord is needed to glorify God (Romans 15:6).
(c) The phrase “one accord” is also used to refer to the unity of unbelievers and enemies
of the gospel (Acts 7:57; Acts 12:20; Acts 18:12; Acts 19:29).
Listen to the way Kenneth Wuest puts it: These all continued to give their persistent attention with absolute unanimity to prayer which was characterized by its definiteness of purpose, together with the women and Mary the mother of Jesus and with His brethren.
(2) Take special note whom the disciples were joined by:
(a) The disciples were joined by Mary the mother of Jesus and several other women, likely the ones who had been present at the Crucifixion and at the empty tomb.
(b) Also present were the brothers of Jesus. Remember, during his lifetime, Jesus’ brothers did not believe he was the Messiah (John 7:5) and actually thought he was out of his mind (Mark 3:21-35).
(c) But Jesus’ resurrection must have convinced them otherwise. Jesus’ special appearance to James, one of his brothers, may have been an especially significant event in James’s conversion (1Corinthians 15:7).
!!!! b) Essential 4: To pray steadfastly (v.14b).
(1) Now, the main emphasis is not who was present but what they were doing—PRAYING! Prayer begins to appear as a mark of the early church.
After Pentecost, the believers come together for prayer, Acts 2:42 says “They continued steadfastly in the apostles’ doctrine and fellowship, in the breaking of bread, and in prayers." (Acts 2:42, NKJV)
The apostles make it known that their task is to “devote [themselves] to prayer and the ministry of the word” (6:4).
And in their writings they urge the believers to “pray continually” (I Thess. 5:17).
(2) Next, the apostles pray together “with one mind” (NASB). They present their prayers unanimously and express a perfect unity that becomes a feature of the early church.
(a) When they were fearful, they prayed.
(b) When they were confused, they prayed.
(c) When they were waiting for God to fulfill his promise to them, they prayed.
(d) When they needed an answer to a question (such as who was to be the twelfth apostle), they prayed!
c) Essential 5: To have an appointed leader (Peter) who willingly leads (v.15a).
(1) In the Gospel accounts, Peter had denied the Lord, he failed miserably. Emotionally he had been despaired and anguished (Matt.26:69:75).
(2) He could have easily remained defeated, never serving his Lord again. But he got up and did not remain defeated.
(3) Peter was standing strong, willingly serving Christ exactly where Christ had originally appointed him to serve. Again, he had failed the Lord miserably, but the Lord in His unbelievable mercy and grace had forgiven him and lifted him up, and now the Lord was ready to use Peter as originally planned.
You remember when Jesus came to Peter and said “And the Lord said, “Simon, Simon! Indeed, Satan has asked for you, that he may sift you as wheat. But I have prayed for you, that your faith should not fail; and when you have returned to Me, strengthen your brethren.”" (Luke 22:31-32, NKJV)
(a) Here in Acts 1, we see Peter doing just that “strengthening his brethren.”
(b) You may need strengthening from the brethren today or you may be the one Christ wants to use to strengthen the brethren.
(4) Think about this: Peter willingly stepped forth. He did not step forth by constraint nor out of fear. Listen to what he said later to the leaders of the church.
In his first epistle, the Peter said "The elders who are among you I exhort, I who am a fellow elder and a witness of the sufferings of Christ, and also a partaker of the glory that will be revealed: Shepherd the flock of God which is among you, serving as overseers, not by compulsion but willingly, not for dishonest gain but eagerly; nor as being lords over those entrusted to you, but being examples to the flock;" (1 Peter 5:1-3, NKJV)
d) Essential 6: To heed the leader (v.15b).
(1) All 120 believers listened and gave heed to Peter’s leadership. No leader could lead unless the people were willing to follow. A willingness to follow is so important.
(2) You remember Kora and the rebellion that he led (Numbers 16:1-35).
!! B. The need for church leaders: Judas’ fate and empty office (v.16-20).
1. “The Scripture had to be fulfilled, which the Holy Spirit spoke by David…” (v.16a).
a) Two things to notice.
(1) Number one: the confidence in the Scriptures, because it was written, it has to come to pass. The Scriptures must need be fulfilled & if God said it, it’s got to happen! So they had great confidence in the Word of God.
(2) Secondly: the recognition that it was inspired by the Holy Spirit, (v.16) says “which the Holy Spirit spoke before the mouth of David”.
David, speaking from his own anguish said "Even my own familiar friend in whom I trusted, Who ate my bread, Has lifted up his heel against me.” (Psalm 41:9, NKJV)
(a) So they believed in the inspiration of the Scriptures (2Tim.3:16) and the inerrancy of the Scriptures. These are two basic fundamental beliefs that we need to have!
(b) Number one, that all Scripture was given by inspiration of God. David spoke by the Holy Spirit, inspired by the Holy Spirit, and if it is in the Word of God it is inerrant. It will happen!
(c) The Scripture must be fulfilled which was spoken by the Holy Spirit through David. So those are two important, basic & foundational beliefs that we must have concerning the Word of God.
b) His betrayal: A guide for evil versus a guide for good – why the office was to be filled (v.16).
(1) Judas had betrayed Christ & became the guide for Jesus’ enemies (Matthew 26:47f; Luke 22:47; John 18:2f). He should have guided people to receive Christ; instead, he had guided them to reject and deny Him and to remove Christ from the scene.
c) His call by Jesus: To serve in the ministry (v.17).
(1) Judas had been called by Christ to serve in the ministry. He had been given a part in the ministry & then had been numbered and counted by all as being a leader among God’s people. Yet, he had somehow refused God’s grace.
d) His greed (v.18a).
(1) Judas had given his heart over to greed, selling Christ for thirty pieces of silver ( Matt.26:15; John 13.)
e) His death: Despair and suicide (v.18b).
(1) Judas had died a terrible death: he had hanged himself in despair. (The rope had broken and he had fallen head first. His body had just burst open).
f) His legacy (v.19).
(1) Judas’ legacy is tragic. Everyone, even the reader, knows the terrible legacy of Judas’ life, the legacy of betrayal.
!!!! g) His terrible fate: An eternal loss (v.20).
(1) Judas’ fate was an eternal loss Ps.69:25; 109:8; 41:9; Zech. 11:12). Note two things.
(a) The phrase “his habitation” is descriptive. It means a farm house or a place for sheep such as a pasture or sheep yard. The idea is that Judas would never again be allowed to be the farmer (husbandman) or shepherd for God.
(b) The word “bishoprick” means over-seership. It is the word from which the office of bishop is taken. The idea is that Judas’ office of overseeing the flock of God was to be filled by another person. Judas had lost his ministry completely.
(2) What happened to Judas serves as a warning to every Christian. Judas had every opportunity imaginable, even that of being with the Lord Jesus day by day, yet he deserted Christ.
Paul said to Timothy there are those who "having faith and a good conscience, however some having rejected, concerning the faith have suffered shipwreck," (1 Timothy 1:19, NKJV)
Even in the "latter times some will depart from the faith, giving heed to deceiving spirits and doctrines of demons," (1 Timothy 4:1, NKJV)
Hebrews gives us a warning: "Beware, brethren, lest there be in any of you an evil heart of unbelief in departing from the living God;" (Hebrews 3:12, NKJV)
Speaking about false teaching, Peter says "Beloved, since you know this beforehand, beware lest you also fall from your own steadfastness, being led away with the error of the wicked" (2 Peter 3:17, NKJV)