The Twelve Apostles

We live nowadays in a designer society where people like everything customized to their

personal preferences and needs, and increasingly people apply that approach to religion as

well.

Many people in the U.S. still claim to be Christians, but are completely untethered from traditional

beliefs and practices of Christians.

For example, one woman named Carol from Illinois, and this is a result from a survey, says that

she drifted through a few mainline Protestant denominations in her youth, then experimented

with the Baha'i faith for several years, but now finds herself enmeshed in Native American

traditional healing practices, but she still identifies as Christian.

This isn't happening to Christianity only.

Nadine Epstein of the Jewish magazine Moment writes that most Jewish people nowadays believe

that there can be Judaism without God.

Their approach, she summarizes, is, quote, you pick and choose the part of religion that

makes sense to you, end quote.

Identifying these trends, religion statistics expert George Barna exaggerates to drive home

a point when he says that the U.S. is headed for 310 million people with 310 million religions.

That kind of buffet approach to religion, well, that kind of buffet approach in general, it works

with things like diets.

You can take a paleo diet or a keto diet and modify them to suit your preferences and needs,

but you can't do that with historic Christianity.

Because historic Christianity teaches what we call the apostolic faith.

It's what the apostles taught, and it's what the apostles transmitted, handed down to us.

This is why the 12 apostles of Jesus Christ play such a foundational role in the history of Christianity.

And the main point of this passage is that God appointed the 12 apostles to be vice-regents of the kingdom of God

who bear witness to Christ the King.

So let me pray before we read this text and I preach it.

God, we ask for your help.

You place this account of the appointment of the 12th apostle, Matthias, here for a reason.

Amen.

To edify us, to teach us.

To impart to us the importance of the gospel, the sacred trust that you have given us.

So please, speak to us now.

In Jesus' name we pray.

Amen.

Acts 1, 15 to 26.

In those days, Peter stood up among the brothers.

The company of persons was in all about 120.

And said,

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.

For he was numbered among us and was allotted his share in this ministry.

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.

And it became known to all the inhabitants of Jerusalem,

so that the field was called in their own language,

a keldama, that is, field of blood.

For it is written in the book of Psalms,

may his camp become desolate and let there be no one else,

no one to dwell in it.

And let another take his office.

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.

And they put forward two,

Joseph, called Barsabbas,

who was also called Justice,

and Matthias.

And they prayed and said,

You, Lord, who know the hearts of all,

show which one of these two you have chosen

to take the place in this ministry and apostleship,

from which Judas turned aside to go to his own place.

And they cast lots for them,

and the lot fell in Matthias.

And he was numbered with the eleven apostles.

Last week we saw that Jesus gave special parting instructions to the apostles whom he had chosen.

And in verse 13, Luke listed the names of these apostles.

Conspicuously, there were only eleven apostles in that list,

as we noted last week,

because Judas Iscariot, who had betrayed Jesus to his death,

had been omitted from the list.

And this betrayal and Judas' kind of departure from the apostles

was a sore point for the remaining eleven apostles.

And it raised a host of questions.

You know, how could Judas do this?

Why did it happen?

Was it supposed to happen?

Was that part of God's plan?

What happened to Judas afterward anyway?

And also because Jesus chose the twelve apostles in Luke 6

intentionally to show that he is reconstituting the people of God,

because in the Old Testament,

the people of God were made up for the twelve tribes of Israel,

descended from the twelve sons of Jacob.

And in Luke 22, verses 28 to 30,

Luke 22:28–30

Jesus had said to his apostles,

You are those who have stayed with me in my trials.

And I assigned to you,

as my Father assigned to me,

a kingdom,

that you may eat and drink at my table in my kingdom

and sit on thrones,

judging the twelve tribes of Israel.

The twelve apostles were appointed

to sit on thrones in the kingdom of God

to judge the people of God,

the twelve tribes of Israel.

This is most likely why in Revelation chapter 4,

Revelation 4 · chapter mention

around the throne of God,

there are twenty-four elders

seated on twenty-four thrones,

signifying the unity of God's people

represented by the twelve tribes of Israel

from the Old Testament

and the twelve apostles of the New Testament church.

So the betrayal of Judas

naturally raised the question,

Who will be the twelfth apostle?

Because there's only eleven now.

And so starting in verse 15,

Luke answers all of these questions.

He's really addressing the elephant in the room

as the early disciples are gathered together.

He says in verse 15,

In those days,

Peter stood up among the brothers.

The company of persons was in all about hundred and twenty.

So in those days refers to

the period between Jesus' ascent to heaven

in chapter 1, verse 9,

and the Holy Spirit's descent in chapter 2,

which we'll see shortly next week.

And Peter, as the leader of the twelve apostles,

stands up to address the early believers.

It says that there were about 120 people,

so this is a larger crowd

than the group of apostles

along with the other disciples

and the woman and the Mary,

the mother of Jesus and his brothers,

who are praying together in the upper room

in chapter 1, verses 13 to 14.

And the word brothers here stands collectively,

so it represents both brothers and sisters

that are gathered among them.

And we know that Peter was the leader among the twelve

because he is always listed first

in the list of the twelve apostles.

Matthew 10, verse 2, Mark 3, verse 16.

Matthew 10:2 Mark 3:16

And he always speaks first on behalf of the twelve.

You see that all throughout the Gospels as well.

Throughout the book of Acts also,

we see Peter playing a leading role

in the life of the church in Jerusalem

and in their missionary outreaches

until he's forced to leave the city in Acts 12, 17.

And it's because Peter was the leader

and representative of the twelve

that Jesus says specifically to him

in Matthew, chapter 16, verses 18 to 19.

Matthew 16:18–19

And I tell you, you are Peter,

and on this rock I will build my church.

And the gates of...

It should be Hades.

Gates of Hades shall not prevail against it.

I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven,

and whatever you bind on earth

shall be bound in heaven,

and whatever you lose on earth

shall be loosed in heaven.

Now, the name Peter means rock.

And so Jesus is here very clearly saying

that he will build a church on Peter.

But this is not because God intended Peter to be...

Peter and his successor to be some sort of pope

who is the head over the entire church.

Rather, Jesus is saying this to Peter

as a representative of the twelve,

the twelve apostles.

Because later in Matthew 18, 18,

he gives the exact same promise

that he just gave to Peter

to all the apostles.

Truly I say to you,

that's plural you,

whatever you bind on earth

will be bound in heaven,

and whatever you lose on earth

will be loosed in heaven.

So this is not a promise

that's given exclusively to Peter.

It's given to all of the apostles.

And that's because the apostles,

as Ephesians 2.20 says,

are the foundation of the church,

with Christ Jesus himself being a cornerstone.

So he is building the church on Peter

as representative of the apostles.

And by extension,

then this is the authority

given to the apostolic church,

the church that holds fast

to the apostolic gospel.

All that to say,

Peter is the leader of the twelve,

which is why he is the one

that stands up to dress

the company of believers here.

And the fact that Peter

still holds this position of leadership

is itself a testimony of God's mercy.

You were with us

when we were going through Luke.

And in Luke chapter 22,

Luke 22 · chapter mention

31 to 32,

when prophesying of Peter's

eventual denial of him three times,

Jesus said to him,

but I pray for you

that your faith may not fail.

And when you have turned again,

strengthen your brothers.

And as Jesus predicted,

Peter denied the Lord three times

and then he wept bitterly,

it says,

because of his failure.

But as Jesus exhorted him,

commanded him,

now after having turned back,

Peter strengthens his brothers.

And Peter says this

in verses 16 to 17,

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.

For he was numbered among us

and was allotted his share

in this ministry.

The phrase,

scripture had to be fulfilled,

answers the question,

all the questions really

that I raised earlier.

Was Judas' betrayal necessary?

Was this part of God's plan?

The Holy Spirit,

according to Peter,

had already spoken beforehand

about how Judas

would become a guide

to those who arrested Jesus.

And Peter proves this

by citing Psalm 69,

Psalms 69:25

verse 25,

and Psalm 109,

Psalms 109:8

verse 8,

in verse 20.

It says in verse 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.

If you were to read

these Psalms independently,

you might have never guessed

that they're actually

predicting this about Judas

and about Jesus.

But these,

but this,

the Bible authors,

the biblical writers

make the kinds of connections

that they make here

because they are thinking

typologically.

What I mean by that

is that they see

the figures

and the offices

and the institutions

of the Old Testament

as all prefiguring

Jesus Christ

and all pointing to

and foreshadowing

and ultimately being fulfilled

by Jesus Christ.

And so Israel's 40 days

in the wilderness

becomes a type

of Jesus's 40 days

in the wilderness.

They're 40 years,

Jesus's 40 days.

And King David

becomes a type

of King Jesus

who is the ultimate fulfillment

from the line of David.

The temple

becomes a type

of Jesus

who describes himself

as the new temple of God

who makes atonement

for sin.

So this is typological

interpretation

of Scripture.

Now,

using this,

they make some

compelling

and interesting connections

to the Psalms.

So Psalm 69

is a Psalm of David

where he cries out

to God

for salvation

from his enemies

who,

according to verse 4,

hate him without cause.

Now,

John 15, 25

cites that verse

to describe

the enemies of Jesus

as those who hate him

without cause.

So this is other

biblical writers

making the same kinds

of connections

that Peter is making here.

David also says

in Psalm 69,

Psalms 69:9

verse 9,

for zeal for your house

has consumed me

and the reproaches

of those who reproach you

have fallen on me.

And John quotes

this verse

after Jesus'

cleansing of the temple

in John 2, 17

to describe Jesus'

zeal for the temple

of God.

So once again,

Jesus fulfilling

what was said

about David.

And then in Psalm 69,

Psalms 69:21

verse 21,

David says

of his enemies,

for my thirst

they give me

sour wine to drink.

And then John

recounts its fulfillment

in chapter 19,

verses 28 to 29.

Jesus said

to fulfill the scripture,

I thirst.

And a jar full

of sour wine

stood there,

so they put a sponge

full of the sour wine

on a hyssop branch

and held it to his mouth.

Moreover,

describing the Jews

who rejected Jesus

in Romans 11, 9 to 10,

Paul quotes Psalm 69,

22 to 23.

And David says,

let their table

become a snare

and a trap,

a stumbling block

and a retribution

for them.

Let their eyes

be darkened

so that they cannot see

and bend their backs

forever.

So,

given all of these

connections,

it's not surprising

to see Peter

making a connection

between David

and the life

and ministry

of Jesus

in Psalm 69.

So he quotes

Psalm 69,

Psalms 69:25

verse 25,

and quotes it here

in Acts 1, 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.

The camp

is a reference

to the plot of land

that was purchased

by Judas

or purchased

using the money

that Judas had

from betraying Jesus.

And this was the prophecy

that was fulfilled

when after Judas' death,

the plot of land

was used

as a burying ground,

unclean cemetery.

So it became

a desolate place

and no one

would dwell in it.

And using that same method,

Peter also applies

Psalm 109, verse 8

Psalms 109:8

to what happened

to Jesus.

Psalm 109

is also a Davidic psalm.

There he describes

his enemies

who in return

for his love

accuse him

and reward him

evil for good

and hatred

for his love.

And then,

very interestingly

in the psalm,

after describing

his enemies

in the plural,

all of a sudden

he takes a turn

and starts describing

this singular enemy

as if he has

a particular individual

in mind.

And he says,

may his days

be few.

May another

take his office.

So Peter

takes that unusual

turn in the Psalm 109

and interprets it

as a specific prophecy

concerning Judas

who,

like the enemies

who opposed King David,

opposed King Jesus.

In particular,

Judas

who would betray him.

and using this

as his basis,

he argues that

the scripture

had to be fulfilled

and the office

of apostle

now must be filled.

Someone must

take his office.

Verses 18 to 19

are placed inside

a parenthesis

because the translators

concluded that

that's a narrator's

commentary,

Luke's commentary,

rather than part

of Peter's speech.

In,

if we're honest,

it's actually

impossible to be

certain of that

because ancient Greek

doesn't use quotation marks

and it doesn't use

parentheses

and so

they're just guessing

that this is

Luke's commentary.

It could just as well

be part of Peter's

actual speech.

But regardless,

what it tells us

is important,

verses 18 to 9,

it says,

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

and he became known

to all the inhabitants

of Jerusalem

so that the field

was called

in their own language

that is filled

of blood.

The fuller account

in Matthew chapter 27

Matthew 27 · chapter mention

provides more details.

It says that

when Judas,

his betrayer,

saw that Jesus

was condemned,

he changed his mind

and brought back

the 30 pieces of silver

to the chief priests

and the elders

saying,

I have sinned

by betraying

innocent blood.

They said,

What is that to us?

See to it yourself.

And throwing down

the pieces of silver

into the temple,

Judas disparted

and he went

and hanged himself.

But the chief priests

taking the pieces

of silver

said,

It is not lawful

to put them

into the treasury

since it is blood money.

It's ironic

that people

who killed Jesus

are now not wanting

money that's been

tainted with blood.

So they took counsel

and bought with them

the potter's field

as a burial place

for strangers.

Therefore,

that field

has been called

a field of blood

to this day.

So Matthew and Luke's

seemingly divergent

accounts of Judas' death

have raised some questions.

Did Judas die

by hanging,

as Matthew says,

or did he die

by falling headlong

and bursting open

in the middle

and all his bowels

gushing out,

as Luke says?

Did Judas buy the field

or did the chief priests

buy the field?

The most likely scenario

appears to be

that Judas hanged himself

and that as the body

was decomposing

the branch

that it was hanging from

or whatever it was,

that something snapped

and fell

and the body

dropped onto the ground

and as it hit the ground

it burst open

so that his entrails

spilled out.

That would make sense

because a normal body

when it falls to the ground

wouldn't burst like that.

Only a decomposing body

would do that.

And so then Matthew

is describing

how Judas died

and Luke is describing

the gruesome aftermath

to show the severe consequence

of the one who betrayed

the innocent,

righteous,

Son of God.

And then since

the high priest

could not take back

Judas' money

because it was considered

blood money,

they used it

to buy a field

in Judas' stead

because they can't actually

accept it into the treasury

as his executor of sorts

with Judas' money.

So then a ritually unclean cemetery

is purchased

with ritually unclean money

so that it's appropriate

both to say

that Judas bought the field

and the high priests

bought the field

and that field

came to be known

as a keldama,

a field of blood

because it's not really

what this passage is about

but because of its association

with Judas Iscariot,

it's been taught

among some Christian circles

that suicide

is an unforgivable sin.

It is a terrible sin.

It's an attack on God

who is the author of life.

It's a brazen act

of trying to take one's life

into one's own hands

but with all of that said,

the Bible never describes

suicide as an unforgivable sin.

Judas Iscariot's case

is unique.

Prophesying of his betrayal,

Jesus said in Matthew 26, 24,

woe to that man

by whom the Son of Man

is betrayed.

It would have been better

for that man

if he had not been born.

So Judas is condemned.

He perishes.

His situation is irredeemable

and there was no true repentance

from him, only remorse.

But Luke is not commenting here

on the theological implications

of suicide as such.

He's simply interested

in the fact that

the scriptures were fulfilled

in Judas' betrayal and death.

Judas' camp became desolate.

Judas' life was cut short.

The plot of land he purchased

became a field of blood

and now all that remained

to be fulfilled

is that prophecy

of another taking his office.

So this is Peter's rationale

for the necessity

of the 12th apostle

appointing the 12th apostle.

Then in verses 21 to 26,

we see the actual selection process.

It says in verses 21 to 22,

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.

These verses outline

specifically the criteria

that need to be met

for inclusion

among the 12 apostles.

First, Judas' replacement

had to be a man

who had been among

Jesus' disciples

during his earthly ministry.

We know from Luke 6, 13

that in addition

to the 12 apostles,

Jesus had a number

of other disciples

that a larger group

that followed him.

Second criterion is this.

The candidates for the 12th spot

had to have been a witness

of Jesus' physical resurrection.

He had to have seen

the risen Christ.

These are the criteria

of the apostolic office.

I'm going to digress here

for a few minutes

just to explain

the term apostle

and the way it's used

variously throughout Scripture

for the sake of clarity.

In the same way

that the word president

has the underlying meaning

of leader or executive

in modern usage,

but it can still be used

variously in different contexts.

It could refer to

the president of our country.

It could refer to

the president of a college.

It could refer to

the president of the local

Boys and Girls Club.

Right?

But they're all presidents.

In a similar way,

the word apostle

has the common underlying meaning

of being someone

who has been commissioned,

sent out,

a missionary.

But the word apostle

is still used

throughout Scripture

in different ways.

So we need to pay

close attention

to the context

to see what kind of apostle

it's speaking of.

The first way it is used

is to refer to

the twelve apostles.

They are the ones

from Jesus

personally appointed

in Luke 22

as 1830,

which I read to you earlier,

28 to 30 rather,

that I read to you earlier,

to sit on thrones

judging the twelve tribes

of Israel.

They're the ones

described in Revelation 21

Revelation 21:14

verse 14

as the twelve foundations

of the new Jerusalem.

There's only twelve

of these kinds of apostles

in all of human history.

And they are Simon,

known as Peter,

Andrew, his brother,

James and John,

sons of Zebedee,

Philip, Bartholomew,

Matthew, Thomas,

James, the son of Alphaeus,

Simon, the zealot,

and Judas,

the son of James,

and finally,

as we see in our text,

Matthias,

who replaces

Judas Iscariot.

That's it.

That's the twelve.

No one else

can ever be added

to that list.

That's why

once Judas Iscariot,

the traitor is replaced.

The list is fixed

and never changed.

Even after James,

one of the twelve,

is killed

in Acts chapter 12

Acts 12:1–2

verses 1 to 2,

there is no mention

ever of replacing him

because that list is done.

It's complete.

It's fixed.

The second way

the word apostle

is used

is what I call

capital A apostles.

These are people

who occupy

the first century

office of apostle.

They meet

the apostolic criteria

of having

accompanied Jesus

in his earthly ministry

and having witnessed

Jesus' resurrection.

These are the

capital A apostles

who have been

commissioned

by the risen Christ

as eyewitnesses

of his resurrection.

They're the ones

that are described

in Ephesians 2.20

along with the twelve

as the foundation

of the church.

We know that

this additional category

of the apostolic office

exists because

in 1 Corinthians

1 Corinthians 15:5–8

chapter 15

verses 5 to 8

it talks about

how Jesus

after his resurrection

appeared to all

the apostles

I mean

appeared to the twelve

and then

distinctly

later on

it says

he appeared

later to

all the apostles

so it distinguishes

clearly the twelve

from the rest

of the apostles

all the apostles

so this second

category is the

category that Paul

includes himself in

and but because

Paul himself

wasn't

a disciple of Jesus

during his earthly

ministry

and because he

didn't see

the risen Christ

in the flesh

but only saw

the vision

of the risen Christ

after his ascension

that's why

Peter

I mean Paul

is very apologetic

about his

apostleship

and he says

in 1 Corinthians

15

8

he describes

himself

as an

untimely

born

apostle

he knew

that he was

a capital

A apostle

but he knew

that he was

an exception

not the rule

so the

office

of apostle

the second

category

also no longer

exists

an office

is an

officially

recognized

and authorized

position

a trust

a responsibility

within the

community

and the

function of

the apostolate

is already

complete

because

they have

borne witness

to Jesus'

resurrection

and the

foundation

of the

church

has already

been laid

and because

there are

no more

eyewitnesses

of Jesus'

resurrection

so that

office

has been

fulfilled

it's

complete

this is

why

when the

offices

of the

church

are

mentioned

in the

rest

of the

New

Testament

there are

only two

offices

that are

mentioned

Philippians 1

1

1

Timothy 3

Titus 1

there is

no mention

of the

office

of

apostles

there is

no mention

of any

other

office

for that

matter

only two

are

mentioned

the

office

of

elder

and

the

office

of

deacon

but there's

still a third

way that the

word apostle

is used

in scripture

and this is

what I call

lowercase

a

apostles

these do

not occupy

the first

century

office

of

apostles

but they

possess

the gift

of

apostleship

which is

mentioned

in Ephesians

Ephesians 4:11–12

chapter 4

verses 11

to 12

it says

that God

gives

gifts

these are

not

offices

but they're

gifts

God gives

gifts

of

apostles

prophets

evangelists

shepherds

and teachers

to equip

the saints

for the

work of

ministry

for building

up the

body

of Christ

these are

five

essential

ministries

for the

building

up of

the

church

today

and

apostles

are

one

of

them

so I

would

put

modern

day

frontier

missionaries

who are

sent out

to preach

the gospel

to bear witness

to Jesus

in new

places

I would

place them

in that

category

of having

the gift

of

apostles

Barnabas

and

Apollos

were such

people

they are

described

as apostles

in the

New Testament

and yet

they are

unlikely

to have

been

witnesses

to Jesus

resurrection

for

example

Apollos

is

described

in

Acts

18

24

to 26

as

knowing

only

the

baptism

of

John

until

he

is

instructed

further

by

Priscilla

and Aquila

and then

he was

definitely

not

so that

means

he was

definitely

not

directly

appointed

and

commissioned

by the

risen

Christ

and yet

he is

called

an

apostle

in

1 Corinthians

1 Corinthians 4:6–9

chapter 4

verses 6

to 9

similarly

Barnabas

is called

a prophet

and a teacher

of the church

at Antioch

in Acts

Acts 13:1

13

verse 1

but only

after he

is sent

out

later

in that

same

chapter

as a

missionary

he begins

to be

called

an apostle

in Acts

Acts 14 · chapter mention

chapter 14

so this

is the

third

category

of

apostles

that

now

continues

today

that's

the gift

and it

describes

the

function

rather than

an office

all that

to say

scripture

itself

gives

evidence

of

three

different

tiers

of

apostles

and

what

we're

dealing

with

here

in

Acts

Acts 1 · chapter mention

chapter 1

is

the

highest

level

the

twelve

those

who

will

sit

on

throne

to

judge

the

twelve

tribes

of

Israel

and

Luke

continues

his

description

of

the

selection

of

the

twelfth

apostle

in

verses

23

to

26

and

they

put

forward

to

Joseph

called

Barsabbas

who was

also

called

Justice

and

Matthias

and

they

prayed

and

said

you

lord

who

know

the

hearts

of

all

show

which

one

of

these

two

you

have

chosen

to

take

the

place

in

this

ministry

and

apostleship

from which

Judas

turned

assigned

to

go

to

his

own

place

and

they

cast

lots

for

them

and

the

lot

fell

on

Matthias

and

he

was

numbered

with

the

eleven

apostles

so

this

passage

is

not

a

manual

for

how

to

select

church

leaders

because

it's

about

the

selection

of

the

twelfth

apostle

which

is

unique

we

never

have

to

do

this

again

it's

nonetheless

instructive

for us

we

can

use

it

tells

us

our

common

sense

and

rule

out

people

who

are

not

qualified

the

apostles

and

the

rest

of

the

early

disciples

put

forward

only

two

they

don't

put

all

the

names

in

the

lot

they

put

two

people

in

the

lot

right

and

Joseph

called

Barsabbas

who was

also

called

Justice

and

Matthias

these

two

men

were

in

their

estimation

already

qualified

they

met

all

the

criteria

for

apostleship

and

then

they

prayed

you

Lord

know

the

hearts

of

all

show

which

one

of

these

two

you

have

chosen

to

take

the

place

in

this

ministry

and

apostleship

they

pray

that

God

would

reveal

whom

he

has

chosen

just

as

Jesus

chose

the

original

twelve

apostles

as we

saw

in

Acts

1

2

so

he

must

now

complete

the

twelve

by

appointing

Judas

his

replacement

the

word

Lord

is

most

likely

referenced

to

the

Lord

Jesus

already

mentioned

in

verse

21

and

so

to

dispel

all

suspicion

of

human

meddling

they

cast

lots

that's

because

these

men

knew

their

Old

Testament

scriptures

Proverbs

Proverbs 16:33

16

verse

33

says

the

lot

is

cast

into

the

lap

but

its

every

decision

is

from

the

Lord

even

something

that

seems

completely

out of

control

like

a

lot

is

under

God's

sovereign

superintendence

it's

ultimately

decided

by

the

Lord

and

Proverbs

18

18

says

the

lot

puts

an

end

to

quarrels

and

decides

between

powerful

contenders

in

some

situations

when

there

is

a

stalemate

in

a

conflict

or

a

debate

or

when

you're

faced

with

a

decision

among

I guess

between

two

equally

good

options

a

lot

can

end

the

debate

because

it's

considered

seen

as

impartial

some

Bible

scholars

make

much

of

the

fact

that

this

is

the

last

instance

in

scripture

where

the

casting

of

lots

happen

to

make

a

decision

they

note

that

after

Pentecost

when

the

spirit

of

God

comes

in

his

fullness

upon

God's

people

that

there's

no

more

mention

of

casting

lots

it's

especially

interesting

that

in

Acts

Acts 6 · chapter mention

chapter

6

when

the

apostles

appoint

the

seven

who

will

assist

them

in

the

administration

of

food

for

the

Greek

widows

that

they

don't

cast

lots

in

that

situation

with

all of

that

said

however

because

Luke

himself

never

tells

us

that

we

no

longer

need

lots

because

we

have

the

Holy

Spirit

and

because

he

doesn't

seem

to

paint

the

selection

of

Matthias

by

lot

as

or

embarrassing

I

think

this

is

at

best

a

suggestive

but

inconclusive

inference

from

the

text

the

fact

that

we

now

have

the

Holy

Spirit

in

fullness

does

not

mean

that

believers

never

disagree

anymore

as

we

see

in

the

disagreement

and

split

between

Paul

and

Barnabas

later

in

Acts

15

nor

does

it

mean

that

decision

making

is

now

easy

and

fail

safe

because

we

have

the

Holy

Spirit

when

faced

with

a

consequential

decision

that

can

be

contentious

some

impartial

means

of

deciding

could

be

an

effective

means

of

ruling

out

controversy

of

course

after

taking

the

necessary

steps

of

eliminating

bad

options

and

spending

much

time

in

prayer

to

God

seeking

his

guidance

but

as I

said

before

Luke's

not

trying

to

teach

us

how

churches

should

make

decisions

here

he's

primarily

concerned

with

demonstrating

that

the

choice

of

Matthias

as

the

12th

apostle

was

not

made

by

men

but

made

by

God

the

12

are

divinely

appointed

for