“GOD’S SOVEREIGN CHOICE”
ACTS 1:12-26
I. Introduction
I want to begin this morning by going directly to the Scriptures. I want to let the Word of God firmly establish itself in our minds before we go on to this morning’s passage in Acts.
So please open your Bibles to the Book of Proverbs. We sometimes think of this book as a display of Solomon’s wisdom, but of course, it isn’t Solomon’s wisdom at all. It’s the wis-dom of God bestowed upon us through Solomon. Now with that in mind, turn to…
*Proverbs 16:9
9 The mind of man plans his way, but the LORD directs his steps.
This verse is just one of many that lay down the same fundamental and vital truth. It is that God is sovereign in the affairs of men. This same truth is reiterated a few chapters later.
*Proverbs 19:21; 20:24
21 Many are the plans in a man’s heart, but the counsel of the LORD, it will
stand.
24 Man’s steps are ordained by the LORD, how then can man understand his (own) way?
How indeed? Man can neither understand nor thwart the plans of God. Isaiah knew that.
*Isaiah 43:11-13
11 “I, even I, am the LORD; and there is no savior besides Me.
12 “It is I who have declared and saved and proclaimed, and there was no strange god among you; so you are My witnesses,” declares the LORD, “And I am God.
13 “Even from eternity I am He; and there is none who can deliver out of My hand; I act and who can reverse it?”
Who indeed? Well, the Prophet Jeremiah knew who did not direct man’s steps.
*Jeremiah 10:23
23 I know, O LORD, that a man’s way is not in himself; nor is it in a man who walks to direct his (own) steps.
I’ve been accused of making the sovereignty of God a major part of my preaching, teaching, and ministry here at Lighthouse Bible Church. I plead guilty to the charge. I do not believe that anyone who fails to acknowledge and come to grips with the reality of a sovereign God will ever rightly understand Him, His Scriptures, His Son, or the salvation He offers to men.
While we must (and I do) recognize the role of human responsibility in salvation, I also know and am convinced that there is a divine and providential side of our salvation that must come first. It must be so because unless and until a sovereign God acts, no one can ever be saved.
The result of God’s sovereignty in our salvation – and in everything else, everything – is that God will glorify Himself and achieve His purpose. He will not be thwarted because He can-not be thwarted. I hope you realize what a blessing the sovereignty of God truly is.
Back in the late 1800s the “Prince of Preachers,” Charles Spurgeon, said this…
“There is no attribute more comforting to His children than that of God’s sovereignty. Under the most adverse circumstances, in the most severe trials, they believe that sovereignty has ordained their afflictions, that sovereignty overrules them, and that sovereignty will sanctify them all. There is nothing for which the children (of God) ought to more earnestly contend to than the doctrine of their Master over all creation – the Kingship of God over all the works of His own hands – the Throne of God and His right to sit upon that throne, for it is God upon the Throne whom we trust.”
May that trust be uppermost in our minds as we begin our study of the birth and early years of the church in Acts. And, as this world rushes toward the end of history, may our trust in our sovereign God comfort and sustain us as we wait for Jesus’ to return for His church.
__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
II. Review
Today we’ll look at the final verses of Acts 1. In the earlier verses (1-11) we saw that Jesus had been resurrected from the dead and for forty days He had been with the eleven disciples, His own mother, His siblings, and well over one hundred other followers.
• During that time Jesus’ teaching emphasized the coming of the kingdom of God (v. 3).
• He commanded the eleven remaining disciples to stay in Jerusalem until they would be baptized with the Holy Spirit (vv. 4-5).
• He reminded them that the date and time of His return was not for them to know. But while they waited they were to take the gospel to the whole world (vv. 7-8).
• Immediately upon Jesus’ ascension to heaven two angels confirmed Jesus’ promise to the disciples (and, by extension, to us) – He would return just as He had left (vv. 10-11).
And so we come to this morning’s text.
__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
III. Text
Let me preface its reading by pointing out that today’s text covers a very short period of time – only ten days to be exact. And a very unique ten days it is. Jesus Christ in the flesh has departed this earth. Jesus Christ in the Spirit has not yet appeared. Thus the “Church Age” has not yet begun. Therefore, it would put us on “shaky ground” to apply what we’ll see take place during these ten days to the church as the normal way to do things.
Remember that Acts is Scripture’s record of the transition between the Old Covenant of law-keeping and the New Covenant of grace through faith. The transition from living by the works of the law to living by faith alone didn’t come easily to the early Christians.
For the early Christians (nearly all of whom were Jews) things that were normal and acceptable in one system of living were not normal and acceptable in the other. Today you and I have a similar problem. Living by faith alone doesn’t come easily to us either, does it?
In order for us to rightly divide the word of truth and to then rightly apply these truths – par-ticularly from the Book of Acts – we will need to be careful to understand the times, the places, the people involved, and, as always, the context of what we read in Acts because it tells us from where the church has come, how we are to live, and what we are to expect as we await the Second Coming.
*Acts 1:12-26 (Please stand with me in honor of reading God’s Word.)
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; that is 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 These all with one mind were continually devoting themselves to prayer, along with the women, and Mary the mother of Jesus, and with His brothers.
15 And at this time Peter stood up in the midst of the brethren (a gathering of about one hundred and twenty persons was there together), and said,
16 “Brethren, the Scripture had to be fulfilled, which the Holy Spirit foretold by the mouth of David concerning Judas, who became a guide to those who arrest-ed Jesus.
17 “For he was counted among us, and (he) received his portion in this minis-try.”
18 (Now this man acquired a field with the price 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 who were living in Jerusalem; so that in their own language that field was called Hakeldama, that is, Field of Blood.)
20 (Peter still speaking from v. 17) “For it is written in the book of Psalms, ‘Let his homestead be made desolate, and let no man dwell in it’; and, ‘His office let another man take.’
21 “It is therefore necessary that of the men who have accompanied us all the time that the Lord Jesus went in and out among us –
22 beginning with the baptism of John, until the day that He was taken up from us – one of these should become a witness with us of His resurrection.”
23 And they put forward two men, Joseph called Barsabbas (who was also called Justus), and Matthias.
24 And they prayed, and said, “You, Lord, who knows the hearts of all men, show (us) which of these two You have chosen
25 to occupy this ministry and apostleship from which Judas turned aside to go to his own place.”
26 And they drew lots for them, and the lot fell to Matthias; and he was num-bered with the eleven apostles.
After Jesus’ ascension there was nothing left to do but wait the ten days for the arrival of the Holy Spirit. Right? Well, not quite. But, you say, “Jesus has instructed the eleven. They know what to do. Isn’t everything ready for the Spirit’s arrival and the birth of the church?” There was one very important thing left undone. There were only eleven men prepared and ready to go. Yet God had intended for there to be twelve, had He not? But Judas was gone.
The Lord had chosen twelve apostles for a very good reason. They were chosen to bring the good news of the kingdom to the twelve tribes of Israel. But someone asks, “What about us?” There is no doubt that the twelve apostles would take the gospel to every corner of the known world. But their primary mission was always to Israel and the Jews. Even Paul, the apostle to the Gentiles, knew that.
Romans 1:16
16 For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek (the Gentiles).
The gospel had to go to God’s chosen people first. And so, while almost everything is in place for the church to be born, there remains that need for the twelfth apostle.
*Acts 1:12-14
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; that is 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 These all with one mind were continually devoting themselves to prayer, along with the women, and Mary the mother of Jesus, and with His brothers.
These three verses are straightforward accounts of what actually took place. The disciples obeyed Jesus’ command to stay in Jerusalem until the Holy Spirit came to them. In v. 12 they leave the Mount of Olives, travel down into the Kidron Valley, and go back up into the city. [“…a Sabbath day’s journey” is about 3000 feet (2000 cubits).] According to the rabbinic laws of the day, that was the maximum distance a Jew was allowed to travel on the Sabbath. It was probably derived from the tradition that while the Jews wandered in the desert for forty years no one camp was allowed to be any more than 2000 cubits away from the tabernacle.
In v. 13 Luke refers to the upper room – most likely the same room where they shared the last Passover meal with Jesus and where He established our Communion service.
And once again Luke identifies the disciples by name. (The first time he did this was in his gos-pel.) In John’s gospel Bartholomew is called Nathaniel meaning “God has given.” Judas is identified as the son of James so as not to be confused with the betrayer, Judas Iscariot.
The men and women mentioned are of great significance in the early church. The most pro-minent woman is Jesus’ mother Mary, but there would also have been Mary Magdalene, Mary the wife of Clopas, Lazarus’ two sisters Mary and Martha, Salome, Joanna, as well as some others. Then there were Jesus’ siblings (“half-siblings”) – Joses, Simon, James, and Jude. The latter two, James and Jude, had already come to faith in Jesus. They would later write the two books in the NT that bear their names. All of them together (along with some other believers in Galilee) would become the “first members” of the first church.
In v. 14 Luke tells us what they were and what they did. They were united in the faith and they prayed. Could there be a more practical lesson or a more convicting application for us? Listen please. A local church – an assembly of true believers – that is not united in the faith and not praying for God’s grace, mercy, wisdom, direction, and strength is doomed. Such a church cannot survive…nor should it!
*Acts 1:15-17, 20
15 And at this time Peter stood up in the midst of the brethren (a gathering of about one hundred and twenty persons was there together), and said,
16 “Brethren, the Scripture had to be fulfilled, which the Holy Spirit foretold by the mouth of David concerning Judas, who became a guide to those who arrest-ed Jesus.
17 “For he was counted among us, and (he) received his portion in this minis-try.” (go to v. 20)
20 “For it is written in the book of Psalms, ‘Let his homestead be made desolate, and let no man dwell in it’; and, ‘His office let another man take.’”
I can only imagine the level of excitement and joy these men and women shared in knowing without question or doubt that Jesus was alive, He was going to return to establish His king-dom on earth, and that they were about to be, “…baptized with the Holy Spirit not many days from now (Acts 1:5).” But there remained one obvious problem – one thing that for the lack of a better term, didn’t seem to add up. Here it is…
Matthew 19:27-28
27 Then Peter answered and said to Him, “Behold, we have left everything and followed You; what then will there be for us?”
28 And Jesus said to them, “Truly I say to you, that you who have followed Me, in the regeneration when the Son of Man will sit on His glorious throne, you also shall sit upon twelve thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel.”
The one obvious problem that remains is that there are only eleven apostles. Who would sit upon the twelfth throne? (back to Acts 1:15)
Peter, taking his leadership role in v. 15, says in v. 16 that “…the Scripture had to be ful-filled.” What Scripture? The answer is the Scripture “…which the Holy Spirit foretold by the mouth of David concerning Judas (v. 16). These words are rich in biblical truth.
• First, it’s as clear a statement of the inspiration of Scripture as exists in the Bible. David prophesied about Judas because the Holy Spirit spoke through David.
• Second, Judas’ betrayal led Jesus enemies directly to Him in order that God’s plan for our redemption would be completed. Judas “…became a guide to those who arrested Jesus.”
In both of these things we see the sure hand of a sovereign God. He directs David to speak His words and prophesy. He directs Judas to do what is in his heart and betray the Son of Man. The point is that whether good or evil, it is all subject to the will of our awesome God.
Psalm 115:3
3 But our God is in the heavens; He does whatever He pleases.
*Isaiah 46:8-11
8 “Remember this, and be assured; recall it to mind, you transgressors.
9 “Remember the former things long past, for I am God and there is no other; I am God and there is no one like Me,
10 declaring the end from the beginning and from ancient times things which have not been done, saying, ‘My purpose will be established, and I will accom-plish all My good pleasure.’
11 Calling a bird of prey from the east, the man of My purpose from a far coun-try. Truly I have spoken; truly I will bring it to pass. I have planned it, surely I will do it.”
How wonderful is that passage! None of God’s enemies, not every unbeliever on earth, not all the demons of hell, not Satan himself can stand up against the sovereignty of God. God can, does, and will use even evil itself to accomplish His purpose. Look once more at Isaiah 46:10 – “My purpose will be established!” Such is the confidence that you and I can have in our great God. (back to Acts 1:17)
In Acts 1:17 Peter reminds his hearers that Judas was thought to be one of them. He says, and I paraphrase, “We believed him to be one of us and we treated him as an equal. But we were wrong.” By now Peter understands that the OT prophesied much about Judas Iscariot. Now jump ahead to v. 20 where Peter quotes from the Psalms. In them we will see Judas.
Psalm 69 is filled with prophecies about Jesus’ crucifixion and those men who carried it out. Peter applies at least one verse from Psalm 69 to Judas when he says, “May their camp be desolate; may none dwell in their tents (v. 25).” And from Psalm 108 Peter quotes David saying, “Let another take his place (v. 8).” In all of this we see that God has laid the ground-work for Judas’ replacement, for the twelfth apostle.
So in Acts 1:16-17, 20 Peter is speaking with confidence and conviction. He knows that God will remove the final barrier to the establishment of the church. Judas will be replaced. And even though Jesus isn’t there to pick Judas’ replacement, Peter knows that God will direct them to make the right choice.
But before we move on we need to look back at the two verses that we skipped over. Peter begins speaking in v. 16. He continues speaking through v. 22. But vv. 18-19 are not the words of Peter. These are the words of Luke. With them he adds a parenthetical statement to explain to his readers just what happened to Judas.
*Acts 1:18-19
18 (Now this man acquired a field with the price 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 who were living in Jerusalem; so that in their own language that field was called Hakeldama, that is, Field of Blood.)
These two verses have stirred controversy almost since they were written because they are seen as contradictory to Matthew 27:5 which says, “(Judas) threw the pieces of silver into the sanctuary and departed; and he went away and hanged himself.”
You can imagine how much has been written about this apparent discrepancy. Let me try to boil it down to the basics. There are two major points of controversy.
1. Matthew says Judas threw the money into the sanctuary. Luke says the money was used to purchase a “Field of Blood,” so named because it was bought with “blood money.” What actually happened? The chief priests couldn’t accept money that had been unlawfully or unscrupulously gained. So they used the money to buy the field.
2. Matthew says Judas committed suicide by hanging himself. Luke says Judas’ body fell and “…burst open in the middle and all his bowels gushed out.” The solu-tion to this apparent contradiction is that it’s not a contradiction at all. Either the tree branch, or whatever Judas used to hang himself, broke and his body fell to the ground.
Suffice it to say that Luke’s account of Judas’ suicide in Acts doesn’t contradict Matthew’s account in his gospel. It simply supplements it. One more point – Matthew calls the place a “Potter’s Field.” Why? It was because the soil there was ideal for use in making pottery.
*Acts 1:21-22 (Peter continues speaking)
21 “It is therefore necessary that of the men who have accompanied us all the
time that the Lord Jesus went in and out among us –
22 beginning with the baptism of John, until the day that He was taken up from us – one of these should become a witness with us of His resurrection.”
Remember that these two verses are a continuation of what Peter began saying in v. 16. He reminded them that the Scriptures had to be fulfilled (v. 16), that Judas was a traitor (v. 16), and that he had been one of them (v. 17).
Now in vv. 21-22 Peter tells them that Judas must be replaced and he lists the requirements for the one who would qualify. First, he would need to have been an eyewitness to Jesus’ entire three-year ministry. That would be from the day Jesus was baptized by John until the day He was raised from the dead. Second, Judas’ replacement would need to have been an eyewitness to Jesus’ resurrection. Why were these two requirements so important?
These men would become the instruments that God would use to build The Church of Jesus Christ. In Ephesians 2:20 Paul says that the church was, “…built upon the foundation of the apostles…” It was therefore critical that each one of them knew Jesus, His ministry, and His resurrection to be facts. Thus they had to have first-hand knowledge of Him and His resurrection from the dead. Jesus’ resurrection is central to Christianity and the preaching of the gospel. Apparently there were only two men with them who met both of those criteria.
*Acts 1:23-26
23 And they put forward two men, Joseph called Barsabbas (who was also called Justus), and Matthias.
24 And they prayed, and said, “You, Lord, who knows the hearts of all men, show (us) which of these two You have chosen
25 to occupy this ministry and apostleship from which Judas turned aside to go to his own place.”
26 And they drew lots for them, and the lot fell to Matthias; and he was num-bered with the eleven apostles.
These two men (Joseph and Matthias) met both requirements for being an apostle. They had known Jesus when He ministered and they knew Him when He was resurrected. But there was also a third requirement. An apostle had to have been chosen by Christ. So in v. 24 the eleven prayed. They acknowledged Jesus’ omniscience and they asked for Him to reveal His choice for Judas’ replacement. Notice that they sought the Lord’s sovereign choice, not their own.
The lesson for us should be crystal clear: We are not to act on our own when making critical decisions for Christ’s own church. We are to pray. We are to ask Him. We are to seek His direction, His wisdom, His approval, and His blessing. God’s obedient children have always done that. They did it under the Old Covenant in the OT. We do it under the New Covenant in the “Church Age.” And the disciples did it in those ten days between Jesus’ return to heaven and the coming of the Holy Spirit.
How did they do it? In v. 26 Luke tells us that they drew lots. Is that the way you and I are to decide what God wants us to do either in the church or in our personal lives? Absolutely not! Earlier I said that we needed to remember that Acts is a book of transitions. In Acts we are taking a ride across the bridge between the Old Covenant and the New Covenant. Along the way we will see things that are ending and we will see things that are beginning.
Now to be sure, the drawing of lots to determine God’s plan was a legitimate way of know-ing His will under the Old Covenant.
Proverbs 18:18; 16:33
18 The lot puts an end to contentions, and decides between the mighty.
33 The lot is cast into the lap, but its every decision is from the LORD.
In the OT Moses, Aaron, Joshua, Samuel, and Saul all drew lots to determine God’s sove-reign choice in some matter. And here, in Acts 1:26, so did Jesus’ disciples when they sought out God’s sovereign choice for a twelfth man to complete the ranks of those who would very soon begin the build the church. God gave them Matthias, whose name, by the way, means “gift of God.”
And that is the last time you will find God’s use of drawing lots in the Bible. It will never be used again. Why? There’s no longer any need to hear from God in such a manner. That’s because the church has the Holy Spirit of God living in us.
__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
IV. Conclusion
With Acts 1:26 everything is in place for the arrival of the Spirit of God and the birth of the church. God has prepared every detail. He chose Abraham through whom He would choose Isaac and Jacob and give birth to the nation of Israel. He chose Israel to be the channel through which He would send our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. He chose the twelve men through whom He would establish and begin to build His church. And He chose you and He chose me to be members of it.
I want to close with three very familiar passages. Don’t turn to them now. Just listen as I read them and let their eternal truths wash over you and bless your hearts.
Ephesians 1:4 (one of the verses Johann-Peter read to open the service)
4 …He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and blameless before Him.
1 Peter 2:9a
9a …you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for God’s own possession.
Colossians 3:12
12 And so, as those who have been chosen by God, holy and beloved, put on a heart of compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience.
~ Pray ~