Acts 1:12 Matthias Chosen to Replace Judas
“Then the apostles returned to Jerusalem from the hill called the Mount of Olives, a Sabbath day’s walk from the city. When they arrived, they went upstairs to the room where they were staying. Those present were Peter, John, James and Andrew; Philip and Thomas, Bartholomew and Matthew; James son of Alphaeus and Simon the Zealot, and Judas son of James. They all joined together constantly in prayer, along with the women and Mary the mother of Jesus, and with his brothers.
In those days Peter stood up among the believers (a group numbering about a hundred and twenty) and said, “Brothers and sisters, the Scripture had to be fulfilled in which the Holy Spirit spoke long ago through David concerning Judas, who served as guide for those who arrested Jesus. He was one of our number and shared in our ministry.”
(With the payment he received for his wickedness, Judas bought a field; there he fell headlong, his body burst open and all his intestines spilled out. Everyone in Jerusalem heard about this, so they called that field in their language Akeldama, that is, Field of Blood.)
“For,” said Peter, “it is written in the Book of Psalms:
“‘May his place be deserted; let there be no one to dwell in it,’ and,
“‘May another take his place of leadership.’
Therefore it is necessary to choose one of the men who have been with us the whole time the Lord Jesus was living among us, beginning from John’s baptism to the time when Jesus was taken up from us. For one of these must become a witness with us of his resurrection.”
So they nominated two men: Joseph called Barsabbas (also known as Justus) and Matthias. Then they prayed, “Lord, you know everyone’s heart. Show us which of these two you have chosen to take over this apostolic ministry, which Judas left to go where he belongs.” Then they cast lots, and the lot fell to Matthias; so he was added to the eleven apostles.”
Just as nature abhors a vacuum, so Peter abhors inactivity. At first glance, Peter’s suggestion sounds all right. Nominate someone else who has followed Jesus closely and who has been a witness to the resurrection. Sounds fine; there’s just one small problem. Even though 120 people have been praying for days or even weeks, nobody has come forward saying that God has told them Judas should be replaced. Instead, Peter quotes Scripture to bolster his idea. While everyone agrees, are they really going to argue with Peter? Not likely. Two men are nominated, Matthias is chosen by lot, and that’s the last we hear of Matthias.
There are various legends about Matthias, most indicating that he preached the Gospel to various heathen tribes in Cappadocia and what is now Georgia and eventually was martyred. Some of the legends say he was stoned to death while others claim he was crucified. But Matthias drifts off into obscurity, unlike the remaining eleven disciples.
Personally, I have always felt that Peter is forcing an issue. God already has a twelfth apostle selected, namely Saul of Tarsus who will be renamed Paul and who will write much of the New Testament. Notice the fashion in which Peter pushes his idea: first, Peter quotes Scripture, selecting the verses that will bolster his argument. Next, Peter encourages the casting of lots to decide between two candidates. Now casting of lots is an ancient tradition; however, all these people have been taught by Jesus. At no point in any of Jesus’ teachings has Jesus embraced the need to cast lots to determine the will of his Heavenly Father. Notice the prayer the group prays as they are casting lots.
“Lord, you know everyone’s heart. Show us which of these two you have chosen to take over this apostolic ministry, which Judas left to go where he belongs.” Ouch! You can imagine God the Father watching and saying, “All right, you all have good intentions. But I already have someone else selected who is far more gifted than either Mathias or Barsabbas.”
It’s unfortunately quite simple to do our will in God’s Name and then ask Him to bless and rubber stamp our decisions. The conditions we encountered during our first mission term were nothing short of daunting. We came in to develop a mission hospital in a small village, only to learn the national church didn’t own the land or the buildings and that the businessman who had erected this structure was intending to make huge profits at the expense of the new mission group that had sent us. (He was already selling off donated medical items periodically.) I learned of his plans while working at the large government hospital doing orientation. This same businessman was also heavily involved in the occult, a fact we learned by being forced to live on the ground floor of his house. He would evidently do evil spells at 2 AM and the presence of evil would begin sinking through the ceiling of our room. We were forced to learn about spiritual warfare as we played praise tapes and bound evil spirits. I extended my orientation at the government hospital as we tried to give the national church time to get proper papers on the land.
When the mission advisory board voted to end our term at two years, nobody sought to get the details of the untenable situation in which we had found ourselves. Most of the Ghanaians didn’t understand this decision either, and we found ourselves repeatedly having to say, “They are the big men and we are the small boys. We follow their decisions.” When we inquired further, we realized that the mission board had behaved very similarly to the fashion in which Peter forced the decision about taking a new twelfth disciple. This mission group was quite new and their expectations unrealistic ones, given our situation.
For us personally, this decision proved to be a release because we had repeatedly promised donors that the project would not benefit a private individual. But we strongly suspected that the board had already made up their minds and had then begged God to approve their decision after the fact. (Eventually the problems in the project were addressed, and there is now a flourishing mission hospital; however, we were the ones who brought fundamental problems to light.)
There is a phrase from a by-gone era “To rubber stamp a decision.” Signature stamps used to be made from rubber, so to rubber stamp a decision implied that one was stamping a signature of approval on a document without having read it or questioned it. Many times, we would love for God to rubber stamp our decisions, approving whatever we want to do, whether or not it is really in God’s perfect will. Like Peter, we may select Scriptures that will support our arguments; however, God is not impressed by arguments or manipulation.
Eventually, God brings Saul to repentance and he takes the name Paul. “Paul, a servant of Christ Jesus, called to be an apostle and set apart for the gospel of God”Paul will describe himself as an apostle and “set apart for the gospel of God.” Paul’s calling is certain and he has no need of lot casting or anything else, for Jesus Christ himself has called Paul into his new life. Paul’s career as an apostle is second to none while Matthias fades into the background.
Is God angry at Peter for pushing this issue? Far more likely that God is amused. God knows Peter’s heart and mind; He knows that Peter lacks patience. The choice of Matthias as a witness to the resurrection is not a bad one, but it’s not God’s best for the situation. So God blesses Matthias, who undoubtedly goes out to preach in remote places and who may quietly lead hundreds if not thousands to faith in Jesus Christ. But God also anoints Paul.
May God help us, so that we will never be in the position of struggling to manipulate Him into rubber stamping a decision just because we have already made up our minds. Such manipulation demonstrates disrespect to God and dishonesty on our parts.
PRAYER: Father God, thank You for loving us and caring for us. Lord, help us to truly seek Your perfect Will in all our decisions. In the mighty and precious Name of King Jesus. Amen.
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