Matthias Chosen to Replace Judas
12 Then the apostles returned to Jerusalem from the hill called the Mount of Olives, a Sabbath day’s walk from the city. 13 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. 14 They all joined together constantly in prayer, along with the women and Mary the mother of Jesus, and with his brothers.
15 In those days Peter stood up among the believers (a group numbering about a hundred and twenty) 16 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. 17 He was one of our number and shared in our ministry.”
18 (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. 19 Everyone in Jerusalem heard about this, so they called that field in their language Akeldama, that is, Field of Blood.)
20 “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.’
21 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, 22 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.”
23 So they nominated two men: Joseph called Barsabbas (also known as Justus) and Matthias. 24 Then they prayed, “Lord, you know everyone’s heart. Show us which of these two you have chosen 25 to take over this apostolic ministry, which Judas left to go where he belongs.” 26 Then they cast lots, and the lot fell to Matthias; so he was added to the eleven apostles.
Here we see the formation of the Christian Church, and it's a very important "next" step. Jesus is now gone, He has returned to heaven. The disciples could have said, "Oh well, our leader is gone. We had a great time when He was here. Let's move on."
To be honest, that scenario almost happened. If you read John 21, you'll see that Peter and some of the disciples went back to their old fishing job, almost as if everything they had learned from Jesus had never happened or had been a dream.
But fortunately that didn't happen. After Jesus reappears to them, they get their act together. The disciples realized that they were part of something so much bigger than themselves and that they were responsible for making sure the teachings and work of Christ continue for generations to come. That's why they selected another disciple (Matthias) to replace the disciple who betrayed Jesus (Judas Iscariot). This is the early stages of the great missionary work they are about to do to spread the Gospel of Jesus to other parts of the world. You can think of this as their planning meeting for what to do next.
What about you? Many of you have probably had moments similar to this... For example, when many high school students go to Saranac they say that they were "changed" or that they saw God in a new light. Perhaps this happened to you on a church retreat. But more likely than not, when you got home, you were probably not unlike the disciples and you just went back to "life as normal," almost as if whatever happened at Saranac or the church retreat was a dream.
But it can't stop there. YOU are responsible for the "next" step... How do you take the knowledge you acquired from Saranac or church retreats and carry out what you learned so that it is not just an "emotional high"? Also, keep in mind that the adult leaders who serve you now will not always be part of your life... You will graduate high school and go to college, you may move out of New Jersey to some other place in the world, and — although I don't mean to be pessimistic — one day the adult AYL leaders and pastors in your life will die, as Jesus did.
Will you be like the disciples here in Acts 1, planning to take everything you learned about God and getting ready to do great things for His Kingdom? Or will you behave as the disciples did initially (in John 21) and just go back to fishing?
I hope you choose Option 1 to change the world for God's glory.
- Brian Hall
No comments:
Post a Comment