The Twelfth Apostle

Acts 1:15-26

Introduction

–         After the defection of Judas, the remaining Apostles were faced with a crisis and a difficult choice between two equally qualified candidates

–         Review:  In Acts 1 we’ve been looking at four events that needed to happen before Pentecost

• Promise of the Holy Spirit
• Postponement of 50 days
• Prayer Meeting in the Upper Room
• Providence of God displayed in the replacement of Judas with Matthias (this week!)

I. The Crisis  (vv.15-22)

1. The Selective Nature of Luke’s Historical Writing

• Why does Luke devote so much attention to two men who are never mentioned again?
• The content of Luke’s historical narrative is guided by his aims as a theologian

2. The Scripture must be fulfilled (v. 16)

• Psalm 69 – Prophetic description of what happened to Judas (v. 20a)
• Psalm 109 – Prophetic description of what must be done about it by the remaining Apostles (v. 20b)
• Davidic “imprecatory” Psalms cited here by Peter are applied to Jesus and Judas under the inspiration of the Spirit (type à fulfillment)

3. The ‘Crisis’ is related to the fact that number of Apostles had been reduced from 12 to 11

• ‘12’ Apostles are directly related to the ‘12’ Tribes of Israel (cf. Lk 22:28-30)
• Jesus was intentionally instituting a new community, within Israel by choosing 12 disciples

4. Israel and the Church

• Israel ultimately failed in her missionary mandate to bless the nations (cf. Gen 12)
• Israel was judged by God and the Northern Tribes were scattered in the Assyrian exile
• God preserved a righteous remnant within Israel which was justified by faith – the “Israel within Israel” – cf. Rom 9
• Jesus is the true Israelite who succeeds where the nation as a whole had failed
• Jesus chose twelve apostles as the foundation of a new community – a righteous remnant’ called the “Church”
• God has always had one People throughout all of his dealings with humanity – those regenerate Jews and Gentiles who were justified by grace through faith!

II. The Candidates (v. 23)

1. The Apostles narrowed down the field to two men: Matthias and Joseph Barsabbas

• Church tradition says that Matthias went on to suffer a martyr’s death in Ethiopia
• Story arose in early church that Joseph drank snake venom and survived miraculously
• Nothing is known for certain about these two men other than the fact that they both fulfilled the qualifications for an Apostle as outlined by Peter

2. Was the Selection of Matthias a Mistake?

• Some have claimed that Paul was the 12^th apostle  and that Matthias was chosen rashly by drawing lots
• Matthias’ selection was not a mistake
• Paul was an ‘Apostle’ in a slightly different sense and did not meet the qualifications to be one of the “Twelve”