AP

Jerusalem to Rome: A Journey Through Acts

Bible Studies on the Acts of the Apostles

A Replacement Apostle (2)                                                                                                               Acts 1:12-26

Verse 12: The disciples returned to Jerusalem as instructed. We now find out that the ascension had taken place on Mount Olivet, which was a Sabbath day’s journey from the city. A Sabbath’s day journey was about 900 metres – the distance people were allowed to travel on their day of rest. At the end of Luke it says that Jesus led them “towards Bethany” which is further than Mount Olivet; perhaps it should be translated “in the direction of Bethany.” In Luke it says that they returned to Jerusalem “with great joy.”

Verse 13: The “upper room” is possibly the same room where Jesus and his disciples had the Last Supper. It’s not just “an upper room” but “the upper room.” The NIV has “the room where they were staying,” but it could also translate as “waiting” or “remaining.” The eleven remaining disciples are named. The Thaddeus of the gospel listings was probably another name for “Judas the son of James.”

Verse 14: They joined together constantly in prayer, along with “the women” (those who had accompanied Jesus and seen to his needs and that of the disciples, see Luke 8:1-3) and Mary “the mother of Jesus, and his brothers.” These brothers were the younger sons of Mary (Matthew 1:25; Mark 6:3; Luke 2:7; he also had sisters: Matthew 13:56 and Mark 6:3). They did not acknowledge Jesus as Messiah before his death (John 7:5), but after his resurrection they were among his followers. The Roman Catholic doctrine of the perpetual virginity of Mary requires doing great violence to the meaning of words. Note that Joseph, the husband of Mary, is no longer mentioned. In fact, he is not referred to after the incident of Jesus at the Temple when he was 12 years old. The fact that Jesus, while hanging on the cross, put John in charge of looking after Mary, suggests that Mary was widowed.

Verse 15-17: Peter now takes the lead in addressing the assembled multitude (about 120 people). In addition, there were many more believers, mainly in Galilee. When Jesus appeared to more than 500 at once, this probably took place in Galilee (1 Corinthians 15:6). Peter, quoting David (Psalm 69:5 and 109:8), makes a case for replacing Judas with someone else. The reason given was that Judas was “one of our number and shared in this ministry.”

Verses 18-19: These verses are a parenthesis, not part of Peter’s speech, but added by Luke for the benefit of those who did not know how Judas came to his end. At the time, the story was known to “everyone in Jerusalem.” See also Matthew 27:1-10. When Luke visited Jerusalem in AD 57, he was no doubt told the story of Judas’s death, and he inserts it here.

Verse 20: The two quotations, at first sight taken somewhat out of context, were the ones that came to Peter’s mind, inspired by the Holy Spirit. “For those who believed that Jesus was the Messiah, this meant that many of the experiences predicated of the Psalmist (David) were understood as prophetically applicable to Jesus (c.f. 2:25-28 and 34-36). Then what was said of the Psalmist’s enemies would be interpreted of the enemies of Jesus (4:25-26)” (F.F. Bruce).

Jesus also referred to the Psalms as prophecies concerning himself (John 13:18-21, referring to Psalm 41:9, and later in John 17:12). Further evidence of the appropriateness of replacing Judas comes from the words of Jesus about the twelve tribes of Israel (Luke 22:30 and Matthew 19:28).

Verses 21-22: Peter states the conditions for qualifying as a candidate for apostleship: he must have been with Jesus during all his ministry, starting with his baptism, and must be a witness to his resurrection. There were two candidates: Joseph Barsabbas (also called by his Latin name Justus), and Matthias.

Verses 24-26: Before they cast lots, they considered who was qualified and worthy. Possibly Joseph and Matthias were equally qualified and therefore they decided to cast lots. They prayed about it first, so that the Lord would have the ultimate choice, as in Proverbs 16:33: “The lot is cast into the lap, but its every decision is from the Lord.” They acknowledged that it is the Lord who knows the heart and submit to his choice. The casting of lots for determining God’s choice was used by Aaron (Leviticus 16:8), Joshua (Josh. 18:6), David (1 Chronicles 24:31), and Nehemiah (Nehemiah 11:1).

The disciples refer vaguely to Judas’s destination: “where he belongs.” It is not up to them to say where Judas belongs (v. 25). Only the Lord has that right. Jesus had referred to Judas without mentioning his name: “While I was with them, I protected them and kept them safe by that name you gave me. None has been lost except the one doomed to destruction so that Scripture would be fulfilled” (John 17:12).

When the lot fell on Matthias, the number of the apostles was restored to twelve. It was Judas’s betrayal, not his death, that necessitated choosing another apostle. When James, son of Zebedee, was beheaded some years later, he was not replaced. He had been faithful unto death.

Not much is known of the work of Matthias, but then, not much is known about some of the other apostles either. Peter, James, and John feature most in the New Testament, and then Paul, who made a big impact on the mission to the Gentiles.

Questions:

Some Charismatic Christians claim to have restored the office of Apostle to the church – it’s called the “New Apostolic Movement.” How are we to assess such claims?

Should Paul have replaced Judas? Does Paul fit the requirements of apostleship set forth by Peter? If not, how was it that Paul was still an authentic apostle? (see 1 Corinthians 15:7-9).

Why do we now not appoint church officers by lot? Some churches do, after establishing the qualifications of candidates.

– Alida Sewell, Ph.D.