faith

So, I’m taking about a week with each of these sections.  I’m rather enjoying the time to think, to research, to read articles about ideas raised, to check out different translations, and so forth.   Hopefully, anyone who is following along doesn’t mind the once a week posting format.   This week I am working on Acts 1:12-26 which will finish off the chapter.   Part one and part two are linked for you.

Acts 1:12-26 ESV Translation

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, 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 All these with one accord were devoting themselves to prayer, together with the women and Mary the mother of Jesus, and his brothers.

¹⁵ In those days Peter stood up among the brothers (the company of persons was in all about 120) and said, ¹⁶ “Brothers, the Scripture had to be fulfilled, which the Holy Spirit spoke beforehand by the mouth of David concerning Judas, who became a guide to those who arrested Jesus. ¹⁷ For he was numbered among us and was allotted his share in this ministry.” ¹⁸ (Now this man acquired a field with the reward 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 the inhabitants of Jerusalem, so that the field was called in their own language Akeldama, that is, Field of Blood.) ²⁰ “For it is written in the Book of Psalms,

and

²¹ So one of the men who have accompanied us during all the time that the Lord Jesus went in and out among us, ²² beginning from the baptism of John until the day when he was taken up from us—one of these men must become with us a witness to his resurrection.” ²³ And they put forward two, Joseph called Barsabbas, who was also called Justus, and Matthias. ²⁴ And they prayed and said, “You, Lord, who know the hearts of all, show which one of these two you have chosen ²⁵ to take the place in this ministry and apostleship from which Judas turned aside to go to his own place.” ²⁶ And they cast lots for them, and the lot fell on Matthias, and he was numbered with the eleven apostles.

Initial Thoughts, questions about contenders

Well, that was a rather gruesome story about the ending of Judas.  But it did give the backstory for the need to have a new member of the disciples.   I like how they gave the criteria they required to fill the position.    Of course I had the question of just who was Joseph Barsabbas/Justus and Matthias. 

Who was Joseph Barsabbas/Justus?

Joseph Barsabbas/Justus was one of the many followers of Jesus right from the beginning.  We know this because it was one of the requirements to be considered in the running. Justus means “Just one” and was a title probably given due to his integrity.  Barsabbas was probably a patrynomic meaning Son of Sabbas (which can mean a variety of things such as son of oath, son of old man.  Christian tradition has him as one of the numbered 70, and some guy named Papias says he drank a cup of poison with no harm coming to him.  He was Jewish. 

The whole cup of poison being drank led me down a bunny trail to Mark 16

¹⁷ And these signs will accompany those who believe: in my name they will cast out demons; they will speak in new tongues; ¹⁸ they will pick up serpents with their hands; and if they drink any deadly poison, it will not hurt them; they will lay their hands on the sick, and they will recover.

That would have been rather cool eh?   To know it was poison, and then see God at work saving him?  Huh, the things you see when you give some thought to it all eh?

Who was Matthias? 

Elected by Lot as one of the apostles replace Judas. Also a Jewish person who had been part of Jesus’ ministry from the beginning.  The Apocrypha has him doing ministry in Jerusalem, and possibly having to deal with cannibals at one point.  

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, 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 All these with one accord were devoting themselves to prayer, together with the women and Mary the mother of Jesus, and his brothers.

So, Jesus has ascended.  With great joy the disciples went to Jerusalem where they sat around waiting.  Jesus had promised to send a helper of great power.   So they were all there along with the women and Jesus’ mom and brothers.  11 apostles: Peter, John, James, Andrew, Phillip, Thomas, Bartholomew, Matthew, James bar Alphaeus, Simon the Zealot and Judas bar James along with the ladies and brothers. 

What they were doing was praying together in the upper room where they were staying.  Would this be the upper room where they had the Lord’s supper I wonder? I suppose that doesn’t really matter though.   The important thing is they were in a safe place that they knew well. 

But don’t miss this part they were “with one accord”.   How often do a group of believers get together and be of one accord.  They weren’t arguing  

Acts 1:15-20

¹⁵ In those days Peter stood up among the brothers (the company of persons was in all about 120) and said, ¹⁶ “Brothers, the Scripture had to be fulfilled, which the Holy Spirit spoke beforehand by the mouth of David concerning Judas, who became a guide to those who arrested Jesus. ¹⁷ For he was numbered among us and was allotted his share in this ministry.” ¹⁸ (Now this man acquired a field with the reward 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 the inhabitants of Jerusalem, so that the field was called in their own language Akeldama, that is, Field of Blood.) ²⁰ “For it is written in the Book of Psalms,

and

Acts 1:21-26

²¹ So one of the men who have accompanied us during all the time that the Lord Jesus went in and out among us, ²² beginning from the baptism of John until the day when he was taken up from us—one of these men must become with us a witness to his resurrection.” ²³ And they put forward two, Joseph called Barsabbas, who was also called Justus, and Matthias. ²⁴ And they prayed and said, “You, Lord, who know the hearts of all, show which one of these two you have chosen ²⁵ to take the place in this ministry and apostleship from which Judas turned aside to go to his own place.” ²⁶ And they cast lots for them, and the lot fell on Matthias, and he was numbered with the eleven apostles.

The Criteria

Judas. No longer one of the 12.  They are down to 11. And Peter, with the 120 peoples gathered around sets out the criteria needed for a replacement.   This person needs to be a follower of Jesus from baptism through resurrection.  This person will join them as a witness to Jesus’ resurrection. 

Two people were chosen.   Barsabbas Justus and Matthias. .

You know what I notice here? They did all their deliberations but before they moved forward they prayed about it.  Their prayer wasn’t all elaborate with flowery words, but simple.  You, Lord, who know the hearts of all, show which one of these two you have chosen to take the place in this ministry and apostleship from which Judas turned aside to go to his own place.”  

Casting of Lots

The process after was simple enough.  They drew lots and Matthias became the replacement apostle.  Drawing lots is an age old method for determining the will of the gods (or God in the early Christian church).  

Casting of Lots hasn’t really died out though I think.  In many places, faith based or not, people often vote on who should be in a leadership position.  Our voting system is more or less based on the casting of lots don’t you think?  And who leads our land is in fact God’s choice.  Do most people vote in a prayerful manner?   In the non-faith based environment, I don’t think so.  But I would hope people of faith would take the time to pray before making their “cast lot”. 

It’s indeed a good reminder to me that I don’t need to be all fancy in my prayers, that simplicity works.  And that I need to be more mindful of talking to God about decisions that need making.  OH… and that I make them in light of the scriptures.   After all, the apostles didn’t willy-nilly decide to vote in a new apostle.  They followed the mandates of scripture. 

Closing Thoughts

It’s good to know who people in the bible are.  Not because it will change my life, but it helps to know who the players are you know?   It’s good to know that Matthias had a ministry as an apostle.  But Barabbas Justus, he didn’t just disappear.  Can you imagine proving scripture true and drinking poison and living to tell about it?  

A reminder to think through what I am doing.  Do I want to do such wickedness that I’d be led to kill myself?   I am not, what I would call, the most fervent believer out there.  God, in his mercy, continually draws me back to him. God, always minds me and his Spirit checks me from being more wicked than I already am. 

A call to be more faithful in prayer, particularly when I’m in a decision making mode.  I’m not saying I have to talk with God about what to plant in my garden!  But don’t you think it would be good to say “hey God, I have this day before me, help me make wise decisions?”  Or when I have hard decisions to make, to draw him into the conversation as well?  It’s too easy to think I have to do it all on my own. That’s not the case at all. 

How about you?  What thoughts does God place on your heart with this passage? 

The Rest of This Series

• Acts 1:1-5
• Acts 1:6-11
• Acts 1:12-26

Okay, for a while I’ve been feeling pulled to study the book of Acts, so here goes.  I’ll read in how my bible divides into section.  Today we are starting with Acts 1:1-5, which reads as follows in the ESV. 

In the first book, O Theophilus, I have dealt with all that Jesus began to do and teach, ² until the day when he was taken up, after he had given commands through the Holy Spirit to the apostles whom he had chosen. ³ He presented himself alive to them after his suffering by many proofs, appearing to them during forty days and speaking about the kingdom of God.

⁴ And while staying with them he ordered them not to depart from Jerusalem, but to wait for the promise of the Father, which, he said, “you heard from me; ⁵ for John baptized with water, but you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit not many days from now.”

The author of the book of Acts is believed to be Luke.  He never really identifies himself beyond saying he is a companion of Paul throughout this book.  I won’t go into all the reasons why he’s believed to be the author.  You can find out more about the reasoning at Christianity.com. It all made sense to me.  🙂   

So that makes the first book that Luke wrote, the book of Luke, where indeed, the did deal with what Jesus did and taught. 

Who is Theophilus?   

His name means friend of God or (be)loved by God or loving God.   Some think that he was a Roman dignitary of some sort as Luke addresses him as “Most Excellent” in the book of Luke.    Be the said, most Christian scholars think he was a Gentile, but  Jewish Scholars think he was a high priest. Just exactly who he was has been lost to history.  

So basically the book of Acts is Luke continuing his conversation with Theophilus.  Explaining to him the things of Christ and then working with him through how God worked in the early Church.   But here in the first part of Acts, we find Luke giving a short synopsis of the book of Luke and Jesus’ last instruction to them. 

The Synopsis of Luke

I have dealt with all that Jesus began to do and teach, ² until the day when he was taken up, after he had given commands through the Holy Spirit to the apostles whom he had chosen. ³ He presented himself alive to them after his suffering by many proofs, appearing to them during forty days and speaking about the kingdom of God.

A Promise of the Story Continuing

⁴ And while staying with them he ordered them not to depart from Jerusalem, but to wait for the promise of the Father, which, he said, “you heard from me; ⁵ for John baptized with water, but you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit not many days from now.”

Do you see it?  The promise?  Jesus is going away, but …  but …  but…. A promise… you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit soon! 

This is how the book of Luke ended.   Luke 24:44-49

⁴⁴ Then he said to them, “These are my words that I spoke to you while I was still with you, that everything written about me in the Law of Moses and the Prophets and the Psalms must be fulfilled.” ⁴⁵ Then he opened their minds to understand the Scriptures, ⁴⁶ and said to them, “Thus it is written, that the Christ should suffer and on the third day rise from the dead, ⁴⁷ and that repentance for the forgiveness of sins should be proclaimed in his name to all nations, beginning from Jerusalem. ⁴⁸ You are witnesses of these things. ⁴⁹ And behold, I am sending the promise of my Father upon you. But stay in the city until you are clothed with power from on high.”

Isn’t it so similar to how Acts starts?  But here, that promise of the Father is linked with being clothed with power from on high.

So often I forget the power that is the Holy Spirit.  The Holy Spirit is POWER FROM ON HIGH!  And in the book of Acts we’ll get to see the results of that power.  The birth of the early church, Christ in action.   I’m kinda looking forward to slowly going through Acts and seeing that, aren’t’ you?