Chapter 1

(Acts 1 KJV) "The former treatise have I made, O Theophilus, of all that Jesus began both to do and teach, {2} Until the day in which he was taken up, after that he through the Holy Ghost had given commandments unto the apostles whom he had chosen: {3} To whom also he showed himself alive after his passion by many infallible proofs, being seen of them forty days, and speaking of the things pertaining to the kingdom of God: {4} And, being assembled together with them, commanded them that they should not depart from Jerusalem, but wait for the promise of the Father, which, saith he, ye have heard of me. {5} For John truly baptized with water; but ye shall be baptized with the Holy Ghost not many days hence.

It seems unlikely that these men had any idea what was about to happen to them. They listened to Jesus, they took the words in and they were able to write them down for future generations, but there is not a hint that they knew what was about  to happen. It is easy to look back through all the centuries and wonder at how obtuse the disciples were at the time, because there were so many things Jesus said they just didn’t get. But we must understand they had no frame of reference for this. They had grown up believing in the Messiah with a given set ideas, but when Jesus came along,, He was not at all what they expected. I am quite certain that they did not come to understand the significance of many things that Jesus said until years, maybe even decades had passed.

{6} When they therefore were come together, they asked of him, saying, Lord, wilt thou at this time restore again the kingdom to Israel?

Their expectation was that the Messiah, when He came, would restore the Kingdom of Israel to all its former glory. Jesus did not tell them how long it would be, only that it was not for them to know the times.

{7} And he said unto them, It is not for you to know the times or the seasons, which the Father hath put in his own power. {8} But ye shall receive power, after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you: and ye shall be witnesses unto me both in Jerusalem, and in all Judaea, and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth.

"You shall be witnesses unto me both in Jerusalem, and in all Judaea," they would have expected that, "and in Samaria," almost the last thing they would have expected but He went even further. He said they would be witnesses to the uttermost parts of the earth. If there’s one thing that’s consistent, it is that from the beginning it was His intent that the Gospel had to go to the whole world-to the Gentiles as well as the Jews. The expression Paul uses––to the Jew first but also to the Gentile is the pattern was followed throughout. And so they were to be witnesses in Jerusalem and then in Judea, but they were also to go to Samaria and finally to the end of the world.

{9} And when he had spoken these things, while they beheld, he was taken up; and a cloud received him out of their sight. {10} And while they looked stedfastly toward heaven as he went up, behold, two men stood by them in white apparel; {11} Which also said, Ye men of Galilee, why stand ye gazing up into heaven? this same Jesus, which is taken up from you into heaven, shall so come in like manner as ye have seen him go into heaven.

This all happened on the Mount of Olives. The prophet Zechariah tells us that at the very end, when the kingdom is finally established, "his feet shall stand in that day upon the mount of Olives" (Zechariah 14:4).  Not only is He coming back in the same way, He is coming back to the same place. 

{12} Then returned they unto Jerusalem from the mount called Olivet, which is from Jerusalem a sabbath day's journey. {13} And when they were come in, they went up into an upper room, where abode both Peter, and James, and John, and Andrew, Philip, and Thomas, Bartholomew, and Matthew, James the son of Alphaeus, and Simon Zelotes, and Judas the brother of James. {14} These all continued with one accord in prayer and supplication, with the women, and Mary the mother of Jesus, and with his brethren. {15} And in those days Peter stood up in the midst of the disciples, and said, (the number of names together were about an hundred and twenty,)

At this point, the disciples had some unfinished business to take care of.  Due to Judas' betrayal and his ultimate suicide, they were one apostle short of the required twelve.  As an aside, there were only about 120 disciples at this time. Which is not very many when you consider that Jesus  had been working for 3 ½  years. He healed sick people, He made blind people see, He made lame people walk.  He must have had disciples numbering in the thousands, because we know He had that many people following Him around.  What happened to all these people?  How did He end up after all that time with only 120 disciples? Yes, there were a lot of people who were impressed by Jesus. Yes, there were a lot of people who really believed His teaching and liked and admired Him, but when the time came that He was arrested and condemned to die, most these people were no where to be found. Disillusionment set in, they assumed this was not the Messiah and they turned away from Him completely. So only 120 of them were there when Peter stood up in the middle of them and addressed their unfinished business.

{16} Men and brethren, this scripture must needs have been fulfilled, which the Holy Ghost by the mouth of David spake before concerning Judas, which was guide to them that took Jesus. {17} For he was numbered with us, and had obtained part of this ministry.

I know of nothing that could so thoroughly crush the spirit as being betrayed by someone you trusted. Everyone needs someone they can take for granted. Someone they can talk to and tell anything in the world and know that the person would never do anything to hurt them. The last night of His life on earth, Jesus was betrayed, forsaken and denied by His friends. But the unkindest cut of all came from Judas. In the words of the Psalmist: "Yea, mine own familiar friend, in whom I trusted, which did eat of my bread, hath lifted up his heel against me" (Psalm 41:9). And in yet another Psalm: "For it was not an enemy that reproached me; then I could have borne it: neither was it he that hated me that did magnify himself against me; then I would have hid myself from him: But it was thou, a man mine equal, my guide, and mine acquaintance. We took sweet counsel together, and walked unto the house of God in company" (Psalm 55:11-12).

Judas is a tragic figure, made all the more so by his remorse. If he had only stayed evil, if he had stayed in an unrepentant spirit as betrayer it would have been easier to bear. But when he saw the results of his betrayal, when he saw that Jesus was not merely flogged or corrected or put in the stocks and then released, when he saw He was condemned to die he was smitten with his heart with remorse. He was sorry, but he could not undo what he had done, and so Judas went out hanged himself. He ended as a wretched, miserable suicide.

And the loss left the Apostles short one man of what Jesus intended. This man was one of the 12. He was to be one of the witnesses of all of Jesus ministry. He was to be one of those who told the world about Jesus, His life, His works, His speeches and His resurrection. And now Judas wasn’t there. One of the books of the Bible might have been written by Judas. We might have Matthew, Mark, Judas and John instead of Luke. But we don’t because he took away from the 12 one of those needed. It was replacing this loss that became the first item of business for the fledgling church.

{18} Now this man purchased a field with the reward of iniquity; and falling headlong, he burst asunder in the midst, and all his bowels gushed out. {19} And it was known unto all the dwellers at Jerusalem; insomuch as that field is called in their proper tongue, Aceldama, that is to say, The field of blood. {20} For it is written in the book of Psalms, Let his habitation be desolate, and let no man dwell therein: and his bishopric let another take. {21} Wherefore of these men which have companied with us all the time that the Lord Jesus went in and out among us, {22} Beginning from the baptism of John, unto that same day that he was taken up from us, must one be ordained to be a witness with us of his resurrection.

Peter is very explicit. They needed one man, not two, and there were specifici requirements. The man selected to take the place or Judas had to have been with them all the way–all the way from the baptism of John, to Jesus’ death, His burial and His resurrection. This man would be called on to be a witness of that resurrection. And there were to be 12 official witnesses. Now if you read the Bible very much, you will know that the idea of witnesses and the testimony of witnesses is very important. The law of God required that 2 or 3 witnesses had to established the facts in any court case and and no criminal proceeding could go ahead on the word of one witness. More witnesses were needed and so Jesus selected 12. He had said at one point too, that these 12 would sit on 12 thrones eventually, judging the 12 tribes of Israel. So there must be twelve. Eleven was too few and thirteen would be one too many. So if you want to know what’s required to be an apostle in the original sense of the word, it has to be someone who was with Christ through His entire ministry, and who is a witness of His resurrection.

{23} And they appointed two, Joseph called Barsabas, who was surnamed Justus, and Matthias.

Since there were only 120 disciples to choose from, these were probably the only two men who met the strict criteria Peter laid down. The men had to have companied with them the whole time and had to be a witnesses of Jesus’ resurrection. There were surely more of them that could testify to His resurrection, but they had not been with them all along the way. These were probably the only two candidates, not merely the best two.

{24} And they prayed, and said, Thou, Lord, which knowest the hearts of all men, show whether of these two thou hast chosen, {25} That he may take part of this ministry and apostleship, from which Judas by transgression fell, that he might go to his own place. {26} And they gave forth their lots; and the lot fell upon Matthias; and he was numbered with the eleven apostles."

The casting of lots has always been an interesting question. I’ve heard people suggest that is’s a kind of voting, but neither the Bible nor history supports that. It is much more like a random process, like throwing dice down the table. It involves no human politics at all. The one thing that keeps it from being a random process is the appeal to God to miraculously intervene and make the selection between the two of them. But as far as any onlooker is concerned, you would say it was just decided by chance. Now what’s interesting about this is that when you make this kind of appeal you’ve already declared that these two are indistinguishable for all that we might decide.

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