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,
“‘May his camp become desolate,
and let there be no one to dwell in it’;
and
“‘Let another take his office.’
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.
(ESV)
STOP! Think a little 🤔 What is God saying to you?
- What is the writer saying?
- How do I apply this to my life?
The disciple returned to Jerusalem. The term “a Sabbath day’s journey” was used to indicate that it was about a half-mile away, the maximum distance they could travel on the Sabbath by the religious leaders. When they got to Jerusalem, they went up to the upper room where they were staying. All the apostles, the eleven, devoted themselves to prayer in unity with each other. Along with them were the women who followed Jesus, including Mary, His mother, and His brothers (and sisters).
Peter taught that Judas’ betrayal was prophesied in the Scriptures (the Psalms by the mouth of David) and explained that Judas had become a guide for those who arrested Jesus. He had originally been part of their ministry, as one of the twelve. Peter explains that he acquired a field with the blood money he received for his wickedness. He didn’t personally buy the field. The religious leaders bought it on his behalf with the money he returned to them (Matt 27:3-10). Peter explains that Judas fell and burst open spilling out his intestines. Matthew’s account says he hanged himself (Matt 27:5). The apparent contradiction can be reconciled if his intestines swelled and burst open after he hanged himself, or if the branch from which he hanged himself broke and he fell significantly enough or onto rocks that caused him to “burst open”. Peter pointed to two royal psalms that pointed to Judas, which indicated that another needed to take his place and that was what they did. Peter explained that the replacement needed to be someone who had been with Jesus from the point of His baptism until His ascension and would join them as a witness to His resurrection. Two men were qualified, Joseph also known as Barsabbas or Justus, and Mattias. They prayed to the Lord for guidance and then cast lots (Prov 16:33, God is sovereign over chance) for the final decision. The lot fell to Matthias who joined the eleven to form the twelve again.
The disciples used wisdom and biblical principles to narrow the choices down to two qualified candidates (with no recorded discord or disagreement) and then prayed for God to choose between the two. How do you make your decisions? Do you pray, use biblical principles and God-given wisdom first? Or do you jump straight to chance? Or worse, are you just picking what seems best to you?
Major Stories of the Bible Reading Plan
The Gospel to Jews and Greeks: Romans 1-2