WWUTT 2543 The Twelfth Apostle Chosen (Acts 1:17-26)

Peter Explains Judas’s Betrayal in Light of Scripture

When Peter and the rest of the apostles were gathered in the upper room, after Jesus ascended into heaven, they needed to pick another apostle to replace Judas. And they did all of this in submission to the word, when we understand the text.

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Hey once again, it's Pastor Gabe.

Thank you Becky. In our study of the book of Acts, we come back to chapter 1, picking up where we left off yesterday, with Peter addressing the gathering in the upper room concerning Judas and who will replace him in his office.

Let me begin reading in verse 15, and I'll go through the end of the chapter. Hear the word of the Lord. And in those days Peter stood up in the midst of the brothers, a crowd of about 120 persons was there together, and said, Men, brothers, the scripture had to be fulfilled which the Holy Spirit foretold by the mouth of David concerning Judas, who became a guide to those who arrested Jesus.

For he was counted among us and received his share in this ministry. Now this man acquired a field with the price of his unrighteousness, and falling headlong he burst open in the middle, and all his intestines gushed out.

And it became known to all who were living in Jerusalem, so that in their own language that field was called Hacholdamah, that is, field of blood. For it is written in the book of Psalms, Let his residence be made desolate, and let no one dwell in it, and let another man take his office.

Therefore it is necessary that of the men who have accompanied us all the time that the Lord Jesus went in and out among us, beginning with the baptism of John, until the day that he was taken up from us, one of these must become a witness with us of his resurrection.

And they put forward two men, Joseph called Barsabbas, who was also called Justice, and Matthias. And they prayed and said, You, Lord, who know the hearts of all men, show which one of these you have chosen to take the place of this ministry and apostleship from which Judas turned aside to go to his own place.

And they cast lots for them, and the lot fell to Matthias, and he was added to the eleven apostles. Several years back, this would have been, well, over a dozen years ago now, it was when I was still a pastor in Kansas.

And this would have been in between the time that I was an associate pastor at that first church that I pastored, and then became a senior pastor. When the senior pastor left, and I applied for the senior pastor position there, my wife and I were praying about it, and we were thinking, you know, maybe the Lord might have something else for us, not to stay here, but to go somewhere else.

Now, ultimately, the Lord led for us to remain there in Kansas, where I pastored that church for another eight years. But in the period of time that we were considering other options, there was a church opportunity that came up in Florida.

And this wasn't something that was extended to me. Nobody had contacted me and said, hey, we've got an open position, and we would like for you to apply to it. But it was something that I came across.

And we knew some people in the area, so it was going to be closer to family and friends and things like that, some other friends that we knew. So on the church website where they had the job listing for pastor, it did not say what had happened to the previous pastor.

But they had mentioned on their website, there was just a single reference in the application, or rather the job listing for this pastor. There was a single reference on there to Acts 1 .20. And I thought, well, that's curious.

I'm pretty sure that has something to do with Judas. So I opened up my Bible, and I read those two Old Testament references, the references to the Psalms. For it is written in the book of Psalms, let his residence be made desolate and let no one dwell in it, and let another man take his office.

So whatever had happened to the previous pastor, apparently he had done something that was on the level of what the church was calling a Judas-like betrayal, because that was the reference that they included with regards to this job opening and why it was, why the office was vacant, why they were looking for somebody else to come in as pastor.

Anyway, that always stuck with me. I don't know that I could even remember the name of the church off the top of my head, but I just remember that job listing and that Acts 1 .20 was the reference that was in the job listing.

So anyway, we have, we've left off with Peter addressing that group, the brethren that are all together. And even though, as I mentioned yesterday, you have brothers that comes up three times, you have a mention of Jesus' half-brothers, Peter's standing up in the midst of the brothers, and then verse 16, he addresses the brothers, yet we understand them as brethren.

They are more than just men together, but even the women that are talked about in verse 14, and Mary, the mother of Jesus, is among them as well. But this is the first gathering of the church, all in one accord, all of like-mindedness and celebrating Christ and what he had done and what they were about to go and proclaim as his witnesses, as they would be preaching the gospel soon in Jerusalem.

But in the meantime, there were some things for them to sort out. Now they devoted themselves to prayer, as said in verse 14, but now Peter is addressing the crowd and saying, well, there's something else we got to do here.

We need another witness who is a testament to the resurrection of Jesus Christ, someone who was with Jesus in his earthly ministry from the time of his baptism to the time that he was taken up from us.

That's the qualification that's given there. So let's consider the appointment of this 12th apostle here as we finish up this narrative in the first chapter of Acts. So Peter says, verse 16, men, brothers, the scripture had to be fulfilled, which the Holy Spirit foretold by the mouth of David concerning Judas, who became a guide to those who arrested.

Jesus.

Now, this is very pastoral of Peter to do this. And we're really witnessing a transformation, a change that is happening in Peter here. What we've seen from Peter previously is that he has a tendency to stick his foot in his mouth, and he's not really all that intelligent with his answers.

Whenever Jesus asks a question, there are some occasions where he does amazingly well. Like, for example, as I talked about yesterday in Matthew 16, with Jesus saying or sorry with Peter saying to Jesus, you are the Christ, the son of the blessed.

And then Jesus says to Peter, blessed are you, Simon Bar-Jonah, for flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but my father who is in heaven. So in that way, Peter was praised for his answer. But then it's just a few verses later when Jesus is telling his disciples about how he's going to go into Jerusalem.

He's going to be persecuted, arrested, wrongfully accused and killed, but he's going to rise again on the third day. He tells them that. And yet Peter tries to stop him saying, I would never let this happen to you.

And Jesus has to rebuke him and say, get behind me, Satan, for you are a hindrance to me. So there were some times when Peter said some great things. Most of the time, as we have come to be familiar with him in the gospels, he likes to stick his foot in his mouth.

So here you have his leadership in the midst of the brothers. This was something that Jesus had said to Peter, even as recorded by Luke. When Jesus had said, the devil wants to sift you like wheat, Peter said, I'm never going to betray you.

I'm going to go to the death with you. But Jesus says to him, I will pray for you that you may return and encourage the brothers. And we're seeing that exactly. Jesus' own prayers to the father fulfilled in that Peter is giving an encouragement to this crowd.

There may still have been some questions and some discouragement that was murmured about among them concerning Judas. What about Judas Iscariot? What happened with this guy? I mean, we knew he was a friend of Jesus.

It said in Matthew, when the crowd comes to arrest Jesus, when Judas comes and kisses Jesus on the cheek, Jesus says to Judas, friend, do what you came here to do. So addresses him as friend. And Jesus regarded him as a friend, even washed his feet.

The betrayal cuts that much more deeply because Jesus regarded him and treated him as a friend. It wasn't like Jesus only showed favor to the other 11 and dismissed Judas. I remember John Piper talking about even like when we read about the sending out of the 12 apostles and Jesus saying to them that you're going to perform miracles, you're going to cast out demons and you're going to heal the sick.

It's not like the other 11 were looking at Judas going, why can't he do that? Like we all can do it, but he can't. What's going on there? So Peter even says here that in verse 17, he was counted among us.

He was an apostle and received his share in this ministry. So there were things that he did, recognition that he had because he was one of Jesus' apostles. But the man was the betrayer. He was exactly who Jesus said he was going to be, the son of perdition.

He had a demon, as Jesus said in John 6. And from the beginning, he knew, it's also said there in John 6, who would not believe in him and who it was that was going to betray him. So Judas' purpose among them was to fulfill the scriptures.

So Peter here, very pastorally among this gathered group of believers, says to them, what happened with Judas was foretold, the Holy Spirit foretold by the mouth of David concerning Judas, who became a guide to those who arrested Jesus.

Now something else that's very pastoral about the way that Peter puts that, he says the scripture had to be fulfilled, which the Holy Spirit foretold by the mouth of David. So you have the scripture, the Holy Spirit, you have David and all of these three being of one accord.

The scripture is of course, the word of God. And how do we know it being the word of God, but that it comes from God himself, his Holy Spirit, the Holy Spirit foretold by the mouth of David. So David is the one that writes it down, thus marking it as scripture.

It is written word and it's given by the Holy Spirit. So it did not come from the idea of a man. It was God saying through David what was going to happen. And so Peter, very warmly, very guidingly as a shepherd is showing to this people what happened concerning Judas is what was said in the scripture was going to happen.

God had foretold it. This did not happen contrary to our savior. It wasn't like the betrayal that happened to Jesus was something that was so totally unexpected. It was outside of the plan of God. No, this is what was said was going to take place.

God had ordained that this is the way that it was going to be so that even in the midst of this betrayal and even in the, you know, probably still feeling some of those emotions when they watched their savior die, not even understanding what this meant when Jesus was being crucified.

Peter is helping them to understand this, this was the plan of God, and we're going to see this throughout this early portion of Acts, in fact, with the with being the first witnesses of the gospel to Jerusalem, this is going to come up again in chapter two.

It's going to come up again in chapter four, talking about how the crucifixion of Jesus was by the definite plan of God. He had ordained all of this to happen, even that Judas himself would betray Christ so that no one there would be discouraged or still questioning why would something like this happen?

For it was intended by God for it to happen. And he was at one point, Judas was counted among us and received his share of the ministry, Peter says. Then we have this parenthetical in verses 18 and 19, and in these parentheses, it tells us something about how Judas died.

So in verse 18, now this man, again referring to Judas, acquired a field with the price of his unrighteousness. Remember that he betrayed Jesus for 30 pieces of silver. So he buys a field. Now, he did not directly buy that field.

If you go into Matthew 27, let me read this account here in Matthew 27, starting in verse three. When Judas, his betrayer, saw that Jesus was condemned, he changed his mind and brought back the 30 pieces of silver to the chief priests and the elders, saying, I have sinned by betraying innocent blood.

And they said, what is that to us? See to it yourself. And throwing down the pieces of silver into the temple, he departed and he went and hanged himself. OK, hang on to that word. You have Judas throwing the silver into the temple and he goes and he hangs himself.

Verse six, but the chief priests taking the pieces of silver said it is not lawful to put them into the treasury since it is blood money. So they took counsel and bought with them the potter's field as a burial place for strangers.

Therefore, that field has been called the field of blood to this day. So there you have agreement between Matthew and Luke concerning the name of this field. They bought the name or they bought that field.

And because it was bought with blood money, it's been called the field of blood. And that's not the only reason it gets called the field of blood, as we will read. So then verse nine, this fulfilled what had been spoken by the prophet Jeremiah, saying, and they took the 30 pieces of silver, the price of him on whom a price had been set by some of the sons of Israel.

And they gave them for the potter's field as the Lord directed me. Now, coming back to Acts one, it says that Judas acquired a field with the price of his unrighteousness. It doesn't mean that Judas himself went and paid the money to buy the field.

It simply says that he acquired the field. So the Pharisees took the money that was Judas's money. They would not put it back into the treasury. But with that money, they bought this field. So it rightfully then belongs to Judas, since it's his money with the price of his unrighteousness.

And then it says he fell headlong into the field, burst open in the middle, and all of his intestines gushed out. It does not say that Judas died in that field. It simply says that he fell headlong into that field.

So it very well could have been by the providence of God that where Judas hung himself, the branch snapped, the rope broke, whatever it would have been. Judas falls into the field that is below where he had hung himself and falling head over heels.

The body falls into the field, headlong, bursts open. In the middle and all of his intestines gushed out, which probably indicates that he had been hanging there for a while so that his body is all bloated and gross now that he's been he's been that body's been hanging dead there for some time and then striking into the field.

His body gushes out. And so it is known then to all who are living in Jerusalem, that's the field that was purchased by Judas who betrayed Jesus. That was known to everybody in Jerusalem. And so being bought with blood money and because Judas's own blood was even spilled in that field, it was fulfillment of the name of of that piece of property.

It was called Hacodama, that is field of blood. And then going on to verse 20, we have these references in the Psalms, for it is written in the book of the Psalms, let his residence be made desolate and let no one dwell in it and let another man take his office.

So once again, kind of coming back up to the description of Judas falling into the field, there's no contradiction there between the account that we have in Matthew 27 in the account that we have in Acts one.

Luke just gives us a few more details, but none of this contradicts that. That is an account that I've heard many times a skeptic bring up is saying, look, the Bible contradicts itself. Look at the account of the way that Judas died between Matthew 27 and Acts one.

I remember watching a an evangelism encounter with Ray Comfort in which he was sharing the gospel with somebody or attempting to, and they were arguing with him and they used that as an argument. They said, yeah, you believe in a book with a bunch of contradictions.

Just look at the way that that Judas died. He's he's talked about as dying in two different ways, hanging himself in Matthew 27 or falling into a field in Acts one. So which is it? Well, now you see how the the two accounts are perfectly in sync with one another, and there are no contradictions here.

Now, with regard to these two Old Testament references, says Peter said that the Holy Spirit foretold by the mouth of David. And here are those references in the Psalms. They are in Psalm 69 and in Psalm 109, the first one being let his residence be made desolate and let no one dwell in it.

Very specifically, may their camp be a desolation and let no one dwell in their tents. Now, it's kind of odd that it's said here, let no one dwell in it. But then the very next verse is let another man take his office.

So if his residence is supposed to be made desolate, then why is somebody taking his office? Well, that's not what's intended here. It's that it's that Judas and what he did. May there be no one to repeat it.

There would not be a continuing ministry for Judas Iscariot. What he did, his own home, his his legacy, whatever it might be, it is considered desolate. There is no heir to what Judas did. But there is an office that's been left vacant that will be filled.

And that's in fulfillment to the scriptures. Psalm 109, verse six, appoint a wicked man against him. Let an accuser stand at his right hand. And now regarding that accuser, verse seven, when he has tried, let him come forth guilty.

Let his prayer be counted as sin. May his days be few. May another take his office. May his children be fatherless and his wife a widow. So even in that account, in Psalm 109, it says, may another take his office, but that his legacy would come to an end, that there would be no one to continue on the name of Judas.

And so Peter goes on to say in verse 21, therefore, it is necessary that of the men who have accompanied us all the time that the Lord Jesus went in and out among us. And that's probably in reference to him having coming.

He was coming and going during that time, that 40 days between his resurrection and his ascension into heaven. But then Peter clarifies that this man needs to be a witness. Verse 22, beginning with the baptism of John until the day that he was taken up from us.

And as I've argued in previous lessons, that there were multiple disciples that followed.

Jesus.

There were not just the 12, but Jesus chose the 12 for himself for a particular purpose. And even among the 12, there were three that were closer than the rest, Peter, James and John. And then even among those three, there was one that Jesus was going to give significance to above the rest.

And that was Peter. So Peter becomes kind of the first among equals, as it might be said. So he kind of has that pastoral position, which we see here through most of the beginning of Acts. And then we will see the emphasis change more toward Paul in the second portion of Acts.

But their stories run kind of parallel with one another. And Luke intends to show us that as he unfolds this narrative in the Acts of the Apostles. So finishing this up, verses 23 to 26, they put forward two men that qualify.

There were two other men among them in the upper room who had been with them from the time of the baptism of John. Every disciple had witnessed Jesus being baptized in the river Jordan by John. And there were even more than that among them who had witnessed that, including these two men, Joseph called Barsabbas, who was also called Justice.

This guy gets three names, Joseph, Barsabbas, Justice, and the other one being Matthias. And they prayed and said, You, Lord, who know the hearts of all men, show which one of these two you have chosen to take the place of this ministry and apostleship from which Judas turned aside to go to his own place.

And they cast lots for them, and the lot fell to Matthias, and he was added to the 11 apostles. Casting lots be like they had one lot that represented one little stone tablet that represented Justice and another little stone tablet that represented Matthias.

And they put them in a cup and they shake them up. And when they throw them down, the first lot that comes out is the one that God has chosen to be the 12th apostle that the Lord himself had chosen. And that man was Matthias.

As said in Proverbs 16, 33, the lot is cast into the lap, but it's every decision is from the Lord. And by God's providence, by his guiding hand, Matthias becomes the guy to fill that 12th apostle role.

And that is Acts 1. As we bring that to a close, we'll jump into Acts 2 next week with Pentecost. So I hope you'll come back for this study. Let's finish here with prayer. Heavenly Father, we thank you for all that we have read.

And as we've been reading here in Acts 1 about the gathering of the brotherhood, the body of believers who are in one accord in the name of Christ and in the spirit of his gospel. Lord, I pray that it would be the gospel of Jesus Christ that unites us and brings us together and that we would be in submission to the scriptures, even as the disciples were here, that Peter proclaimed scripturally, came from the Holy Spirit from the mouth of David concerning Judas, and then even looking into what the scriptures said concerning this man and about his replacement.

So we likewise would be in submission to all things that you have guided us into according to your word. May we walk in righteousness and holiness before you all our days. And it's in Jesus' name that we pray.

Amen.

You've been listening to When We Understand the Text with Pastor Gabe Hubes. Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday, Gabe will be going through a New Testament study. Then on Thursday, we look at an Old Testament book.

On Friday, we take questions from the listeners and viewers. Tomorrow, we'll pick up on an Old Testament study, When We Understand the Text.