WEBVTT 00:00:00.239 --> 00:00:02.799 Take your Bible and go to the book of Acts in chapter 1. 00:00:03.120 --> 00:00:04.799 Acts chapter 1. 00:00:08.160 --> 00:00:10.560 We're going to be looking at verses 15 to 26. 00:00:10.640 --> 00:00:13.439 So we're going to be through the end of this chapter this morning. 00:00:15.199 --> 00:00:23.839 As we enter into this chapter, this last half of this first chapter, I want you to notice that something very extraordinary is happening here. 00:00:24.239 --> 00:00:26.640 Especially when you look at verse 15. 00:00:27.679 --> 00:00:28.480 Take a look there. 00:00:28.640 --> 00:00:33.759 It says, In those days Peter stood up among the brothers and sisters. 00:00:34.079 --> 00:00:37.039 And the extraordinary thing I want you to see there is just that. 00:00:37.280 --> 00:00:39.200 Peter stood up. 00:00:39.840 --> 00:00:50.159 Now that sounds very unremarkable until you consider what it took for Peter to be the man who's doing that, standing up there. 00:00:51.200 --> 00:01:06.719 Was it many weeks before the moment that we're reading about here in Acts chapter 1, that Peter was in the courtyard of the high priest, warming himself by a fire, while Jesus, whom he'd followed for three years, was inside under trial. 00:01:08.400 --> 00:01:16.159 Three times somebody around that fire looked at him and said, Aren't you one of his followers? 00:01:16.719 --> 00:01:18.239 Don't you know him? 00:01:19.200 --> 00:01:24.400 And three times Peter denied that that was the case. 00:01:24.640 --> 00:01:27.920 And the last time he denied it forcibly. 00:01:28.400 --> 00:01:30.079 I don't know this man. 00:01:31.359 --> 00:01:33.439 And then the rooster crowed. 00:01:35.040 --> 00:01:38.239 And Jesus turned and looked at Peter. 00:01:38.480 --> 00:01:43.439 And Peter looked at Jesus and he fled and he wept. 00:01:45.519 --> 00:01:46.799 This is the man. 00:01:47.599 --> 00:01:50.799 This is the man who's standing up here in verse 15. 00:01:51.599 --> 00:01:54.719 This is the man with the same voice that denied Christ. 00:01:54.879 --> 00:02:02.640 This is the man whose face was lit by a fire where he offered his rejections of Christ. 00:02:03.120 --> 00:02:16.960 This is the same man who, after the crucifixion and burial of Christ, went back to his boat and to his fishing nets and took others with him to just go back and do what he was used to doing. 00:02:17.360 --> 00:02:18.639 This is Peter. 00:02:20.159 --> 00:02:26.319 But when we get to verse 15, something's different. 00:02:26.560 --> 00:02:28.800 What's happened to this guy? 00:02:29.039 --> 00:02:35.360 Well, I want to say to you that what's happened to him is that the resurrection is what has happened to him. 00:02:36.159 --> 00:02:39.520 You see, Christ sought him out specifically. 00:02:40.000 --> 00:02:52.159 In 1 Corinthians 15, 5, it speaks there as Paul is going down through the gospel and into the resurrection accounts, and he said he appeared to Peter, mentions him directly. 00:02:52.560 --> 00:03:04.879 And then we can read in John chapter 21 about Jesus building a fire and speaking to Peter there and restoring him. 00:03:07.199 --> 00:03:13.199 And so at that second fire, Peter wasn't just forgiven, he was recommissioned. 00:03:13.840 --> 00:03:18.800 Three times Jesus says to him in that conversation, Peter, do you love me? 00:03:19.680 --> 00:03:26.240 And three times Peter admits that, yes, I do. 00:03:27.520 --> 00:03:28.159 I do. 00:03:29.280 --> 00:03:29.919 I do. 00:03:31.199 --> 00:03:40.319 And three times Jesus says to him, Feed my sheep, tend my sheep, feed my lambs. 00:03:41.439 --> 00:03:50.240 And that command was not just some sentimental send-off and parting, that was a recommissioning of Peter. 00:03:52.000 --> 00:04:01.520 And here in this room, in Acts chapter 1 and verse 15, this is the first action of that assignment. 00:04:02.960 --> 00:04:06.080 And it comes at a moment that's not easy. 00:04:06.560 --> 00:04:30.000 Peter steps into this role, not while things are smooth and easy, but when this gathering is here in this upper room, still grieving the loss of Christ, still disoriented about all that's happened over the past several weeks, and still living in the middle of a scandal that's reverberating around the whole city. 00:04:33.199 --> 00:04:38.879 One of their own had turned into a traitor and had taken his own life. 00:04:39.439 --> 00:04:47.600 And so when Jesus told him to feed his sheep, this is exactly what it looks like for Peter to do that. 00:04:47.920 --> 00:04:51.040 To be the leader in the middle of a difficult moment. 00:04:52.240 --> 00:05:03.120 And so he's standing up here, he's in the upper room, and he's with this gathered assembly, and his presence in front of this congregation is already a sermon. 00:05:03.920 --> 00:05:16.480 The God that they've been praying to is the very God who could take a Peter who denied and deserted Christ and turn him into a leader in the congregation. 00:05:17.839 --> 00:05:41.600 And I want to bring that up because that carries a statement and a message that I want you to hold on to tightly this whole time that we're in the book of Acts, and hopefully well beyond, is that the resurrection doesn't just make theological claims, and it's a true statement, and we can talk about it as truth, as a historical fact. 00:05:41.839 --> 00:05:44.800 But I want you to grab it deeper than that. 00:05:45.360 --> 00:05:48.480 The resurrection changes people. 00:05:49.199 --> 00:05:50.720 It changes people. 00:05:51.279 --> 00:05:53.839 And we see that here in this early church. 00:05:54.079 --> 00:06:02.000 And so this morning, as we enter into this, I want us to see what's happening here in Acts chapter 1 and verses 15 to 26. 00:06:02.319 --> 00:06:14.480 Last week we saw these people obedient, leaving Christ as he ascended, going into Jerusalem, gathering as a people wrapped around the resurrection and praying. 00:06:14.800 --> 00:06:24.160 And here they are with one accord doing just that, praying together, assembled together, and they're waiting on Christ and that moment that Christ told them to wait for. 00:06:24.560 --> 00:06:30.800 And as they're in that posture of waiting and prayer, they also some things that need to take care of. 00:06:31.279 --> 00:06:47.600 And what we see here is this church that is waiting and obeying and praying is now about to deal with two things a very difficult situation and a determination about the next leader amongst them. 00:06:48.079 --> 00:07:00.560 And so three things I want us to notice as we go through this passage, as they handle this difficult moment, so that we might learn how to handle difficult moments in our body when these things arise. 00:07:00.959 --> 00:07:08.879 The first thing is that they face the difficulty honestly and they bring it to Scripture for understanding. 00:07:09.120 --> 00:07:14.480 They face the difficulty honestly and they bring it to Scripture for understanding. 00:07:14.720 --> 00:07:19.920 The second thing that they do is that they identify what the mission requires. 00:07:20.079 --> 00:07:22.720 They identify what the mission requires. 00:07:22.959 --> 00:07:28.639 And lastly, they submit themselves to God who knows all things. 00:07:29.680 --> 00:07:34.560 These are three marks of what a community does when they face difficult times. 00:07:34.879 --> 00:07:36.399 So let's look at them one at a time. 00:07:36.560 --> 00:07:43.920 First of all, the church faces what happened with honesty and brings it to Scripture for understanding. 00:07:44.240 --> 00:07:46.399 We'll find this in verses 15 to 20. 00:07:46.560 --> 00:07:57.040 And what you'll see here is that they can talk about these difficult things, knowing that scripture will help them, and they can face them without being destroyed by the difficulty. 00:07:57.279 --> 00:07:58.720 Look at verse 15. 00:07:59.519 --> 00:08:02.720 In those days Peter stood up among the brothers and sisters. 00:08:02.879 --> 00:08:17.439 The number of people who were together was about 120, and said, Brothers and sisters, it was necessary that the scripture be fulfilled, that the Holy Spirit, through the mouth of David, foretold about Judas, who became a guide to those who arrested Jesus. 00:08:17.759 --> 00:08:22.800 For he was one of our memb one of our number, and shared in this ministry. 00:08:22.959 --> 00:08:32.000 And now this man acquired a field with his unrighteous wages, and he fell headlong, his body burst open, and his intestines spilled out. 00:08:32.240 --> 00:08:41.360 And this became known to all the residents of Jerusalem, so that in their own language that field is called Hakeldamah, that is the field of blood. 00:08:41.600 --> 00:08:50.720 For it is written in the book of Psalms, let his dwelling become desolate, let no one live in it, and let someone else take his position. 00:08:51.600 --> 00:08:53.600 That's a very difficult situation. 00:08:55.120 --> 00:08:56.960 But what does Peter do with it? 00:08:57.200 --> 00:08:58.799 He doesn't dance around it. 00:08:58.960 --> 00:09:09.200 He doesn't say, you know, there was one who was with us, or try to deal with it on some sort of peripheral level and talk about it in some measure of polite distance. 00:09:09.519 --> 00:09:10.879 What does he do? 00:09:11.200 --> 00:09:14.799 Judas, you guys know Judas. 00:09:15.840 --> 00:09:20.240 He names Judas and he traces the whole arc of this trouble. 00:09:21.039 --> 00:09:22.960 This was one of our number. 00:09:23.200 --> 00:09:25.919 This was a man who shared in this ministry. 00:09:26.000 --> 00:09:29.039 And he he doesn't erase the problem. 00:09:29.840 --> 00:09:32.480 He doesn't throw it under the carpet. 00:09:33.600 --> 00:09:35.120 He brings it out. 00:09:35.519 --> 00:09:40.240 It's the very first thing he talks about here as he stands up. 00:09:43.120 --> 00:09:46.320 But what he does next is extremely important. 00:09:46.960 --> 00:09:53.039 Not only does he deal with it honestly, but he goes immediately to scripture with it. 00:09:54.000 --> 00:10:05.440 Brothers and sisters, it was necessary that the scriptures be fulfilled, that the Holy Spirit, through the mouth of David, foretold about Judas in verse 16. 00:10:06.480 --> 00:10:12.960 That word, it is necessary, carries the force of divine necessity. 00:10:14.000 --> 00:10:17.440 This is something that just had to happen. 00:10:18.559 --> 00:10:19.919 Scripture said it would. 00:10:44.960 --> 00:10:54.480 What he's saying here is that despite the most catastrophic human failure, God's purposes are not derailed. 00:10:54.720 --> 00:10:57.360 In fact, they're actually fulfilled. 00:10:58.559 --> 00:11:00.720 And that's something to hold on to. 00:11:02.399 --> 00:11:05.440 And so Peter here quotes two psalms. 00:11:11.519 --> 00:11:13.279 What are these two psalms? 00:11:13.759 --> 00:11:18.000 They're psalms of lament written by David. 00:11:18.879 --> 00:11:30.159 David, who is the anointed king of Israel, and he writes about his enemies who have turned against him, and therefore he laments. 00:11:31.759 --> 00:11:33.440 Now, why is that important? 00:11:34.159 --> 00:11:42.639 Because the Holy Spirit, who inspired David's words, have woven those things into the story of a greater betrayal. 00:11:43.440 --> 00:11:49.840 The betrayal of the anointed one of God, Jesus the Messiah. 00:11:50.879 --> 00:12:00.960 And what was true of David and his betrayers is true in a fuller sense of Judas and his betrayal. 00:12:02.080 --> 00:12:04.240 And David knew all about this. 00:12:05.279 --> 00:12:11.039 David isn't talking about betrayal and some abstract concept. 00:12:11.360 --> 00:12:18.000 He's not talking about the general human treachery that might be out somewhere in society. 00:12:19.120 --> 00:12:20.960 No, he's got a name. 00:12:21.919 --> 00:12:23.279 Ahithophel. 00:12:24.639 --> 00:12:29.840 When he writes those things, that name keeps popping up in his head. 00:12:30.000 --> 00:12:31.200 Ahithophel. 00:12:31.440 --> 00:12:32.559 Ahithophel. 00:12:33.360 --> 00:12:34.639 That guy. 00:12:36.240 --> 00:12:37.840 Who was Ahithophel? 00:12:38.240 --> 00:12:41.679 Well, you can read about him in 2 Samuel 16 and 17. 00:12:43.120 --> 00:12:47.200 And there you'll understand that Ahithophel was David's counselor. 00:12:47.519 --> 00:12:57.919 In fact, he was such a counselor that 2 Samuel 16, 23 says that his words to David were as if one had insulted the word of God. 00:12:59.600 --> 00:13:01.600 That's pretty straight, right? 00:13:02.399 --> 00:13:03.440 I don't know. 00:13:03.759 --> 00:13:10.000 People ask you for advice and they walk away going, I feel like I just read scripture. 00:13:10.720 --> 00:13:14.639 That's how David felt when he spoke to Ahithophel. 00:13:15.120 --> 00:13:17.519 This man sat at David's table. 00:13:17.840 --> 00:13:20.799 This man helped David with his decisions. 00:13:22.720 --> 00:13:34.639 And when David's own son Absalom rose up in rebellion, Ahithophel went with him and became a partner with Absalom. 00:13:36.720 --> 00:13:39.600 And David wrote about it in Psalm 41. 00:13:41.919 --> 00:13:43.039 Listen to it. 00:13:43.279 --> 00:13:54.320 Even my close friend, whom I trusted, who ate my bread, has lifted his heel against me. 00:13:58.320 --> 00:14:01.120 Ahithophel was not some enemy outside the camp. 00:14:01.200 --> 00:14:04.559 Ahithophel was a guy right at David's table. 00:14:07.279 --> 00:14:20.879 And when Ahithophel's counsel to Absalom about what to do with David got heard and found out, and the news began to spread. 00:14:34.720 --> 00:14:38.080 Now hold all of that up against Judas here for a second. 00:14:39.440 --> 00:14:42.559 Judas, a trusted counselor. 00:14:43.840 --> 00:14:47.519 Judas, a treasurer of the band. 00:14:48.879 --> 00:14:55.519 Judas, the one who ate at Christ's table and shared his bread. 00:14:56.080 --> 00:15:10.480 Judas, the one who had such a display of integrity that when Jesus spoke about someone denying him and betraying him, none of them kind of looked over at Judas and went, I think we might know who he's talking about. 00:15:11.200 --> 00:15:14.320 They all said, Maybe it's me. 00:15:15.279 --> 00:15:21.120 And we all know just how hard it is to point at yourself before you start pointing at somebody else. 00:15:22.240 --> 00:15:24.960 They're looking at themselves, not Judas. 00:15:26.480 --> 00:15:32.639 But Jesus made the connection between Ahithophel and Judas explicit. 00:15:32.960 --> 00:15:43.679 Because the very words that David used about Ahithophel in Psalm 41 are the very words Jesus uses in John 13 about Judas. 00:15:44.159 --> 00:15:48.480 He who ate my bread has lifted up his heel against me. 00:15:50.000 --> 00:16:00.559 So what happened to David, the anointed one of God, has happened to Jesus, the greater one, the anointed one of God. 00:16:00.799 --> 00:16:15.120 And what the anointed king of Israel, David, received in his betrayal by a trusted companion, Jesus, the greater anointed one of God, has been betrayed by a companion, Judas. 00:16:16.480 --> 00:16:19.679 David wept over all of this and wrote a psalm. 00:16:20.240 --> 00:16:25.200 And Jesus took that wounding and that betrayal and went to the cross. 00:16:48.879 --> 00:16:50.639 But they're not idle people. 00:16:51.120 --> 00:17:04.720 They're spending time searching scripture, trying to understand sort of part two of Jesus talking to them along the Emmaus Road and opening up their minds to understand the scriptures. 00:17:04.880 --> 00:17:09.759 Having gained an interpretive understanding of the Old Testament, they're now entering into it. 00:17:09.839 --> 00:17:15.039 And they're saying, this is showing us a lot about what happened with Jesus and Judas. 00:17:15.440 --> 00:17:19.279 They're starting to understand how to read their scriptures. 00:17:21.279 --> 00:17:34.000 And now the worst thing that's happened in history, the betrayal of the anointed Messiah, is now being made known and understood, and Peter has a framework for it. 00:17:35.200 --> 00:17:46.720 And it's not just a framework of grief, or it's not just a framework of a problem to be solved, it's an understanding that God is fulfilling his determinations. 00:17:47.440 --> 00:17:49.680 And they look for scripture to see that. 00:17:49.920 --> 00:17:56.400 And what happened to Jesus and Judas was prefigured in what happened to David and Ahithophel. 00:17:56.720 --> 00:18:04.480 And here it's no coincidence that Ahithophel went home and hung himself, and Judas did the same. 00:18:06.240 --> 00:18:08.160 And Peter talks about that. 00:18:09.039 --> 00:18:15.200 And just like any fisherman, he talks about it with a certain willingness to be graphic. 00:18:16.720 --> 00:18:28.720 He goes right out there and he said, uh, you know, this man, he fell his head first, his body burst open, his intestines spilled out, and there's probably people in the room going, That's enough, Peter. 00:18:29.359 --> 00:18:32.079 You know, you know, we got to eat later. 00:18:32.400 --> 00:18:33.759 You know, we don't need this. 00:18:35.920 --> 00:18:39.519 But Peter doesn't stop with the graphic details. 00:18:40.000 --> 00:18:42.160 He goes deeper into this. 00:18:43.599 --> 00:18:48.559 Because the story didn't just stay with the 11, the story didn't just stay with 120. 00:18:48.720 --> 00:18:55.279 What Peter reveals to us is that the whole city of Jerusalem is reverberating with this situation. 00:18:55.759 --> 00:18:57.839 This really is a difficulty. 00:18:58.880 --> 00:19:06.480 It's become known to all the residents of Jerusalem, so well known that they've even named the field of blood. 00:19:07.920 --> 00:19:17.680 That's the place where the guy that followed him sent him to the cross and he threw the money back at the priest and died there. 00:19:17.839 --> 00:19:19.519 That field of blood. 00:19:22.240 --> 00:19:28.000 The chief priest had done all of that because they knew they couldn't take the blood money and put it back in the treasury. 00:19:28.079 --> 00:19:30.799 That would have defiled all that money. 00:19:32.160 --> 00:19:36.400 So they bought a field with it to cover up the situation. 00:19:36.559 --> 00:19:41.759 And instead of covering it up, they built a monument to their crime. 00:19:44.160 --> 00:19:59.359 Centuries earlier, the prophet Jeremiah stood in a valley outside the same city and declared because innocent blood had been shed, that that valley would no longer be called by its old name, it would be called the Valley of Slaughter. 00:20:01.839 --> 00:20:14.240 And so Judah's history, one of a field, one of killing, one of a new name that stuck because of a shame that could not be undone, is being repeated once again. 00:20:17.680 --> 00:20:29.039 So Peter here is not just describing a personal grief that the church has to deal with, he's identifying a public scandal that the whole city is still talking about. 00:20:30.480 --> 00:20:33.039 It's already been turned into common knowledge. 00:20:34.240 --> 00:20:35.839 So what does he do? 00:20:36.960 --> 00:20:46.240 He doesn't read the problem in isolation, he understands it in light of God's bigger story. 00:20:46.880 --> 00:20:51.440 And when we deal with difficulties, we need to follow the same suit. 00:20:51.680 --> 00:21:07.200 We need to deal with issues clearly, honestly, openly, and have the light of scripture to guide us to understand it and to interpret it well and to lead us toward what to do with it. 00:21:08.640 --> 00:21:13.279 I would love to tell you more about why there's 120 there, but I'm going to skip that for a moment. 00:21:13.440 --> 00:21:18.079 But what you see here is people that are not pretending that there's not a problem. 00:21:19.039 --> 00:21:25.440 They're naming it, they're reading it through the lens of God's word, and they get up and do what needs to be done. 00:21:25.759 --> 00:21:28.559 And you might wonder why I'm a little insistent about this. 00:21:28.720 --> 00:21:37.200 It's because the church I was converted in had an extremely difficult situation, and they did not do what happened here. 00:21:37.839 --> 00:21:40.720 I was back at the church as the associate pastor. 00:21:40.880 --> 00:21:43.680 I saw some cars pull in to the parking lot. 00:21:43.759 --> 00:21:52.559 I stayed in my office, and a little bit later, uh the senior pastor buzzed my office and said, Doug, come in and we need to talk. 00:21:52.880 --> 00:21:53.839 I'm like, Okay. 00:21:54.160 --> 00:21:59.680 It was late in the evening, and he said, Tomorrow morning, uh, you're going to be the principal of the Christian school. 00:22:00.079 --> 00:22:01.680 I'm like, oh, okay. 00:22:02.559 --> 00:22:03.599 What's going on? 00:22:03.839 --> 00:22:04.960 I can't tell you. 00:22:05.200 --> 00:22:06.960 I'm like, come on, Pastor. 00:22:07.440 --> 00:22:09.599 You've got to tell me what's going on. 00:22:09.759 --> 00:22:19.200 And he went on to tell me that the principal had been arrested for sexual molestation of some of the boys in the school. 00:22:21.119 --> 00:22:25.039 And I said, what's going to happen next? 00:22:26.720 --> 00:22:29.519 I said, are we going to talk to the church about this? 00:22:30.400 --> 00:22:31.759 And he said, no. 00:22:33.519 --> 00:22:37.119 He said, we don't air our dirty linen in public. 00:22:37.759 --> 00:22:40.720 And I said, the church is not the public. 00:22:42.160 --> 00:22:44.160 This needs to be dealt with. 00:22:45.359 --> 00:22:47.279 And it wasn't. 00:22:47.920 --> 00:23:00.400 And there's a long story, but the reverberations of that decision not to deal with it in a biblical way hurt that church and hurt my beloved pastor's ministry. 00:23:00.480 --> 00:23:02.640 And he eventually had to leave. 00:23:03.440 --> 00:23:04.720 It was difficult. 00:23:06.799 --> 00:23:23.279 I wonder what would have happened if they had simply said, church, we have the mind of Christ, we have the wisdom of God, we have the directions of the word of God, and this is what is, and this is what's going to be done as we go through this. 00:23:23.440 --> 00:23:24.799 Let's pray. 00:23:25.759 --> 00:23:28.000 And sadly that didn't happen. 00:23:28.640 --> 00:23:39.279 So we learn here something that we are to do should trouble of this magnitude or less come into our lives or into the life of the church. 00:23:39.839 --> 00:23:58.480 Second thing I want us to see as we go through this is not only did they deal with a difficulty honestly and humbly by bringing the light of Scripture to it for understanding and for direction, but they also identified what the mission requires. 00:23:58.960 --> 00:24:01.440 Take a look at verses 21 and 22. 00:24:02.960 --> 00:24:19.119 Therefore, from among the men who have accompanied us during the whole time the Lord Jesus went in and out among us, beginning from the baptism of John until the day he was taken up from us, from among these it is necessary that one become a witness with us of the resurrection. 00:24:20.559 --> 00:24:27.039 Again, the resurrection is not just background to the church's story and mission. 00:24:27.279 --> 00:24:30.559 It's central to the church's mission. 00:24:31.440 --> 00:24:47.759 And here, having established that Scripture has led to this vacancy, as he says in the verse just prior to this, he now calls it and says, We need to have someone from among us to take his place. 00:24:49.440 --> 00:24:52.000 Now notice the qualifications here. 00:24:53.920 --> 00:24:58.640 He doesn't say, let's find somebody who's extremely gifted. 00:24:59.200 --> 00:25:02.240 Let's find somebody who has a lot of influence. 00:25:02.640 --> 00:25:07.920 Let's find someone who's got some bankrolling resources. 00:25:08.559 --> 00:25:14.079 He doesn't say, let's get someone who's got great organizational management abilities and skills. 00:25:14.319 --> 00:25:20.880 He doesn't say, let's find someone with marketing expertise or a winsome personality. 00:25:21.279 --> 00:25:22.720 What does he say? 00:25:23.200 --> 00:25:31.920 Let's find someone who was with us from the beginning and who will join us to be a witness of the resurrection. 00:25:32.960 --> 00:25:37.119 Two qualifications, very precise, very specific. 00:25:37.440 --> 00:25:43.279 The first being that he must have been present from the baptism of John through the ascension. 00:25:43.920 --> 00:25:49.680 Not merely a recent follower, but someone who came in from the very beginning. 00:25:50.000 --> 00:25:51.680 Someone who was there through it all. 00:25:51.839 --> 00:26:00.240 Someone who was there for the healings and the teachings and the confrontations with the religious authorities, who was there through all of those things. 00:26:00.480 --> 00:26:05.279 Through the cross, the tomb, the resurrection, the 40 days of appearance. 00:26:05.759 --> 00:26:07.759 That's the requirement. 00:26:08.160 --> 00:26:09.920 And look at the second one. 00:26:10.480 --> 00:26:14.720 One of these men must become with us a witness of the resurrection. 00:26:15.440 --> 00:26:19.519 Again, he's telling us something about the apostolic role here. 00:26:19.759 --> 00:26:27.519 Now, obviously, the apostles are going to be doing a lot of pastoral care and a lot of administrative duties and a lot of theological instruction. 00:26:27.599 --> 00:26:33.519 But the first thing that Peter says is that their primary role is to be a witness of the resurrection. 00:26:35.440 --> 00:26:41.359 To stand before all who would listen and to speak about the resurrected Christ. 00:26:42.720 --> 00:26:45.839 And to be able to say it from personal testimony. 00:26:46.160 --> 00:26:47.759 I was there. 00:26:48.400 --> 00:26:55.920 I saw him live, I saw him opposed, I saw him die, I saw him rise, I saw him ascended. 00:26:56.240 --> 00:26:59.519 I was there, he would be able to say. 00:27:00.880 --> 00:27:10.000 And the New Testament scholar John Polehild notes that the word martuse or witness carries with it a legal weight. 00:27:11.759 --> 00:27:15.599 These are not people just simply sharing a religious experience. 00:27:16.880 --> 00:27:26.319 These are people who making a witness testimony about a claim that could and should be cross-examined. 00:27:27.839 --> 00:27:30.720 And they're inviting the cross-examination. 00:27:31.599 --> 00:27:45.039 And in Acts chapter 2, which we'll get to next week and start into our study of that chapter, Peter stands up at Pentecost and he tells a crowd of people in Jerusalem that Jesus of Nazareth rose from the dead. 00:27:45.200 --> 00:27:51.680 And he's right in the middle of a city where the people could have walked 15 minutes to the tomb to check it out. 00:27:55.759 --> 00:27:57.759 The claim was verifiable. 00:27:58.480 --> 00:28:00.480 The witnesses were available. 00:28:00.720 --> 00:28:02.559 The testimony was public. 00:28:17.039 --> 00:28:17.680 Why? 00:28:18.400 --> 00:28:18.799 Why? 00:28:18.960 --> 00:28:26.640 Because there needed to be an integrity of people who were bound together in a unified voice about the mighty acts of God. 00:28:26.960 --> 00:28:28.319 Twelve of them. 00:28:28.880 --> 00:28:37.279 Because in the Old Testament, the twelve tribes were meant to have a unified voice speaking to the world about the mighty acts of God. 00:28:37.680 --> 00:28:39.599 And they didn't. 00:28:40.000 --> 00:28:55.119 And so now here the people gathered by the resurrection are refilling the number 12 in order to be a unified voice of a testimony and a witness of the mighty acts of God, the resurrection of Jesus Christ. 00:28:55.680 --> 00:28:59.599 And they too would be going into all the world. 00:29:01.440 --> 00:29:02.559 They were there. 00:29:02.720 --> 00:29:04.400 They saw the Lord. 00:29:04.720 --> 00:29:08.319 It's not a story, it's what happened. 00:29:09.599 --> 00:29:13.519 Now, we don't need to keep filling the twelve. 00:29:13.759 --> 00:29:18.079 We have the apostolic testimony preserved. 00:29:19.359 --> 00:29:30.559 The New Testament contains the testimony of those who were there, whose testimony was irreplaceable, that was authoritative, and is sufficient. 00:29:31.839 --> 00:29:41.279 But we continue into our generation to be the witnesses of that very same eyewitness account. 00:29:41.599 --> 00:29:43.440 We share the good news. 00:29:44.160 --> 00:29:45.440 We continue on. 00:29:47.359 --> 00:29:51.119 And just notice the resurrection is not background here. 00:29:51.359 --> 00:29:53.599 It's front and center everywhere. 00:29:53.839 --> 00:30:04.240 And the last thing I want us to see this morning is not only do when they face a problem, they face it honestly and humbly, looking to scripture to understand and how to work through it. 00:30:04.480 --> 00:30:12.960 But they also mark out and identify what the mission needs, and then they submit themselves to the God who sees everything. 00:30:14.640 --> 00:30:17.200 Take a look at verses 23 to 26. 00:30:19.359 --> 00:30:21.039 So they propose two. 00:30:29.119 --> 00:30:34.720 And when they prayed, you know, Lord, you know everyone's hearts. 00:30:35.039 --> 00:30:42.720 Show which of these two you've chosen to take the place in this apostolic ministry that Judas left to go where he belongs. 00:30:43.039 --> 00:30:50.880 And then they cast lots for them, and the lot fell to Matthias, and he was added to the eleven apostles. 00:30:53.680 --> 00:30:57.359 Lord, you know all the hearts. 00:30:59.839 --> 00:31:05.039 This church, this resurrection gathering had done all that it could do. 00:31:05.920 --> 00:31:17.680 It had talked about the crisis, it had examined scripture, it laid out the qualifications, they identified people who were suitable for the situation from among them. 00:31:17.839 --> 00:31:23.680 They named the two of them, and there are two guys who are equally capable of fulfilling the role. 00:31:24.000 --> 00:31:25.839 We don't know much about these men. 00:31:26.000 --> 00:31:42.319 We know a tiny little bit about Joseph called Barsabbas, because in Acts chapter 15, he's one of the guys who brings the letter from the council of Acts chapter 15 to the Gentiles and helps them understand the decision that was made there. 00:31:42.640 --> 00:31:44.799 But we know almost nothing about them. 00:31:45.039 --> 00:31:47.039 But what we do know is enough. 00:31:47.680 --> 00:31:50.079 These men fulfilled the role. 00:31:50.799 --> 00:31:53.359 Now there's something that needs to be done. 00:31:53.519 --> 00:31:54.880 What do they do? 00:31:55.440 --> 00:32:01.519 What everybody should do in a difficulty, what everybody should do in moments of great decision. 00:32:03.359 --> 00:32:04.720 They prayed. 00:32:08.160 --> 00:32:11.920 Then they prayed, Lord, you know everyone's hearts. 00:32:12.160 --> 00:32:18.240 Show which of these two you've chosen to take the place in this apostolic ministry that Judas left to go where he belongs. 00:32:19.200 --> 00:32:22.400 And this prayer is built on two affirmations about God. 00:32:22.559 --> 00:32:30.079 One that he knows everybody's hearts, which is wonderful, and scary at the same time. 00:32:32.640 --> 00:32:34.079 But think about it. 00:32:34.400 --> 00:32:37.039 This gathering had done all that they could do. 00:32:37.200 --> 00:32:43.200 They had fulfilled due diligence to all the way to the very point of their limitations. 00:32:43.519 --> 00:32:55.440 They had looked at scripture, they understood what needed to happen, they had listed the qualifications, they had done some examination of some people, they had identified to, and there it stops. 00:32:56.000 --> 00:32:57.200 They pray. 00:32:57.599 --> 00:33:02.559 But they pray to the God who knows the hearts because they could know everything else. 00:33:03.039 --> 00:33:06.319 One thing they don't know is what God knows. 00:33:06.799 --> 00:33:09.359 The secret motivations of the heart. 00:33:11.519 --> 00:33:15.599 What that person looks like when nobody's watching. 00:33:17.839 --> 00:33:26.079 And the second thing that they say about God in their prayer is this show which of these two you have chosen. 00:33:27.920 --> 00:33:37.279 That's an interesting way to put it because they're posturing themselves before the Lord in their decision making by saying, God, you already know which one it should be. 00:33:39.279 --> 00:33:44.160 And so they're not asking God to ratify their decision. 00:33:45.920 --> 00:33:50.880 And they're not presenting their favorite candidate and saying, well, he got more votes. 00:33:52.400 --> 00:33:53.920 It's interesting. 00:33:54.480 --> 00:33:57.359 They're saying, Lord, you've already made a choice. 00:33:58.240 --> 00:34:01.440 Help us to determine what your will and purposes are. 00:34:02.880 --> 00:34:08.960 And so with humility, they understand that their ability to see this thing has its limits. 00:34:09.119 --> 00:34:13.440 And boy, is that a great place to be when you're in the middle of a difficult situation? 00:34:13.920 --> 00:34:16.960 Is to offer yourself before God with that. 00:34:17.440 --> 00:34:21.360 Lord, I really don't know what the next step is. 00:34:22.400 --> 00:34:23.920 But I'm glad you do. 00:34:24.480 --> 00:34:26.719 And I'm glad you know everything. 00:34:28.159 --> 00:34:29.840 What did they do, though? 00:34:30.079 --> 00:34:31.440 They cast lots. 00:34:31.920 --> 00:34:35.840 Now, some people have questioned this, and they've gone, oh, what is this here? 00:34:35.920 --> 00:34:38.639 Are these people reverting to some pagan practice? 00:34:38.800 --> 00:34:40.559 Are they acting rashly? 00:34:40.719 --> 00:34:42.000 Or what is this? 00:34:42.159 --> 00:34:44.400 Are they departing from sound judgment? 00:34:45.519 --> 00:34:47.199 No, no, they're not. 00:34:47.440 --> 00:34:50.320 Especially according to their Jewish upbringing. 00:34:51.280 --> 00:34:55.199 Casting lots had a very deep and a very specific root in the Old Testament. 00:34:55.519 --> 00:34:58.800 Proverbs 16, verse 33 speaks about it very clearly. 00:34:59.039 --> 00:35:04.239 The lot is cast into the lap, but every decision comes from the Lord. 00:35:06.079 --> 00:35:20.079 So the lot and casting of lots was a practice that the Jewish people fulfilled in removing human preference from a decision and submitting that decision to God's divine intervention. 00:35:21.440 --> 00:35:25.920 It wasn't superstition, it was an organized humility. 00:35:26.079 --> 00:35:28.480 Now notice the times they used it. 00:35:28.800 --> 00:35:34.960 They cast lots to divide the promised land into the various tribes after they got there. 00:35:35.440 --> 00:35:43.360 The high priest carried the Uman and Thumen into the tabernacle to ask God where human wisdom would fail. 00:35:43.920 --> 00:35:49.760 Even the scapegoat that was chosen on the Day of Atonement was determined by the casting of lots. 00:35:50.800 --> 00:36:02.239 This was a very regular patterned behavior of the Jewish community at this time, to be able to find out what only God knew and what they needed to be told. 00:36:03.280 --> 00:36:16.960 Now, this is, as far as I could tell, the last time we see this mentioned in Scripture, which I think tells us something, because when we turn the page into Acts chapter 2, everything changes. 00:36:17.280 --> 00:36:25.039 And when you get to the determination to call missionaries out into the mission field, the Holy Spirit says, Give me. 00:36:25.599 --> 00:36:33.519 And they don't cast lots, they pray, but they make a determination by the direction of the Holy Spirit, not in the casting of lots. 00:36:33.920 --> 00:36:36.320 But I want you to notice something here. 00:36:38.639 --> 00:36:40.880 The lots didn't come first. 00:36:42.320 --> 00:36:45.119 The identification of the problem came first. 00:36:45.519 --> 00:36:49.840 The recognition of the need to make a decision came first. 00:36:50.719 --> 00:36:54.480 The listing of the qualifications preceded this. 00:36:55.039 --> 00:37:01.360 The interviews with all the people that might possibly be candidates for this position happened. 00:37:01.679 --> 00:37:07.280 The identification of two equally capable and qualified individuals was there. 00:37:07.599 --> 00:37:09.360 And they prayed. 00:37:10.400 --> 00:37:18.239 And only after all of that sequence do they leave it in the hands of God by the casting of lots. 00:37:18.719 --> 00:37:21.199 They're not circumventing their discernment. 00:37:21.440 --> 00:37:25.360 They're not just jumping at chance, and they're not being swayed by the populace. 00:37:25.440 --> 00:37:29.440 They're offering themselves before God and casting lots. 00:37:30.239 --> 00:37:36.239 And the lot fell on Matthias, and the number of twelve was filled. 00:37:38.800 --> 00:37:41.280 So what does the text give us here? 00:37:42.159 --> 00:37:45.920 It tells us what a church does in the middle of difficulty. 00:37:46.559 --> 00:37:56.159 A church names the trouble, it identifies it clearly, it recognizes that it's got a problem. 00:37:57.679 --> 00:38:05.840 Peter addresses it, but he brings in scripture to give insight and understanding and interpretation to the problem. 00:38:07.119 --> 00:38:11.920 That problem leads to a decision that they have to take up. 00:38:12.559 --> 00:38:19.039 It is necessary, is the same word that was there when it talked about Judas and his betrayal. 00:38:19.440 --> 00:38:23.119 And so now they identify what the mission needs. 00:38:23.519 --> 00:38:30.079 And then last of all, they submit themselves to the God who knows everything when they know they don't know everything. 00:38:30.559 --> 00:38:36.880 I think that's a great triple set of principles for us when we deal with troubles. 00:38:37.519 --> 00:38:39.360 And troubles will come. 00:38:40.719 --> 00:38:42.239 They always do. 00:38:43.599 --> 00:38:46.400 So here we are in Acts chapter one. 00:38:46.800 --> 00:38:51.199 And I want us to finish off by just taking one last look at this phrase here. 00:38:51.599 --> 00:38:55.440 Lord, you know everyone's hearts. 00:39:02.960 --> 00:39:05.119 He knows the qualifications. 00:39:05.440 --> 00:39:07.280 He knows the credentials. 00:39:11.360 --> 00:39:14.559 And he knows the private life of the person. 00:39:15.280 --> 00:39:17.039 He knows the heart. 00:39:17.760 --> 00:39:20.480 He knows the things that are done in secret. 00:39:21.760 --> 00:39:22.719 He knows. 00:39:24.480 --> 00:39:26.639 And he knows every one of us. 00:39:29.119 --> 00:39:37.280 He knows every motive of our heart, every action of ours outside the public eye, or even within the context of our family. 00:39:37.599 --> 00:39:39.679 He knows it all. 00:39:40.559 --> 00:39:42.960 He knows what resides within us. 00:39:43.280 --> 00:39:56.639 And he knows every time we've acted like Judas, where we've had our moments of denial, and our moments of turning away, and our moments of betrayal. 00:39:58.239 --> 00:39:59.679 He knows it all. 00:40:01.519 --> 00:40:03.679 And you know what's amazing about that? 00:40:04.320 --> 00:40:06.880 It didn't stop him one bit. 00:40:08.239 --> 00:40:16.400 It didn't stop him one hesitation at all to go to the cross for us. 00:40:17.679 --> 00:40:19.440 Isn't that wonderful? 00:40:21.679 --> 00:40:28.480 The God who looked into the heart of Mateus and chose him is the same God who looks into our hearts. 00:40:30.159 --> 00:40:38.079 The same God is the God who looked at Peter and saw him saying, I need to save my neck. 00:40:57.840 --> 00:40:59.199 And brought them back. 00:41:00.960 --> 00:41:04.239 That's the God who looks at this. 00:41:05.599 --> 00:41:24.079 And when he sees not just this problem, when he sees the problem of the human dimension in our rebellion against the holy God, when he sees all of us cast out, there's none righteous, no, not one. 00:41:24.800 --> 00:41:29.360 For all have gone astray, all have become together filthy. 00:41:30.639 --> 00:41:32.000 What does he do? 00:41:32.559 --> 00:41:36.400 He takes all of that and absorbs it to himself. 00:41:37.440 --> 00:41:46.000 And he goes to the cross and becomes the very judged one for the judgment of others. 00:41:46.719 --> 00:41:54.400 And if you believe on this Savior, you won't find him looking at your failures and saying, Why did you do that? 00:41:54.880 --> 00:41:56.159 Don't you know better? 00:41:56.320 --> 00:41:58.000 Do better next time. 00:41:58.480 --> 00:42:01.039 He looks at you and says, Come to me. 00:42:01.280 --> 00:42:06.079 I have accepted all of your wrongs to myself. 00:42:06.400 --> 00:42:11.679 I have taken it all on me and given myself up for you. 00:42:11.920 --> 00:42:21.119 And he rose from the dead to show that his sacrifice was sufficient to cover everyone, every one of your wrongs. 00:42:21.440 --> 00:42:22.639 Hallelujah. 00:42:25.920 --> 00:42:28.239 This is our Savior. 00:42:28.800 --> 00:42:35.360 And he's now leading his people who are living their life in the light of this God. 00:42:36.079 --> 00:42:45.039