Acts 1:15-26
New International
Version (NIV)
15 In those days Peter
stood up among the believers (a group numbering about a hundred and twenty) 16 and said, “Brothers and
sisters, the Scripture had to be fulfilled in which the Holy Spirit spoke long
ago through David concerning Judas, who served as guide for those who arrested
Jesus. 17 He was one of our
number and shared in our ministry.”
18 (With the payment he
received for his wickedness, Judas bought a field; there he fell headlong, his
body burst open and all his intestines spilled out. 19 Everyone in Jerusalem heard about this, so they called
that field in their language Akeldama, that is, Field of Blood.)
20 “For,” said Peter, “it
is written in the Book of Psalms:
“‘May his place be deserted;
let
there be no one to dwell in it,’
and,
“‘May another take his place of leadership.’
21 Therefore it is
necessary to choose one of the men who have been with us the whole time the
Lord Jesus was living among us, 22 beginning
from John’s baptism to the time when Jesus was taken up from us. For one of
these must become a witness with us of his resurrection.”
23 So they nominated two
men: Joseph called Barsabbas (also known as Justus) and Matthias. 24 Then they prayed, “Lord, you
know everyone’s heart. Show us which of these two you have chosen 25 to take over this apostolic
ministry, which Judas left to go where he belongs.” 26 Then they cast lots, and the lot fell to Matthias; so he
was added to the eleven apostles.
(https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Acts+1%3A15-26&version=NIV)
As I read this scripture today I once again
became amazed at the Words that I read.
In all of Scripture we read of the 12 chosen disciples of Christ who
followed Him throughout His ministry but now we read that others also did so
but were not His chosen twelve. The men
in this passage did not just happen upon the group and decide to see what they
were doing, they followed them from the beginning of the ministry.
Being human the disciples could not decide which
one would be the best to replace the betrayer.
Did you ever think, Jesus could have chosen one of these and not have
been betrayed. That is what I would have
wanted to do. If I knew someone was
going to betray me, I would stay clear!
This was not the plan of God though and Jesus was doing the will of the
Father. It is amazing as I look at what
could have been, see what was, and anticipate what will come. Jesus ministry moved forward into our days
because of His betrayal. We would have
never had the Gospel had the betrayer not been there.
The way the replacement was chosen was also an
interesting method. Many would scoff at
this method today but these men were putting their full trust in the Lord. They were recognizing that God has control of
even the “chances” in this world. They did not just flippantly cast the lot but
they prayed prior to doing so. I believe
they must of fervently prayed and asked for the Lord’s guidance. How often do
we pray and then go about pursing our own desires and do not give God full
control. I remember a time when a church
leader decided that we needed to practice this.
He wanted everyone to draw straws to see who would be on a committee. I don’t know how much we really stopped and
prayed about it but I do know that we were not all in one accord, two important
things that need in place for God to fully be at work in our lives.
We can say that God is in control but I believe
He allows us to take the helm at times just so we can see that His ways are
much better than ours. I know I have
learned that lesson a time or two in this life.
Today I am going in for a job interview. This is something that I never really like to
have to do. Feeling honored to be
invited and very excited about the possibilities, the dreaded letter is always
in the back of my mind. So, as I read this
story I had to think of Barabbas, also called Justus, how might he have felt to
not be the chosen one. He had been with Jesus as much as Matthias and he most likely loved Jesus. If I would have been him, I am afraid that I
would have be questioning why I wasn’t chosen, what I had done wrong, what was
wrong with my heart. There is no mention
of any of that going on. Maybe he was
relieved that he was not chosen. The lesson
I take from that is, God knows our abilities, our desires, our hopes, our
dreams, He knows our hearts better than we know them ourselves. He may let us have something we think we want
only to find out it was not for us. We
need to put our full trust in our Lord and Savior and know without a shadow of
a doubt that He knows what is best for us.
Whether our name is chosen or not, we need to know that He knows what is
best for His Kingdom and we need to trust and obey. We are able to do this when we first seek Him
with all our hearts.
Seeking Him with all my heart,
Sheila
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