1:15 ¶ 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,) 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. 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 bishoprick 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. 23
And they appointed two, Joseph called Barsabas, who was surnamed Justus,
and Matthias. 24 And they prayed, and said,
Thou, Lord, which knowest the hearts of all men, shew 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.
So, the early Christian church begins with
a few dozen people, a hundred and twenty as the text says. Peter is quoting or
alluding to prophecy in the Old Testament, also teaching us how to view certain
passage in their prophetic significance. Read Psalms 55:12-13 and 109. Read
Matthew 27 about Judas’s physical end of life.
Peter, in verse 20, takes Psalm 69:25 and 109:8
combining them for a prophetic statement about Judas guided by the Holy Spirit.
Word substitution between Old and New Testaments gives us the meaning of Bishoprick as the office held with Bishoprick
being the office of a bishop, what we call a pastor today.
Psalm 69:25 Let their
habitation be desolate; and let
none dwell in their tents.
Psalm 109:8 Let his days be
few; and let another take his
office.
Now, Peter is trying to replace Judas as an Apostle.
This is very interesting because we are only told about twelve Apostles, the
women who supported them, plus an unspecificed number of disciples throughout
Jesus’ ministry but here Peter names two who were disciples all along. They
cast lots for which one will replace Judas Iscariot, Joseph “Barsabas” Justus
or Matthias. Acknowledging that God has sovereignty over chance and that there
is no randomness in the universe they know that when they cast lots God
controls the outcome. They may have used pebbles, a potsherd, or a piece of
wood as we would today roll dice or flip over cards or flip a coin. They may
have put names in a pot and drew them. But, the Bible teaches that the outcome
of all such things is in the hand of God. That’s kind of tough for a modern
person to wrap their minds around. Go ahead and flip a penny. The result is an
act of God? It boggles the mind but just read the book of Job carefully.
God allowed the Israelites to cast lots in certain
situations to determine His will. See Numbers 26:55; 33:54; 34:13; 36:2; Joshua
18:6-10; 1Chronicles 24:5, 31; 25:8,9; & 26:13,14. In addition, heathen
also cast lots to determine the will of the gods. See Jonah 1:7.
What does this say about the ideas of chance and
randomness in reality? A person reading
the Bible carefully could easily say there is no such thing as randomness or luck,
as all events are from the hand of God either by His direct will or by His
permission.
Judas is referred to by John as the son of perdition.
John 17:12 While I was with
them in the world, I kept them in thy name: those that thou gavest me I have
kept, and none of them is lost, but the son
of perdition; that the scripture might be fulfilled.
Paul refers to the Antichrist, the Beast of
Revelation, which are John’s terms, as the son
of perdition.
Some commentators imply that Judas will be resurrected in the
form of the Beast.
2Thessalonians 2:3 Let no
man deceive you by any means: for that
day shall not come, except there come a falling away first, and that man
of sin be revealed, the son of perdition;
They will see this reference to his own place and suggest that he will
be the Beast that ascends out of the bottomless pit in Revelation 11:7 and
17:8. We will not know if this is so until the end so there is no point in
spending too much time on such speculation.
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