Acts 1:12-28 "Let Another Take His Office" April 1, 2007 This morning we are talking about vengeance. Tonight we will be talking about love. This morning's sermon is really a prelude to this evening's sermon, as we'll be talking tonight about Hosea's love for his apostate wife. Because if you don't understand the love of God for his adulterous people, you will never rightly understand biblical vengeance. Introduction But this morning, our story is all about Jerusalem, David, and the Twelve. Why must Jesus have twelve apostles? When Judas kills himself, Peter seems to think that a twelfth apostle is needed, and that they can't even wait until the Holy Spirit is poured out to find him. What is the point of having twelve apostles? Our passage today starts with Jerusalem, reminds us of David, and of what David said about Judas, and then emphasizes the importance of having twelve apostles. Jerusalem, David, and the Twelve. Watch what happens as we look at Jerusalem, David, and the twelve because Luke is preparing us for the restoration of the kingdom. The house of David had been reduced to two tribes the northern ten went with Jeroboam-- and indeed, during the exile, the house of David lost even those two! The disciples had asked if Jesus was restoring the kingdom to Israel. And Jesus had answered that the Holy Spirit was going to empower them, so that they would be his witnesses in Jerusalem, Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth. 1. They Returned to Jerusalem (1:12-14) It all starts in Jerusalem. After Jesus has ascended to heaven the apostles returned to Jerusalem. In Matthew's gospel, Jesus instructs his disciples to go to Galilee, where he teaches them (Matthew 28:16-20). The end of Mark's gospel is uncertain, (the oldest manuscripts do not include the ascension), but Mark does not say where the ascension took place. Luke repeatedly states that the disciples stayed in Jerusalem, and seems to be saying that the ascension took place on the mount called Olivet. It would appear that Jesus met with some of the disciples in Galilee, (after all, Luke does not say where Jesus' 40 days of teaching took place) but then returned to Jerusalem and ascended from the Mount of Olives. But Luke only mentions those events that happened in and around Jerusalem. As we went through Luke's gospel, we saw that Jerusalem played an important role in Luke's story. Luke begins his gospel in the temple, with the people praying for the coming of the kingdom, and the angel appearing to Zechariah. Likewise, Jesus comes to the temple in Jerusalem twice in his childhood. Luke rearranges the order of the temptations, in order to conclude with the temptation at the pinnacle of the temple. Luke's central narrative is the Road to Jerusalem in chapters 9-19. And Luke concludes his gospel with the disciples worshiping in the temple in Jerusalem. For Luke, Jerusalem is the center of the story of Jesus. Why is that? Because Jerusalem is the center of the story of Israel. As we go through the book of Acts, we are going to see that Jerusalem remains the center of Luke's story. Jerusalem is the place where the Holy Spirit first fell upon the people of God. It is the apostles and elders in Jerusalem who decide the major controversies in the book of Acts. Even Paul will find himself drawn back to Jerusalem time after time after his conversion in 9:26-30, for the Jerusalem council in chapter 15, seeking to make it to Jerusalem for the feast of Pentecost in 20:16. Chapters 21-23 are all about Paul's trials in Jerusalem, and chapters 24-26 are all about Paul defending his actions from chapters 21-23! What makes this emphasis on Jerusalem so interesting is that Luke is a Gentile! Why would a Gentile care so much about Jerusalem? Jerusalem was the center of God's promises to Israel. This was the city where God had established David's throne. This was the city where God had placed his name in the temple of Solomon. Long before, it was the place where Abraham had nearly offered Isaac as a sacrifice. Jerusalem was the holy city. All of God's promises centered around Jerusalem. And so even a Gentile should care about Jerusalem because Jerusalem is the place where salvation came to the nations. The same Paul who will say that the heavenly Jerusalem is our mother, will nonetheless seek to get to the earthly Jerusalem in time for Pentecost. The exaltation of the heavenly Jerusalem does not render the earthly Jerusalem meaningless because it was here, in the earthly Jerusalem, that the savior of the world died, and was raised from the dead, and ascended into heaven. The history of salvation is centered here. Here in Acts 1:12-14 we hear that the apostles obeyed the voice of the Lord and stayed in Jerusalem, awaiting the promised Holy Spirit. All these with one accord were devoting themselves to prayer... The unity of the church is clearly expressed in this book. Luke uses this phrase, "with one accord," ten times in Acts to express oneness of mind and purpose (Paul uses it once -- total of 11 uses). Here the unity of the people of God is expressed in prayer. After the Spirit is poured out we will hear about the church devoting itself to the apostles' teaching and fellowship, and to the breaking of bread and to the prayers. Here they are simply "devoting themselves to prayer." In other words, we do not yet have full-fledged Christian worship. But they are gathering together to pray, together with the women and Mary the mother of Jesus, and his brothers. We discover in the next verse that the whole company of the disciples was about 120, but of all those 120, Luke singles out Mary and Jesus' brothers for special mention. In the gospels Jesus' brothers seem to have mocked him, but the resurrection seems to have made an impression on them! And now they are found praying with the apostles and with Mary. This will be the last reference to Mary in the NT (at least by name). Mary is last seen in the company of the disciples, praying in the name of her exalted son. 2. The Twelfth Apostle (1:15-26) A. The Death of Judas and the Vengeance of the Lord (1:15-20) It is in that context that Peter stands up among the brothers and said, 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. For he was numbered among us and was allotted his share in this ministry. Peter says that the Holy Spirit spoke concerning Judas by the mouth of David. We read Psalm 109, and we sang Psalm 69 the two passages that Peter quotes. In Psalm 69 David speaks of how he is overwhelmed by deep waters. This is the Psalm that says "zeal for your house has consumed me." David says that he is zealous for the house of the LORD, but that even when he humbled himself, I am the talk of those who sit in the gate, and the drunkards make songs about me. (69:12) David says that the floods are sweeping over him, that he is about to drown in the depths of the grave. It is this Psalm that Matthew quotes, saying, for my thirst they gave me sour wine to drink. When we went through the book of Samuel, we saw that David was betrayed by Absalom, one of his sons, and Ahithophel, one of his closest advisors. And David prayed that God would pour out his indignation on those who had betrayed him. And while no doubt David was thinking of Ahithophel and Absalom's allies, when he said, May their camp be a desolation; let no one dwell in their tents, Peter says that the Holy Spirit was talking about Judas Likewise, in Psalm 109 David speaks of those who "encircle me with words of hate, and attack me without cause." And he says, "May his days be few; may another take his office! May his children be fatherless and his wife a widow!" (Psalm 109:8-9) Peter says that all this was about Judas. Because Jesus was the Son of David. Jesus is the Davidic king. And a son is like his father and even as David was betrayed and cast out of Jerusalem, so also Jesus is betrayed and cast out of Jerusalem. But while Jesus took upon himself the exile of David (and the exile of Israel), it was Judas whose betrayal sent him there. David had prayed that the wickedness of the wicked would come back upon their own heads and Peter says that this is what happened to Judas. May his camp become desolate, and let there be no one to dwell in it. And Let another take his office. And even as Ahithophel was replaced as one of David's chief advisors, so now Judas will be replaced as one of the twelve. But before we move on, we need to deal with these horrible curses! David called for vengeance on his enemies. How do we understand this today? First of all, when David prays for vengeance on his enemies, please understand what he is doing: He is the Messiah the anointed king. His kingdom is the kingdom of God. Those who are attacking him are attacking God's kingdom. They are trying to overthrow the Messiah. So it is not just a personal vendetta David is seeking first the kingdom of God! That is why Peter says that this is about Judas. Because Judas betrayed the son of David. Judas is attacking the kingdom of God trying to overthrow God's rule. That is why, if you are having a little spat with your neighbor about lawncare, it is highly inappropriate to pray Psalm 109 against him! If your boss is an annoying jerk, that is no reason to ask God to make his wife a widow! Because you are not the Messiah! You are not to be devoted to your kingdom, but to the kingdom of God. But Psalms 69 and 109, and other Psalms of vengeance, are about the Kingdom of Jesus. And it is appropriate to pray these Psalms against those who oppose the kingdom of our Lord Jesus Christ We will see the apostles doing this in the book of Acts: when Elymas the Jewish magician opposes the preaching of Barnabas and Paul, Paul says, You son of the devil, you enemy of all righteousness, full of all deceit and villainy, will you not stop making crooked the straight paths of the LORD? And now, behold, the hand of the Lord is upon you, and you will be blind and unable to see the sun for a time! (Acts 13:10-11) Likewise, when the high priest commanded the soldiers to strike Paul, Paul replied, God is going to strike you, you whitewashed wall! When Paul is told that he has reviled God's high priest, his reply should be taken as sarcastic: I did not know that he was the high priest. When the chief priest betrays the very God that he professes to serve, Paul calls down the vengeance of God against him. Also in 2 Timothy 4:14, Paul says that Alexander the coppersmith did great harm and hindered the preaching of the gospel. And Paul concludes: The Lord will repay him according to his deeds. The key is to understand that it is not a personal thing. We pray "Thy kingdom come!" We need to remember, "vengeance is mine, I will repay" (Dt 32:35; Rom 12:19; Heb 10:30). We must not take vengeance rather, we pray that God would overthrow his enemies. After the whole point of God saying "vengeance is mine" is that God will in fact avenge his servants and vindicate his people! The Lord will repay the wicked. B. The Lot of Matthias and "This Ministry" (1:21-26) There is another reason why I wanted you to understand the relationship between David's curse on the traitors of his day and Peter's saying that this curse is about Judas. Remember that this passage is about Jerusalem, David, and the Twelve. We've seen plenty about Jerusalem and David. But what's the big deal about the twelve? Verse 21: So one of the men who have accompanied us during all the time that the Lord Jesus went in and out among us. This is an interesting choice of phrases: "went in and out among us." Literally, "who came in and went out" This is the same language used throughout the Old Testament to refer to the king coming in and going out before his army. Joshua had gone out and come in, leading Israel into battle. David had gone out and come in, leading Israel into battle. Solomon had prayed for wisdom because he didn't know how to go out and come in. (2 Kings 3) And so, Peter says, we need someone who has been with us as King Jesus led us someone who was with us from the baptism of John, until the ascension someone who can "become with us a witness to his resurrection." The twelve are unique. As becomes clear, there were others who fit the bill others who had been with Jesus the whole time. But the twelve have a special function. They and no others have the unique ministry of being witnesses to the resurrection. Notice how Peter puts it, one of these men must become with us a witness to his resurrection. These seems absurd. Both of these men are already witnesses to the resurrection! They have already seen the resurrected Jesus. According to this, they were there from the baptism of Jesus to his ascension. How is it that they can become witnesses? But that's not what it says! The one that is chosen, Matthias, does not become a witness by himself. Rather, he becomes "with us" a witness. It is the unique witness of "the twelve." Jesus has come to restore Israel from exile. And even as God had established the twelve tribes of Israel as a people, and so now he establishes the 12 apostles as a witness. They are not twelve witnesses. Rather, the twelve are a witness. The method is interesting: they choose two possibilities, and then cast lots between them, asking God to "show which one of these two you have chosen to take the place in this ministry and apostleship from which Judas turned aside to go to his own place." Some have argued that this is a good method for selecting elders: if you have two qualified men, cast lots and see which one God has chosen! Others modify it slightly and say that you should always have twice as many candidates as positions, so that the people have a choice but there is no "vote" here in Acts 1! Still others have pointed out that this is the last use of the lot in the Bible. They argue that once the Spirit is poured out, there is no need for casting lots, because the Spirit leads the church. But both of these arguments seem to me to miss the point. The eleven needed a twelfth. They had two men who fit the bill. Today, if we have two men who would both be good elders, then we should add two more elders! But you can't have 13 apostles! There must be 12. Yes, there are others who are called "apostles" in the NT. But that is because the word "apostle" means "one who is sent," and it refers to emissaries of all sorts. But "the twelve" have a unique status and role. It is not simply that these twelve all witnessed the resurrection, it is that they as the twelve are a witness to the resurrection. Likewise, if you are ever faced with a decision where you can only pick one of two options, and both options are equally good and you have carefully examined the pros and cons of each way, and you simply cannot make up your mind which way to go then there is nothing wrong with just flipping a coin! Conclusion The twelve apostles are a witness to resurrection. Together with one voice they testify to us of the resurrection of Jesus. Jesus is the son of David, the king, who sits at God's right hand. And the gospel has gone forth from Jerusalem to the ends of the earth, so that through that single witness of the twelve, the nations might hear and be converted. Jesus was raised from the dead. He now sits in glory at the right hand of the Father. And he is coming again to judge the living and the dead. Our song of response is Psalm 94, "God of Vengeance, O Jehovah, God of vengeance, now shine forth." Psalm 94 is a reflection on God's promise: "vengeance is mine, I will repay." Psalm 94 is saying, God, you promised that you would deliver your people; when are you going to do it? I know that sometimes we can feel uncomfortable singing songs like this. But this is simply fleshing out the Lord's Prayer, "thy kingdom come." Because if the king comes, then he will render judgment against his enemies. So before we sing this, I want you to think about our brothers and sisters around the world who are dying for their faith. I want you to think of those who rape and terrorize our sisters in Darfour, Sudan. Yes, when you are put to death, you are to pray for those who persecute you! You are to pray that God would have mercy on your tormentors and save them! But you are also to pray that one way or another, God would vindicate the oppressed! That he would break the arm of the wicked and stop this madness! Because those who will not repent will be destroyed!