seekeroftruth
Well-Known Member
Acts 1:1 12 Then the apostles returned to Jerusalem from the hill called the Mount of Olives, a Sabbath day’s walk from the city. 13 When they arrived, they went upstairs to the room where they were staying. Those present were Peter, John, James and Andrew; Philip and Thomas, Bartholomew and Matthew; James son of Alphaeus and Simon the Zealot, and Judas son of James. 14 They all joined together constantly in prayer, along with the women and Mary the mother of Jesus, and with his brothers.
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.
Step right up..... sling those dice.... hurry, hurry, hurry.... your favorite is up for the position...."Lord we chose these two for you to choose from".... what frickin' nerve!!!!!
What part of "go to Jerusalem and wait" didn't they understand?
I'm a little harsh I guess.
OK about Judas..... First of all, Matthew [the tax collector turned Apostle] reported in his Gospel that Judas hung himself. Now John [the Apostle Jesus loved] says he fell and his guts came out. It's more likely Judas tried to hang himself but failed and fell to the ground and burst open. I think it's more likely he tried to hang himself, fell to the ground and animals pulled his guts out. But then the commentary doesn't mention the animals.... that's just my imagination at work.
Now on to Peter taking the leadership role. The one Jesus loved, stepped back and never tried to take the place of Jesus. Peter stepped up... while they were waiting.... and decided they needed another Apostle. Peter was used to telling people what to do. He had his own fishing business. The commentary says he often spoke for the group so why should he stop now? Makes sense.
They prayed about it.... now they haven't got the Spirit yet... they're supposed to be "waiting" for it.... but they decided they needed someone to take the place of Judas. At least they prayed about it before they pulled out the dice.
Anyway, the deal was done... they chose Mathias.... they figured since they prayed about it... it was ok... now the twelve would wait... as instructed.
I did the "bing thing" but there isn't a lot of information about Mathias... The commentaries all seem to agree on a couple things. Mathias was there from the days Jesus was Baptized by John the Baptist. He was never mentioned again. There was speculation about his ministry but nothing is said in the Bible.
I noticed... They didn't draw lots to see who would take the lead. Caiaphas still has them on his radar. They are the Resistance and whenever the head of the Resistance is taken out... the next one up becomes the next target for disposal.
I'm surprised Peter didn't consider that. He put the cross hairs on himself. But I guess, if they had an election... it would have been questioned too.
Sling them dice boys... you prayed... now sling them dice!
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