“Thank You, Lord Jesus, that as we depend on You, You guide us and You direct our ways. There is nothing that You hold back from us. You long that we remain dependent on You, for our good. In Jesus’ name, we pray. Amen.”
Acts 1:23-26 And they proposed two: Joseph called Barsabas, who was surnamed Justus, and Matthias. (24) And they prayed and said, “You, O Lord, who know the hearts of all, show which of these two You have chosen (25) to take part in this ministry and apostleship from which Judas by transgression fell, that he might go to his own place.” (26) And they cast their lots, and the lot fell on Matthias. And he was numbered with the eleven apostles”. Judas had a ministry and apostleship to which he was assigned, but he fell by transgression. Though there are prophecies related to Judas, we must keep in mind that the Lord had a ministry for him, but he fell because of transgression. This was the tragic end of Judas. Now, the disciples were choosing a disciple, who would be numbered with the eleven. The disciples proposed two names, as those meeting the criteria that Peter had placed before them. They did not propose the names of any of the brothers of Jesus. (A friend alerted me of this matter).
There is a big lesson here that needs to be learnt by leaders. A very common narrative that we see taking place, when leaders consider their replacement, is that one of their family members is chosen, inevitably. There seems to be no process in place for selecting a leader. The disciples sought the Lord’s guidance in choosing the person to replace Judas. The process model followed here in Acts 1 is a wonderful prototype to adopt in the selection of leaders.
The Lord sought the guidance of the Father in choosing the twelve apostles. Luke 6:12-13 “Now it came to pass in those days that He went out to the mountain to pray, and continued all night in prayer to God. (13) And when it was day, He called His disciples to Himself; and from them He chose twelve whom He also named apostles”. The Lord directs our lives when we seek Him to guide us in making our choices in life. In this entire process of choosing a replacement for Judas, we see the wonderful way they sought the Lord. They were being led by the Lord in making this decision. Proverbs 3:5-6 Trust in the Lord with all your heart, And lean not on your own understanding; (6) In all your ways acknowledge Him, And He shall direct your paths”. We can be God-dependent and seek Him for He will direct our ways. We need not be worried and harassed, but we can commit all our matters to God, both big and small, and we can experience His guidance in our lives.
Psalms 25:14 “The secret of the Lord is with those who fear Him, And He will show them His covenant”. When we walk in the fear of the Lord and we keep our eyes on Him, He will show His covenant. This is what will keep us strong and stable, amid all the storms of life. Amos 3:7 “Surely the Lord God does nothing, Unless He reveals His secret to His servants the prophets”. The Lord reveals His secrets to His servants, the prophets, who are always God-dependent. The Lord longs to reveal His plans and His ways to us, which is for our own good. Sadly, when we are stubborn and we think we know what is necessary for us, we blunder, and our whole life will end tragically.
The two disciples, whom the others proposed were, Joseph called Barsabas, who was surnamed, Justus, and Matthias. What do we know of these two disciples? We do not know much. There is a mention of a Barsabas, later, but we cannot be sure if this was the same Barsabas. Acts 15:22 Then it pleased the apostles and elders, with the whole church, to send chosen men of their own company to Antioch with Paul and Barnabas, namely, Judas who was also named Barsabas, and Silas, leading men among the brethren. There was a Barsabas, whose other name was Judas, who was sent along with Silas, to accompany Paul and Barnabas, in delivering the letter from the church at Jerusalem to the other churches. If we were to consider the Barsabas in Acts 15 and the Barsabas in Acts 1, as the same person, we can learn that he was one who risked his life for the name of Jesus.
Acts 15:25-27 it seemed good to us, being assembled with one accord, to send chosen men to you with our beloved Barnabas and Paul, (26) men who have risked their lives for the name of our Lord Jesus Christ. (27) We have therefore sent Judas and Silas, who will also report the same things by word of mouth”. We have no further information about Matthias in Bible, as is the case with most of the other disciples. It is not fair to cast any doubt on the choice of Matthias as a replacement for Judas. The process of choosing a replacement for Judas was done correctly. They had sought the Lord to guide them in the matter and the Lord had guided them. Therefore, it is important for us to accept that Matthias was the choice of the Lord to replace Judas.
“Trust the Lord and walk in His ways.”