Numbered, Nurtured, & Needed: Being Witnesses of the Resurrection

Previously we talked about a number of challenging questions, asked of the disciples by the Lord Jesus and by angels, between the resurrection and the ascension of Christ. This post picks up where we left off. The last question, asked as the followers of Jesus stood looking into the sky after he disappeared into the clouds, was a “wake up and start doing what he told you” kind of question. How did they respond? They stopped staring and started believing and obeying.

1) Numbered…

“All these with one accord” but someone was missing (Acts 1:12-26)

¹²              Then they returned to Jerusalem…

 ¹³ And when they had entered,

                     they went up to the upper room,

          where they were staying,

                           Peter and John and James and Andrew,

                           Philip and Thomas,

                           Bartholomew and Matthew,

                          James the son of Alphaeus and Simon the Zealot

                              and Judas the son of James. 

¹⁴ All these with one accord were devoting themselves to prayer,

                                     together with the women

                                     and Mary the mother of Jesus,

                                     and his brothers.

If you happened to be counting, this is a list of the eleven Apostles after Judas had died. Jesus had kept them all safe, even at the moment of his arrest (John 18:1-10). Remember how in John 17:11-12 Jesus prayed to the Father,

   And I am no longer in the world,

              but they are in the world,

   and I am coming to you. Holy Father, 

            keep them in your name, which you have given me, 

                               that they may be one, even as we are one.

While I was with them,

          I kept them in your name, which you have given me.

          I have guarded them, and not one of them has been lost              

                                                       except the son of destruction, 

                                                                   that the Scripture might be fulfilled.

However, as the remaining apostles and other disciples and followers waited in Jerusalem and prayed for the Holy Spirit, Peter realized that there needed to be twelve apostles for the symbolism of the people of God, the New Israel, to be complete in the church.

In Acts 1:15-26 Peter makes his case,

¹⁵ In those days Peter stood up among the brothers

(the company of persons was in all about 120) and said, ¹⁶ “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. 

¹⁷ For he was numbered among us and

               was allotted his share in this ministry.” 

[Note: v. 18-19 contain a rather forensic parenthetical description of the demise of Judas’ body after his death. If you don’t believe me look it up.]

¹⁹ And it became known to all the inhabitants of Jerusalem,

so that the field was called in their own language

                                         Akeldama, that is, Field of Blood.) 

²⁰ “For it is written in the Book of Psalms,

“‘May his camp become desolate,
    and let there be no one to dwell in it’;

and  “‘Let another take his office.’

Let me take a moment to mention that skeptics often point to this apparent discrepancy regarding the death of Judas in their attacks on the accuracy of the Bible. Yet I am confident that the biblical account is not conflicted. So, let’s ask the question. Did Judas “hang himself” as Matthew wrote (Matt 27:5, which reflects the language in Jeremiah 19:1-13), or did he “fall headlong…” as Dr. Luke graphically recorded? The answer is, “Yes!” Matthew focused on the suicide aspect depicting the awful end of the betrayer for a Jewish audience, and Luke emphasized the post-mortem decay of Judas’ body to make a point for his Greek audience. As Expositor’s Bible Commentary explains,

“After all, suicide of itself was heinous for Jews. But this would hardly suffice for Luke, Theophilus, and others in the Gentile world who would read Luke's account. Gentiles under Stoic influence generally looked on suicide as morally neutral. But Luke wanted to stress the awfulness of Judas's situation in a way that would grip his readers.”

Why was the number of apostles such a big deal to Peter?

While people around here wear the number twelve as a show of support for the Seattle Seahawks football team, that was not Peter's concern. Certainly, the number twelve would have carried a significant symbolic load in Israel—referring generally to divine government. Some see it as indicative of God's authority, perfection, and completeness. In addition, the coming of the Holy Spirit (for whom they were waiting) was seen to be tied with the inauguration of the Kingdom Age and Jesus had taught that "in the new world, when the Son of Man will sit on his glorious throne, you who have followed me will also sit on twelve thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel." (Matt 19:28; Luke 22:28-30). Peter

was closely considering what Jesus had said. Twelve followers who had been with Jesus through his trials would one day judge the twelve tribes. The problem was that they were now one apostle short. To match the twelve tribes of Israel, there needed to be twelve witnesses of the resurrection. As we can see, Revelation 21:12-14 shows the pervasive use of the number twelve in the symbolism of the New Jerusalem…

It [the New Jerusalem] had a great, high wall, with twelve gates,

and  at the gates twelve angels,

and on the gates the names of the twelve tribes of the sons of Israel were  

      inscribed—on the east three gates, on the north three gates,

                on the south three gates, and on the west three gates.

And the wall of the city had twelve foundations,

and on them were the twelve names of the twelve apostles of the Lamb. 

Jesus had chosen all the original apostles, so who could be considered to come out of the bullpen to replace Judas in time for Pentecost? Peter gives two criteria in v. 21-23.

        So one of the men who have accompanied us

                                                    during all the time that

   the Lord Jesus went in and out among us, 

                  beginning from the baptism of John

                                     until the day when he was taken up from us—

        one of these men must become with us a witness to his resurrection.” 

    And they put forward two,    

                             Joseph called Barsabbas, who was also called Justus,

                      and Matthias. 

It seems that there were only two men who met the requirements. First, the man needed to have been a witness to the full ministry of Jesus (v. 21-22); and secondly an eyewitness to the resurrection of Jesus (v. 22). These qualifications are necessary, because, as Peterson writes, “They could guarantee ‘that it was the same Jesus who had led his disciples during his ministry that now led the Church as her exalted Lord.’” (David G. Peterson, The Acts of the Apostles PNTC, 127.)

The two men who were put forward included Joseph Barsabbas Justice (listing his Hebrew name, Aramaic nickname, and Roman name) and Matthias (which as I like to say was short enough to fit on a Martyrs' Bubble Gum Card). From the outside, they were equally qualified. So who would be chosen? The apostles left the decision to the Lord…via the use of prayer and the casting of lots which was a culturally appropriate way to decide (Proverbs 16:33).

²⁴ And they prayed and said,

                              “You, Lord, who know the hearts of all,

                                show which one of these two you have chosen ²⁵ 

                                         to take the place in this ministry and apostleship

                                                 from which Judas turned aside

                                                                                 to go to his own place.” 

²⁶ And they cast lots for them,

              and the lot fell on Matthias,

                                   and he was numbered with the eleven apostles.

What does their brief prayer reveal?

Take a moment to consider their prayer and ask, “What does this say about Jesus?” and, “What does this imply about being an apostolic witness?” The text answers the first by revealing what they believed about Jesus and hints at the need for such “heart knowledge” in selecting an apostle. Remember that King Saul had been tall and good-looking on the outside but proved to be rash and disobedient inside (1 Sam. 9:2), but God chose King David based on what man could not see (1 Sam. 16:7). Hence, only Jesus was qualified to choose this apostle.

There were many different contexts in which “casting lots” was used to impartially determine the Lord’s choice in the Old Testament (e.g., Lev. 16:7-10, 21-22; Joshua 14:2; 18:6; 1 Chronicles 6:54, 61; 1 Sam 14:41-42; Neh. 10:34). However, this is the last recorded example. Soon afterward the Holy Spirit would inaugurate a new age and empower the church to more clearly know the will of God. Expositor’s Bible Commentary concludes, “So by the appointment of Christ himself, the full complement of apostles was restored and the church was ready for the coming of the Holy Spirit and the beginning of its mission.”

It is worth noting, that Matthias, according to all traditions, served faithfully as a resurrection witness, even unto death whether in Jerusalem (stoned and beheaded) or the Caucasus region of modern-day Georgia (beaten and crucified).

What about us? What can we learn from this story? While we are not apostles in the sense that Matthias and the others were, we too are called to be witnesses! As Christian witnesses, we should seek to have (1) a solid understanding of the content of the Gospels, and confidence in their historicity (that they are accurate and true), (2) a belief in the resurrection of Christ Jesus, and (3) a heart surrendered to the love of Christ.

Caution: The use of the lot in Acts 1 is descriptive (tells us what did happen) not prescriptive (what should happen) for our decision-making today, however, we can learn several things from this narrative that we can readily apply to our lives. Here are a few…

• They sought and nominated those who were qualified to serve (Based on relationship to Jesus, not on resources, status, or giftedness).
• They prayed in faith asking for God’s answer (They didn’t settle for a vote).
• They knew that Jesus knew what they didn’t…the inner heart life of everyone. They didn’t depend on their own wisdom and discernment but inquired of the Lord.
• They trusted his answer and didn’t call for another toss; too often we would call for two out of three! I remember hearing Elisabeth Elliot say that, “Struggling is simply delayed obedience.” In this narrative, there was neither doubt nor delay.  

Each person matters in the kingdom. If even the hairs on our heads are numbered, is it any wonder that each believer serves a unique and necessary purpose in helping the whole body to grow?

2) Nurtured…

Working and Growing Together as One (Ephesians 4:1-7, 11-16)

As you read through the following passage, look for the repeated use of the word “one” (9 times) for the goal of the diversity of gifts listed—oneness that builds itself up in love.

I therefore, a prisoner for the Lord, urge you to walk in a manner worthy of the calling to which you have been called, ² with all humility and gentleness, with patience, bearing with one another in love, ³ eager to maintain the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace. ⁴ There is one body and one Spirit—just as you were called to the one hope that belongs to your call— ⁵ one Lord, one faith, one baptism, ⁶ one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all. ⁷ But grace was given to each one of us according to the measure of Christ's gift...

¹¹ And he gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the shepherds and teachers, ¹² to equip the saints for the work of ministry, for building up the body of Christ, ¹³ until we all attain to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to mature manhood, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ, ¹⁴ so that we may no longer be children, tossed to and fro by the waves and carried about by every wind of doctrine, by human cunning, by craftiness in deceitful schemes. ¹⁵ Rather, speaking the truth in love, we are to grow up in every way into him who is the head, into Christ, ¹⁶ from whom the whole body, joined and held together by every joint with which it is equipped, when each part is working properly, makes the body grow so that it builds itself up in love.

• Are we one? I am not aware of serious divisions within our congregation, but I would not yet say that we are one. Our culture is too caught up in individualism for us to easily and fully pursue the oneness of community.
• Is everyone doing their part? We all have gifts, talents, and areas of experience which we can humbly use for kingdom purposes.
• Are we doing what we are doing for the right reason? What is the right reason? It is not to earn favor for us, the parts are not to call attention to ourselves, or build our own little kingdoms, but our goal should be the building up in the love of the (one) body. We are invited to participate in what the Lord is doing in our midst so that we might build each other up in love.

The purpose of our gathering is neither knowledge, honor, self-improvement nor fulfilling a duty. Rather it is true Trinitarian worship—it is, “the gift of participating through the Spirit in the incarnate Son's communion with the Father. It means participating in union with Christ, and what he has done for us once and for all, in his self-offering to the Father, in his life and death on the cross. It also means participating in what he is continuing to do for us in the presence of the Father and in his mission from the Father to the world.” (James B. Torrance, Worship, Community the Triune God of Grace, 21-22).

3) Needed…

We Need Each Other (Excerpts from 1 Corinthians 12:12-26)

¹⁴ For the body does not consist

                      of one member but of many. 

¹⁵ If the foot should say,

“Because I am not a hand, I do not belong to the body,”

        that would not make it any less a part of the body… 

¹⁹ If all were a single member,

                  where would                                     the body be? 

²⁰ As it is, there are many parts,                    yet one body.

²¹ The eye cannot say to the hand, “I have no need of you,”

       nor again the head to the feet, “I have no need of you.”…

  But God has so composed the body,

                                                        giving greater honor

                                       to the part that lacked it, 

²⁵ that there may be no division in the body,

     but that the members may have the same care for one another. 

²⁶                  If one member suffers,    all suffer  together;

               if one member is honored, all rejoice together.

So many things that are taught in this passage—let me just briefly touch on four healthy themes for our church:

• Understanding & Unity—Different roles and purposes are needed within the one body for it to be healthy and functional (v.12, 17-20). We need to become more understanding as we unite with those who are different from ourselves.
• Acceptance & Belonging—Because we are not a [insert role here] doesn’t make us any less a part of the body (v.15-16). We should not long to be a different part or fill a different role than where the Lord has placed us. We belong where he has placed us…will we accept it as he has accepted us?
• Relationality & Humility—Despite our cultural inclinations, none of us can say we have no need for another member of the body/church (v. 21-24a). We don’t get to play the rugged individualist in the church. We can’t say we don’t need each other.
• Care & Compassion—If one [insert experience here], all [experience/feel the same] together. (v.26). Thank you for letting me watch as you pray and care for each other in the Lord!