ACTS: What are the odds?

 

So many times, in my life, being a trained Mathematician, I have asked that question. The what ifs of life are numerous for me. What are the chances that I show up at someone's house for a pastoral call and I find that the family's mother has just died? How often have I been at the right place at the right time when someone needed my assistance? Is this life all by chance or by divine design? At what point do we just stop and trust that God has things under control?
 
God’s Leading
  
Acts 1:15 There were about 120 people gathered with them and waiting in prayer. Peter stood up one day and said, 16 "The Scriptures needed to be fulfilled when the Holy Spirit told us through David about Judas, that one of Jesus' followers would lead the people to Jesus on that final night. David said, 'he was numbered with us and had a share in our ministry.'" 18 (Theophilus, you might know that Judas took the money he received from betraying Jesus and bought a field and on that field, he died from a very wicked fall. 19 Everyone in Jerusalem learned this about these happenings and so the field became known as the Field of Blood, or in Hebrew, Hakeldama.) 20 "The book of Psalms says, 'Let his property become empty so that no one dwells there,' and also, 'Let another person take his office.' 
 
Peter seems to be led by the Holy Spirit at this point to make a statement before the gathering of about 120 people. Or he could have been prompted by his impatient nature. He stands in the midst of this large gathering and speaks of the Scriptures and the fulfillment of certain passages of the Old Testament. Maybe you have had a moment in time like this when you are reminded of a passage of Scripture and see how the Scripture and the circumstances of your present life seem to come together. Are we surprised by the coincidence or thankful for the leading of God's Spirit? Peter saw the connection between the passages in the Psalms and the loss of Judas. “he was numbered with us and had a share in our ministry.” Now it is time to have another take his place. 
 
Luke gives some added details of Judas’ life after he betrayed Jesus. He took the reward for his deed, bought a field in Jerusalem, stumbled, and died. And for many years afterwards that field was called "the Field of Blood." Either because of Judas' blood or because the purchase was made with "blood money." Matthew’s gospel tells us the field was used from that day forward as a burial ground for foreigners who died in Jerusalem with no place to be buried. 
 
But the Holy Spirit was leading Peter to move on, find a replacement for the now missing twelfth disciple, and continue with their current mission of waiting for all that Jesus had promised. 
 
Matthias, a replacement for Judas
 
Peter continues talking 21 "So, I think it is necessary for us to choose another disciple to take Judas' place among us. 22 It should be one who has been with us from the beginning, who witnessed the baptism of Jesus by John and also was present at His resurrection." 23 They picked two people who fit this description, Joseph, call Barsabbas or Justus, and Matthias. 24 Then the group prayed and asked, "Jesus, you know the hearts of all men so show us which of these two You choose 25 to take the place of Judas in this ministry and apostleship." 26 And then they drew lots, Matthias was chosen, and he was added to the eleven apostles. 
 
They chose two people from their group; both had been with them the whole time from Jesus’ baptism until this moment. Sometimes when the story of the gospels is told, it appears to us as if Jesus and His twelve disciples are by themselves while walking about the roads of Israel. The concept that two others would have been with them from the time of Jesus' baptism seems to imply there were people following Jesus who were not part of His chosen twelve but were definitely part of the group. They were known by Jesus and the disciples. They walked with them, stayed with them, and ate with them. How many were there? In the upper room, after Jesus’ ascension there were 120. How many of them followed Jesus from the beginning is not clear? Barsabbas and Matthias were chosen from this group of people who had been around a long time, and these were the two from which one would replace Judas amongst the 12 disciples.
 
Peter prayed before they made the decision. The belief is that God knows the hearts of people and looks at the heart when He looks at people. When Peter asks God to show the right person, he is asking God to pick the person most suited for whatever it is that God wants to do with this small band of people who are waiting for the power Jesus said was to come. Peter had not given up hope in the midst of his grieving. He knew there was a need to move on. He felt the leading of the Holy Spirit and decided these two men were the ones to choose from. 
 
They chose the successor by "casting lots." The casting of lots is similar to our drawing straws or flipping a coin. Have you ever been in a situation where you needed to decide who would go on behalf of the group, so someone took pieces of grass or toothpicks and broke one of them and placed them all in their hand with a portion showing? Then the people involved picked a piece from the hand, the one choosing the broken piece was the one chosen for the task. Often this method is used by kids everyone wants to go first or when someone has to do something that none of them want to do, but this method allows the choice to be made by “chance.” 
 
Is it really by chance? Would life be a better place if everyone believed that the flip of the coin, or the drawing of the straws, or the casting of lots was still in the hands of God. Rather than making decisions by human wisdom, or logical elimination, we could step forward with a confidence that every time a decision needed to be made, God would be present in the drawing of straws to help us make our decision. Pray and draw straws. It would save a lot of time. There would be fewer people to blame. 
 
We had a lot of fun in our family when our four children were little. We would play games of chase around our house filled with many hallways. The chaser always had a pair of metal tongs in their hand and would snap them together making a wonderful sound to run away from. The children never wanted the game to end and when one of the parents would say it was time to quick, they received much chastisement from the rest of the group. One day we had a wonderful idea that worked well for us for years to come. At an appropriate time in the game, one of the parents would set a timer on the kitchen stove for the amount of time the game was to continue. We would announce the amount of time left and continue playing. When the timer went off, we all collapsed and rested at the end of the game. It was no one’s fault for ending the game; the timer had gone off signally the end.
 
How nice it would be to have a “timer” to blame in the game of life. And the drawing of straws could become our timer. It would not be someone’s fault it would be God’s design. Do you believe that God is the master of life, even down to the roll of the dice or the chance of the straws? Is anything really left to chance in our Father’s world?
 
Is it just chance that Matthias was the new twelfth disciple? Think about the sequence; Peter had to have the idea; had to remember the Scripture; the 120 had to choose which people had been with them from the beginning; they remembered to pray, and then the lot had to be cast for Matthias. A number of coincidences happened to get to the point that he was chosen. Were these just random chance or the direction of the Holy Spirit? The people in the room all believed that he was the choice of God and God had directed their steps to choose him. 
 
Choose to turn from anxiety and turn to prayer when life overwhelms you. It is a mental choice. Not always an easy one, but it is our choice to pray or not. As we turn our thoughts and words to prayer, we can trust that God will take our prayers and provide for us the best possible answer, in His time. Rest in Him. 
 
As Chapter 2 of the Books of the Acts begins, there are now 12 Apostles again, and 120 people waiting and praying in the upper room. Waiting for the promise of the power from on high to come upon them. What will they receive? They have no idea what to expect. We have the benefit of history and can now look back on their story. We know what the Bible says happened to them that day of Pentecost. They received the very presence of the Holy Spirit. He came upon them in power and changed their lives forever. These 120 people form the foundation of all Christianity as they receive this power and move out into the world to bear witness of Jesus, the Christ, the Savior of the world.
 
I bless you in the name of Jesus, with patience to wait for God's timing, and with power from the Holy Spirit to go out and witness to the love of Jesus our Lord.

Pastor Edd