15 During this time, the family of believers was a company of about one hundred twenty persons. Peter stood among them and said, 16 “Brothers and sisters, the scripture that the Holy Spirit announced beforehand through David had to be fulfilled. This was the scripture concerning Judas, who became a guide for those who arrested Jesus. 17 This happened even though he was one of us and received a share of this ministry.” (18 In fact, he bought a field with the payment he received for his injustice. Falling headfirst, he burst open in the middle and all his intestines spilled out. 19 This became known to everyone living in Jerusalem, so they called that field in their own language Hakeldama, or “Field of Blood.”) 20 “It is written in the Psalms scroll,
Let his home become deserted and let there be no one living in it; and Give his position of leadership to another.
21 “Therefore, we must select one of those who have accompanied us during the whole time the Lord Jesus lived among us, 22 beginning from the baptism of John until the day when Jesus was taken from us. This person must become along with us a witness to his resurrection.” 23 So they nominated two: Joseph called Barsabbas, who was also known as Justus, and Matthias.
24 They prayed, “Lord, you know everyone’s deepest thoughts and desires. Show us clearly which one you have chosen from among these two 25 to take the place of this ministry and apostleship, from which Judas turned away to go to his own place.” 26 When they cast lots, the lot fell on Matthias. He was added to the eleven apostles.
Reflection
Psychologists claim we make as many as 35,000 decisions in a day. But there are those big decisions, life changing decisions, like changing jobs, moving across the country, starting or ending a relationship, deciding to start a family-that take endless hours to decide. The question we want to ask ourselves is, are we guided by God in the big decisions, as well as the small decisions of our lives?
In today’s scripture, the disciples were faced with a big decision: Who will they chose to replace Judas, one of the twelve disciples, who betrayed Jesus? This is the time period between Jesus’ ascension to heaven and before the outpouring of the Spirit at Pentecost. How did the disciples make the big decision to replace an important leadership role?
First, they sought to follow the last instructions that Jesus gave them in Acts 1:8, “you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my witnesses.” So the disciples gathered in community, to make a decision together as “the family of believers” about one hundred and twenty people. They were informed by scripture, Psalm 109:8, “Give his position of leadership to another.” They had requirements for the position-that it be a
leader and one who had been part of Jesus’ circle who could be a witness to the life, death and resurrection of Jesus. They then selected two candidates, Joseph and Matthias. Then they prayed for God to help them select who God would chose for the position. Finally, they cast lots to choose between the two men-a random method that took their individual preferences out of the process for God to act. This is how Matthias was chosen to replace Judas.
The disciples of Jesus wanted to do God’s will and believed that God would guide them and help them to follow Jesus. They gathered together and consulted their community of faith. They sought guidance from scripture. They prayed and they sought God’s will. They lived their lives by following the example of Jesus, and obeyed his command to become world wide
witnesses to the good news of salvation through Jesus Christ. And we have the same purpose as he disciples, to share God’s love with others.
by Jeneene Reduker
For Pondering and Prayer
This is a great example for us to follow on how we can make decisions in our lives today. Our daily decisions are informed by our faith in God and our call to follow Jesus. We can consult people we trust who are grounded in their faith in our church. We can read scripture and pray. We can seek the guidance and listen for wisdom from the Holy Spirit. We can look to see if our decision aligns with the example of Jesus’ life. But we need to remind ourselves that God wants us to bring the decisions of our lives before God. So often we don’t want to bother God, or we are so busy we just forget to include God, but God is always there for us. Best of all, we know that when making decisions, God is always there with us, loving us, guiding us through all of life’s decisions, big and small. What decisions do you need to bring to God today?
Prayer: Holy and loving God, be in all our decisions today, both large and small. Help us to remember to bring our lives before you as we seek your Spirit’s wisdom and guidance, knowing you are always with us, as we follow Jesus. Amen.
