Sermon Tone Analysis

Introduction

Our text this morning is an interesting one.

How many of you read through the second half of the first chapter of Acts in preparation for the message this morning?

Well let’s read through it real quick as we get started.

Now at first glance this seems like a passage that we can just gloss over really fast and move on.

After all, the beginning of chapter 1 was talking about Jesus’s ascension into heaven and the mission that he gave to the apostles and by extension to us.

If you read on into chapter 2 you’ll see that it begins by talking about the coming of the Holy Spirit and then goes on into the salvation of about 3000 people on the day of Pentecost.

When compared to those two passages the choosing of a new apostle seems rather anticlimactic don’t you think?

But we have to remember, nothing was written in the Bible by accident.

Every word that was included was included for a purpose.

It was all written down under the influence and inspiration of the Spirit of God and therefore there is a reason for every story, every sentence, every word.

So what’s the reason behind this story?

What’s the purpose of including this seemingly off-hand story about choosing an apostle to replace Judas?

Well there’s actually quite a lot in this passage so let’s dig into it a little bit.

Disciples devoted to prayer

So immediately following the ascension, once the angels were able to get the apostles to pry their eyes away from the clouds, they followed Jesus’s first command to them.

They went back to Jerusalem, and they waited, just like Jesus had told them to do.

Verse 13 mentions that “they went up to the upper room, where they were staying.”

Many people want to tie this room to the upper room where the Last Supper was held before Jesus’s betrayal and crucifixion, but there is no evidence that it was the same room.

Many houses in that time period had a large upper room, usually on the third floor, that was reached by outside steps.

They were commonly used as dining rooms, as study areas for students, or were rented out to poorer families who could not afford a home of their own.

The 11 remaining apostles, who are each named by name, along with others, were gathered together in this upper room somewhere in Jerusalem and it says that they were devoting themselves to prayer.

And that’s a key idea in this passage.

When Jesus told them to wait on the Holy Spirit, they didn’t just sit and twiddle their thumbs.

They spent time preparing themselves, preparing their hearts for the coming of the Holy Spirit.

That’s the way we should be as Christians.

We should be devoted to prayer.

We should be devoted to preparing our hearts.

We do that every Sunday during the Lord’s Supper, but it’s not something that should be just a once a week thing.

The verse says they “were devoting themselves to prayer.”

But what does that actually mean?

Well the dictionary defines “devoted” as “zealous or ardent in attachment, loyalty, or affection.

So it’s loyalty, attachment.

But I think even better is the definition for devote, the verb form of the word.

Devote means in part, “to concentrate on a particular pursuit, occupation, purpose, cause, etc.”

So when it says they were devoted to prayer, that was their focus.

That was what they were concentrating all their attention on as they waited for the Holy Spirit.

Peter assumes leadership

The next section of the passage starts off by saying

Now we’ll get into what he said exactly in a minute, but I want to look simply at the fact that he stood up and spoke to the assembly here.

Remember a couple of weeks ago when we read this passage?

Jesus had told Peter that he would be the rock, the foundation upon which the church would be built.

But when Jesus was betrayed, remember Peter denied even knowing him.

And then after Jesus’s resurrection Peter felt unworthy to follow him and he went back to fishing.

That is, until Jesus recalled the apostles and restored Peter.

Here in Acts chapter 1 is the first time we see Peter assuming a leadership role.

It’s the first time we see hints that Peter will be the Rock that Jesus said he would be.

And that’s a great reason not to skip over this passage.

This is Peter’s first speech, his first sermon if you will.

So let’s look at what he actually said.

He starts off by saying, “Brothers, the Scripture had to be fulfilled...” This is a common theme throughout the books of Acts.

It’s this idea that scripture that has a prophetic emphasis must come to fulfillment.

But it’s even more significant if you look at the original Greek.

The word translated had to be in verse 16 is from the same root word that is translated as must in verse 22.

That word is dei in Greek.

It’s the verb form of necessity.

Verse 16 uses the past tense so it could be translate, “it was necessary.”

Verse 22 uses the present tense of the verb so it could be translated “it is necessary.”

What Peter is saying here is, “Just as the prophecy had to be fulfilled that Judas would betray Jesus, so the prophecy must be fulfilled that we replace him.”

The Psalm reads, “Let another take his office.”

The apostles took that as prophecy and so they needed to replace Judas.

But why was it so important to replace Judas?

Couldn’t the ministry go on just as well with 11 apostles instead of 12? Well, yes and no.

Yes, the earthly ministry of witnessing to the miracles and teaching of Christ could absolutely have been accomplished by the remaining 11, but there is more to this than just the earthly ministry.

To see that we have to turn to the book of Luke chapter 22 and look at part of Jesus response to the apostles when they were arguing about who among them was the greatest.

He tells them:

So there’s much more to the ministry of the apostles than just the earthly witness.

Jesus tells them here that they will sit in judgment of the twelve tribes of Israel.

And if they are to do that, there must be 12 of them, not 11.

Further, this conversation occurs during the Last Supper so Jesus has just told them that one of them will betray him.

He makes this announcement about them sitting in judgment over the twelve tribes when he’s already said that they are about to be reduced to 11.

So it can be assumed that Jesus himself expected them to replace Judas.

So we see the importance, the need to replace Judas both from the Old Testament prophecy, and from the words Jesus himself, but now let’s take a look at what was required of the replacement.

Matthias replaces Judas

Peter gives us the requirements in his message.

He says in verses 21 and 22

I think the best way to explain this passage is to read a section from one of the commentaries I used in studying for this week’s sermon.

This is from the New American Commentary on Acts by John Pohill:

In vv.

21-22 Peter laid down the qualifications for Judas’s replacement.

He had to be one who had witnessed the entire ministry of Jesus from the time of his baptism by John to the ascension.

Above all he had to have witnessed the resurrection appearances.

Here we have the basic understanding of the apostles’ role in Acts.

They were primarily “witnesses” to Jesus, eyewitnesses who could share his teaching and confirm his resurrection and ascension.

As such, the role of apostle was limited to the Twelve.

It was a unique, irreplaceable office.

There could be no apostolic succession, since there were no further eyewitnesses to succeed them.

Note that James was not replaced after his martyrdom.

It was necessary to replace Judas because he had abandoned his position.

His betrayal, not his death, forfeited his place in the circle of Twelve.

Even after death James continued to be considered an apostle.

And here Dr. Pohill explains further what we’ve already talked about with the apostles sitting in judgment over the tribes of Israel.

He says:

Luke 22-28-30 speaks of the apostles’ unique role of sitting in the kingdom and judging the twelve tribes of Israel.

Their number corresponds to the tribes of Israel, for in a real sense they represent the restored Israel, the people of God.

The continuity with Israel necessitates the restoration of the full number of twelve.

Because the church is built on the foundation of these Twelve as representatives of the true Israel, the people of God of the messianic times, their number had to be completed before the coming of the Spirit and “birth of the church.”

Throughout Acts this unique circle of the Twelve eyewitnesses is characteristically designated as “the apostles.”

So I know that was long, but I think it makes an important point that the office that Judas vacated needed to be filled because they needed that eyewitness testimony to the teaching and actions of Jesus.

Now let’s read the final section of the passage one more time.