In
the Name of the Father and of the X Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
Grace
and Peace to you from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ and may our Lord
and Savior sanctify you in the truth, for His word is truth. Amen
The Seventh Sunday of Easter (2011)
Desire
that which is Eternal
Acts 1:21-26
(ESV)
So one of the men who have accompanied us
during all the time that the Lord Jesus went in and out among us, [22] 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." [23]
And they put forward two, Joseph called Barsabbas, who was also called Justus,
and Matthias. [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.
Last
Thursday the church celebrated the Ascension of our Lord Jesus Christ. On the
first evening of His resurrection our Lord came to the apostles in the upper
room and said, “Thus it is written, that the Christ should suffer and on the third day
rise from the dead, and that repentance and forgiveness of sins should be
proclaimed in his name to all nations, beginning from
Forty
days after His resurrection the apostles are once more together and Jesus comes
to them and leads them as far as
Twice
now since His resurrection our Lord has informed the apostles that they would
be His witnesses not only in
No
longer the twelve because Judas had committed suicide; Peter is reminded that
the Lord had promised that the twelve would judge the twelve tribes of
What
an unhappy and sorrowful announcement, this statement of Peter’s! Judas’ name,
which had ridden on the crest of those personally called by Christ, who had
been a member of the group that walked and talked with the Son of God for three
years, was no longer among them, nor was he among the living.
It
could have and should have been so different for Judas. He had potential, or
the Lord would not have chosen him as an apostle. The apostles themselves must
have thought well of him, they made him the treasurer of their little band.
Thus we shudder when we know what Judas did when we recall that he had a front
row seat every time Jesus preached.
There
is no question that Judas was called; called to apostleship and called to
salvation through faith, not once, but numerous times. Humanly speaking, Judas
had every chance. Sitting back and reflecting on the many opportunities Judas
had to listen to Jesus speak on the subject of materialism; he could not help
but hear our Lord when He spoke of the love of money being a root of evil.
Think of how Judas must have been struck as with a branding iron when in the
Sermon on the Mount Jesus said, “Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on
earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal, but
lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys
and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there
your heart will be also” (Matthew 6:19-21 ESV). Moreover, in that same
sermon, our Lord said, “No one can serve two masters, for either he
will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and
despise the other. You cannot serve God and money” (Matthew 6:24 ESV).
If
these words of our Lord weren’t enough to turn Judas’ heart away from a love of
money, then surely when our Lord preached the parable of the Sower he should
have heeded the words of Jesus when He spoke of seed falling among the thorns.
The plant begins to grow but it is soon choked off with the cares, pleasures,
and riches of this life and it fails to produce fruit.
Of
course, if this wasn’t enough to change the heart of Judas then certainly the
story of the rich farmer who thought only of his life and what he could get
from it should have been. If you remember, when the farmer looked at his bountiful
crop he decided to build bigger barns to store his wealth, and he said to
himself, “I will say to my soul, Soul, you have ample goods laid up for many
years; relax, eat, drink, be merry.” However, God had other plans and
said to him, “Fool! This night your soul is required of you, and the things you
have prepared, whose will they be?” Perhaps
with a glance at Judas, Jesus gives the moral of the story, “So
is the one who lays up treasure for himself and is not rich toward God.” Furthermore,
Judas should have listened intently when our Lord began this parable by saying,
“Take
care, and be on your guard against all covetousness, for one's life does not
consist in the abundance of his possessions” (Luke 12:15-21 ESV).
Time
and again as Judas traveled with our Lord he heard sermon after sermon that
warned him against his lust for wealth. He heard our Lord preach about the
scales of wealth; one side filled with all the gold, silver, jewels, money,
houses, and land one could ever own. On the other is placed a single soul—one
man’s soul. Then our Lord asked all who were listening, including Judas, to weigh
the balance while He said, “For what does it profit a man to gain the
whole world and forfeit his life?” (Mark 8:36 ESV). Judas did the
weighing and he made a business deal—his soul for wealth.
He
sells his Savior and his soul for thirty pieces of silver, truly a paltry sum
for the life of our Lord. However, the deal with Satan is closed, signed,
sealed, and delivered and it’s too late for Judas to recant and change his
mind. Overcome with his shame of having betrayed our Lord, Judas hangs himself
and his body falls from the tree headlong into the Valley of
Gehenna—Jerusalem’s garbage dump. His smashed body with his inner organs
spilling out is buried in a field purchased with the very money he was paid to
betray our Lord. The field was called the “Potters Field” but since the burial
of Judas it is called Akeldama—“The Field of Blood.” “Blood—the blood of Christ
for whom the field was sold and the blood of the betrayer who bought it.
Judas’
body is the first to be buried in this field for poor strangers—himself a
stranger to God and without hope in this world or the next. The wealth he
desired he received in the form of a 3 foot x six foot x six foot grave paid
for with his paltry betrayal price. However, much worse, Judas’ wealth shrinks
even more. The promise of eternal life he received as a believer in Jesus has
been given him, only not the eternal life of joy he desired but an eternal life
of damnation. He has been given his own place in hell to be shared with Satan
and all his demons. This is what happens when a person places wealth on this
earth ahead of the wealth of eternal happiness promised by God for all who
believe in His Son, Jesus Christ.
How
many are there like Judas who are merely names on the membership rolls of
churches but not part of the company of the saved? People who have placed
earthly wealth and fame before the wealth of eternal life with Jesus! People
who have placed earthly joy ahead of heavenly joy! When people such as these
die, their name appears in the obituary section of the local newspaper along
with their church affiliation and someone reading the column will say, “Well,
what do you know! Good ole Joe was a church member! Who would have guessed it! I
always thought his interests were solely material.” What a sad commentary for
one who an opportunity for eternal life with Jesus, but choose to throw it away
in favor of the here-and-now. Sadly, it can be said of them what Jesus said of
Judas, “It would have been better for that man if he had not been born”
(Matthew 26:24 ESV).
Standing
before the brethren, Peter informs them that is was proper to fill the vacancy
caused by Judas’ demise. Jesus had ordained twelve apostles; He had a plan for
twelve thrones filled by the apostles over the twelve tribes of
Candidates
for the office of apostle had to be men who were witnesses of the life and
ministry of Jesus. They must be among those who followed Jesus from His baptism
in the river
There
were assembled with Peter 120 disciples who joined him in prayer, “You,
Lord, who know the hearts of all, show which one of these two you have chosen to
take the place in this ministry and apostleship from which Judas turned aside
to go to his own place” (vv. 24-25). Then they cast lots to see which
of the two God had chosen to fill the vacancy left by Judas, and God’s favor
fell on Matthias.
God’s
choice was a man who interest lay in heavenly matters, not earthly matters.
Previously Matthias had not been called an apostle, yet he followed Christ as
an apostle, eagerly clinging to every word from the mouth of Jesus; knowing
salvation was only through Him who was the Son of God. Matthias was among those
in the upper room on the evening of the First Easter Day who had witnessed the
resurrection of the Lord and he was with them as our Lord ascended into heaven
telling them to go forth and make disciples of all nations. Matthias was called
to be an apostle and from this day forward his life would consist solely of
witnessing the joys of the Gospel which brought the forgiveness of sins and eternal
life in the name of our Lord, Jesus Christ.
His
life and his speech from this day forward would reflect the living Christ to
the world. As an apostle, Matthias was not to be a philosopher, expounding some
earthly philosophy. He was not to be a rule setter impressing rules and
regulations on the people of “Do not handle, Do not taste, Do not touch”
(Col. 2:21 ESV). He was not to be an emotionalist, leading his hearers
to get in touch with their feelings. He was to be none of these things.
Instead, he was to be a witness of the historical person of Jesus Christ who
walked, talked, and healed; who was brutally tortured, crucified on a Roman
cross, and died. Matthias was to witness his personal encounter with this
God-man, Jesus who was alive again after having given up His Spirit being
buried in a tomb. He was to testify that indeed, this God-man, Jesus was the
promised Messiah who had come to save His people from their sins. He had
accomplished all that was asked of Him by His heavenly Father, including having
taken all the sin of every man upon Himself and as their substitute, willingly
endure the punishment of God’s wrath meant for sinful man. He was to testify of
the atoning sacrifice of our Lord Jesus to every man, woman, and child with
whom he came into contact so they, too, could know the Savior of the world,
Jesus Christ, the Son of the Living God and believe that His sacrifice has
saved them from the fires of eternal torment. He was to lead others to shun to
temporariness of this life by looking forward to the permanence of life with
Jesus in His heavenly home.
Beyond
his selection as the newest apostle we know little of the life of Matthias. His
selection as the twelfth apostle is the only time He is mentioned in the Bible.
Yet his selection fills volumes as to the qualifications our heavenly Father requires
of the church as they continue to call men into the office of the holy ministry.
Candidates must be those who walk with the Lord everyday, those who are not
interested in the transitory things of this earth, but only the permanent
things of heaven, those who live and proclaim the goodness of God through His
Son, Jesus Christ, and those who are eager to share their faith and conviction
with others so they too may come to know and believe in the salvation won for
them by our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.
Therefore,
as you seek to live out your life with Jesus, enmeshed in His Holy Word and
filled with the Holy Spirit; know that God does not want you to live a
transitory life with no hint of permanency. Rather God desires that you would
reject the temporary things of this world by desiring that which is Eternal. You have been called as was
Matthias, therefore, desire that which keeps your heart connected to Jesus; Holy
Scripture and the means of grace, so you may one day live in eternity with our
blessed Lord and all the saints who have gone before us. Amen.
May the Peace of God which
passes all understanding keep your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus. Amen.