Outline - Hope of the Glory

When the lots were cast, Peter led the church to ordain an apostle God had not chosen (v.26). It wastrue, the Lord's intention was for his church to have twelve apostles, twelve and only twelve. David'sprophecy must be fulfilled. Another apostle must take Judas' place. But, like the others, he must bepersonally chosen and ordained to the office by Christ himself. The Lord had not chosen Justus orMatthias for this office. He had chosen Paul (I Cor. 15:8).How could Peter have made such a mistake? He sought to determine the will of God by casting lots.Like David, he made the mistake of seeking to determine the will of God by seeking the will of thepeople (I Chron. 13:1-4). He tried to accomplish the will and work of God by the wisdom and energyof the flesh! As a result, Matthias was chosen to do what God had not gifted him to do. So far as weknow, he never preached a sermon or wrote an epistle. We can only speculate about what became ofhim. But his name is never mentionb) At this time Paul was the chief persecutor of the believers and the twelve were neededfor the events of Pentecost!c) Often people jump to this conclusion because they do not understand Paul’s ministry.They do not differentiate between the earthly program and the heavenly program!d) Notice that David did not cast lots but ‘took a vote’ of the people. Thus this commenthas nothing to do with the situation here.e) J Vernon McGee’s comments 6vv. 15-26 — The election to choose a successor to Judas Iscariot is conducted by Peter without the presenceand guidance of the Holy Spirit — the Holy Spirit had not yet come. Matthias was evidently a good man whomet the requirements of an apostle and apparently was an apostle. The Holy Spirit, however, ignored him, forhe never is mentioned again in the Scriptures. The successor, we believe, to Judas Iscariot was Saul ofTarsus, chosen personally by the Lord Jesus Christ (Galatians 1:1).f) Notice that this author refers to it as an election. This has nothing to do with castinglots.g) He takes Gal 1:1 to teach that God chose him to be one of the twelve but he doesn’trealize that Paul also says in Gal 1:11 & 12 that God gave him a different message!h) Indeed, Paul is not counted with the twelve EVER.At least two qualifiedAct 1:23 So they proposed two men: Joseph called Barsabbas (also known as Justus) and Matthias.Act 1:24 Then they prayed, "Lord, you know everyone's heart. Show us which of these two you have chosenAct 1:25 to take over this apostolic ministry, which Judas left to go where he belongs."Act 1:26 Then they cast lots, and the lot fell to Matthias; so he was added to the eleven apostles.Notice two factsi) Paul did not qualify at all -- periodj) Casting lots was a common and proper way in the OT to make a decision (NIV) 7k) Indeed, it is a part of the sovereignty of God that, no matter what you do, God hasforeordained the outcome! So, this was a manifestation of their faith.Act 1:26He was numbered (sunkatepsēphisthē). To the Jews the lot did not suggest gambling, but “the O.T. method oflearning the will of Jehovah” (Furneaux). The two nominations made a decision necessary and they appealedto God in this way. This double compound sunkatapsēphizō occurs here alone in the N.T. and elsewhere only inPlutarch (Them. 21) in the middle voice for condemning with others. Sunpsēphizō occurs in the middle voice inAct_19:19 for counting up money and also in Aristophanes. Psēphizō with dapanēn occurs in Luk_14:28 forcounting the cost and in Rev_13:18 for “counting” the number of the beast. The ancients used pebbles(psēphoi) in voting, black for condemning, white (Rev_2:17) in acquitting. Here it is used in much the samesense as katarithmeō in Act_1:17.6 J. Vernon McGee, Notes and Outlines ACTS7 Robertson’s Word Pictures, eSwordActs Page 8 January 23, 2011 18:07