After 40 days of being taught “the things pertaining to the Kingdom of God” by their risen Messiah, then having watched Him rise from the Mt. of Olives and enter heaven, the disciples now returned to Jerusalem where, in obedience to Jesus, they would wait for the promised Holy Spirit.

Verses thirteen and fourteen: Upon arriving in Jerusalem the apostles went to a house where there was an area called “the upper room.” There they, along with Jesus’ biological family and a hundred or so other disciples, would wait for the promised Spirit.

Verses fifteen through twenty-six: In this passage we find Peter speaking about two people: Judas and an official in the Jewish hierarchy. Due to the writing and speaking style of Middle Eastern people of that day, many have become confused as to the identities of Peter’s human subjects. Let us clear up the confusion. Judas was the guide who betrayed Jesus, who had part of Christ’s appointed ministry and was numbered among the disciples (vss 16,17,20-25). However, “… this man” who purchased what became known as the “field of blood” because he had fallen in that field, burst open his stomach and died there, was the official to whom Judas returned the “reward of iniquity” (vss 18,19) as recorded in Matthew 27:6-8. After returning the reward, Judas “went out and hanged himself,” proving that he could not have bought the field as some suppose. The episode concerning Judas, the money, the field and the two deaths was a source of confusion for me until I learned the truth about Middle Eastern linguistic forms. This insertion of another subject in a monologue is not the only example of such speaking and writing customs found in the Bible. What are called “inserts” are common to every language, but normally the momentary change of subject is understood. Not so in this case.

In verses 21-26 the apostles got down to the business of replacing Judas. I have a problem with their method of choosing his replacement. Note that the apostles put forth two of the men who had been with Jesus from early on in His ministry. This left God only two options from which to choose. I contend that they were in error. I would point out that He did not need help when choosing disciples while He was alive. Why did He suddenly change His selection method? “Rolling the dice” does not seem to me to be a good method of decision-making. In verse 26 it is stated that “he (Matthias) was numbered with the eleven apostles.” Nowhere does it say that God numbered him among the apostles. I contend that the eleven should have allowed God to make the selection without their input. For example, would they have chosen Saul of Tarsus as one of His options? Recall that when God chose him the apostles, along with everyone else, were afraid of him for obvious reasons. God has His own method for choosing and raising up ministers. See Ministerial Ordination.

An important lesson to be learned about the ministry of Judas is that preaching and performing miracles does not automatically mean that the minister is right with God, or that he will be saved. See All That Glitters. Peter stated that Judas “… had (an equal) part of this (the disciples’) ministry” (vs 17). Nowhere are we told that his ministry was any less miraculous or less important than the ministry of the other 11 disciples.  L.J.