Acts 1:15-26 Love Your Neighbor
Good morning. First of all I’d like to thank you all for your prayers and kind words over the last week after the passing of my sister. It hasn’t been easy. Please keep praying for my folks and for my nephews. I won’t try and stop you from praying for me too. Like I told my mom, we’re not moving on, we’re just readjusting to a new normal.
Speaking of normal, let’s get back to the book of Acts, today we’re going to look at Acts chapter one verses 15-26.
We are going to look at a short section of Scripture that seems simply practical, Judas was gone and needed to be replaced. Short, sweet, simple. But I think there’s more to it and more for us to learn from the example that we’re given here in our text.
So let’s read it, we’ll pray, and dive in.
15 In those days Peter stood up among the brothers (the company of persons was in all about 120) and said, 16 “Brothers, the Scripture had to be fulfilled, which the Holy Spirit spoke beforehand by the mouth of David concerning Judas, who became a guide to those who arrested Jesus. 17 For he was numbered among us and was allotted his share in this ministry.” 18 (Now this man acquired a field with the reward of his wickedness, and falling headlong he burst open in the middle and all his bowels gushed out. 19 And it became known to all the inhabitants of Jerusalem, so that the field was called in their own language Akeldama, that is, Field of Blood.) 20 “For it is written in the Book of Psalms, “ ‘May his camp become desolate, and let there be no one to dwell in it’; and “ ‘Let another take his office.’
21 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.
Let’s pray.
I want you to think about a time when you were betrayed. Maybe somebody lied to you or lied about you, stole something from you or broke your trust. How did you respond?
Now I know that this is an extreme example but think about Judas. Judas betrayed Jesus for thirty pieces of silver.
In Matthew 26:14-16 it is recorded,
14 Then one of the twelve, whose name was Judas Iscariot, went to the chief priests 15 and said, “What will you give me if I deliver him over to you?” And they paid him thirty pieces of silver. 16 And from that moment he sought an opportunity to betray him.
This was before the Last Supper, this was before Jesus washed the disciples feet.
And later, in the Garden of Gethsemane, Judas would betray Jesus with a kiss, a signal to the mob which one Jesus was and they arrested Him and led Him off to the Chief Priest.
This was when our old pal Peter would grab a sword and chop of the ear of the servant of the High Priest. He takes a very different tone in our text for this morning, which is, not to spoil it for you or anything, but that is the one point to this sermon.
Judas had a change of heart after seeing Jesus condemned as recorded in Matthew 27:3-10.
3 Then when Judas, his betrayer, saw that Jesus was condemned, he changed his mind and brought back the thirty pieces of silver to the chief priests and the elders, 4 saying, “I have sinned by betraying innocent blood.” They said, “What is that to us? See to it yourself.” 5 And throwing down the pieces of silver into the temple, he departed, and he went and hanged himself. 6 But the chief priests, taking the pieces of silver, said, “It is not lawful to put them into the treasury, since it is blood money.” 7 So they took counsel and bought with them the potter’s field as a burial place for strangers. 8 Therefore that field has been called the Field of Blood to this day. 9 Then was fulfilled what had been spoken by the prophet Jeremiah, saying, “And they took the thirty pieces of silver, the price of him on whom a price had been set by some of the sons of Israel, 10 and they gave them for the potter’s field, as the Lord directed me.”
So what is your opinion of Judas? He’s not the most popular disciple. In Dante’s “Inferno,” Judas was condemned to the lowest level of Hell to be chewed on by the devil for eternity. You won’t find a chapter and verse on that in the Bible, but it’s a reasonable picture of what most people think Judas deserves for his treachery.
But I want to bring you back to the words and the tone of Peter in Acts one.
15 In those days Peter stood up among the brothers (the company of persons was in all about 120) and said, 16 “Brothers, the Scripture had to be fulfilled, which the Holy Spirit spoke beforehand by the mouth of David concerning Judas, who became a guide to those who arrested Jesus. 17 For he was numbered among us and was allotted his share in this ministry.”
And then in verse 20,
20 “For it is written in the Book of Psalms, “ ‘May his camp become desolate, and let there be no one to dwell in it’; and “ ‘Let another take his office.’
And down to verse 24,
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.”
Peter did not have the authority on his own to replace Judas, Peter is not the first Pope as our Catholic friends would have us believe. The church deliberated, prayed, and acted, guided by the Lord.
But how does Peter speak of Judas? Notice what’s missing in what he says.
16 “Brothers, the Scripture had to be fulfilled, which the Holy Spirit spoke beforehand by the mouth of David concerning Judas, [that rat-fink, dirty so and so] who became a guide to those who arrested Jesus. [like the traitor he was] 17 For he was numbered among us and was allotted his share in this ministry.” [even though he didn’t deserve it, he’s the worst.]
“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.” [to death and destruction, to be chewed on by the devil for eternity like he deserves!]
Peter, the bold and brash mouthpiece of the disciples, didn’t talk like that about Judas at all. In fact, I would suggest rather that his gentle tones display a broken heart for his fallen friend.
JJ VanOosterzee wrote, “The case of Judas enables Peter to give a solemn warning to all succeeding ages respecting the self-deception to which sin conducts. And yet, Peter speaks of this ‘Son of Perdition’ in gentle tones, and with a sorrow not unmingled with pity. Not a trace appears of those uncharitable judgments which are often pronounced in such cases – not a trace of that haughty, self-exalting spirit with which Christians often look down upon a miserable self-murderer; no other feeling is here more revealed save that of holy sorrow for the soul that is lost. Peter’s language is characterized by moderation both when he speaks of the treachery of Judas, (‘He was guide to them that took Jesus’), and when he speaks of his eternal lot (‘He went to his own place’), in such a spirit we should remember our own infirmities, in every case in which others incur guilt, and apply Nathan’s words to ourselves: ‘Thou art the man.’”
The way that Peter speaks of Judas is not judgmental but compassionate and wise.
Peter himself had denied Christ Jesus three times and was restored and that restoration gives us hope.
Martin Luther wrote, “Whenever I look at Peter, my very heart leaps for joy. For although I am a poor sinner, Peter also was a poor sinner; if I should paint a portrait of Peter, I would paint on every hair of his head the words: ‘I believe in the forgiveness of sins.’ O Peter, if you have been saved, I too shall be saved.”
In His gentle treatment of Judas Peter is being obedient to the Words of Jesus in Matthew 5:43-47.
43 “You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’ 44 But I say to you, Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, 45 so that you may be sons of your Father who is in heaven. For he makes his sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the just and on the unjust. 46 For if you love those who love you, what reward do you have? Do not even the tax collectors do the same? 47 And if you greet only your brothers, what more are you doing than others? Do not even the Gentiles do the same?
Our example, our command from Jesus is to love, to love everybody, to love like He loves.
If you have questions about what it means that Judas “fell headlong and burst open,” or questions about the practice of casting lots, I’d be happy to answer them privately. I just didn’t want to take away from the main thought here, the single point of this sermon, to love your neighbor as you love yourself.
Amen.
