Book of Acts
WEEK THREE
LEADERS FOLLOW SCRIPTURE
Acts 1:15–20, “In those days Peter”—here’s the leader—“stood up”—that’s a leadership act, right?—“among the brothers (the company of persons was in all about 120 people) and said, ‘Brothers, the Scripture had to be fulfilled, which the Holy Spirit spoke beforehand by the mouth of David concerning Judas.’”
Now, we’re in a real crisis. We’re gonna learn about Judas—“‘who became a guide to those who arrested Jesus. For he was numbered among us and was allotted his share in this ministry.’” He was one of the twelve. It continues, “(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.” Pretty gruesome, right? “And it became known to all the inhabitants of Jerusalem, so that the field was called in their own language Akeldama.” Very, very Middle Earth. “That is, the Field of Blood. For it is written in the Book of Psalms”—and he quotes two psalms—“‘May his camp become desolate, and let there be no one to dwell in it’” and then, secondly, “‘Let another take his office.’”
They have a crisis. Leadership transitions in ministry are always hard, and this one is particularly hard. Jesus picked twelve guys, one of them betrayed him, was complicit in his murder—his name is Judas Iscariot—and he went out and killed himself. The gospels say that he hung himself. Here, we get some additional information that his insides burst out. Either he hanged there long enough that his body fell or he became bloated until he burst. Either way, it’s gruesome.
Now, think about it: at this point, Christianity is not a few billion people as it is on the earth today; it’s 120 people. They’re all gathering in one room. Jesus has returned to his heavenly kingdom. Of the twelve leaders, Judas has killed himself. Difficult transition, right? Somebody needs to say something; somebody needs to do something. That someone is Peter. Peter is the human leader.
I need you to see this, that God works through leaders. He works through political leaders. In the family, he works through parents. In the church, he works through pastors. God works through leaders. Here, he’s working through apostles. God works through leaders and anytime you think it is noble to rebel against authority, you’re putting yourself in grave danger.
See, we live in a day today where rebellion against authority is a noble thing. And some will say, “Well, the authority is not holy.” Neither are the rebels. We’re all sinners, but God still works through authority. Read Romans 13.
This begins with the Trinity. God the Father sends God the Son. Even that language of “Father” and “Son” indicates some submission, some hierarchy, some deference. They’re equal—they’re totally equal—sharing all the divine attributes, but the Father sends the Son. The Son says, “I say what the Father tells me to say. I do what the Father tells me to do.” And he says things like, “Not my will be done but your will be done.”
Jesus respects authority. Even as a little boy, he respects his parents’ authority. And then the Father and the Son send the Holy Spirit, and the Holy Spirit is in agreement and obedience to the plan of the Father and the Son. So, God himself demonstrates equality with submission to authority, and he calls us to respect authority and to pray for those in authority and to honor those in authority and to obey those in authority.
And here, they’ve got a real crisis. What they don’t need is a bunch of politicking and everybody putting together their plan about what they think is the best idea and then ending up with some compromise in an effort to get a majority vote. What they need is a leader. And it’s Peter.
They never voted for Peter to be their leader. Jesus just appointed him. Every time the list of the disciples is given in the Bible of the apostles, Peter’s always listed first. Why? He’s the first among equals. He’s the leader, and so he steps forward to lead the people.
How’s he going to lead them? This is very important, very critical. He’s going to lead them by following Scripture. Leaders follow Scripture, all right? Godly leaders follow God’s Word. That’s the way it works. Peter doesn’t stand up and say, “Well, let’s take a poll. Let’s take a vote. What do you guys think? Let’s look to all kinds of other sources.”
There may be good information in the social sciences and business and the culture. People may have some good ideas, but ultimately, everything rises and falls with us coming back to the Bible and asking, “What has God said?” I want you to see, they start with prayer and then they move to Scripture.
Prayer is how we talk to God; Scripture is how God talks to us, OK? So, in prayer, we’re talking to God and he uses prayer to change us, and then as we open Scriptures, we’re submitting ourselves to the authority of God’s Word so that then we might know how to walk out God’s plan in our life.
THE SCRIPTURE HAD TO BE FULFILLED
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.
Here’s what Peter says, “The Scripture.” So, what are we talking about? We’re talking about God’s Word. We love God’s Word, right? We believe God’s Word, we trust God’s Word, we study God’s Word, we memorize God’s Word, we come back to God’s Word. This is what Peter’s doing. Peter is deciding who the twelfth apostle, the replacement for Judas, will be, and he goes back to the Bible. That’s where we always need to go back to God’s Word. “The Scripture had to be”—what? “Fulfilled.”
This is an echo of Jesus, who said,
Matthew 5:17 English Standard Version
17 “Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to –to what? fulfill them.
So, this is an echo of Jesus. Jesus came as a Bible teacher. He was a rabbi. That’s a Bible teacher. And he said, “I’ve come to fulfill everything that the Scriptures say.”
I need you to know this: everything God promises comes to pass. Twenty-five percent of the Bible, at the time of its writing, was prophetic in nature, prophesying in advance what would happen, most of that surrounding the person and work of Jesus. Much of that has already been fulfilled.
A virgin gave birth to a Son. He lived without sin, he was taken to the temple, he died on the cross, he rose from the dead, he ascended into heaven. The Bible prophesied all of these things—hundreds, thousands of years in advance.
And now, we’re in the time between the times, between the first and second coming of Jesus, and we’re waiting for the conclusion of his fulfilling. And this is the season of human history where the church is unleashed by the power of the Holy Spirit to be witnesses to the nations, to plant churches, to make disciples, to tell people that Jesus is God, to tell people that Jesus is Lord, to tell people that Jesus is alive, to tell people that Jesus forgives sin, to tell people that Jesus is coming again to judge the living and the dead.
Everything else that we’ve been waiting for the fulfillment of will come to pass just as God’s Word promised, because the Scripture has to be—what? It has to be fulfilled.
God knows the future, God tells us the future, and God prepares us for the future that he has planned for us. The Scripture had to be fulfilled.
Now, this is amazing. Are you ready? This is amazing. “Which the”—read it with me—who? “Holy Spirit spoke beforehand by the mouth of David.”
Peter gets up, quotes two psalms. Says, “Here’s what we need to do: we need to obey the Bible. Here in Psalms, it says this.” Peter says it was David’s voice, but whose words? The Holy Spirit’s words.
Do you get that? David’s voice, the Holy Spirit’s words. This is where we get the dual authorship of Scripture. The Holy Spirit wrote the Bible through human authors. It may be Luke’s pen, but it’s the Holy Spirit’s words. It may be David’s voice, but it’s the Holy Spirit’s words.
THE ONLY PERFECT THING ON EARTH
I’m gonna give you three big words, all right?
“Verbal plenary inspiration,”
The Bible is God’s Word to humanity. It was written by human authors, but God prompted and guided them to write what they did. Every word, word form, and word placement found in the Bible’s original manuscripts was divinely and intentionally written. This is the orthodox view of the church and is known as verbal plenary inspiration.
That means that the only perfect thing on the earth is the Word of God. Nothing else on earth is perfect. And it also means that there’s no book on the earth that is anything like this. You can’t go to a John Grisham novel or, you know, the latest self-help book on Oprah or with Dr. Phil. You can’t go to the latest “How to Fix Your Life” trend seminar and have them get up and say, “And this is the Word of God.” And if they do, run for your life unless they are reading this book, amen? There’s nothing like this. There’s nothing that matches this in authority. There’s nothing else that can say, “And this is the book that God wrote.”
And I tell you this: every opposition, every hammering that comes against the Word of God is demonic in nature. It’s trying to take the Word of God, make it a human word about God, reduce it from it’s place of authority, and just leave it in a place of conjecture and speculation, along with philosophy, morality, and spirituality. And it’s not.
It’s the living, active Word of God. It’s God speaking through people so that when we hear what the Scriptures say, we are hearing from God. That’s what we believe, OK?
OK, so leaders follow what? Scripture. If a leader isn’t following the Bible, don’t follow the leader.
MISSION FOLLOWS FAILURE
Mission follows failure.
Acts 1:21–26 ESV
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—oh, what are they doing? Look at that, They’ve got to pick leaders—what are they doing? They’re not voting. They’re praying for God’s vote. You know what’s better than voting? Praying for God’s vote.
and said, “You, Lord, And look at this. They put a prayer in the Bible. Must be important, right? Praying is important. It’s important enough to make the Bible.
who know the hearts of all, show which one of these two you have chosen
Here’s the truth: when it comes to selecting human leaders in the church, leadership transitions can be particularly hard, and we’ve all got to watch our hearts. You say, “Well, I like this person; I don’t like them. I want this; I don’t want that. I wish it was like this; I wish it was not like that.” You know what? Lord, who do you want? Who do you want?
25 to take the place in this ministry and apostleship from which Judas turned aside to go to his own place.”
Judas walked away from God and his people, and he went to his own place, ultimately the grave and hell. “
Here, he talks about Judas Iscariot. He has to deal with this. Everybody knows what’s happened to Judas. Peter needs to explain it and what do we do now.
SIGNS JUDAS WAS AN UNBELIEVER
Before I get into some of the specifics on this, let me answer a very common question. And it is, Did Judas lose his salvation? How many of you’ve pondered that question? Was Judas a believer who lost his salvation and became an unbeliever?
Because the story of Judas—if you’re unaware, Jesus chose twelve senior leaders, apostles, disciples. They were with him for three years. They heard him preach, teach; they saw him cast out demons, walk on water; they saw him perform miracles. And there was a guy named Judas who betrayed him with a kiss and handed him over to the authorities to be murdered. Judas was Jesus’ betrayer, and then Judas went out and committed suicide.
Have you ever wondered about Judas? What put in the place to betray Jesus?
Here’s what’s scary for you and me: you can be close to Jesus but not close to Jesus.
You can have a mom and a dad who love Jesus and not love Jesus. You can have a family that loves Jesus but not love Jesus.
You can be in church that loves Jesus and not love Jesus.
That’s Judas.
It’s an opportunity for us all to examine our heart. “Do I love Jesus?”
Here are some Biblical truths about Judas:
1. Judas is the son of destruction.
John 17:12 ESV
12 While I was with them, I kept them in your name, which you have given me. I have guarded them, and not one of them has been lost except the son of destruction, that the Scripture might be fulfilled.
The NIV translation of this verse says this:
NIV 12 While I was with them, I protected them and kept them safe by the name you gave me. None has been lost except the one doomed to destruction so that Scripture would be fulfilled.
God knew exactly what Judas was going to do. And some of you are going to get confused by this. As soon as you hear, “doomed to destruction,” you’ll think, “Oh, so he was a victim. God made him betray Jesus. He’s part of the cosmic plan.” God knew what he was going to do, and he still did it. God’s not the one who made him do it; God’s the one who knew what he would do. God is sovereign over it, and Judas is responsible for his betrayal of Jesus. He is the one doomed to destruction.
The only other person I’ve seen referenced by that title is the anti-Christ.
2 Thessalonians 2:3 ESV
3 Let no one deceive you in any way. For that day will not come, unless the rebellion comes first, and the man of lawlessness is revealed, the son of destruction.
2. Judas never loved Jesus;
Judas loved money, and he used Jesus to get money.
John 12:3-6 ESV
3 Mary therefore took a pound of expensive ointment made from pure nard, and anointed the feet of Jesus and wiped his feet with her hair. The house was filled with the fragrance of the perfume. 4 But Judas Iscariot, one of his disciples (he who was about to betray him), said, 5 “Why was this ointment not sold for three hundred denarii and given to the poor?” 6 He said this, not because he cared about the poor, but because he was a thief, and having charge of the moneybag he used to help himself to what was put into it.
He stole from Jesus for three years.
Matthew 26:14-16 English Standard Version
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.
He would rather have the money than Jesus.
3. One of you is a devil.
John 6:70-71 English Standard Version
70 Jesus answered them, “Did I not choose you, the twelve? And yet one of you is a devil.” 71 He spoke of Judas the son of Simon Iscariot, for he, one of the twelve, was going to betray him.
4. Judas opened his heart to the devil
John 13:1-2 English Standard Version
1 Now before the Feast of the Passover, when Jesus knew that his hour had come to depart out of this world to the Father, having loved his own who were in the world, he loved them to the end. 2 During supper, when the devil had already put it into the heart of Judas Iscariot, Simon's son, to betray him,
Judas was not a godly man who had a bad day. Judas was an ungodly man who got exposed on one day. Judas was simply revealed at the betrayal of Jesus; it was not changed.
JUDAS & PETER
Who’s the person speaking in Acts 1? Right here, we’ve been studying it—who is that? It’s Peter. Who’s he talking about? Judas. Let’s look at these two men together for a moment.
They both had Jesus as their pastor. Wouldn’t that be amazing?
They both had the apostles as their friends.
They got some stuff done.
They were given the same mission to extend the kingdom of God on the earth through the proclamation of the gospel and the planting of the churches.
They both got to eat with Jesus.
They both got to travel with Jesus.
They both got to listen to Jesus.
They both got to have Jesus pray over them.
And they both failed Jesus.
We’ve looked at how Judas failed Jesus. Do you remember how Peter failed Jesus?
Luke 22:54-62 English Standard Version
54 Then they seized him and led him away, bringing him into the high priest's house, and Peter was following at a distance. 55 And when they had kindled a fire in the middle of the courtyard and sat down together, Peter sat down among them. 56 Then a servant girl, seeing him as he sat in the light and looking closely at him, said, “This man also was with him.” 57 But he denied it, saying, “Woman, I do not know him.” 58 And a little later someone else saw him and said, “You also are one of them.” But Peter said, “Man, I am not.” 59 And after an interval of about an hour still another insisted, saying, “Certainly this man also was with him, for he too is a Galilean.” 60 But Peter said, “Man, I do not know what you are talking about.” And immediately, while he was still speaking, the rooster crowed. 61 And the Lord turned and looked at Peter. And Peter remembered the saying of the Lord, how he had said to him, “Before the rooster crows today, you will deny me three times.” 62 And he went out and wept bitterly.
Judas betrayed Jesus; Peter denied Jesus. Peter and Judas both failed Jesus.
What’s the difference between Peter and Judas?
Judas walked away from God and his people, never returned. Ultimately, sin leads to death, and without ever repenting or apologizing or changing, Judas killed himself and sent himself to hell.
Peter is now the human leader of Christianity on the earth, teaching a Bible study to Jesus’ mom and brothers.
What’s the difference between Peter and Judas? Not that they failed, but how they responded to it.
Mark 16:5-7 ESV
5 And entering the tomb, they saw a young man sitting on the right side, dressed in a white robe, and they were alarmed. 6 And he said to them, “Do not be alarmed. You seek Jesus of Nazareth, who was crucified. He has risen; he is not here. See the place where they laid him. 7 But go, tell his disciples and Peter that he is going before you to Galilee. There you will see him, just as he told you.”
Once Jesus rose from death, Peter heard, “Jesus is alive!” and Peter ran to the tomb, the Bible says.
Peter and Jesus then have a meeting, and it’s one of the most tender, heartfelt moments in all of Scripture.
Jesus is looking Peter in the eye, and I’m paraphrasing, but Peter apologizes: “I’m sorry. I failed you; you’ve never failed me. I abandoned you; you’ve never abandoned me. You needed me, and I wasn’t there for you.” Peter is devastated by his sin, he’s broken by his sin, he’s grieved over his sin and what it’s done to his relationship with Jesus.
What does Jesus do? He forgives him. “Yeah Peter, that’s why I died on the cross, so that you could be forgiven. I forgive you, Peter, but if you love me, feed my sheep.”
See, Judas was about the money; Peter was about the comfort; Jesus is about the people, amen? Jesus is about people. “If you really love me, then teach the Bible. Feed my sheep. Take care of my people.” They all knew this.
The day comes. Peter stands up, and he feeds the sheep. He says, “You know, the Bible says in Psalms that this is what Jesus wants us to do.” He’s feeding the sheep by teaching the Word. What an amazing picture of the gospel that is.
The only difference between Judas and Peter is one brought their sin to Jesus and the other brought it to the grave. And this is a heavy word, but it’s a hopeful word because you’re not dead. Whatever sins you’ve committed as an unbeliever or even as a believer, today’s a great day. We should just bring it all to whom? We should just meet with Jesus. Say, “Jesus, I’m sorry. Please forgive me and use me like you did Peter to tell other people that you’re a God who forgives and gives grace, and let my miserable story be an example of how wonderful you are.” That’s Christianity, right? “That’s my story.”
So, if you’re here, the question is not, “Are we going to act like Judas and Peter?” The question is, “Will we respond like Judas or Peter?” I invite you to Jesus, be forgiven, be used for God’s mission, be restored to God’s plan for your life. If you’re alive, it’s just not too late.
LETTING GOD VOTE
26 And they cast lots for them, and the lot fell on Matthias, and he was numbered with the eleven apostles.”
So they come up with criteria by which to replace Judas. They had twelve tribes in Old Testament Israel; they have twelve apostles in new covenant Christianity. There is continuity here. They are the completion, the continuation, the fulfillment of the old covenant people of God, so they needed twelve.
They come down to two candidates. So, they have a leadership change, they have their criteria, then they pick their candidates, Barsabbas and Matthias. And then they’ve got to make their choice, and they don’t vote; they let God vote. And they do it through the casting of lots.
Now, this seems a little odd, right? Don’t see it like a casino.
Here’s why they do it: Jesus chose the twelve, Judas is gone, they need to replace the twelve, Jesus still needs to make the decision who he wants, so they trust in the sovereignty of God.
Proverbs 16:33 New Living Translation
33 We may throw the dice, but the Lord determines how they fall.
Jesus picks Matthias. He joins the twelve. The team is now complete. He doesn’t become very prominent. He doesn’t write a book of the Bible. We don’t know a whole lot about him. He’s a humble guy on the team. Church history tells us that maybe he became the apostle, the missionary, to Ethiopia. And now, everything’s set for the coming of the Holy Spirit. Everything’s set for the sending of the church into the world.