Sermon
for Easter 7, May 21, 2023
Grace to you and peace
from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.
Amen.
Acts 1:12-26 12Then they returned to
Jerusalem from the mountain called the Mount of Olives, which is near
Jerusalem, a Sabbath day’s journey away.
13When they entered the city, they went to the upstairs room
where they were staying. Peter and John
were there, also James and Andrew, Philip and Thomas, Bartholomew and Matthew,
James the son of Alphaeus, Simon the Zealot, and Judas the son of James. 14All of them kept praying
together with one mind, along with the women, with Mary the mother of Jesus,
and with his brothers. 15In
those days, when the group there numbered about 120 people, Peter stood up
among the brothers and said, 16“Gentlemen, brothers, the Scripture
had to be fulfilled, which the Holy Spirit spoke long ago through the mouth of
David about Judas, who became a guide for those who arrested Jesus. 17Judas was counted as one of us
and was given a share in this ministry. 18“Now
this man acquired a field with what he was paid for his wicked act. When he fell headfirst, his middle burst
open, and all his intestines spilled out.”
19(This became known to all the residents of Jerusalem, and
so in their own language that field was called Akeldema, which means Field of
Blood.) 20“Indeed, it is
written in the book of Psalms: ‘May his residence be deserted. Let there be no one dwelling in it.’ And, ‘let someone else take his
position.’ 21“Therefore it is
necessary that one of the men who accompanied us during the entire time that
the Lord Jesus went in and out among us, 22beginning from his
baptism by John until the day Jesus was taken up from us, become a witness with
us of his resurrection.” 23They
proposed two: Joseph called Barsabbas (who was also called Justus) and
Matthias. 24Then they prayed,
“Lord, you know everyone’s heart. Show
us which of these two you have chosen 25to take the place in this
apostolic ministry from which Judas turned away to go
to his own place.” 26Then
they assigned lots for them, and the lot fell to Matthias. So he was counted with the eleven apostles. (EHV)
Follow
the Glory greater than gold.
Dear friends in the
peace of Christ,
In our text this morning, St. Luke, by the inspiration of
the Holy Spirit, contrasts a disciple who lost everything in pursuit of his
attraction to the glitter of silver, with other disciples who learned through
their interactions with Jesus to Follow the Glory greater than gold. By faith in Jesus, their hearts were set on
what John would later affirm, “The Word became flesh and dwelled among
us. We have seen his glory, the glory he
has as the only-begotten from the Father, full of grace and truth.” (John
1:14)
Many people
wonder why, if Jesus knew all things as the Son of God, He chose Judas to be a
disciple. Some argue that Jesus, in His
humiliation, had set aside that knowledge, which could be possible. Others claim that God predestined Judas to be
damned. However, God didn’t cause Judas
to go astray, and in fact, there is ample evidence that Jesus knew long before
Holy Week that Judas was turning against Him and would betray his teacher. Indeed, our Lord reached out to Judas on
several occasions seeking to draw him back into the fold, therefore showing
that Jesus, like His Father in heaven, wanted to save Judas from his
wickedness, just as He wants all people to be saved. However, blinded by greed, Judas refused Christ’s
loving intervention, and in this, also, all Scripture pointing to Christ is
fulfilled.
Jesus had
appointed twelve men to be eyewitnesses to His work and resurrection, and during
the forty days between His resurrection from the grave and His ascension to
Heaven, Jesus “opened their minds to understand the
Scriptures.”
(Luke 24:45) Thus, Peter was led to
recognize the importance of replacing their fallen associate. Peter reminded his fellow believers that
Judas, who had allowed his greed for money to lead him to destruction, needed
to be replaced to fulfil the writing in the Psalms.
By the
time the events of our text took place, Judas’ betrayal of the Savior was
public knowledge. Peter stood up
among the brothers and said, “Gentlemen, brothers, the Scripture had to be
fulfilled, which the Holy Spirit spoke long ago through the mouth of David
about Judas, who became a guide for those who arrested Jesus. Judas was counted as one of us and was given
a share in this ministry. Now this man
acquired a field with what he was paid for his wicked act. When he fell headfirst, his middle burst
open, and all his intestines spilled out.” (This became known to all the
residents of Jerusalem, and so in their own language that field was called
Akeldema, which means Field of Blood.)
Peter
says Judas bought a field with his ill-gotten gains, which was Peter’s way of
reminding his friends of how Judas gave up the sure hope of eternal glory and
peace in exchange for nothing more than a few square feet of dirt in a cemetery
purchased for foreigners with the coins Judas was paid to betray Jesus. From the way Judas’ suicide is reported, it can
be assumed that no one claimed his dead body, but that it hung there on the
tree until it bloated and burst open. Some
unfortunate official likely had to deal with the corpse and buried it among the
strangers.
Yet, Judas
could have had everything. Jesus taught
His followers, “Seek first the kingdom of
God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you.” (Matthew 6:33)
Furthermore, Jesus died for Judas also. Time and again, Jesus had pleaded with Judas
to turn away from his greed. Then, even
after his great sin, Judas could have been forgiven because God declared the
whole world innocent for Jesus’ sake. The
riches of heaven were there for him, too, but when it finally hit Judas that he
had betrayed his Lord, he could no longer hear Jesus’ plea: “Father forgive them, for they do not know
what they are doing.”
Unfortunately,
dying without knowing what Jesus has done to save sinners happens to more
people than we might possibly dare guess.
Therefore, because everyone needs to learn about Jesus, and He wants
that Good News widely told, the Lord moved Peter to lead his fellow apostles to
replace Judas in the apostolic team appointed to bear witness to Jesus’
resurrection. Now, surely, Jesus’ resurrection
would be just as certain with only eleven official witnesses to its truth. Yet, how much better to know that even this tiny
bit of obscure prophecy was fulfilled along with everything else God promised.
The fact
that Jesus rose on the third day is the clincher that proves He is exactly who
He claimed to be and that everything God had promised through the Old Testament
prophecies has been fulfilled in Jesus.
No one else could ever take His place; Jesus alone is the promised
Messiah, because only Jesus could predict His death, and His resurrection from
the dead, and make that second part come true.
Furthermore, Jesus provided twelve eyewitnesses to that facts of His
triumph. Even the one witness the devil enticed
into destruction has been replaced by the loving Savior who gave His life for
all.
Now, did
you notice that it was the Lord Jesus who made the decision as to who replaced
Judas? Some might think Peter did it, or
the disciples collectively. However, at the
urging of the Scriptures, the group was led to identify other eyewitnesses who
had been with them and Jesus the whole time of His ministry on earth. Out of all those who had followed Jesus for
at least some time, they found two men who met the necessary
qualifications. Later writers confirm
for us that these two were also among the seventy-two Jesus sent out to
proclaim the Good News among the Jewish people.
Even at that, the disciples didn’t make the choice of which man should
replace Jesus. Rather, they left that
decision to their Savior as they prayed, "Lord,
you know everyone's heart. Show us which
of these two you have chosen to take the place in this apostolic ministry from which
Judas turned away to go to his own
place.” Then they assigned lots for
them, and the lot fell to Matthias. So
he was counted with the eleven apostles.
Jesus
made the choice as to who would be the apostles to carry the Good News of His
resurrection from the dead to the world.
Some might wonder what special quality these twelve men possessed that
made Jesus pick them. However, that may
be a misguided question. It wasn’t
anything special about their talents that made Jesus choose these certain
ones. Rather, they are special because
Jesus chose them, kept them close to Himself and faithful to Him through all
the things that happened during His ministry here on earth. Jesus chose them, taught them, and empowered
them, because their testimony is especially important for you and me.
You see,
our salvation rests on whether Jesus rose from the grave. If Jesus didn’t rise to life on the third day
as He promised He would, then the most He could be is a madman, or some insane
dreamer who thought he could imitate God.
In that case, our faith would be completely futile and as Paul wrote, “we are the most pitiful people of all.” (1 Corinthians 15:19) However, so
that would not be the case, Jesus made His resurrection a certifiably true
event. Not only did Jesus rise from the
grave as He had predicted He would, but He made sure there were plenty of eyewitnesses
to report the event to the rest of the world, so that all of us could,
likewise, enjoy the resurrection Jesus will one day bring to us. He did nothing in secret.
My friends, Judas abandoned the apostolic ministry
that would have given him eternal life.
For that foolish decision, he bought himself a grave of shame and an
eternity in the devil’s prison. Today, I
urge you, instead, to Follow the Glory greater than gold. As each of you go forward, continue to chose
those things that keep you in the true Christian faith. Whether the Lord blesses you with riches or
poverty, good health or crippling disease, joy, sorrow, or persecution, keep
your eyes focused on the resurrected Savior who came down from heaven to take
on human flesh and live, suffer, die, and rise, alive again, for you.
God’s Son
became a Man so that He could win forgiveness and eternal life for you and for
all. Every decision the Father made, and
every plan that was laid out to bring salvation to mankind was verified as true,
certain, and complete when Jesus rose from the dead. Jesus’ resurrection from the dead proclaims
that your sins are forgiven—that is the testimony of the Scriptures. Your Savior lives—this too is testified as
true by the twelve competent eyewitnesses appointed for that purpose. Despite hardship and trials, the apostles
devoted their lives to spreading that Good News around the world, so that you
and I and many others could learn of Jesus and be saved.
Naturally,
you and I have just as much temptation around us as Judas had—maybe more. If we should ever let greed take over our
hearts, or lust, or hatred, or any other wicked desire, then we too are in
danger of falling from God’s grace. Therefore,
so that you may enjoy the everlasting salvation Jesus has won for you, Follow
the Glory greater than gold. Follow the Savior who gave His life so that
you may live and never die. Devote
yourself to prayer and Bible study all the days of your life. Continue to gather with fellow believers, in
prayer and thanksgiving, immersed in the Word of God’s grace, and partaking of
the heavenly food of Jesus’ body and blood in the bread and wine freely given
for the forgiveness of your sins. Hear,
again and again, the Good News that Jesus died to cover your guilt, but He now
lives and reigns so that He can take you home to heaven in joyous peace.
Jesus put
those twelve men in place so that there can be no doubt about the truths of
Scripture. God’s Son entered our world
to win a victory only He could gain.
Jesus lived in perfect holiness on behalf of all people. Jesus died on a cross to pay for the sins of
the world. He died there for you and for
me, but unlike every other person in the history of the world, Jesus rose again
on the third day just as He had promised.
According to the report of the Holy Spirit, Jesus now lives for you and
is returning to judge the world and to take home with Him to heaven all those
who remain in the true Christian faith until the end. For the peace only Jesus can give, Follow
the Glory greater than gold. Amen.
God be
gracious to us and bless us; His face shine upon us. Amen.
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