Acts 1:20-22 20“For it is written in the book of Psalms, ‘Let his homestead become desolate, and let there be no one who dwells in it’; and ‘Let another take his position as overseer.’ 21“Therefore, it is necessary, of the men who have accompanied us all the time that the Lord Jesus went in and out among us, 22beginning with the baptism of John until the day that he was taken up from us, to be one of those who was a witness with us of his resurrection.”
Peter saw the connection of Judas’ death with Psalm 69:25, which he quotes in verse 20. Judas lost his place as part of the family because of his choice. That left only eleven apostles. The number twelve was important in Israel because of the twelve sons of Jacob and the twelve tribes of Israel. The early church, especially as Luke interprets it in Acts, was a continuation of Israel and the fulfillment of God’s plan begun long ago through Abraham. The problem facing the small group of one hundred twenty (which itself was symbolic as twelve times ten) was that Judas abandoned his place in the circle because of his betrayal.
Peter also quotes a phrase from Psalm 109:8 that Judas needed to be replaced. Since David was inspired by the Holy Spirit to write these psalms, the Holy Spirit must also be directing the apostles to find a replacement for Judas. Peter, and possibly the other apostles, felt it necessary to keep the perfect number twelve and find a replacement. Interestingly, there is no reference to Jesus saying this, although it is possible the disciples picked this up at some time. One might also wonder about Peter’s selective interpretation of Scripture. Luke only gives a snippet of what Peter may have said, so there is a lot unknown about the situation.
Peter next draws upon the central premise of apostleship. The word apostle basically means “one who is sent out.” It came to have two major applications in the New Testament. Broadly, it meant one who was sent out on a mission. More narrowly, this idea was applied to the select few disciples whom Jesus himself specifically sent. Jesus had many followers, but he specifically chose twelve to be his “sent out” leaders (Luke 6:13; 22:28-30). The primary qualification Peter draws upon in verses 21-22 is that Judas’ replacement must have been an eyewitness and have been with Jesus the whole time of his earthly ministry. This person had to be a faithful disciple who also witnessed Jesus’ resurrection. Much attention is given to the twelve apostles in the four Gospels, but we gain a significant insight in these verses that Jesus had many other followers who also believed like the twelve. The next challenge was to find who would replace Judas in this special cohort.
For older posts, click here.
