St. Matthias, Apostle                                   February 24, 2019



 



Acts 1:15-26



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.



 



In the Name of Jesus.



 



Twelve Apostles. It’s always twelve. In the Old Testament, it was the twelve sons of Jacob—Reuben and Levi and Joseph and the rest. From those twelve sons of Jacob we have the twelve tribes of Israel.



 



Israel, the people of God. Those rescued and brought into the promised land. These people beckoned to the altar in Jerusalem to be cleansed of all sin; these people, lowly sinners each one, yet justified by the voice of God, they are Israel, a light to the Gentiles, the revelation of salvation to the nations. This twelve tribes of Jacob is built on the Word of the prophets whom God sent to cleanse Israel, keeping them as his people.



 



It is good for us to remember this. For the Church—the Church we know now, the Church we are in, the New Testament Church—is the New Israel of God. Jesus with his own blood redeemed Israel and all the nations. Now all those gathered to the Body and Blood of Jesus, who came from the twelve tribes of Israel, are the true Israel of God.



 



It is all built on the twelve tribes. God will have his twelve.



 



To not have twelve is to not have it all, to have less than fulness. It would be a man going to the store to buy eleven eggs. Or going over to the cooler of six packs, and trying to buy five beers. Why? No one buys eleven eggs, no one buys five beers. You buy the carton of twelve, or the six pack, you get the whole thing, the fulness.



 



God will have his twelve. So when Jesus, who is Israel reduced to one—he’s standing in for the whole thing—when he appoints Apostles, it’s  twelve. Luke 6:12 :



12 In these days [Jesus] went out to the mountain to pray, and all night he continued in prayer to God. 13 And when day came, he called his disciples and chose from them twelve, whom he named apostles: 14 Simon, whom he named Peter, and Andrew his brother, and James and John, and Philip, and Bartholomew, 15 and Matthew, and Thomas, and James the son of Alphaeus, and Simon who was called the Zealot, 16 and Judas the son of James, and Judas Iscariot.



 



God has his twelve.