Acts 1:26: \u201cAnd they cast lots for them, and the lot fell on Matthias, and he was numbered with the eleven apostles.\u201d <\/p>\n
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This is our text. Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. Amen.<\/p>\n
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Dear Friends in Christ,<\/p>\n
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For some reason it seems that our Lord likes to work in twelves. That\u2019s the number of His people. In the Old Testament, it\u2019s the twelve tribes of Israel\u2014descendants of the twelve sons of Jacob. In the New Testament, it\u2019s the twelve apostles; and the new Israel, the Church, will be descendants of the Word they preach. <\/p>\n
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Now, the number twelve doesn\u2019t prescribe anything for the Church in terms of practice: we don\u2019t have to meet here in multiples of twelve in order to be pleasing to God or anything like that. But twelve has significance in Scripture: quite often when you hear it, it\u2019s usually there to remind you that the Lord has His people\u2014and the Lord is faithful to His people. <\/p>\n
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As our text begins, there are eleven apostles, not twelve. Judas is gone, and you\u2019re treated to a rather graphic description of his end in our reading. There\u2019s a reason for this, I think: the language is rich with comparisons between the Savior, just ascended into heaven; and Judas, His betrayer. <\/p>\n
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Peter points out in our text that there were prophecies of Judas in the Old Testament, just as there were prophecies of Jesus. According to the psalms, the camp of Judas would be desolate and uninhabited\u2014but Jesus would gather the nations. The office of apostle that Judas held would go to another, but Jesus would reign forever. <\/p>\n
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The contrast continues: Judas, Peter says, was numbered among the apostles\u2014but his position profited nothing because of his unbelief. Jesus, on the other hand, was numbered among the transgressors, says Isaiah\u2014and His office there redeemed the world from sin. <\/p>\n
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There is similarity in death between Jesus and Judas: both were hanged on a tree, and Deuteronomy 21:23 declares that the one who is hanged on a tree is cursed. Jesus was nailed to the tree of the cross by His enemies and judged by God for the sins of the world\u2014because He bore the curse of sin, He made the sacrifice for all. Judas hanged himself in utter despair\u2014not a sacrifice for others, but an act of selfish loathing. Because he rejected the grace his Savior offered, he kept the curse of sin for himself.<\/p>\n
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There\u2019s a striking difference to their bodies after death. Jesus was pierced in the side: blood and water flowed to declare salvation and life in His name. Judas\u2019 side opened and \u201chis bowels gushed out\u201d \u2014 a testimony of the corruption sin brings. <\/p>\n
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Jesus was laid in a tomb: friends and followers still honored Him in death. He was given a proper burial in a rich man\u2019s tomb, and the women even returned with spices to complete the work early on that Easter morning. There\u2019s no sign that Judas was buried: instead, he fell headlong into a field, says our text. I can imagine the burial crew cutting him down and heaving him onto the dirt as the sun was near setting. Throughout Scripture, the one who is left unburied is the one who has no friends or family left to bury him. There is no one left willing to associate with him: it is a sign of utter forsakenness. <\/p>\n
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Laid in a borrowed tomb, Jesus was buried in the creation He came to redeem. Ironically, Judas was cast onto the field purchased with the thirty pieces of silver he received for betraying Jesus.<\/p>\n
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Finally, remember that this text takes place just after Jesus has ascended into heaven, having gone to prepare a place for His people. When the disciples pray in our text, they note that Judas has gone to \u201chis own place.\u201d He is not with God. Whatever else hell is, the greatest curse of it is to be cut off from God, from His grace and life forever. This is a despair that you and I cannot possibly fathom in this lifetime, because this world is not God-forsaken. <\/p>\n
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So the lengthy description of Judas\u2019 end preaches the Law to you: the one who rejects the Lord and His grace faces corruption and death, cut off from God. In contrast, the death of Jesus proclaims the Gospel to you, because it is the Gospel: He is crucified and raised so that you might be with God forever. <\/p>\n
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So as our text begins, Jesus is gone\u2014ascended into heaven. Judas is\u2026just gone. The twelve are down to eleven. They\u2019re incomplete\u2014and God is not one to leave things incomplete. Peter takes the lead and addresses the believers, about 120 of them. He proposes a replacement for Judas. It is to be a man who has followed Jesus since He was baptized by John\u2014a follower from the start who wasn\u2019t one of the twelve. At least two men among the 120 fit the description: Joseph\u2014called Barsabbas but also known as Justus, and Matthias. The plan seems good to the believers, so they pray and cast lots. This doesn\u2019t necessarily mean a blind draw, by the way. Sometimes in Scripture, it\u2019s like a roll of the dice, as when soldiers cast lots for Jesus\u2019 clothing. At other times, though, lots are cast as a voting system. At any rate, what we know is this: the believers cast lots, and Matthias is chosen as the replacement. The Lord has His twelve again. <\/p>\n
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What happens to Matthias after this? We don\u2019t know. He disappears from Scripture. With other apostles, historical tradition usually sticks to one story about what happened to them; but with Matthias, there are several different traditions which disagree with one another. So this is the story of Matthias: he\u2019s an unknown follower of Jesus from the beginning; he\u2019s chosen as the twelfth apostle, and then we hear nothing more of him. So we don\u2019t know Matthias. That\u2019s all right: we\u2019ll meet him eventually in heaven. In the meantime, we know that that Lord knows Matthias; and for Matthias, that\u2019s what matters. <\/p>\n
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Furthermore, we rejoice that the Lord has His twelve again: and again, from the Word that they preach, the new Israel\u2014the Church\u2014will be born. The Word will spread to all nations and endure throughout history; and as the Lord did not forget Matthias, He will not forget one of those who believes in Christ and Him crucified. The believers add up over time: in Revelation, they\u2019re described as a multitude no one can number; but, nearly in the same breath, John gives them a number\u2014144,000. It\u2019s not a literal number, but a symbolic one. 144,000 equals 12 x 12 x 1000: it stands for all the believers of the Old Testament (the first 12) and all the believers of the New Testament (the second 12), because 1000 is a number that symbolizes \u201call.\u201d <\/p>\n
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So what does all of this mean for you? You are numbered among the people of God. You are among the 144,000 that no one can number. The Lord brought you in by the waters of Holy Baptism and placed His name upon you: He marked you as His own and promised, \u201cI will never leave you nor forsake you.\u201d He\u2019s chosen you to be His. Of course, He also chose Judas to be His disciple, and Judas fell from the faith. That is why the Lord graciously visits you in His Word and by His Supper, to strengthen and preserve you in the one true faith unto life everlasting. <\/p>\n
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So in the end, this story of Jesus, Judas and Matthias is one of comfort for those who are near to despair, who are troubled that they are God-forsaken and left to destruction as Judas was. You are not. Christ has died for all of your sins. He is risen from the dead, and ascended into heaven to rule over all things for your good. He has called you as His own beloved child. He promises, \u201cI am with you always, even to the end of the age.\u201d He didn\u2019t forget the unknown Matthias, and He will not forget you. The devil will do his best to make you think the Lord has forsaken you, but the Lord\u2019s Word is sure. You are numbered among the 144,000, among the people of God\u2014because you are forgiven for all of your sins.
\nIn the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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