Restoring the Foundation: The Replacement of Judas Text: Acts 1:12-26
Introduction: The Vacant Chair
The Christian faith is not a philosophy floated on a sea of good intentions. It is a historical reality, grounded in historical events, accomplished by historical persons. The Lord Jesus did not leave behind a book of esoteric sayings; He left behind a band of men. He established a new Israel, a new humanity, and He did so by calling twelve apostles, a number that was anything but accidental. The twelve tribes of Israel were the foundation of the old covenant people, and the twelve apostles were to be the foundation of the new. As we see in the book of Revelation, the New Jerusalem has twelve gates named for the tribes and twelve foundations named for the apostles. It is all one story, one building, one people of God.
But as the book of Acts opens, there is a problem. There is a crack in the foundation. There is a vacant chair at the table. One of the twelve, Judas Iscariot, had fallen away in the most catastrophic manner imaginable. He was not just a failure; he was a traitor. He was not just a casualty; he was a fulfillment of dark prophecy. And so, before the Holy Spirit is poured out at Pentecost, before the great mission to the world begins, the first order of business for this fledgling church is to deal with this vacancy. It is a matter of constitutional order.
What the apostles do here, under the leadership of Peter, is not a frantic attempt to patch a hole in the boat. It is a deliberate, scriptural, and prayerful action to restore the integrity of the apostolic office. They understood that God's kingdom is an orderly kingdom. This passage shows us the early church in its first corporate act after the ascension. They are waiting, they are praying, and they are reading their Bibles. And in this, they provide a pattern for the church in all ages. When faced with a crisis, when dealing with the aftermath of sin and betrayal, the people of God must gather, pray, submit to the Word, and trust God to guide their decisions.
This is not just about filling an administrative slot. It is about the nature of the church, the authority of Scripture, the sovereignty of God over even the most wicked acts of men, and the importance of qualified leadership. God's purposes were not thwarted by Judas's treachery; they were fulfilled by it. And God's plan for His church would not be hindered by this vacancy; it would be established through its faithful resolution.
The Text
Then they returned to Jerusalem from the mount called Olivet, which is near Jerusalem, a Sabbath day’s journey away. And when they had entered the city, they went up to the upper room where they were staying; that is, Peter and John and James and Andrew, Philip and Thomas, Bartholomew and Matthew, James the son of Alphaeus, and Simon the Zealot, and Judas the son of James. These all with one accord were continually devoting themselves to prayer, along with the women, and Mary the mother of Jesus, and His brothers.
And in those days, Peter stood up in the midst of the brothers (a crowd of about 120 persons was there together), and said, “Men, brothers, the Scripture had to be fulfilled, which the Holy Spirit foretold by the mouth of David concerning Judas, who became a guide to those who arrested Jesus. For he was counted among us and received his share in this ministry.” (Now this man acquired a field with the price of his unrighteousness, and falling headlong, he burst open in the middle and all his intestines gushed out. And it became known to all who were living in Jerusalem; so that in their own language that field was called Hakeldama, that is, Field of Blood.) “For it is written in thebook of Psalms, ‘LET HIS RESIDENCE BE MADE DESOLATE, AND LET NO ONE DWELL IN IT’; and, ‘LET ANOTHER MAN TAKE HIS OFFICE.’ Therefore it is necessary that of the men who have accompanied us all the time that the Lord Jesus went in and out among us, beginning with the baptism of John until the day that He was taken up from us, one of these must become a witness with us of His resurrection.” And they put forward two men, Joseph called Barsabbas (who was also called Justus), and Matthias. And they prayed and said, “You, Lord, who know the hearts of all men, show which one of these two You have chosen to take the place of this ministry and apostleship from which Judas turned aside to go to his own place.” And they cast lots for them, and the lot fell to Matthias; and he was added to the eleven apostles.
(Acts 1:12-26 LSB)
Corporate Unity and Prayer (vv. 12-14)
We begin with the scene in the upper room:
"Then they returned to Jerusalem from the mount called Olivet, which is near Jerusalem, a Sabbath day’s journey away. And when they had entered the city, they went up to the upper room where they were staying... These all with one accord were continually devoting themselves to prayer..." (Acts 1:12-14)
After the glorious ascension of Christ, the disciples obey His last command: they go to Jerusalem and wait. Notice their posture. They are not scattered in confusion. They are gathered in unity. The phrase "with one accord" is crucial. This is the first mark of a healthy church. They are together, and they are together for one purpose. The list of the eleven apostles is given, a roll call that makes the absence of the twelfth man all the more conspicuous.
And what are they doing? They are devoting themselves to prayer. Before the action, before the decisions, before the sermons, there is prayer. They are waiting for the promise of the Father, the Holy Spirit, and they are waiting on their knees. This is not passive inactivity; it is the most intense form of activity. They are acknowledging their complete dependence on God for what is to come. With them are the women, including Mary the mother of Jesus, and the Lord's own brothers, who had once disbelieved but were now part of this praying core. This is the nucleus of the new creation, gathered in expectant prayer.
Peter's Scriptural Reasoning (vv. 15-20)
In this context of prayer, Peter stands up to address the situation of Judas.
"Men, brothers, the Scripture had to be fulfilled, which the Holy Spirit foretold by the mouth of David concerning Judas..." (Acts 1:16)
Peter does not begin with his own opinion or a pragmatic strategy. He begins with the Word of God. "The Scripture had to be fulfilled." This is the foundational premise of all Christian thinking. History is not a series of unfortunate events; it is the unfolding of God's sovereign decree, recorded for us in Scripture. God was not caught off guard by Judas. The Holy Spirit spoke of this very thing through David centuries before. This is a profound statement about divine sovereignty and human responsibility. Judas was a genuine apostle, "counted among us," who received a "share in this ministry." Yet his fall was not an accident; it was an appointment. As Peter would say later, Jesus was "delivered by the determinate counsel and foreknowledge of God" (Acts 2:23). God wields the wicked acts of men for His own greater glory without mitigating their guilt in the slightest.
Luke then includes a parenthetical note about Judas's gruesome end. He acquired a field with his blood money and died a horrific death. Some see a contradiction here with Matthew's account, where Judas hangs himself and the priests buy the field. But the harmony is straightforward. Judas hanged himself. The priests, with a fastidious and hypocritical conscience, refused to put the blood money in the treasury, so they used Judas's money to buy the field in his name. After Judas hanged himself, no one came to get the body. It hung there, bloated in the sun, until the rope broke or was cut, and he fell, bursting open. This was not done in a corner; it was public knowledge in Jerusalem, a notorious and wretched end for the son of perdition.
Peter then quotes two psalms to make his case. "Let his residence be made desolate" (Psalm 69:25) and "Let another man take his office" (Psalm 109:8). These are imprecatory psalms, psalms that call down God's judgment on His enemies. Our modern, sentimental age often chokes on such psalms, but the apostles used them without embarrassment. They understood that zeal for God's righteousness includes a zeal against unrighteousness. Peter applies these curses directly to Judas and draws a crucial conclusion: the office, the bishopric (episkopen), that Judas vacated must be filled. The man was a traitor, but the office was established by Christ and is essential to the foundation of the church.
Qualifications and Nomination (vv. 21-23)
Based on the scriptural mandate, Peter lays out the necessary qualifications for Judas's replacement.
"Therefore it is necessary that of the men who have accompanied us all the time that the Lord Jesus went in and out among us, beginning with the baptism of John until the day that He was taken up from us, one of these must become a witness with us of His resurrection.” (Acts 1:21-22)
The qualification was not for a man who had a warm heart or good administrative skills. The qualification was historical. A candidate had to be an eyewitness of the entire public ministry of Jesus, from His baptism by John right through to His ascension. Why? Because the unique role of an apostle was to be an authoritative, foundational witness to the resurrection. They were not just to preach a message; they were the message's primary authenticators. They had to be able to say, "We saw Him. We touched Him. We ate with Him after He rose from the dead." This is why apostolic authority is unique and unrepeatable. There are no apostles in this foundational sense today, because no one meets the qualifications.
From the larger group of disciples, they nominated two men who met this criterion: Joseph Barsabbas and Matthias. This shows us that there was a wider band of faithful followers who had been with Jesus from the beginning. These two were evidently men of good reputation, both qualified for the office. The choice was not obvious, so they turned from their own wisdom to God's.
Prayer and the Lot (vv. 24-26)
Having identified two qualified men, the church's final act is one of utter reliance on God.
"And they prayed and said, 'You, Lord, who know the hearts of all men, show which one of these two You have chosen...' And they cast lots for them, and the lot fell to Matthias." (Acts 1:24, 26)
Their prayer is a model of theological precision. They appeal to the Lord's omniscience: "You, Lord, who know the hearts of all men." Man looks on the outward appearance, and in this case, both men appeared equally qualified. But God knows the heart. They ask God to show them which one He had already chosen. They are not asking God to ratify their best guess; they are asking Him to reveal His sovereign choice.
Then they cast lots. This strikes many modern Christians as strange, like rolling dice to pick a pastor. But we must remember where we are in redemptive history. This is the last recorded instance of casting lots in the New Testament. It was an Old Covenant method for discerning God's will in a difficult decision, rooted in texts like Proverbs 16:33: "The lot is cast into the lap, but its every decision is from the LORD." They were living in the overlap of the ages. The Spirit had not yet been given at Pentecost to guide the church from within. So they used a recognized, scriptural method for seeking a divine verdict when human wisdom had reached its limit. They did their due diligence, they established the scriptural necessity, defined the qualifications, and identified suitable candidates. The lot was the final step of faith, entrusting the outcome entirely to God.
The lot fell to Matthias, and he was "added to the eleven apostles." The foundation was restored. The number was twelve again. The church was constitutionally ready for the coming of the Spirit and the launching of the great commission. Some have argued that the apostles acted presumptuously here, and that Paul was God's intended twelfth apostle. But there is no hint of that in the text. Luke records this as a faithful, prayerful, and successful action. Matthias was God's man, chosen by God's means, for God's purpose.
Conclusion: God's Unbroken Purpose
In this short episode, we see the pattern for faithful church life. It is a life lived together, under the authority of Scripture, saturated in prayer, and confident in the sovereignty of God. The fall of Judas was a terrible tragedy, a display of the depths of human sin. But it was not a disruption of God's plan. God's hand and counsel determined it before to be done.
The same principle applies to us. When we face betrayal, failure, and disruption in the church, our response must be the same. We must not resort to worldly pragmatism or despair. We must gather together in unity. We must open the Scriptures to see what God has said. We must devote ourselves to prayer, acknowledging that only the Lord knows the hearts of men and only He can build His church. And we must have confidence that even the most heinous sins cannot derail the purpose of God.
Judas went "to his own place." His office was taken by another. The work of the kingdom did not stop. God's foundation stands firm. He removes treacherous men and raises up faithful ones. He brings order out of the chaos of our sin. He is building His church, and the gates of Hell, not even betrayal from within, shall not prevail against it.