God’s Perfect Plan - Acts 1:12-26
As we look back on S*park 2018, it was through the collective planning of the organizers and preparation work and execution by the church as a whole that we saw S*park come to fruition. There were instances where things did not go “according to plan”, but by God’s grace we managed to recover and managed the best we could.
What about God? Does God make mistakes in His plans? Are there instances where He failed to consider a critical issue in planning?
Acts 1:12-26 seeks to address the above. In short, the passage recalls Judas betraying Jesus and Matthias replacing Judas as an Apostle. The passage shows us that God’s plan will not fail; His plans are always sure and we can trust God because of the following 3 reasons:
1. God will judge the wicked
2. God will keep His Word
3. God will have His witnesses
1. God will judge the wicked
After Christ had ascended, the first act of the disciples was to obey Jesus’s command to go back to Jerusalem to wait for the coming of the Spirit (v12). As they gathered in an upper room in Jerusalem, it is mentioned that Judas Iscariot was not among them because he had committed suicide after betraying Jesus (v16-18).
The Bible tells us that Judas was never a believer from the beginning and Jesus knew that. Judas spent 3 years with Him, witnessing all the miracles, sitting through the personal teachings of Jesus and yet he did not believe. When the final expectation of Jesus restoring the kingdom of Israel did not happen, Judas decided to betray Jesus.
Judas died a horrific death shortly after his defection and this indicates that God was aware of his unrighteousness and judged him. The point of this is to let the church know that God cannot be mocked. In Acts, we see God judging Ananias and Sapphira and killed them on the spot for lying to the Spirit and mocking God in the process. In chapter 12, God judged Herod with a horrible death for claiming the glory which was meant for God.
God has the right and ability to judge wickedness immediately or eventually. It shows us that God is sovereign and He, not sin, is the one with the final authority. Therefore we can trust God and His plans.
2. God will fulfill His Word
It is certainly not a morale booster for the church to know that one of their leaders was responsible for the betrayal and capture of their Master. In addressing this, Peter says in v16 that “scripture must needs have been fulfilled”; all these had to happen because God prophesized in scripture and said that it would happen. Peter goes on to quote 2 psalms by David, attributing the real author of scripture to the Holy Spirit (v16) and that David was merely the instrument to God used.
Psalms 69 can be used to prophetically apply to various stages in Jesus’ life. Peter picked out Psa 69:25 to specifically apply to Judas in the NT context. Peter also quotes from Psa 109:8, where David pleads for God’s judgment on his enemies and for someone to replace them. Peter applies this here to declare the judgment of Judas and that Judas’ position is free to go to another candidate. Prior to Jesus, the Jews had been interpreting psalms to prophetically point towards the Messiah, so it is not uncommon for Peter to do so here.
The betrayal and crucifixion of the Son of God happened because God had planned it. God’s plan to advance the gospel was not disrupted by Judas’ betrayal of Jesus, it was all ordained by God and because God had ordained these things, we can fully trust Him when He tells us to be witnesses to the uttermost parts of the earth. We can trust Him to make it happen because He had said so. Just as how God will fulfill what He says in judgment, He will also fulfill what He says in His promises.
3. God will have His witnesses
Peter quotes Psa 109:8 to say that the replacement of Judas as an Apostle had been prophesised and Judas had to be replaced as he had obtained a part of the ministry that was meant for the 12 Apostles (v17). With Judas’ betrayal, he had given up his portion and this portion had to be taken up by another who was qualified. It is in God’s plan that there needs to be 12 Apostles as Jesus had taught earlier that the 12 will sit upon 12 thrones to rule over the 12 tribes of Israel. (Matt 19:28, Luke 22:28-30)
The qualifications to be an Apostle was that the candidate had to:
1. Chosen by Jesus (Mark 3:13, Luke 6:13, Acts 1:22-24, 9:13, Rom 1:1)
2. Witness of resurrected Christ (Acts 1:22)
2 were appointed: Joseph and Matthias. In drawing the lots for the replacement of Judas, they prayed (v24) for Jesus to make the choice between the 2. Jesus as King and Lord is the one who calls and appoints His own apostles. As long as Christ is Lord and is overseeing His church, He will never leave us unequipped.
Just as how He chooses and provides 12 apostles, if He requires witnesses, God will have them. God will provide the means to save His people and to make His Word known. He calls us to be His witnesses not because He is lacking but because He wants to give us the privilege of doing so.
Conclusion
We can trust God and His perfect plan because He will judge the wicked, keep His Word and He will have His witnesses. Last week, we saw that to be a better witness we had to grow our love for Jesus. How can we learn to trust God more? In this passage, we see instances of corporate church prayer, once in v14 they continued praying while they were waiting and in choosing the 12th apostle, they prayed.
While we wait in our own lives, why not move away from checking our gadgets and playing our games to spend time in prayer? In prayer, why not be bold and pray for the big things in life, praying for a spouse, child or direction in our ministry life. Why not be bold in committing these things to God and trusting Him to bring His wonderful plan for us to fruition.
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