Acts 1:12-26 | the Need for PrayerSample

Let’s talk about the twelfth man. Peter is adamant that Judas had to be replaced to bring the number of apostles up to twelve. Why not just stick with eleven? Or appoint both Justus and Matthias and make it thirteen?

A little bit of reflection on how Peter viewed the apostles in light of Biblical history and Jesus’s ministry makes it clear. The apostles mirror the twelve tribes of Israel. We can easily get side-tracked into theological debates as to how the church functions as a “new Israel.” Don’t get side-tracked. What’s important for our purposes is to remember that Israel was always meant to be God’s light to the nations.

The apostolic ministry is not something new. At least not in the sense of being divorced from God’s previous plans. God always wanted to bring his light to the nations through Israel. Through a new Israel defined in Jesus, He does. The church serves the same purpose Israel always had. Which means the church is not something new. Peter knows this. And he knows the church goes out according to God’s plan and authority.

Maybe you haven’t witnessed Jesus’s ministry from the time of His baptism through His resurrection like those first apostles had. But if you’re a believer, you do know what Jesus has done and have witnessed what He’s done for you. Share that in God’s authority. Bring the light and blessing of Christ to those around you. Pray that God opens up opportunities for you to be His witness.