Acts 1:21-22 Why of these men which have companied with us all the time that the Lord Jesus went in and out among us,… On the day which is appointed to commemorate the Apostle Matthias, our Church has selected for the Epistle a portion of Scripture from the Acts of the Apostles, the only portion of Scripture in which his name is to be found. Whatever else is related of him in uninspired authors is attended with uncertainty, however worthy of remembrance. One circumstance is mentioned concerning him by two respectable writers among the early Christians, viz., that he was one of the seventy disciples whom the Lord Christ, during His earthly ministry, sent forth to work miracles and to preach in His name. This circumstance proves that he was known to Christ, and Christ to him; and that Christ had distinguished him among His followers. I. The first piece of instruction which I think we may learn from this portion of Scripture history is THAT AMONG THE GOOD AND FAITHFUL SERVANTS OF GOD BAD AND UNFAITHFUL MEN MY BE FOUND. Judas Iscariot was a traitor among the twelve apostles. Satan, as we read in the Book of Job, was among the sons of God when they came to present themselves to Jehovah. Among the early converts to the faith of Christ, Ananias and Sapphira, and Simon Magus, were discovered to be insincere. Our Saviour's parables of the wheat and tares growing in the same field, and of the good and bad fish caught in the same net, give us the like view of His Church here on earth. We know that His Church triumphant will be presented to Him "a glorious Church, not having spot or wrinkle, or any such thing, but holy and without blemish." The ministers of Christ's Church, though especially called to be examples to the people whom they are appointed to teach and lead, are certainly not exempt from this corrupting influence: neither is it to be expected that they should be. They are still but men, liable to temptation as the rest of mankind, and subject to the peculiar temptations of their calling. II. But another piece of instruction which we may learn from this portion of Scripture history is THAT, THOUGH WICKEDNESS BE FOREKNOWN, FORETOLD, AND PREDETERMINED BY GOD, IT IS WICKEDNESS NOTWITHSTANDING. To God, who knows all things, it was certainly known that Judas would act the part which history relates he did. Was Judas, then, innocent on this account? Mark the language of the historian in writing of it: "This man [Judas] purchased a field with the reward of his iniquity." Take another instance of the like kind in our Lord Jesus Christ: "Him," says St. Peter, "being delivered by the determinate counsel and foreknowledge of God, ye have taken, and by wicked hands have crucified and slain." Let no Christian, therefore, set the foreknowledge and predestination of God against the willing agency and responsibility of man, as if they were inconsistent and at variance with each other, and could not both be true. And let those who would excuse their impieties, by pretending a fatal necessity, be told that, if their sins be decreed and inevitable, so also is their punishment; and if they cannot but choose the one, they must equally choose the other. III. A third piece of instruction which we may learn from this portion of Scripture history is THAT WHEN, BY DEATH OR OTHERWISE, A MINISTER OF CHRIST'S CHURCH IS REMOVED FROM HIS CUSTOMARY SPHERE OF SPIRITUAL LABOUR, IT IS THE DUTY OF THE BISHOP, PATRON, AND PEOPLE, AS FAR AS LIES IN THEM, TO APPOINT A GOOD AND WELL-QUALIFIED MINISTER IN HIS PLACE. We may notice, however, in the election of Matthias what was thought particularly necessary for his office. "Wherefore of these men which have companied with us all the time that the Lord Jesus went in and out among us, beginning from the baptism of John unto that same day that He was taken from us, must one be ordained to be a witness with us of His resurrection." It was an accurate knowledge of Jesus, from the beginning of His public ministry, which was from the time of His being baptised by John to the day of His ascension into heaven. And this knowledge was to qualify the apostle to be a witness of the resurrection of Jesus. Next, therefore, to honesty of character and sincerity of affection to Jesus, this information was a needful quality in a preacher of the gospel. The same quality is still needed in preachers of the gospel, though not to, be obtained from visible intercourse with the holy Jesus. They ought to be well acquainted with the history of His life; with the prophecies of the Old Testament concerning Him; with the manner of their fulfilment, as far as they have been fulfilled; and with all the evidences which clearly prove Him to be "the Christ, the Saviour of the world." To state this knowledge properly and effectually, their hearts also ought to be warmed with love to Jesus, and to the sinners whom He came "to seek and to save." IV. A fourth piece of instruction which we may learn from this portion of Scripture history is THE DUTY OF PRAYER IN THE CASE OF THE ORDINATION OF MINISTERS GENERALLY, AND ON THE APPOINTMENT OF ANY INDIVIDUAL MINISTER TO SOME PARTICULAR FIELD OF LABOUR IN THE CHURCH OF GOD. This duty was carefully performed by the apostles and disciples of Christ in the instance before us. Let private prayer be added to that which is public, that the Holy Spirit may direct the minds and hearts of all parties concerned in the ordination of ministers. Having thus prayed in faith, they should receive the minister sent to them as Christ's ambassador, to be reverenced for the sake of the King, his divine Master. But, more than this, their prayers should be seconded and followed up by active and cheerful efforts to help him in the great work to which he is called; to unite with him, in their several spheres and stations, in promoting and extending his labour of love, in teaching the young and ignorant, in strengthening the weak, in correcting those who fall into error; and, by their own bright and consistent example, glorifying God, and causing God to be glorified by others, through them. (W. D. Johnston, M. A.) Parallel Verses KJV: Wherefore of these men which have companied with us all the time that the Lord Jesus went in and out among us, |
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