Friday, March 02, 2007
Simon Stood Up
It can be difficult to remember that when Jesus ascended into heaven, the disciples encountered a whole new reality. These men had been accustomed to the physical presence of Jesus. Now, they were having to encounter the challenges of life by relying on the Holy Spirit. This was a necessary change if the men were going to truly become a new creature in Christ. However, this jump was far from easy. It required unity, prayer and waiting on God to move. Then, they had to act when prompted by the Holy Spirit and the conviction of Scripture.
Jesus told the disciples about the power of the Spirit and his mission to guide them into the reality of becoming sons of God. Jesus said, "I have yet many things to say unto you, but ye cannot bear them now. Howbeit when he, the Spirit of truth, is come, he will guide you into all truth: for he shall not speak of himself; but whatsoever he shall hear, that shall he speak: and he will shew you things to come. He shall glorify me: for he shall receive of mine, and shall shew it unto you" (John 16:12-14 KJV).
The disciples knew the teachings of Jesus although they were only just learning to understand them. There was no clear, definite Gospel for them to rally around. Much of the Christian doctrine was just beginning to take shape. The original apostles were Jews who were discovering a new reality of God's kingdom on earth. They never set out to start a new religion.
With this in mind, the disciples followed Jesus' last order and they stayed together in Jerusalem. They waited for the outpouring of the Holy Spirit just as Jesus had promised. They prayed and remained unified under God's purpose. All of this created the perfect atmosphere for the Holy Spirit to move in their lives.
The disciples are in an upper room and Simon stood up in the midst of them. The phrase "stood up" here is anistemi in the Greek. It means to cause to rise up or to raise from the dead. It can also mean to those who leave a place to go elsewhere, those who prepare themselves for a journey. That is exactly what happened to Simon here. He was entering his calling and mission. He was going on a journey that would eventually take him to a life he would have never chosen on his own.
Simon would now be known as Peter because he stood up and took the position given him by God. Simon stood up as one of them to lead in the moment. Then, he would sit down again because Christ had modeled what it meant to be a servant leader. Instead of each man striving for power, they were learning how to be unified around Jesus as Lord. None of them were better than the other even though there were leaders in the group. Leadership was never about the individual, it was about the leader as a vessel for God's purposes.
Identifying a hole in their leadership, Peter pointed out the Scriptural need to fill the vacancy left by Judas. Whenever a leader falls, it can cause problems for the local Church. People's faith may waver because it can be easy to get sidetracked by the public sin of a leader. Even for the devout believer, people can easily focus on man rather than God.
It is not clear whether Peter acted upon the instruction of Jesus, the guidance of the Holy Spirit or just what seemed right to him at the time. Since we never hear any more about the man selected to replace Judas, some scholars have theorized that this was a misstep. Maybe it was. Maybe it wasn't. The point is that Peter stood up and began to encourage the group to move forward. This decision was more about momentum than anything else. It also reveals God's ability to move in the Church despite a leader's sin.
Peter explained how Judas did what was necessary to fulfill Scripture. He said this to put those events in perspective not to dismiss the severity of Judas' sin. Peter said that another man should take the spot vacated by Jesus. Clearly, he stated that the replacement must be an eyewitness of Jesus' life and ministry.
The group identified two men - Justus and Matthias. Then they prayed and asked for God's guidance. They prayed, "Thou, Lord, which knowest the hearts of all men, shew whether of these two thou hast chosen." They cast lots, and the lot fell upon Matthias.
Interestingly, we never hear anything more Matthias. Since Jesus selected the original twelve, maybe He was going to fill the vacancy in His time. The apostles had yet to receive the baptism in the Holy Spirit. Maybe they were acting presumptuously in a manner unauthorized by God. We don't fully know. All we really know is that God continued to work through it.
The apostles recognized Matthias as one of them. This remained the case even after the Spirit came upon them. Many other apostles were not mentioned again either. This did not destroy their standing as apostles. This meant that Matthias likely filled a role even though Paul later became a great apostle anointed by God.
It can be hard to piece together concrete theological guidelines based on what happened. Paul was a different kind of apostle. His ministry centered around spreading the Gospel to the Gentiles not the Jews.
The eleven may have sought a replacement because Jesus originally chose twelve, which was a significant number to the Jews given that there were twelves tribes of Israel. Jesus had promised them that they should sit upon twelve thrones judging the twelve tribes of Israel. This required that there be a replacement for Judas.
The lot fell on Matthias, and the rest is history. The main point of the whole story is that Peter stood up and encouraged the group to move forward. Peter began to lead and God worked through it even when he may have made a misstep. Being an effective leader in the kingdom of God is more about our willingness than our brilliance.
Peter stood up again when the Holy Spirit fell on the day of Pentecost. Some people thought the group was drunk. But Peter explained the event and called the scoffers to repent. He preached an anointed sermon where he explained the Scriptural significance of the moment. All of this came from an unlearned fisherman who simply trusted God enough to be used by Him.
Three thousand people were added to the Church that day in one of the greatest revival moments in the Bible.
Jesus told the disciples about the power of the Spirit and his mission to guide them into the reality of becoming sons of God. Jesus said, "I have yet many things to say unto you, but ye cannot bear them now. Howbeit when he, the Spirit of truth, is come, he will guide you into all truth: for he shall not speak of himself; but whatsoever he shall hear, that shall he speak: and he will shew you things to come. He shall glorify me: for he shall receive of mine, and shall shew it unto you" (John 16:12-14 KJV).
The disciples knew the teachings of Jesus although they were only just learning to understand them. There was no clear, definite Gospel for them to rally around. Much of the Christian doctrine was just beginning to take shape. The original apostles were Jews who were discovering a new reality of God's kingdom on earth. They never set out to start a new religion.
With this in mind, the disciples followed Jesus' last order and they stayed together in Jerusalem. They waited for the outpouring of the Holy Spirit just as Jesus had promised. They prayed and remained unified under God's purpose. All of this created the perfect atmosphere for the Holy Spirit to move in their lives.
The disciples are in an upper room and Simon stood up in the midst of them. The phrase "stood up" here is anistemi in the Greek. It means to cause to rise up or to raise from the dead. It can also mean to those who leave a place to go elsewhere, those who prepare themselves for a journey. That is exactly what happened to Simon here. He was entering his calling and mission. He was going on a journey that would eventually take him to a life he would have never chosen on his own.
Simon would now be known as Peter because he stood up and took the position given him by God. Simon stood up as one of them to lead in the moment. Then, he would sit down again because Christ had modeled what it meant to be a servant leader. Instead of each man striving for power, they were learning how to be unified around Jesus as Lord. None of them were better than the other even though there were leaders in the group. Leadership was never about the individual, it was about the leader as a vessel for God's purposes.
Identifying a hole in their leadership, Peter pointed out the Scriptural need to fill the vacancy left by Judas. Whenever a leader falls, it can cause problems for the local Church. People's faith may waver because it can be easy to get sidetracked by the public sin of a leader. Even for the devout believer, people can easily focus on man rather than God.
It is not clear whether Peter acted upon the instruction of Jesus, the guidance of the Holy Spirit or just what seemed right to him at the time. Since we never hear any more about the man selected to replace Judas, some scholars have theorized that this was a misstep. Maybe it was. Maybe it wasn't. The point is that Peter stood up and began to encourage the group to move forward. This decision was more about momentum than anything else. It also reveals God's ability to move in the Church despite a leader's sin.
Peter explained how Judas did what was necessary to fulfill Scripture. He said this to put those events in perspective not to dismiss the severity of Judas' sin. Peter said that another man should take the spot vacated by Jesus. Clearly, he stated that the replacement must be an eyewitness of Jesus' life and ministry.
The group identified two men - Justus and Matthias. Then they prayed and asked for God's guidance. They prayed, "Thou, Lord, which knowest the hearts of all men, shew whether of these two thou hast chosen." They cast lots, and the lot fell upon Matthias.
Interestingly, we never hear anything more Matthias. Since Jesus selected the original twelve, maybe He was going to fill the vacancy in His time. The apostles had yet to receive the baptism in the Holy Spirit. Maybe they were acting presumptuously in a manner unauthorized by God. We don't fully know. All we really know is that God continued to work through it.
The apostles recognized Matthias as one of them. This remained the case even after the Spirit came upon them. Many other apostles were not mentioned again either. This did not destroy their standing as apostles. This meant that Matthias likely filled a role even though Paul later became a great apostle anointed by God.
It can be hard to piece together concrete theological guidelines based on what happened. Paul was a different kind of apostle. His ministry centered around spreading the Gospel to the Gentiles not the Jews.
The eleven may have sought a replacement because Jesus originally chose twelve, which was a significant number to the Jews given that there were twelves tribes of Israel. Jesus had promised them that they should sit upon twelve thrones judging the twelve tribes of Israel. This required that there be a replacement for Judas.
The lot fell on Matthias, and the rest is history. The main point of the whole story is that Peter stood up and encouraged the group to move forward. Peter began to lead and God worked through it even when he may have made a misstep. Being an effective leader in the kingdom of God is more about our willingness than our brilliance.
Peter stood up again when the Holy Spirit fell on the day of Pentecost. Some people thought the group was drunk. But Peter explained the event and called the scoffers to repent. He preached an anointed sermon where he explained the Scriptural significance of the moment. All of this came from an unlearned fisherman who simply trusted God enough to be used by Him.
Three thousand people were added to the Church that day in one of the greatest revival moments in the Bible.
