I gave this sermon at Philippine Baptist Theological Seminary (Baguio City, Philippines), in October 2023.
“Therefore, from among the men who have accompanied us during the whole time the Lord Jesus went in and out among us— beginning from the baptism of John until the day He was taken up from us— from among these, it is necessary that one become a witness with us of His resurrection.”
So they proposed two: Joseph, called Barsabbas, who was also known as Justus and Matthias. Then they prayed, “You Lord, know the hearts of all; show which of these two You have chosen to take the place in this apostolic service that Judas left to go to his own place. Then they cast lots for them and the lot fell to Matthias. So he was numbered with the 11 apostles.” -Acts 1:21ff
Recently I have found myself thinking about ministerial calling. At one time, I ignored that topic because I tend to think of God leading us in our ministerial journey in terms of a process, not like some big “event.” But I have had to take the idea of calling seriously more as I talk to students coming to seminary or to CPE who express the belief that they have received a calling from God to minister— God called and the church affirmed— but now trying to understand what their calling ultimately means in terms of their journey. Looking at calling in terms of a one-time big event doesn’t appear to be very helpful… but neither is simply looking at it as a gradual process either. A middle ground between these two extremes we find a rather obscure person in the Bible— the Apostle Matthias. In fact, what was just read about Matthias is all that is expressed explicitly about him in Scripture. There are some other works related to him that were written in the early years of the church… but we don’t know if they are historically accurate, or were simply early Christian fan fiction.
The calling of Matthias happens in 4 events covering 3 chapters of his ministerial life.
Despite how little we know about Matthias in terms of direct reference, we actually know a great deal of his ministerial life.
#1. Learning Faithfully: We know what he did for three years before the events of Acts 1. According to Peter, Matthias accompanied Jesus and the Twelve during the entire ministry of Jesus— from the Baptism by John until the ascension of Christ.
Now… deep down we know that Jesus had more than 12 disciples. In fact, there are numerous disciples— some named and some not. We know of secret disciples such as Nicodemus, disciples who were followers of Jesus but served in their home settings, like the healed demoniac of Gadara, or Mary, Martha, and Lazarus in Bethany. We know of disciples who followed but then drifted away or even rejected Jesus. But Matthias was with the Twelve and with Jesus from the beginning until the end of Christ’s ministry on earth. Because of this, we are pretty sure of his first calling. Most likely it was like the other disciples. Jesus called out to him, “Matthias, follow Me.” And he did. He was a disciple of Jesus, and a colleague and friend of the 12 disciples as well as the many other disciples of Christ. And that means we have to push a replay in our minds and return to where Jesus was standing in the Jordan River with John the Baptist. And as we look into the crowd… maybe a few feet up the bank of the river in a crowd stands Matthias. Most likely he is still dry because he is waiting his turn to be baptized as a dove descends on Jesus and a voice from heaven says, “You are My beloved Son; I take delight in You!” <Mark 1>
Perhaps we move a little forward, and there is a rich young man who wants to follow Jesus. Jesus asked him to sell his belongings and give to the poor… then follow Him. As this young man walks away sorrowfully… unwilling to give up his advantages… there is Matthias off to the side, perhaps shaking his head and whispering to another disciple… “Well, it’s not easy, but that’s precisely what we had to do.” <Matthew 19
Matthias was somewhere on the periphery helping out when Jesus fed the 5000 and was with Jesus a couple of days later when He started sharing hard sayings with His disciples. At that time, many of the disciples of Jesus turned away from Him because of those hard sayings… but Matthias stayed because, as Peter said, “Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life.”
When Jesus chose to go to Bethany to raise Lazarus despite the threats against Him— Matthias was there as well. When Thomas said to his fellow disciples, ”Let’s go so that we may die with Him,” Matthias stood up and began to walk towards danger. (John 11)
Matthias was in the crowd entering Jerusalem as people shouted, “Hosanna! Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord— the King of Israel.” From such a mountaintop experience, perhaps Matthias began to be frustrated as it became evident that Jesus was not going to be the the new Judas Maccabeus driving out the pagan overlords form Jerusalem and Judea. Sometime during that week, he fled— either out of fear for his life or in disenchantment. But he did not stay away. Somewhere along the line he heard shocking news— Jesus was alive from the dead. Did he respond immediately to the joyous news? Was he skeptical? I have no idea… but soon his faith became sight as he indeed became a witness of the resurrected Christ.
Peter said Matthias was there with the other disciples until Jesus ascended into Heaven. Up to this point, I don’t think Matthias knew what he was called ultimately to do any more than the others. He followed Jesus, doing what He did. He was “Learning Faithfully.” He knew to follow Jesus… but did not know what to do if Jesus was not around.
I think many of you as students are in this situation. You have accepted the call of God… but you are still learning what that means. Seminary is a great place to learn… but you read what you are told to read, you write what you are supposed to write. You learn the subjects you are still supposed to learn… but ultimately, you struggle with what you are supposed to do… your place in God’s Kingdom.
At the Ascension, Jesus gives Matthias and the other disciples a second part of a calling— They are no longer just disciples… Just learners. They are now Sent Out Ones (Apostolos… apostles). They are now witnesses (martyrs) of Christ to the world. I don’t think Matthias and the rest really knew what that meant. But that was okay… because Jesus knew they did not understand. That is why he added another command.
“Do not leave Jerusalem but wait for the Father’s promise… for John baptized with water, but you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit not many days from now.”
And so here was Matthias… along with close to 120 others patiently waiting.
2. Waiting Faithfully. Waiting is not fun… The English poet John Milton wrote as the last line of his poem now known as “On His Blindness,” “They also serve who only stand and wait,” but it doesn’t feel like it. It feels like we should be doing something.
No one, I think, really likes to wait. We know how the story goes… we have read Acts 2. But for the 120 disciples… they did not know what was coming. And certainly Matthias did not know what was going to happen… and he did not know that he was going to be moved to a new role that would define him for the rest of his life.
<<Slide 4>> It was during this time a third revealing of his calling occurred. Some people say that this is when Matthias became an apostle. But actually, he already was called by Jesus to be a sent out one… and witness to the world. Now, however, he would be identified as one of the 12— a representative of the New Israel.
This may sound a bit like a change of topic… but if you don’t mind me sharing a bit on my calling…
Many years ago… I was 19 years old at the time. I was attending a Christian college, and they had a big Missions conference every year. That year was huge. Over 100 missionaries were on campus for the event. The main speaker, was very well-known in our denomination. I will call him “Missionary Ben”—that’s not his real name. Missionary Ben was a deeply respected missionary in the main mission agency of that denomination (not Southern Baptist by the way). His father was one of the founders of that denomination. A real superstar.
On the final night of the conference, Missionary Ben gave a remarkable missionary sermon. He preached on Isaiah 6.
“I saw the Lord seated on a high and lofty throne, and His robe filled the temple. Seraphim were standing above Him …
And one called to another. “Holy, holy, holy is the Lord of Hosts; His glory fills the whole earth.”
The foundations of the doorways shook at the sound of their voices and the temple was filled with smoke.
Then I heard the voice of the Lord saying:
“Who should I send?
Who will go for Us?”
Isaiah said: “Here I am. Send me.”
It was a majestic sermon. When he got to the end, he prepared to give the invitation as 100 missionaries came and stood in front of the pulpit.
Missionary Ben said, “God is speaking right now. “Who should I send? Who will go for us.” Now is the time. Perhaps the spirit of God is speaking to you right now. The time is not tomorrow. The time is not next week or month or next year. The time is now. How will you respond? Will you respond, “Here I am. Send me.”
“Come forward now and talk and pray with one of these missionary men and women who have already responded to that call.”
And then the piano and organ start and soon two thousand voices sing a missions-themed hymn (I forget which one) and individuals began to slide out of the pews and walk to the front of the sanctuary.
And I responded… Only time in 50-something years I responded to an altar call. I walked forward and talked to a missionary who served in Australia and we prayed together.
It was a great and momentous moment in my life. But when I am asked about my calling, I never tell that story. It’s a great story… but I never tell it. There are two reasons for this.
First, after talking to the missionary and praying about it, I decided that I was not called to missions at age 19… and in fact I was twice that age— 19 plus 19 makes 38, when I finally answered the call to missions. I am glad I did not respond at 19. It is pretty young to make such a decision. Perhaps you were mature enough for such a decision… but I wasn’t
There is a second reason I never share that story regarding my calling… Missionary Ben, a few years later, was kicked off the mission field. It was found that he was taking sexual liberties with underage girls while serving as a missionary here in Asia. In fact, many, perhaps most, were daughters of fellow missionaries. And then I learned that he had been doing this for decades… even before and during the period of time he spoke at my college. And then I learned that his mission agency knew about at least some of his bad behavior for decades. That mission agency did just about everything wrong, like they had a checklist for mistakes. They tried to deal with it quietly and privately, allowing Missionary Ben to keep having access as a predator. They covered up for him. Furthermore, they encouraged those hurt by him to forgive and keep silent. They victim-shamed and blamed. When they finally couldn’t hide things any longer, they allowed missionary Ben to go home and spread self-serving lies as to why he was let go.
So I am glad that I don’t have to point to that event in my life as my calling. But if I did use that as my calling event… well… the calling here of Matthias is worse. We think of Judas as a traitor… a thief… a trickster. But the disciples of Jesus, including Matthias, knew him for years as a colleague, a companion, and a friend. When Jesus said at the Last Supper that one there would betray him… The others did not look at each other and whisper— it must be Judas. In fact, they had such confidence in him as a faithful friend that when Jesus sent him out, no one suspected what was really going on. Judas was a dear friend who made a deep, deep error, and in his despair instead of facing his dear friends… he went out and committed suicide… all alone. Then the grieving friends join together to replace him… with Matthias.
That is not a story I would want to share with anyone… but it is the only story of him that was passed down to us.
Regardless… Matthias embraced his new calling and continued to wait.
And that is the last we hear about Matthias. His name is not mentioned again. One tradition is that he was martyred in what is presently the nation of Georgia. Another is that he was martyred in Judea. Yet another claimed that he lived a long time and died of natural causes in Jerusalem. We don’t know. Despite this, we actually know a lot about Matthias
3. We know that he Served Faithfully. We know that after learning faithfully for three years with Jesus and waiting faithfully in the upper room in chapter 1 of Acts, he got to Chapter 2 on the day of Pentecost when, in the midst of the sound of violent rushing wind, a tongue of flame rested on him just as on the others. He was filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in a language he did not know. I don’t know what language it was, and he probably did not know either. But as they moved into the population of the city on this festival day, some did know the language he now spoke, and with excitement he shared the message of the Kingdom and his witness of the blessing of God in His Son.
He was there as the church grew from 120 to around 3000 and continued to grow from there. He was also there when persecution came upon the church of Jerusalem. Likewise, he remained in the city as others scattered throughout Judea and Samaria. He was there in Jerusalem and wrestled with other leaders of the Christian church on how to address the influx of Gentiles into the church. Did Gentiles need to become Jews to join the Jewish church… or would the church break down the ethnic and cultural barriers that appear to have already been broken down by the Holy Spirit?
After this… outside some pretty questionable stories of his life… we don’t know what happened. However, we know one thing very certainly. When Luke wrote the Acts of the Apostles, more than 3 decades later, the name of Matthias was still well-known and respected in the church. He did not have a Judas moment or a Missionary Ben moment. He served God and the church faithfully for decades.
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I don’t know where you are at. Perhaps you find yourself walking faithfully but in obscurity. You do what you are supposed to be doing, but don’t really feel like you have a clear place in ministry. You may wonder if somehow you have been forgotten.
Or perhaps you are waiting faithfully. You have a sense that they are supposed to be here, but it almost feels like you are just waiting and waiting for something to happy— to find out what God has for you next.
Or perhaps you already know what God has for you. This doesn’t mean your life is all planned out. Rather, you have a clear sense of what your place is in God’s kingdom, and you are learning what it means to faithfully serve God wherever God places you.
You are learning now. It may not feel like you are serving God at this time… but you are. Or it may feeling like you are just waiting. This also does not feel like serving God… but it is. Learning, waiting, or serving… do it faithfully.
