Acts 1:13-26

The eleven Apostles met together to choose one to replace Judas Iscariot so they would again have twelve Apostles. They had two men in mind and needed to choose one.

They were gathered in a group of about 120 people, including “the women, and Mary, the mother of Jesus.”

Peter stood and spoke to the group, telling them the purpose of calling another to fill the vacant position to again have twelve apostles. Peter said there “must one be ordained to be a witness with us of his resurrection.”

Then they prayed and asked God, “Thou, Lord, which knowest the hearts of all men, shew whether of these two thou hast chosen”

After the prayer, Matthias was chosen to be the other apostle.

The Twelve went forward, doing their best to follow Jesus, teaching the word of God to all who would listen, caring for others, “feeding his sheep.”  

And now what?  What shall we do today to follow Jesus?

Remember how often Jesus taught from scripture?  We should seek Jesus, as the wise men did, but we seek Him in the scriptures and in prayer.  We ask God to teach us how to follow His Son.

We attend church, not to show our discipleship to others, but to learn, to increase our faith in Him, and to help others do the same.

We share the good news with others.  

We strive to obey His commandments because we love him.  We repent when we fall short – and we so often fall short.

We press forward with faith, hope, and charity as we look for Jesus to come again.

What do you think?

• Why would the 11 Apostles need another to be “ordained to be a witness?”
• What were the Twelve Apostles now going to accomplish?
• How can we follow Jesus today?

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