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When Jesus was ready to ascend unto heaven, He instructed His disciples to wait in Jerusalem so that they would be endued with power by the coming of the Holy Spirit as promised by the Father. The authority - the power - of their witness of Christ would be most effectual after the Holy Spirit had come upon them to dwell in them and be God's presence with them. They returned to Jerusalem and assembled themselves. They were together in presence. They were together in prayer. They were together in purpose. They had to be. You see there was this place that they and everyone else knew about. That place was called Aceldama.
A huge part of the story that was their collective experience was the betrayal and demise of Judas. Judas led those who took Jesus directly to Him. For his own reasons, believing himself to be doing good, Judas chose to betray innocent blood and got paid in the process. I don't think that the money was the main driver. I think it was incidental to his desire to be the one to make things happen. But after the reality of what he had done set in, he tried to take the money back and absolve himself of his guilt. It was too late. Consumed by remorse, Judas hung himself and his swollen corpse exploded, his bowels gushing out on the ground in a field that had become known as Aceldama - the field of blood. Everyone knew what happened. And while the disciples feared the authorities who knew their association with Jesus, they were also aware that the people knew of their association with Judas the betrayer and his shame in the field of blood called Aceldama. In the eyes of the people, if Judas did this, what about those that he had been with? And the disciples had to know that very easily their connection to Judas and what he did could make them look just as bad.
Do you remember Aceldama? I'm not just talking about what happened with Judas. Do you remember your Aceldama - that thing that somebody connected to you did that was so heinous and terrible that affected you so much that you went into damage control mode to show people that you were not what they could think you are? Aceldama could be fake believers harming doctors who provide healthcare to women. Aceldama could be belonging to a church where members went broke giving to con men who promised God would give money after making prosperity pimps rich. Aceldama is a family member who won't stop doing crime! Aceldama is anything in your life that makes you feel guilty by association! I remember Aceldama! No one wants to look bad because of what somebody else did! Certainly Peter didn't! And so he, in typical Peter fashion, sprung into action. But disciple there are a few things that I want to suggest that you do whenever you remember Aceldama and how people might look at you.
1. Remember The Appointment v17
- Peter had a plan to replace Judas, even falling back onto the scriptures to justify it. But from his own lips he said Judas had been numbered with and had obtained a part of the ministry with them. They had all been appointed but they did not appoint themselves. Jesus did it. If Jesus appointed them, then Jesus could appoint another!
2. Remember That You're Not Alone vv21-22
- People might have thought ill of them. But they had each other. Peter thought the 120 were there as a selection pool for apostleship. But they were there as the core of fellowship. They needed that! When you are afraid of what people might say or do, having friends and fellowship will help you! You're not alone!
3. Refrain From Getting Ahead v23
- The disciples searched for the best among them. They came up with Joseph called Barsabas and Matthias. They gave God a choice between the best of the best. But I would suggest to you that you need to be careful about getting ahead of God! Slow down!