Acts 1:20

Following the Ascension (Acts 1:9-11), the apostles replace Judas, who committed suicide (Matt. 27:3-5). In Acts 1:20, to explain Judas’s demise and the need to appoint his successor, Peter cites the Psalms (“May their camp be a desolation, let no one dwell in their tents” [69:25] and “May his days be few; may another seize his goods!” [109:8]). These Psalms applied to Old-Covenant Israel and its enemies, and Peter shows how they are fulfilled in Jesus and the New-Covenant kingdom of Israel, the Church (Gal. 6:16; see also Matt. 16:18-19).

Christ will reign as king in his everlasting kingdom (Luke 1:32-33), yet he appoints visible leaders—successors to the apostles—to teach and guide his people on Earth (Matt. 28:18-20) until he returns at his Second Coming (Acts 1:11). The apostles pray for guidance in selecting the man God “hast chosen to take the place in this ministry and apostleship from which Judas turned aside, to go to his own place” (Acts 1:24-25). They cast lots, an honored method of determining God’s will in ancient Israel (Lev. 16:7-10, Prov. 16:33), “and the lot fell on Matthias; and he was enrolled with the eleven apostles” (Acts 1:26).