Acts 1:24

24

Acts 1:24 Meaning and Commentary

Acts 1:24

And they prayed and said
Having proposed the above two persons, and not well knowing which to pitch upon, they being both very agreeable and fit for such service; they chose not to determine the affair without seeking to God for direction; a method to be taken in all cases, and especially in matters of importance: and the substance of their petition, though perhaps not in just the same words, was,

thou, Lord, which knowest the hearts of all men;
which is a character peculiar to the one only living, and true God; for none knows the hearts of men, but God, who is the Maker of them; and he knows all the thoughts, counsels, and purposes of them, and the good or bad that is in them:

shew whether of these two thou hast chosen;
being desirous of having their choice directed by the choice God had made, in his eternal mind; and which they desired might be signified and pointed out to them, in some way or another, that they might be certain of the mind and will of God, and act according to it.

Acts 1:24 In-Context

22 "So now a man must become a witness with us of Jesus' being raised from the dead. He must be one of the men who were part of our group during all the time the Lord Jesus was among us -- from the time John was baptizing people until the day Jesus was taken up from us to heaven."

23 They put the names of two men before the group. One was Joseph Barsabbas, who was also called Justus. The other was Matthias.

24

25 The apostles prayed, "Lord, you know the thoughts of everyone. Show us which one of these two you have chosen to do this work. Show us who should be an apostle in place of Judas, who turned away and went where he belongs."

26 Then they used lots to choose between them, and the lots showed that Matthias was the one. So he became an apostle with the other eleven.