Who took the place of the twelfth apostle? If Peter correctly applied the two verses he quoted from the Psalms, no one human could take and “dwell in” Judas’ place but throughout the centuries there have been millions of “sent ones” who have shared the message and shined the light of the present-day reality of the living Jesus, under the direct, personal leadership of the Holy Spirit.

Jesus gathered disciples and called them “sent ones” (the English meaning of the Greek word “apostles”). First, He sent out twelve. Later He sent out seventy. One of the original twelve betrayed Him. Another openly denied Him three times. All of them fled when He died. But when Jesus rose, He assembled 120 of His disciples and gave them the rock (see Matthew 16) and foundation of direct personal revelation through the coming of His Spirit at Pentecost and suddenly 3,000 more people were “cut to the heart” and called to be disciples so that they too could be sent to preach and testify to the reality of the risen Jesus. A movement began that day and although the world has greatly resisted it and fought to stifle it, that spiritual movement has never stopped.

Perhaps Peter made a mistake in appointing Matthias to “dwell in” Judas’ place. Click the link for more thoughts on this.  

Too many Christians live like Jesus is nowhere around and nowhere to be found. To only talk about Jesus in the past tense or in the future tense is to miss out His presence and reality in the present moment.

Jesus is everywhere not just somewhere. You can experience Christ’s Spirit-led town hall meeting in a house, on a Zoom call, in a meeting room, on the phone, in a church building, in a park, or anywhere. All it takes is a willingness to gather with one or more Christ-followers to listen to Jesus and then say and do what He tells you to.

Everyday
Jesus hears
What you think
And He knows
What you say.

Open your heart
To testify
And be a part
Of the town meeting
Jesus is building.