In a chapter entitled “Divine Correspondence between David and Jesus,” Michael Vlach tried to explain Peter’s use of Psa 69:25 and 109:8 in Acts 1:20:
Acts 1:20a / Psalm
69:25
In Acts A1:15-21,
Peter described the tragic plight of the traitor, Judas, and the necessity of a
replacement for Judas among the Twelve. Judas committed suicide is a field
purchased with his own blood money, a field appropriately called the “Field of
Blood” (Acts 1:18-19). Peter linked Judas’ awful fate with Psalm 69:25 in Acts
1:20a: “For it is written in the book of Psalms, ‘LET HIS HOMESTEAD BE MADE
DESOLATE, AND LET NO ONE DWELL IN IT.’”
Some have struggled
with this statement since Psalm 69 does not explicitly mention Judas. Yet the
answer to this alleged problem is similar to previous examples. Psalm 69 was
written by David. Not only are David’s experiences linked to the experience of
Jesus—so too are David’s enemies linked to Jesus’ enemies. We saw this
concerning Jesus’ use of Psalm 41:9 in John 13:18 when Jesus linked Judas’
betrayal of Himself with Ahithophel’s betrayal of David. Thus, and enemy of
David is also the enemy of David’s line, including the Messiah. A similar thing
occurs with Peter’s quotation of Psalm 69:25. David’s hope that his enemies
would become desolate is fulfilled with Jesus’ enemy—Judas. Desolation awaits
the enemies of the Davidic line and the ultimate David—Jesus the Messiah.
According to Acts 1:20, Judas the betrayer is made desolate.
Acts 1:20b / Psalm
109:8
Closely related to
the above example is Peter’s use of Psalm 109:8 in Acts 1:10b concerning the
deceased Judas: “and ‘LET ANOTHER MAN TAKE HIS OFFICE.’” Again Peter quoted a
psalm where David calls on God to avenge his enemy, perhaps Doeg the Edomite,
Ahithophel or Shimei. On sixteen occasions in 109:6-15, David used “Let” to
describe some calamity upon his foe. Two of these are found in 109:8:
Let his days be few;
Let another take his office.
While Psalm 109:8 is not
a direct prophecy of Judas, it expressed David’s hope that his enemy would have
his office removed. This is tied to Judas, the enemy of the ultimate David
(Jesus). In the spirit of what David expressed, Judas would lose his office as
an apostle. Enemies of David are also the enemies of the Messiah—including
Judas, Kaiser noted, “The messianic aspect of this psalm [109] is to be found .
. . in the fact that all the enemies of David, his throne, his dynasty, and his
kingdom, are finally epitomized in one final hostile adversary upon whom God’s
judgment must fall. It is any surprise that Judas become that opponent of the
Messiah?” (The Messiah in the Old Testament, 109) (Michael Vlach, The
Old in the New: Understanding How the New Testament Authors Quoted the Old
Testament [The Woodlands, Tex.: Kress Biblical Resources/Sun Valley,
Calif.: The Master’s Seminary Press, 2021], 160-61)
