Acts 1:20 is Peter’s explanation, drawn from the Psalms, for why the eleven apostles needed to fill the place left empty by Judas Iscariot. The verse says that Scripture itself foretold that Judas’s position would be vacated and handed to someone else. Peter speaks to the gathered believers in Jerusalem, roughly 120 of them, in the upper room shortly after Jesus ascended.
For it is written in the book of Psalms, ‘Let his habitation be made desolate. Let no one dwell therein;’ and, ‘Let another take his office.’
Acts 1:20 (WEB)
What Acts 1:20 Means
Peter begins with “it is written,” a phrase the early church used to signal that the words came from the Hebrew Scriptures and carried divine authority. He then quotes two lines from the Psalms. The first, about a habitation being made desolate and no one dwelling there, is a picture of a home or dwelling place left abandoned. Peter applies it to the field Judas bought with his wages and to the ruin that came upon him. The second line, “Let another take his office,” speaks of a position or responsibility being passed to someone new.
The phrase “his office” refers to the apostolic ministry Judas had shared with the other eleven. Peter is saying that this role did not simply disappear with Judas’s betrayal and death. The verse does not promise that every leadership gap will be filled in a particular way, and it does not describe a general rule for choosing church leaders. It records one specific decision the early church made to restore the Twelve before the coming of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost.
The Context of Acts 1:20
Luke wrote the book of Acts as a second volume to his Gospel, addressing a Gentile reader named Theophilus. Acts traces how the message of Jesus spread from Jerusalem outward. In chapter 1, the risen Jesus has just given his final instructions and ascended, and the disciples are waiting in Jerusalem as he commanded. Verses 17 and 18 describe Judas’s fate in grim detail, and verse 19 notes that the field was called Akeldama, “the field of blood,” among Jerusalem’s residents.
Reading verse 20 after that account shows why Peter felt the need to act. The apostles were not simply filling a vacancy on a committee. They were rebuilding the foundation of twelve witnesses that Jesus himself had chosen, so that the good news would be carried forward by people who had walked with him from his baptism by John to his ascension. Verses 21 and 22 state that qualification directly, which is why the candidates had to be men who had been present throughout.
Key Phrases in Acts 1:20
Acts 1:26
They drew lots for them, and the lot fell on Matthias, and he was counted with the eleven apostles.
(WEB)
This verse records how the believers cast lots and the lot fell on Matthias, showing the process by which the church made its choice. Reading it next to Acts 1:20 reveals how the church moved from Scripture to a concrete decision.
Psalm 69:25
Let their habitation be desolate. Let no one dwell in their tents.
(WEB)
This is the psalm Peter was quoting in Acts 1:20, and reading the wider context helps you see the lament and judgment language that the early church connected to Judas. It shows how the Psalms gave the apostles a framework for understanding what had happened.
A Short Prayer From Acts 1:20
Lord, you knew the pain of betrayal and you walked through it with patience and grace. When people I trust let me down, or when a responsibility I depended on suddenly falls empty, help me to bring the matter to you first and to look to your word for direction. Give me wisdom to act with care and faith, not fear. Keep your purposes moving forward in the lives of your people, and help me find my place in your work with humility and trust. Amen.
