Matthias, the new 12th disciple

Matthias, Called up from the Minors.

I don’t suppose its fitting to say that the person who replaced Judas as the 12^th disciple was called up from the minors. However, baseball is on my mind so I will risk pushing the image a little further. When Judas went down to the injurious sins of greed, betrayal of Jesus and unrepented remorse, Matthias was tapped to fill out the roster and bring the team of disciples up to full strength.

This all occurred after the disciples returned to Jerusalem following Jesus Ascension. They devoted themselves, prayer. A number of women were present including Mary, Jesus mother, and his brothers were there too. In fact there were about 120 persons present when Peter brought up the need to “Let another take his (Judas) office.”

Peter set out the qualifications for the one who would be called. He must have been with them continually from the time when John was baptizing until Jesus’ ascension. Furthermore, the function of the new No. 12 was to join the 11 disciples in witnessing to Jesus’ resurrection. The purpose of the newly filled roster of disciples is to witness to the resurrection.

We might ask ourselves how am I, how are we, how is my church doing in that regard? After all, it was witnesses to the resurrection of Jesus that turned the Mediterranean world from paganism to Christ.

Two men were nominated. Joseph nicknamed Barsabbas, who also had the Latin name of Justus and Matthias. The disciples prayed that the Lord who knows the hearts of everyone would show them which of the two to He had chosen. Casting their votes the lot fell on Matthias.

We know little of Matthias beyond what we have in Acts 1. Tradition places his missionary work in Ethiopia. The LCMS follows the old tradition of remembering Matthias on February 24. The Roman Catholic church moved the day to May 14 so that it fell after the celebration of Jesus’ resurrection. Other church bodies have followed suit.

The Prayer for St, Matthias’ Day is, Almighty God, you added your servant Matthias to the company of the apostles. Grant that your church may always be taught and guided by faithful and true pastors; through your Son, Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

Comments

[George A. Marquart]

.” St. Paul claims to be an Apostle in his writings at least 16 times. Therefore, obviously not counting Judas, there must have been 13 Apostles, and there are some who hold to this view. But Rev. 21:14 clearly states: “And the wall of the city had twelve foundations, and on them were the twelve names of the twelve apostles of the Lamb.” So whose name is not on it, Matthias’ or Paul’s?

I suspect that the story of the election of Matthias is one of those few places in Scripture where we are told that something happened, but we are not told whether it was right or wrong. The proper decision depends on “spiritual discernment.” St. Luke, who in his Gospel refers only to “the eleven” after our Lord’s Resurrection, again refers to “the eleven” in the chapter of Acts following the election of Matthias, thereby giving us a hint (But, to be fair, back to “the Twelve” in Acts 6:2, before the conversion of St. Paul, and I am not aware of any variants for this text).

But the real solution, I believe, lies in the part of Acts 1 that precedes this. The Eleven are still taken up with the idea of beginning their jobs as Judges of Israel, as our Lord had promised. But, in spite of having received the Holy Spirit (John 20:23) they did not understand the true meaning of the Kingdom of God, because the Lord, the Holy Spirit, had chosen not to reveal His power, appropriately enough, until the Feast of the Giving of the Law. As our Lord Jesus said, “you will receive power.” Dear Peter, who could not sit still (Remember, “I will go fishing”?) thought he felt a surge of power, so he said, “Friends, the Scripture had to be fulfilled … etc.” The rest is history, but not as important a part of history as what happened after the Eleven were given power.

The matter is not salvific, and there is much more on both sides of the argument that could be mentioned. But is there something to be learned from it? I think it tells us something about “spiritual discernment,” about the true meaning of the Kingdom of God, and about how the Lord, the Holy Spirit works.
Peace and Joy!
George A. Marquart

[Ron Jansen]

thank you for raising an interesting question for a bible Class discussion. Just the kind of thing I like to throw out and then sit back a let the folks pick it over.
Most commentators limit the use of apostle here to filling the 12th spot vacated by Judas. The Lutheran Study Bible simply says,"Twelve apostles were needed to confront the 12 tribes of Israel on the day of Pentecost."
Gerhard Krodel writes in his commentary on Acts, "Luke generally equated the apostles with the twelve, following the tradition present also in Matthew 10:2 and Rev. 21:14." F.F.Bruce is even more diefinte in asserting that the ap.ostles were not wrong in bringing Matthias into their number.
romans 16:7 opens up another topic. Just who was included in the apostles. with the exception of the ESV all other translations seem to allow for the possibility that women may have been included. By the time Romans was written most of the original Twelve would have scattered because of persecution and to carry out their ministry as ambassadors for Christ. Hmmm.