The Right Man for the Job

“And they appointed two, Joseph called Barsabas, who was surnamed Justus, and Matthias.  And they prayed, and said, Thou, Lord, which knowest the hearts of all men, shew whether of these two Thou hast chosen, That he may take part of this ministry and apostleship, from which Judas by transgression fell, that he might go to his own place.”  Acts 1:23-25

Those familiar with the act of betrayal that Judas Iscariot carried out concerning Christ know that Judas committed suicide after he had done his horrible deed.  I have wondered if Judas had gone to Jesus and truly repented, would Jesus have reinstalled him as one of His twelve disciples?  A truly repentant heart will receive forgiveness by the Lord, but, as in the case of many who have been betrayed in various circumstances, the perpetrator may be forgiven if he or she repents, but the victim may have trouble trusting him or her again.  Even one who truly repents can’t always recover from the consequences of his or her sin.

It was required that Judas’ position be filled to fulfill prophecy.  Verses from Psalm 69:25 and Psalm 109:8 were quoted by Peter, both woes written by King David in which Judas is not mentioned by name but likely refers to him.  The woes were that his home would become desolate, and his position would be given to another.  Many were gathered that day to anoint the one who would become the twelfth disciple.  There were about 120 people in the upper room which included the eleven disciples and several women.  We don’t know the ratio of men to women, but there were likely 70 or 80 men from which Peter could choose.  Apparently, though, there were only two of the men who met the criteria for apostleship which consisted of a close association with Jesus, beginning with Jesus’ baptism, following Him, seeing the miracles that He did, and hearing His teachings, and the candidate for apostleship must have also seen Jesus after His resurrection (Acts 1:21-22).

The two men chosen to be nominated for the position of apostle were Joseph (Barsabas) Justus and Matthias.  Nothing is known about their backgrounds except that they were followers of Jesus.  To be chosen among the many folks in the upper room for this important position was quite an honor, but the position of representing Christ to the lost world was and is quite a tremendous responsibility.  There is no higher position among men and women than to be representatives of the only way of salvation and redemption through Christ our Lord and His work upon the cross of Calvary.  It is a position not to be taken lightly, but to be lived out in one’s lifestyle, behavior, demeanor, speech, profession, career, and recreation.  A true Christian is first a follower of Christ, then a mom or dad, brother or sister, son or daughter, worker, teacher, and so forth.

The first thing that Peter and the others did was to pray.  Prayer is ALWAYS the first resort, not the last.  This prayer was the first one recorded after Jesus’ ascension back to His Father.  Christ would be the One to select His new apostle.  At this point in time, the disciples had not yet been filled with the Holy Spirit, and they had learned enough from their time with Jesus to know that they, on their own, might make the wrong choice.  Whichever man was chosen would have big shoes to fill.  That position could have belonged to Judas, but he chose the wrong path, ending up separated from the Lord forever.  Nothing on this earth is worth an eternity of regret.

The method by which the new apostle was chosen seems like a method left purely to chance, but believers know that nothing is left to chance.  To choose by lots usually meant that the names of the candidates were written on stones, or other materials, placed in a container, and, after prayer, one would be drawn out to fill the position.  This is similar to how we “draw straws”, but I don’t recall anyone ever praying before we did that as children.  The name drawn out was deemed to have been “providentially” elected, that is, the Lord would have caused that particular one to be chosen.  While it is true that man has free will and can make his own choices, it is also true that God has free will and can make His own choices, all of which fit into His plan for man’s redemption and to fulfill prophecy.  One who created the heaven and earth and who stilled the raging sea can certainly draw a man’s hand to a particular lot.

The Lord’s choice was Matthias.  There are some Bible scholars who believe that Paul should have been named the twelfth apostle, but Paul, known at that time as Saul, was not yet a believer.  According to historians, Paul did not become a Christian until six or seven years after Jesus’ resurrection.  He was later called to be an apostle to the Gentiles (Romans 1:1), but not one of the twelve.  After Matthias was chosen, he is not mentioned again in scripture.  There is no record of his travels as there are no records of the travels or ministries of eight other of the apostles.  The only ones whose ministries were recorded were Peter, James, and John.  It is likely that the other apostles traveled to areas where they were not able to communicate with those who wrote the gospels.  I do believe that they were faithful to their mission.  Tradition tells us that several of them were executed for their faith.  Thus, to stand for one’ s faith in the Lord Jesus Christ takes fortitude, courage, and a determination to not back down nor surrender to ridicule, intimidation, or fear, for “…greater is He that is in you than he that is in the world” (I John 4:4b).