Matthias

Matthias was selected to replace Judas as recorded in Acts 1:15-26. The other man who was also in consideration was named Joseph or Barsabas, and surnamed Justus. Lots were cast and eventually Matthias was chosen. Acts 1:24-26 records the following, "And they prayed and said, “You, O Lord, who know the hearts of all, show which of these two You have chosen to take part in this ministry and apostleship from which Judas by transgression fell, that he might go to his own place.” And he was numbered with the eleven apostles.”

The Bible is sparse on additional details relating to Matthias, but it does say that Matthias was with Jesus since His baptism until his resurrection. Besides the book of Acts, Matthias isn’t mentioned anywhere else in the Bible. According to historical sources Matthias lived til 80 A.D. and spread the gospel on the shores of the Caspian and Cappadocia.

Several of the disciples are pretty obscure, but Matthias is the most so, as he is only mentioned two times in the entire Bible (Acts 1:23 and Acts 1:26). All we really know about Matthias from Scripture is that he met Peter’s requirements for selecting a new member of the Twelve (Acts 1:21–22): i.e. he had followed Jesus since his baptism by John the Baptist; he had witnessed Jesus’ ascension to heaven.

While the Bible doesn’t explicitly say this, the fact that Matthias was clearly following Jesus early on and he was significant enough to be selected makes it possible that he was among the Seventy that Jesus sent out ahead of him in Luke 10:1–24. Jesus gave these disciples the power to heal and drive out demons, and he sent them in pairs to test the hospitality of the places he was going and to spread the gospel.

There are numerous, late-appearing lists of the Seventy, but their accuracy is uncertain. Some include Matthias,while others do not. Eusebius of Caesarea (the father of church history) wrote in the fourth century that there was no official list of the Seventy, but that many believed Matthias was among them.

One of the biggest questions surrounding Matthias is whether or not God intended for him to replace Judas Iscariot. Some argue that his appointment was more the result of Peter’s restlessness than God’s plan—especially since Paul was personally called by Jesus to be an apostle later.

A "casting of lots" was carried out to select Judas' successor, but scholars can’t say for sure what was meant by this. It could have meant voting or drawing a name from a jar, but the principle of casting lots goes back to the Old Testament, and was a process the Israelites used to discern God’s will.

Some are of the belief that Mathias was, in fact, another name for someone already known to us from scripture. Suggestions have included figures such as Nathanael or even Zaccheus. However, thewe is no evidence to support any such theories.