On the list of Jesus’ followers, Matthias falls in the “not known very well” list. Here is what the Bible tells us about this man who joined the disciples at an unexpected time.
Where Does the Bible Mention Matthias?
Matthias only appears in one Bible passage, in the Book of Acts:
In those days Peter stood up among the believers (a group numbering about a hundred and twenty) and said, “Brothers and sisters, the Scripture had to be fulfilled in which the Holy Spirit spoke long ago through David concerning Judas, who served as guide for those who arrested Jesus. He was one of our number and shared in our ministry.”
(With the payment he received for his wickedness, Judas bought a field; there he fell headlong, his body burst open and all his intestines spilled out. Everyone in Jerusalem heard about this, so they called that field in their language Akeldama, that is, Field of Blood.)
“For,” said Peter, “it is written in the Book of Psalms: “‘May his place be deserted; let there be no one to dwell in it,’ and, “‘May another take his place of leadership.’ Therefore it is necessary to choose one of the men who have been with us the whole time the Lord Jesus was living among us, beginning from John’s baptism to the time when Jesus was taken up from us. For one of these must become a witness with us of his resurrection.”
So they nominated two men: Joseph called Barsabbas (also known as Justus) and Matthias. Then they prayed, “Lord, you know everyone’s heart. Show us which of these two you have chosen to take over this apostolic ministry, which Judas left to go where he belongs.” Then they cast lots, and the lot fell to Matthias; so he was added to the eleven apostles. (Acts 1:15-26 NIV)
This passage is the first and last time that the Bible mentions Mathias. Christian tradition debates what happened to him afterward. He may have been crucified while preaching the gospel message in Ethiopia. He may have been stoned to death in Jerusalem, like Stephen. Given that it’s generally agreed John is the only apostle who died of old age (everyone else was martyred), either option could easily be true.
Why Was Matthias Chosen to Replace Judas?
The quotes in Peter’s speech about a deserted place and someone else taking a man’s leadership position are quotes from Psalm 69:25 and Psalm 109:8. Both Psalms are attributed to King David, who wrote many Psalms.
While David wrote many Psalms describing his anguish at the time, this is not the first time New Testament writers quote his words as prophecies of future events. John 19:24 says the Romans dividing up Jesus’ clothing fulfills Psalm 22:18: “They divided my clothes among them and cast lots for my garments” (NIV).
The Gospels often refer to events that fulfilled Old Testament prophecies or descriptions. These events or actions are often recognized as Messianic prophecies that Jesus fulfilled. For example, he was born in Bethlehem, fulfilling Micah 5:2.
Other times, these events or actions fulfill something predicted, which may not precisely reference the Messiah. For example, Matthew 27:9-10 says that when Judas threw his 30 pieces of silver, and the religious leaders used it to buy a potter’s field, these actions fulfilled something an Old Testament reference to buying a potter’s field. Even though those Old Testament words aren’t listed as Messianic prophecies, Matthew sees the actions as fulfilling something the Old Testament prophets predicted: a field bought for a specific price, the money thrown to the recipients.
Similarly, Peter sees these two Psalms, verses about “adversaries” (Psalm 69:19) and “a wicked man” (Psalm 109:6), as not just being the Psalmist talking about his wicked enemies. The verses also describe a wicked enemy of the future, the Messiah’s betrayer Judas. They also indicate what happened after the wicked enemy was gone: someone had to take his place.
Did the Disciples Have the Holy Spirit Before the Upper Room?
It’s interesting that Peter saw Old Testament words that needed fulfilling before the Upper Room experience. The New Testament doesn’t indicate that Peter drew the wrong conclusion. Therefore, his words were God working through him (not just human reasoning). Generally speaking, the Holy Spirit’s role is to provide spiritual advice. But how can the Holy Spirit be working through Peter if he hasn’t received it yet?
Don Stewart argues that the Holy Spirit worked in people during the Old Testament period but didn’t indwell them (live within them constantly, the baptism that Jesus refers to in the New Testament). Hence, the Old Testament mentions “the spirit of God” coming on people like Joshua (Judes 3:10) but also leaving King Saul for his disobedience (1 Samuel 16:14). Passages in the Gospels suggest that while Jesus was with them, the disciples had something like that. Jesus gave 72 followers (apparently including Judas) the power to perform miracles and exorcise demons (Luke 10:1-24). On Easter Sunday evening, he also appeared to many disciples (Thomas doesn’t seem to be present) and breathed the Holy Spirit on them (John 20:22).
Therefore, the Holy Spirit was present in the disciples before the Upper Room, in a limited form. Either when Jesus breathed on them on Easter Sunday or in the Upper Room event, they received an indwelling of the Holy Spirit. If the disciples already had the Holy Spirit indwelling within them before the Upper Room, then it must have been a special anointing for their future task (establishing the church).
How Many Disciples Did Jesus Have?
Peter states that Mathias was there during all of Jesus’ ministry, from the day John baptized Jesus to the day he ascended on the Mount of Olives.
The Gospels talk a lot about Jesus and the 12 disciples. However, the 12 disciples weren’t the only ones who followed Jesus. Multiple times, the Gospels mention large crowds following Jesus (Mark 5:24) (Luke 5:1) (Luke 14:25). Early on, Jesus sought out particular people to follow him, including Peter, James, and John. At some point, after praying on a mountaintop, Jesus came down and selected 12 of these people to be his disciples (Luke 6:12-16). As mentioned earlier, Luke 10 describes Jesus giving power to 72 followers, sending them out two by two to preach and perform miracles.
1 Corinthians 15:6 mentions that after Jesus rose from the dead, he appeared to a crowd of 500 people. We can assume at least some of these 500 were his followers. This crowd may have included people who were there with the disciples when Jesus ascended into heaven. Some of the 500 may have been in the smaller group of 120 people who saw Matthias get selected.
Therefore, we can assume that Jesus had several hundred followers over his three years of ministering in Judea. Many of those followers left at one time or another when they disliked Jesus’ expectations (), but a percentage stayed. One of those followers was Mathias, who presumably wasn’t present for Jesus’ private talks with the 12 disciples (the Last Supper, etc.) but was there for everything else.
The fact Matthias had been with Jesus was important because it made him a personal student of the rabbi. In first-century Judea, rabbis (religious teachers) had students who lived with them, studied from them, and walked behind them (literally, in the dust of the rabbi). Mathias had that personal experience, which qualified him to join the 12 disciples and be an apostle. Later, Paul would qualify as an apostle because he also saw Jesus face to face (en route to Damascus) and had an unusual call from Jesus to spread Christianity to the Gentiles (Acts 9:15). Sometimes, the New Testament uses “apostle” more limitedly for the apostles’ associates (like Barnabas, Junia, and Andronicus).
What Can We Learn from Matthias Today?
While we know very little about Mathias, we can still see some important lessons from his life:
Keep following God’s call, even if you never join “the cool kids.” Matthias spent approximately three years following Jesus (presumably paying his own way). Even though he was never selected to be one of Jesus’ 12 special friends, Matthias kept following. We don’t see any scenes of Jesus naming Matthias for special projects, no “leadership perks.” Jesus may have sent Matthias out as one of the 72, but we don’t know. As far as we know, Matthias spent his time with Jesus serving and following, focusing on being a good servant regardless of his status.
God may not be finished with you yet. After three years of following Jesus and then seeing Jesus leave the earth, Matthias had no reason to believe his position would change. Jesus had literally left the building with some cryptic message about “wait for the power to come”—and what would even look like? When any chance of promotion seemed unlikely, Matthias unexpectedly got some recognition for his labors and a new assignment.
Be humble when given authority. As exciting as it must have been to be selected to replace Judas, Matthias also saw that he wasn’t the only candidate. We see no indication that he lorded it over Joseph called Barsabbas, no taking part in the power squabbles mentioned later in Acts. He was humble with what he was given.
Photo Credit: Getty Images/Jorisvo
This article is part of our People of Christianity catalog that features the stories, meaning, and significance of well-known people from the Bible and history. Here are some of the most popular articles for knowing important figures in Christianity:
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