The Berean Inquirer

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"Confronting Theology & Practice With
the Lordship of Jesus Christ"

Acts 17:10-11 1st Thess. 5:19-22

Who Filled the Place of Judas Iscariot?

Ian A. Paul

The Traditional View:
Paul Was the Twelfth Apostle

I was born again when I was but a child; somewhere between the age of 6 and 10. I'm now in my mid forties, and that was a long time ago. In all the years that I've been saved, in all the various denominations of the institutional churches I've attended, and in all the various home assemblies struggling to avoid denominationalism that I've participated in, I have always heard it said that Paul was the apostle of Christ's choosing who replaced Judas Iscariot. I'm not entirely sure what caused me to question this seeming "orthodoxy," but upon study of the New Testament, it would seem the theory is without sufficient basis. Matthias, not Paul, is the man who replaced Judas Iscariot as one of the Twelve.

Is the Traditional View to Be
Found in the New Testament?

Let's look at the facts. In Acts chapter two we have a clear explanation of how Matthias came to be, yet, for some reason, men have refused to except its testimony. Let us look at what it says, and consider both the merits of Matthias as the apostle to replace Judas, as well as the arguments against him and for the apostle Paul as that man:

And in those days Peter stood up in the midst of the disciples and said, (the number of names together was about a hundred and twenty,) Men, brothers, this Scripture must have been fulfilled, which the Holy Spirit by the mouth of David spoke before concerning Judas, who became guide to those who seized Jesus. For he was numbered with us and had obtained part of this ministry. Indeed, then, this one purchased a field with the reward of unrighteousness. And falling headlong, he burst apart in the middle, and all his bowels gushed out. And it was known to all the dwellers at Jerusalem, so much so that that field is called in their own dialect, Akeldama, that is to say, Field of Blood. For it is written in the Book of Psalms, "Let his estate become forsaken, and he not be living in it." And, "Let another take his overseership." Therefore, it is right that one of these men who have companied with us all the time that the Lord Jesus came in and went out among us, beginning from the baptism of John to that same day that He was taken up from us, to become a witness with us of His resurrection. And they appointed two, Joseph called Barsabas, who was surnamed Justus, and Matthias. And they prayed and said, You, Lord, knower of all hearts, show which one You chose from these two, to take the share of this ministry and apostleship from which Judas fell, to go to his own place. And they gave forth their lots. And the lot fell upon Matthias. And he was numbered with the Eleven apostles. -- Acts 1:15-26

Did the Apostle Peter Speak His
Own Mind or the Mind of Christ?

What opponents of Matthias often base their case upon, is the fact that Peter acted, here, prior to the coming of the Holy Spirit upon the 120. It is assumed, therefore, that Peter acted impetuously and in the flesh. However, this seems like a facile interpretation; one which forgets that Peter had received a measure of the Holy Spirit, already! After the resurrection we have the following interesting events:

Then the same day at evening, being the first of the sabbaths, when the doors were shut where the disciples were assembled for fear of the Jews, Jesus came and stood in the midst, and said to them, Peace to you! And when He had said this, He showed them His hands and His side. Then the disciples were glad when they saw the Lord. Then Jesus said to them again, Peace to you. As My Father has sent Me, even so I send you. And when He had said this, He breathed on them and said to them, Receive the Holy Spirit. Of whomever sins you remit, they are remitted to them. Of whomever sins you retain, they are retained. -- John 20:19-23

Here we see Jesus giving a measure of the Holy Spirit to His apostles - before Pentecost! Did Peter speak, then, apart from the Holy Spirit? It does not appear that he did. We have further evidence of this when we consider Peter's words in Acts 2:15-26, for who would have adduced that it was necessary that someone should take Judas' place among the Twelve from the Scriptures Peter cites? Have you ever read these Scriptures in their original contexts? Can anyone really imagine Peter making such deductions as this prior to Jesus' crucifixion? Where did this sudden knowledge come from? And if the pre-Pentecost assembly of the 120 saints could not rightly discern the mind of the Lord as to His choice concerning who should take the place of Judas, how was it even possible that they should have even rightly perceived the mind of Christ that it was necessary that another should replace Judas? Clearly, only the Holy Spirit could have taught Peter from such Scriptures as these that it was necessary that another take the place of Judas.

Is it True that There is No
Further Mention of Matthias?

Another argument against Matthias being the apostle who took Judas place as one of the Twelve is the fact that, after Acts chapter one, we never hear any further mention of Matthias in the New Testament again. However, inspiration makes it certain that Matthias was indeed the man who filled Judas' apostleship, for after Judas had taken his own life, and until the choosing of Matthias, Luke makes no further reference to the Twelve, but instead speaks only of the Eleven:

And they remembered His words and returned from the tomb and told all these things to the Eleven and to the rest. -- Luke 24:8-9
And they said to one another, Did not our heart burn within us while He talked with us by the way and while He opened the Scriptures to us? And they rose up the same hour and returned to Jerusalem and found assembled the Eleven and those with them. -- Luke 24:32-33
And they gave forth their lots. And the lot fell upon Matthias. And he was numbered with the Eleven apostles. -- Acts 1:26

Did Luke Lack Inspiration in Writing Acts?

Now, here we are told that Matthias was numbered with the Eleven apostles. Yet, some suppose that this was a mere carnal numbering, and that the Holy Spirit Himself Had not numbered him with the Eleven. Yet, if this is the case, then apparently Luke is mistaken and has spoken apart from inspiration; for, later, Luke himself acknowledges that there were, before the conversion of Saul of Tarsus, Twelve apostles, again!

But Peter, standing up with the Eleven, lifted up his voice and said to them, Men, Jews, and all who dwell at Jerusalem, let this be known to you, and listen to my words. -- Acts 2:14

Now, by normal calculations, when you add one man to eleven, you get twelve! So, if Matthias was not one of the Eleven with whom Peter stood up, in Acts 2:14, then who was? Now, if Luke is indeed inspired by the Holy Spirit, and he is, then it is clear that the apostle Paul was not one of the Twelve apostles. Since Luke tells us of no one other than Matthias being numbered among the Eleven, then Matthias must indeed be the Twelfth apostle. Thus, in a roundabout way, Matthias is, indeed, mentioned after Acts chapter two.

Matthias is mentioned yet again, in Acts, in a similar fashion:

And in those days, the disciples having multiplied, a murmuring of the Hellenists against the Hebrews occurred, because their widows were overlooked in the daily serving. And the Twelve called near the multitude of the disciples and said, It is not pleasing to us, leaving the Word of God, to serve tables. -- Acts 6:1-2

Did Paul Consider Himself or Matthias as the
One Who Replaced Judas Among the Eleven?

Here, again, Saul of Tarsus has not yet become a believer in Jesus Christ. With no other candidate, Matthias must be the man who took Judas' place among the Eleven apostles. Lastly, Paul himself sees a man other than himself as the one who filled Judas seat among the Eleven apostles, for by inspiration he speaks of the men to whom Christ appeared after His resurrection prior to His ascension into heaven:

For I delivered to you first of all that which I also received, that Christ died for our sins, according to the Scriptures, and that He was buried, and that He rose again the third day according to the Scriptures; and that He was seen by Cephas, then by the Twelve. -- 1 Corinthians 15:3-5

Paul Was Not One of the Twelve

Now if Matthias was not Christ's choice to replace Judas, who was it that waswith Eleven whom Paul considers, in 1st Corinthians 15:3-5, to have been one of the Twelve? Matthias seems to be the only viable candidate, for Luke never recognizes anyone else to have filled that place. The fact that we never hear mention of Matthias' name after the first chapter of Acts is hardly significant; the fact is, after the gospel accounts of them, we never hear mention of most of the names of the Twelve apostles. Matthias was chosen by the Lord's lot to take the place of Judas Iscariot; Matthias was one of the Twelve - Paul was not.

Although not one of the Twelve, Paul could rightly claim to be of the same circle as the Twelve, in that his doctrine was their doctrine. Paul did not go out from the Twelve (1 John 1:19) -- i.e., he did not depart from the doctrine of their doctrine, rather he proclaimed precisely the same thing they proclaimed; especially that Jesus Christ (the Messiah, God's Anointed One) has come in the flesh (1 John 4:2). Although Paul was not one of the Twelve, we must remember that he had the right hand of fellowship of the Twelve (Gal. 2:9), and that he had a special calling by Christ Himself (Act 13:1ff.). Peter himself acknowledged that Paul's writing were of the very words of God (2 Pet 3:15-16).

Implications for the Church

When it comes right down to it, many may ask, "Who cares?! What does it matter who was the man who filled the chair of Judas Iscariot?" Well, in once sense, it doesn't matter all that much, at all. But, in another sense, it has significant implications for the assemblies of the Lord. What we may learn from the choosing of Matthias as one of the Twelve, is that the Old Testament way of making decisions is not necessarily a bad way to make decisions. The casting of lots, when done in faith, looking to God to make final decisions, is a perfectly legitimate way to seek His direction. It would appear that, when the assembly is faced with two seemingly equal choices, the assembly may find it best to seek the mind of God through the casting of lots.

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The Berean Inquirer

Who Filled the Place of Judas Iscariot?

Ian A. Paul

The Traditional View:Paul Was the Twelfth Apostle

Is the Traditional View to BeFound in the New Testament?

Did the Apostle Peter Speak HisOwn Mind or the Mind of Christ?

Is it True that There is NoFurther Mention of Matthias?