There came a point in the story of the church before the day of Pentecost when the small group of people had grown to “about one hundred and twenty” (vs. 15). As they waited and prayed, Peter decided they needed to elect someone to replace the fallen Judas. He turned to Psalm 109:8 to make his point, “Let another man take his office” (21). With that, Peter concluded, “It is necessary that of the men who have accompanied us all the time that the Lord Jesus went in and out among us -- beginning with the baptism of John until the day that He was taken up from us -- one of these must become a witness with us of His resurrection” (vss. 21-22).
At the point they had an election between two men they felt were qualified, and chose Matthias who was then added to the other eleven (see vs.26). After his election we never hear his name mentioned again in Scripture. This raises a question or two. Did Peter jump to a conclusion? Did he misread Scripture. Was it an irresponsible act on the part of those gathered in the upper room? Why don’t we ever hear of Matthias again?
I don’t want to make a bigger deal out of this than necessary, but I do wonder how it all fits into the narrative around the birth of the Church. I believe, and take this with a grain of salt please, that the replacement for Judas was to be the one we best know as the apostle Paul. In I Corinthians 15 Paul lists several people to whom Jesus appeared after His resurrection. Of this Paul says, “last of all, as to one untimely born, He appeared to me also” (I Cor. 15:8). On the road to Damascus, at the time of Paul’s conversion, Jesus said to Him, “get up and enter the city, and it will be told to you what you must do” (Acts 9:6). In Damascus, there was “a disciple named Ananias” (Acts 9:10). Jesus chose him to be Paul’s first encounter as a Christian. To Ananias Jesus said of Paul, “He is a chosen instrument of Mine, to bear My name before the Gentiles and kings and the sons of Israel” (vs. 15). Paul saw this as a calling on his life, and said of the experience, “as to one untimely born, He (Jesus) appeared to me also.”
I am aware that I may be engaged here with unimportant gibberish, but I actually do have a point. You and I are not the apostle Paul. We’re just followers of Jesus, committed to what He is doing in the world. And it occurs to me that most Christians live lives of obscurity, except in their small circles of influence. Two great saints who led me to Christ were my mom and dad. They are gone now, and their names will not appear in any history of Christianity in America. I contend, however, that they are people “of whom the world was not worthy” (Hebrews 11:38). They showed up in their time and lived faithfully for Christ in their world. Like Matthias, they served pretty much in obscurity; and the world is better for their having been here.
The truth is we do what we know to do, and always, we leave outcomes to God.
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