A) MATTHEW’S LIST.

B) MARK’S LIST.

C) LUKE’S LIST.

D) BOOK OF ACTS LIST.

E) A BREAKDOWN OF THE LISTS (Each Apostle)

F) SIMON (PETER).

G) ANDREW.

H) JAMES.

I) JOHN.

J) PHILIP.

K) BARTHOLOMEW or NATHANAEL.

L) THOMAS.

M) MATTHEW LEVI.

N) JAMES THE SON OF ALPHAEUS.

O) LEBBAEUS THADDAEUS.

P) SIMON THE CANAANITE.

Q) JUDAS ISCARIOT.

R) MATTHIAS.

 

 

A) MATTHEW’S LIST

 

 

10:2:  Now the names of the twelve apostles are these; The first, Simon, who is called Peter, and Andrew his brother; James the son of Zebedee, and John his brother;

10:3:  Philip, and Bartholomew; Thomas, and Matthew the publican; James the son of Alphaeus, and Lebbaeus, whose surname was Thaddaeus;

10:4:  Simon the Canaanite, and Judas Iscariot, who also betrayed him.

 

 

B) MARK’S LIST

 

3:16:  And Simon he surnamed Peter;

3:17:  And James the son of Zebedee, and John the brother of James; and he surnamed them Boanerges, which is, The sons of thunder:

3:18:  And Andrew, and Philip, and Bartholomew, and Matthew, and Thomas, and James the son of Alphaeus, and Thaddaeus, and Simon the Canaanite,

3:19:  And Judas Iscariot, which also betrayed him:  and they went into an house.

 

 

C) LUKE’S LIST

 

 

6:14:  Simon, (whom he also named Peter,) and Andrew his brother, James and John, Philip and Bartholomew,

6:15:  Matthew and Thomas, James the son of Alphaeus, and Simon called Zelotes,

6:16:  And Judas the brother of James, and Judas Iscariot, which also was the traitor.

 

 

D) BOOK OF ACTS LIST

 

 

1:26:  And they gave forth their lots; and the lot fell upon Matthias; and he was numbered with the eleven apostles.

 

 

E) A BREAKDOWN OF THE LISTS (Each Apostle)

 

 

F) Simon (meaning, “that hears,” or, “that obeys”) / Simon Barjona / Simon Peter / Cephas, which is an Aramaic surname whose Greek synonym is “Petros,” or Peter, meaning, “a stone” or “rock.”  However, it is better translated as, and a more appropriate rendition would be, “a pebble,” when compared to the “Rock” Christ Jesus (see Mat. 16:18):

 

Simon (or Simeon) was the original name of Peter, the son of Jonas (or John), and brother of Andrew, whom was younger and a disciple of John the Baptist (John 1:40); as Peter also may have been.  A fisherman by occupation, he was an inhabitant of Bethsaida on the Sea of Galilee, along with his brother Andrew (John 1:44), making him a Galilean; though subsequently he dwelt with his family at Capernaum (meaning he was married; Mat. 4:18; 8:14; 10:2; 16:16 & 17; 17:25; Mark 1:16 & 29 & 30 & 36; Luke 5:3 & 4 & 5 & 8 & 10; 22:31; 24:34; John 1:40-44; 1Co. 9:5).  This may explain why Peter may not have been a follower of John the Baptist, as was his brother Andrew (John 1:35-41), since living in the wilderness would not play out well with a family.  The fact that First Corinthians 9:5 specifically mentions “other apostles” along with Peter as being married has brought about many conjectures.

 

Peter was probably between twenty to thirty years of age at the date of his call (see my Bible Study:  “APOSTLES-DISCIPLES, AGES OF”).  His father had probably died while he was still young, and he and his brother Andrew were brought up under the care of Zebedee and his wife Salome (Mat. 27:56; Mark 15:40; 16:1), who were the parents of James and John.  He and his brother Andrew were partners with Zebedee’s sons, John and James, who had “hired servants,” Mark 1:20, which implies a high social status.

 

He was in all probability accompanied by his wife on his missionary journeys (1Co. 9:5; compare with 1Pe. 5:13).  Aramaic, which is half Hebrew and half Syriac, was the language of the Jews at that time.  The Galileans spoke this debased Hebrew dialect with provincialisms (providence where they were from) of pronunciation and diction.  Thus, as we learn later, at the denial of Jesus, Peter betrayed himself by his “speech,” Matthew 26:73; Luke 22:59.

 

According to the “Genealogies of the Twelve Apostles” (Budge, “Contendings of the Apostles,” II, page 49) he and Andrew belonged to the tribe of Reuben.

 

It is to Peter and John that Mary Magdalene first runs to with the tidings of the emptied Sepulcher (John 20:2).  Later on, upon the Sea of Galilee, John is the first to recognize the presence of his risen Lord.  And Peter is the first to plunge into the water and swim toward the shore to meet his Lord (John 21:7).

 

After the Resurrection these Apostles dwelt in Jerusalem:  “Peter, and James, and John, and Andrew, Philip, and Thomas, Bartholomew, and Matthew, James the son of Alphaeus, and Simon Zelotes, and Judas the brother of James.”  Acts 1:13.

 

 

G) Andrew (see what I have logged about him under “Peter”) is a Greek name, meaning “Manliness.”  The name has also been interpreted as “the mighty one,” or “conqueror.”

 

Brother to Simon Peter, he was an original disciple of John the Baptist (John 1:40).  Noteworthy of Andrew is the mentioning of three times bringing others to Christ:

(1) his brother Peter (John 1:41);

(2) the lad with the loaves (John 6:9); and

(3) certain Greeks (John 12:22).  In fact, Andrew is credited as being the first one called of all the Apostles (see John 1:40-41 & Mat. 4:18-19; Mark 1:16-17), along with another not named in John 1:40, that personage which may not have continued to be a follower; unless it be the shy Apostle John himself.

 

The fact that Andrew seems to no longer be following John the Baptist, but returned to his occupation of fishing again with his brother Peter after the resurrection of our Lord, is explained by knowing that John the Baptist was cast into prison, affording Jesus the opportunity to call both brothers when He goes to Galilee to preach (Mat. 4:12; Mark 1:14).

 

 

H) James is the Greek form of “Jacob,” meaning, “supplanter.”  He was the son of Zebedee and his younger brother was John.  He is called “James the Elder” (through tradition), simply because he is more prominent than the other James, called “James the Less,” Mark 15:40, and not because of age.  James the Less was the son of Alpheus, Matthew 10:2-3.

 

The name of “Boanerges,” meaning, “sons of thunder,” Mark 3:17, was given to the sons of Zebedee.  James was a fisherman by trade (Mat. 4:21), and according to Luke 5:10, he was partnered with Peter and Andrew.  The fact that Mark gives us a little detail that the other Gospel writers do not is helpful in understanding the characters of both James and his brother John.  In Mark 1:20, he mentions that when Jesus called them away from their father, they did not leave him without help; for “the hired servants,” were there also to assist their father.

 

James was the first martyr among the apostles, having been beheaded by King Herod Agrippa I (Acts 12:1-2).  James was probably the elder brother (see my breakdown of John), in that John is twice called “brother of James,” Matthew 17:1; Mark 5:37, inferring eldership, else the sentence structure would read, “James, brother of John.”  This is the James that is the author of the Book bearing his name.

 

 

I) John means, “the grace [or] mercy of the Lord.”  He was the disciple whom Jesus Loved (John 13:23; 19:26; 20:2; 21:7 & 20).

 

He was the youngest of all the Apostles; being younger than his brother James because of being named after him in the Books of Matthew and Mark, which are the earlier Gospels.  However, Luke does not treat him so (see Luke 9:28 & Acts 1:13); maybe because of his prominence with our Lord.

 

He was probably from the town of Bethsaida, upon the Sea of Galilee; along with his brother James, being fishing partners with Simon Peter and Andrew, who were both from there (see Luke 5:10).

 

John was also one of the four fishermen called by Jesus to be fishers of men (see Luke 5:10; Mat. 4:18-22).  He was even ready to drink our Lord’s bitter cup and to be baptized with His fiery baptism (see Mat. 20:22), and along with his brother James was ready to call down fire from Heaven should anyone not receive his Lord (see Luke 9:49 & 54).  Nor was this characteristic restricted to his life after our Lord’s death (see 1Jo. 2:22; 2Jo. 1:10-11; 3Jo. 1:9-10).  As such, John was not the soft and feminine character that he is often portrayed as in Catholic depictions, but full of intense, burning zeal; even called along with his brother James, “the sons of thunder,” Matthew 3:17.  However, his zeal for our Lord changed, such that the very ones (the Samaritans) that John would have thunder destroy, he is later seen in Acts 8:14-18, as laying his hands upon them to impart the Holy Spirit to them.

 

We find Peter and John frequently together after the resurrection of Christ (Acts 3:1; 4:13).  However, no sermon is ever recorded by him; Peter being the apparent spokesman.

 

Under Domitian (Sir W. M. Ramsay, “Letters to the Seven Churches of Asia,” chapter viii), persecution was being vamped up, and in about 95 A.D. he was banished to the isle of Patmos (Rev. 1:9), whereupon he wrote the Book of Revelation.  He probably died in about 98 A.D. according to the universally accepted Church tradition, which goes to the time of Trajan; having outlived all or nearly all his friends and companions.

 

John was acquainted with the high priest (John 18:15-16).  Hence, this probably explains his knowledge of the history of Nicodemus, whom which he alone records (see John, Chapter 3).

 

John had a house of his own to which he took Mary, the mother of our Lord, by our Lord’s dying charge (John 19:27).

 

“John’s affection for his Master was not a mere human friendship, but the love of a repentant sinner, who felt that he had been redeemed by the precious blood of Christ.  He esteemed it the highest honor to work and suffer in the service of his Lord.  His love for Jesus led him to love all for whom Christ died.  His religion was of a practical character.  He reasoned that love to God would be manifested in love to His children.  He was heard again and again to say, ‘Beloved, if God so loved us, we ought also to love one another.’ {1Jo. 4:11}. . . The apostle’s life was in harmony with his teachings.  The love which glowed in his heart for Christ, led him to put forth the most earnest, untiring labor for his fellow-men, especially for his brethren in the Christian Church.  He was a powerful preacher, fervent, and deeply in earnest, and his words carried with them a weight of conviction.”  RH, February 15, 1881.

 

 

J) Philip means, “Lover of horses.”  He was a native of Bethsaida, which was also “the city of Andrew and Peter,”John 1:44.  He readily heeded the call of Jesus to follow Him (John 1:43).  Philip was the one who brought Nathanael to Jesus (John 1:45-46).  Philips statement in John 1:45 leads us to conclude that Philip knew our Lord previous to this time, for he adds this statement concerning our Lord, “the son of Joseph.”

 

Responding to Nathanael’s argument, “can any good thing come out of Nazareth,” Philip replied with the greatest counter, other than one’s own testimony, and that is experimental proof, in other words, “come and see,” John 1:46.

 

In an interesting twist from John 1:43, stating that Jesus found Philip, this may imply that Jesus was previously seeking him.

 

It was to Philip that Jesus put the question concerning the crowd faint with hunger, from “[5] Whence shall we buy bread that these may eat? [6] And this He said to prove,” or to test and train Philip (John 6:5-6).  This took place in Bethsaida, and since Philip was from there, it could be that Jesus wanted Philip to believe in being able to provide this food so that when the miracle happened, Philip could better witness to these people, since he was familiar with them and possibly knew many personally.

 

In John 12:20-21, we have some Greeks coming and asking Philip, and not one of the other disciples, if they can see Jesus.  Most likely this is because of Philip’s name being of Greek origin.  However, Philip’s belief in Christ still wavered when we read of his statement in John 14:8, “show us the Father.”  As he had led Nathanael and the Greeks to “see” Jesus, so now Jesus reveals to Philip, as long as he had been with Jesus, what he had not seen, namely, “he that hath seen Me hath seen the Father,” John 14:9.

 

 

K) Bartholomew or Nathanael.  Bartholomew is most likely the same personage as Nathanael [see John 21:2]):  According to the “Genealogies of the Twelve Apostles” (Budge, “Contendings of the Apostles,” II, page 50), “Bartholomew was of the house of Naphtali.”  From the 9th century onward, Bartholomew has generally been identified as being Nathanael.  This is mainly because in the synoptic Gospels (Matthew, Mark, and Luke) Philip and Bartholomew are always mentioned together; while Nathanael is never mentioned.  In the Gospel of John, on the other hand, Philip and Nathanael are similarly mentioned together, but nothing is ever said of Bartholomew.

 

Bartholomew means, “A son that suspends the waters.”  Nathanael means, “God has given,” and he was from Cana in Galilee (see John 21:2).  Nathanael is the one who asked Philip if any good thing could come out of Nazareth (John 1:46).  He is surprised when he does meet Jesus when our Lord states, “Behold and Israelite indeed, in whom is no guile!”  John 1:47.  Then our Lord tells him that before Philip found him under the fig tree, Jesus knew where he was, which brings Nathanael’s confession of Jesus being his Lord (John 1:48-49).

 

 

L) Thomas means, “Twin.”  He was also called “Didymus,” John 11:16; 20:24, which is the Greek equivalent of the Hebrew name.  From the circumstance that in the lists of the Apostles, Thomas is always mentioned along with Matthew, who was the son of Alphaeus (see Mark 3:18), and that these two are always followed in the lists by James, who was also the son of Alphaeus, it has been supposed that these three, Matthew, Thomas, and James, were brothers.  Most likely there are two fathers who were named Alphaeus.

 

Thomas will always be known and associated with the title as “Doubting Thomas,” John 20:25, even though he also corrected that, “And Thomas answered and said unto Him, My Lord and my God,” John 20:28.  Even though it was Thomas alone who was willing to “die,” John 11:16, for our Lord and opposed the other disciples which sought to dissuade Jesus from going to Bethany (see John 11:8), it seems one mistake in life brands all of us.  The reason the other disciples couldn’t agree may have been, is that it was believed it was too close to Jerusalem (see John 11:18), where the Jews sought to “stone” Jesus (see John 11:8).

 

Since Thomas is named next to Peter among the seven on the Sea of Galilee, it is possible that he was also a fisherman like Peter (John 21:2).  Thomas can be seen as one who loved his Lord and coupled with his known labeled “doubting” side, did not want to lose sight of Him, as in this statement in John 14:5:  “Thomas saith unto Him Lord, we know not whither Thou goest, and how can we know the way?”  However, after his experience of seeing his risen Lord, his exclamation of, “My Lord and my God,” John 20:28, clearly places him beyond any future “doubting” stages in his life; for sometimes faith that has overcome “doubt” is harder to be overcome than that of those who have never doubted.

 

 

M) Matthew / Levi (Mark 2:14; Luke 5:27) means, “Gift of Yahweh” or “Gift of Jehovah,” or more simply, “Gift of God.”  The fact that Jesus changed his name from Levi to Matthew (Mat. 9:9) is typical of our Lord when a person changes their direction in life (Abram to Abraham; Jacob to Israel; etcetera).

 

Author of the Gospel of Matthew, Mark calls him “the son of Alphaeus,” Mark 2:14; although this cannot have been the Alpheus who was the father of James the Less; for if this James and Matthew had been brothers this fact would doubtless have been mentioned, as is the case with Peter and Andrew and also with the sons of Zebedee.

 

His “publican” name (Mat. 10:3), or the name he is known as when he was a Tax collector, was Levi.  As a Tax Collector (Mat. 10:3) his service area was in Capernaum, in the territory of Herod Antipas.  He set up shop and collected dues at Capernaum, on the Sea of Galilee.  There is good reason for this location as it was the route by which traffic passed between Damascus and the Phoenician seaports.  He also could monitor traffic which crossed the Sea of Galilee and traffic passing along the great Damascus road, which ran along the shore between Bethsaida, Julius and Capernaum.  Thus, this gave him access to most of the population in the area.

 

There was no hesitation when Jesus called him to the Lord’s service (Mat. 9:9), Luke 5:28 stating that he “left all.”  What is interesting, is that Christ called him when he was at work, “at the receipt of custom,” Matthew 9:9.  Thus, Matthew follows the same line as Peter and Andrew, James and John, who left immediately their fishing places of work.  However, Matthew abandons his work without a replacement, whereas the other four left with “hired servants,” Mark 1:20, to continue the work.  The fact that we never hear of any employer trouble over this may be due to the fact that the Jews hated tax collectors anyway and would not have reported him, and the Romans had many a volunteer greedy enough to replace him.

 

Matthew was also one who desired others to know of our Lord, for that very same day he invited “Jesus [Who] sat at meat in [Matthew’s] the house, behold, many publicans and sinners came and sat down [also],” Matthew 9:10 (see also Luke 5:29).  It is this endearment that most likely is the reason our Lord calls whom He calls to be apostles.  The fact that Matthew invited Jesus and His disciples to dinner at his house (Mat. 9:10) indicates that he was called after at least 6 of the already called disciples of Jesus.

 

Matthew appears to have been a man of wealth, for he made a great feast in his own house (Luke 5:29) with many guests.  However, he is known for his humility, for he puts himself after Thomas in his list of the Apostles; whereas Mark (Mark 3:18) and Luke (Luke 6:15) put Matthew before Thomas.  Matthew talks of Jesus sitting down in “the house,” Matthew 9:10, without telling whose house it was, whereas Mark mentions it was Levi’s house (Mark 2:14-15).  By contrast, this humility could have come later, as he wrote his Gospel twenty years after the resurrection of Christ.

 

As a tax collector, Matthew would have most likely been taught the art of short-hand.  This could be why we have such a long discourse of the “Sermon on the Mount” in Matthew, Chapters 5-7; and other extensive coverings of other events that the other Gospel writers simply only slightly cover, or cover with less detail.

 

 

N) James the son of Alphaeus, is also called “James the Less,” Mark 15:40, probably because he was of small stature and or because the other James, “James the Elder,” is more prominent.

 

According to First Corinthians 15:7, this James had a separate and private interview with our risen Lord.  As Matthew, or Levi, is also called the “son of Alphaeus,” Mark 2:14, it is possible that Matthew and James the Lesswere brothers.  However, these are most likely two separate fathers.  According to the “Genealogies of the Apostles” (compare with Budge, “Contendings of the Apostles,” II, page 50), James the Less was of the house of Gad.

 

The James that is generally identified with James the Less, is also identified as being the brother of Joses, who was the son of Mary (Mat. 27:56; Mark 15:40; Mark being more specific), a cousin to our Lord’s mother, Mary.

 

The problem starts in John 19:25, where this Mary is called the wife of Cleophas (the “King James Version”) or Clopas (“Revised Version”), which would give him a different father than that of Alphaeus.  That should make the conjecturing stop right there.  However, some have applied the phrase “[Jesus’] His mother’s sister” in John 19:25, to Mary the wife of Clopas, instead of to a separate person, and as such, many have thus attempted to identify “James the son of Alpheus,” with “James the brother of our Lord.”  This is a rabbit trail I have chased and it will only end in un-Biblical assumptions if accepted.  Some Bible commentators have gone down this road, even going as far as to claim “James the son of Alphaeus” to be our Lord’s brother and author of the Book of James (see “Easton’s Bible Distionary,” as an example).

 

 

O) Lebbaeus (Mat. 10:3) is his formal name, or Thaddaeus (Mat. 10:3; Mark 3:18) is his “surname.”  The name corresponds to Judas, the son (“Revised Version”), or brother (“King James Version”), of James, given in the lists of Luke 6:16 & Acts 1:13.  Luke lists him [Luke 6:16] as “Judas the brother of James,” which should be translated as the “Syriac” and “Arabic” versions call him, “the son of James,” or, he is “the brother of James,” “the son of Alphaeus;” either way this is Luke’s Thaddaeus.

 

Exploring Luke 6:16 a little more, it would appear that agreeing with most Bible commentators, Judas, better, Lebbaeus, is the son of someone named James.  To assume this is James the Less is to cause very many conjectures.  The translation is the same in Acts 1:13, therefore I conclude that this is a James who was a father we do not have any other information on.

 

We can thank Jerome for the better understanding of Lebbaeus as being the Judas of Luke 6:16 (see “Hennecks,” op. cit., 473-474).

 

According to the “Genealogies of the Twelve Apostles” (compare Budge, “Contendings of the Apostles,” II, page 50), Thaddaeus was of the house of Joseph.  However, according to the “Book of the Bee,” he was of the tribe of Judah.

 

Lebbaeus means, “a man of heart;” or “a man of praising;” or “a man of confessing.”  Identified as the Judas of John 14:22, this would be the apostle that asked, “Lord, how is it that Thou wilt manifest Thyself unto us, and not unto the world?”  An interesting question that gives us some insight in that, “How can Jesus hide His glory from anyone, even if they are disobedient?”

 

 

P) Simon the Canaanite (Mat. 10:4; Mark 3:18 / Simon called Zelotes (Luke 6:15; Acts 1:13).

 

Simon means, “that hears,” or “that obeys.”  This Simon was designated, “the Canaanite,” Matthew 10:4; Mark 3:18, and although Simon, like the majority of the apostles, was probably a Galilean, the designation “the Canaanite,” is regarded as of political, rather than of geographical significance.

 

The Zealots were a faction, headed by “Judas of Galilee,” who “in the days of the enrollment” (see Luke 2:1-2; Acts 5:37), bitterly opposed the threatened increase of taxation at the census of Quirinius, and as such, these Zealots would have hastened by the sword the fulfillment of any Messianic prophecy.

 

Thus, the title, “the Canaanite,” is derived from the “Syriac” word “Kanean,” or “Kaneniah,” which was the name of a Jewish sect.  The “Revised Version” has it as “Cananaean” in the margin, which it also lists as, “or Zealot.”  Since he is also called “Zelotes,” we can conclude that this was indeed a political title.

 

This Simon has been identified by some Bible commentators with the Simon, the brother of Jesus, in Matthew 13:55 & Mark 6:3.  However, this is mostly unfounded as it was Jesus’ family who requested an audience with Him (Mat. 12:47).  As such, had Simon been our Lord’s brother, the Biblical record would most likely have been clearer upon that point, instead of showing the family instead of him as asking for a meeting with our Lord.

 

 

Q) Judas (Iscariot) was definitely, the “son of Simon,” John 6:71; 13:2 & 26.  Judas is the Greek form of the Hebrew name, Judah, which occurs in the “Septuagint (LXX),” and the New Testament Greek manuscripts.

 

Judas is always placed last in the list of the Apostles because of his betrayal.  He is also often referred to as Judas Iscariot, the title given later to him in each and every Gospel once he betrayed Jesus (Mat. 10:4; 26:25; 27:3; Mark 3:19; 14:10; Luke 6:16; 22:3 & 48; John 6:71; 12:4; 13:2; 18:2 & 5; Acts 1:16).

 

According to Luke 22:3 and Acts 1:16, Judas was able to “betray” our Lord because “Satan” entered into him.  After he betrayed our Lord, he went and “hanged himself,” Matthew 27:5, while according to Acts 1:18, “he burst asunder in the midst, and all his bowels gushed out.”  This would be after he had “hanged himself” of course; his method of “hanging” not being very secure.

 

He is known as a “thief,” if we see John 12:5-6, and compare it also to Matthew 26:7-13 & Mark 14:3-8.  He is known for his covetousness by his protest against the breaking of the box of ointment for our Lord’s anointing (John 12:4-6), and betraying his Lord for money (Mat. 26:14-16; Mark 14:10-11; Luke 22:3-6; John 13:2).  He did however have some form of repentance by attempting to return the money to the priests; Matthew 27:3, stating specifically that he “repented himself.”  Also, the fact that he hanged himself (Mat. 27:5; Acts 1:18), shows he had much remorse.  The silence of any Biblical Salvational reference to Judas’ repentance shows us that it was not the type of repentance our Lord was looking for.

 

Our Lord certainly gave him many opportunities to overcome his covetousness, since he was the Treasurer of the disciples (John 12:6; 13:29); a position of very much temptation.  However, of all the apostles, Judas is one of the two disciples who had futuristic prophecies of his betrayal, both in the Old Testament, and by our Lord Himself (Psa. 41:9; 109:8; Zec. 11:12-13; Mat. 26:21-25; Mark 14:18-21; Luke 22:21-23; John 6:64; 13:18-26; 17:12; Acts 1:16& 20).  Our Lord even goes so far as to state:  “good were it for that man if he had never been born.”  Matthew 14:21.

 

The other disciple with prophecies concerning him is Matthias, where Acts 1:20 states:  “For it is written in the Book of Psalms, Let his habitation be desolate, and let no man dwell therein:  and his bishoprick let another take.”  Matthias thus takes the place of Judas.  However, this is taken from Psalm 69:25, which if you go to, we find we are missing, “and his bishoprick let another take.”  Sad to say, but what else do we have missing from God’s Word that did not make it down through the ages.  No wonder our Lord gave us more insight with the New Testamentwriters, especially when they quote the Old Testament.

 

Many teach that our Lord did not chose Judas as to be one among the twelve.  And that Jesus only chose the other eleven.  However, according to John 6:70, we have this clear understanding:  “Have I not chosen you twelve, and one of you is a devil?”  Bible commentators need to be more careful.

 

 

R) Matthias means, “Gift of God,” or, “The gift of the Lord.”  Different variations of the name can make it mean, “Given of Yah [i.e., God].”  This Matthias is the chosen one by “lot” that replaced Judas Iscariot (see Acts 1:26).

 

According to Acts 1:15, a little less than 120 people could have been selected from in order to fill the position.  However, only two were qualified.  The reason he and the other was able to be selected is because he was one “of those which companied with Jesus’ disciples all the time that the Lord Jesus went in and out among them.”  Acts 1:21.  In fact, this was declared as a prerequisite and necessary qualification in order to replace Judas, with Peter stating that one also had to witness the resurrection in order to be qualified (see Acts 1:22).

 

According to Eusebius (“H. E.” i. page 12) and Epiphanius (“i.” page 20), Matthias had to have been of one of the 70 disciples (Luke 10:1 & 17) our Lord sent out to proselytize.  This would make perfect sense since he met the requirements mentioned above.

 

Getting back to Acts 1:15, what is very interesting is that Peter is the one who is in charge of the fledgling Church at this time.  We learn later on how James, our Lord’s brother, not an apostle, later becomes in charge.  We know this from the proceedings at the assembly meeting in Jerusalem (Acts 15:13), and later when the gathering is assembled to hear of Paul’s travels and accomplishments (Acts 21:18).  And since I have mentioned Paul, he is also considered to be an apostle, as he also met the requirements mentioned above and calls himself one (Rom. 1:1; 11:13; 1Co. 1:1; 9:1-2; 15:9; 2Co. 1:1; Gal. 1:1; Eph. 1:1; Col. 1:1; 1Ti. 1:1; 2:7).