There are only twelve

Many Christians believe that Paul was God's chosen replacement for Judas Iscariot who
betrayed Yeshua and fell from his office as one of the twelve apostles. Some even teach that
Peter was wrong to call the Messianic believers together to choose a replacement for Judas.
This they support with the argument that Peter did it before Pentecost. They assert that Peter
was "in the flesh", out of line, and without the authority to do such a thing. Some have even
tried to compare Peter to Abraham, and his choice for a replacement apostle to Ishmael,
whom God likewise rejected and instead chose Paul for the job. Naturally, when it comes to
accusing Peter of error, these teachers who are willing to say Peter was wrong in choosing a
replacement for Judas, never consider the possibility that Peter was wrong about Paul in the
passage we dealt with in the last chapter!

The title of "apostle", as it is used in the NT, has been redefined and broadened exclusively by
Paul and Luke to include anyone who believes they are a divinely appointed messenger sent
out into the world. No other writers in the NT ever refer to anyone other than the twelve as
"apostles". Whether one believes that the office of apostle extends beyond the original twelve
and Judas' replacement or not... it is apparent from the book of Revelation and Yeshua's own
words that there are a specific twelve who are also referred to as "the apostles of the Lamb".

Now the wall of the city had twelve foundations, and on them were the names of
the twelve apostles of the Lamb. Revelation 21:14

And here is something important to note that Yeshua said to his followers.

"Assuredly I say to you, that in the regeneration, when the Son of Man sits on the throne of
His Glory, you who have followed me will also sit on twelve thrones, judging the twelve
tribes of Israel. Matthew 19:28

Bear in mind that there were over a hundred others besides the twelve "apostles" who
followed Yeshua and were called "disciples". Many of them were there and heard these words
when Yeshua spoke them to the twelve. Paul was not one of them! So, if Judas Iscariot's
name is not one of the twelve whose names are on the foundations of the city and will judge a
tribe of Israel, and Paul is a false apostle who presumptuously took the title "apostle" to
himself... the question remains, who is number twelve?

Peter calls for a replacement for Judas

To answer that question we need to take a close look at the meeting where Peter calls for a
replacement for Judas. Again, notice that this event is deemed necessary precisely because it
was understood that there must be twelve apostles, no more, and no less.

And in those days Peter stood up in the midst of the disciples (altogether the number of
names was about a hundred and twenty), and said, "Men and brethren, this Scripture had to be
fulfilled, which the Holy Spirit spoke before by the mouth of David concerning Judas, who
became a guide to those who arrested Yeshua; for he was numbered with us and obtained a
part in this ministry." ... "For it is written in the book of Psalms; 'Let his habitation be
desolate, and let no one live it'; and, 'Let another take his office.' "Therefore, of these men
who have accompanied us all the time that the Master, Yeshua, went in and out among
us, beginning from the baptism of John to that day when He was taken up from us, one
of these must become a witness with us of His resurrection." Acts 1;15-17, 20-22

Peter is very serious about filling the office with a qualified person. In a detailed manner he
lays out exactly what the replacement's qualifications must be. The prospective apostle had to
have accompanied the other apostles the entire time, from the time that John baptized Yeshua,
all the way through to Yeshua's ascension. He had to have been there, and seen and heard
everything they saw and heard. This was the minimum criteria that Peter insisted be met by a
prospect. If a prospect who met these requirements had more knowledge of Yeshua , like
from before His baptism, this would no doubt have been considered a bonus. We must also
keep in mind that Peter was looking for someone who would be a good witness. It would be
pointless to choose someone to be witness who wouldn't tell! This would require that a
prospect demonstrate having a propensity to tell of what he had seen and heard, and the more
willing the better. So it would not be out of the question for a replacement to be more
qualified in this regard than some of the remaining eleven!

The fact that Peter required the would-be apostle to have been there also fits with what
Yeshua had said in Matthew 19:28 as quoted above. He said,
"You who have followed me will also sit on twelvethrones..." The hard fact of the matter is
that Paul had not been there. He didn't walk with Yeshua those three and a half years and
therefore could not be considered a legitimate candidate to replace Judas as one of the twelve
by either Peter's or Yeshua's criterion. The replacement had to have been there.

The scene in Acts continues.

And they proposed two: Joseph called Barsabas, who was surnamed Justus, and Matthias,
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 they cast their lots, and the lot fell
on Matthias. And he was numbered with the eleven apostles. Acts 1:23-26

Out of all those present, they had reduced the number of possible prospects to two. These
were considered the very best candidates. Both were well qualified in the eyes of the eleven.
They could have made the choice between the two themselves and I believe their choice
would have been recognized in heaven. Yeshua had given Peter and the other apostles that
much authority when He said to them;

"Whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will
be loosed in heaven. Again I say to you that if two of you agree on earth concerning anything
that they ask, it will be done for them by my Father in heaven. For where two or three are
gathered together in my name, I am there in the midst of them." Matthew 18:18-20

But they desired that the Lord make the final choice between the two. The casting of lots to
discern God's will is also not without precedence. They were very familiar with the priest's
use of Urim and Thummim to determine God's will... as well as the story of Jonah and the
terrified sailors who cast the lot which God caused to indicate Jonah as the source of their
problem. On an issue as important as determining who the twelfth apostle should be, their
desire to seek God's opinion would not have gone unnoticed in heaven. They prayed and cast
lots and the lot fell on Matthias. The answer to the question of who is the twelfth apostle... is
Matthias!
Who was Matthias?

Virtually nothing is known about Matthias. Aside from the fact that he must have fit Peter's
criterion, (been there) we know only one thing.... his name. But I have a pet theory about
Matthias, which, if it were true, would answer many perplexing questions dogging scholars
today. It is only a theory. The fact that it is very plausible, and would answer many questions
is the best evidence in itself.

The author of the mysterious Q source?!

If I were a betting man, I would lay odds that Matthias is the author of the renowned "Q
source" for a number of reasons. "Q" is the label scholars have given to a single written text
from which the synoptic gospel writers gleaned a large portion of their information. The
books of Matthew, Mark and Luke are called the "synoptic" gospels because they are a
condensed outline of the events surrounding Yeshua's ministry, and they are similar in so
many ways it appears clear that each was condensed from the same larger written source. A
perfect example of this is the story of the Rich Young Ruler. This story is found in all three
synoptic gospels. Each one contains information that the others leave out. We determine from
all three that this person was rich. Matthew is the only one to tell us that he was "young". And
Luke is the only gospel to tell us he was a "ruler". But no matter from which gospel it is read,
it is still known as the "rich young ruler" account. To see a parallel comparison of the three
accounts of the rich young ruler and how the original account in "Q" might have looked
see The Rich Young Ruler Synoptic Parallel in the appendix.

Let's take a hypothetical look at what might have happened at the time Peter called for a
replacement for Judas. Remember, these are real people who act and think like we do. What if
during all the time that Yeshua walked with and taught the twelve, there was among the others
who followed, a man gifted in writing who faithfully recorded most everything that happened
and what was said? Picture him sitting in the background writing in some form of short-hand
Aramaic like a news reporter. Then, when Peter calls for a replacement for Judas, his
requirements are that the replacement had to both be there and be willing to tell (report) what
he had seen and heard. Now as they consider the candidates and are about to make some
nominations they realize that they have in their midst a man with an accurate written
diary/record of all that was said and done. Isn't this exactly what they would be looking for?

I think that Matthias, the one on whom God caused the lot to fall, was just such a person. This
may sound like a plausible, but quaint theory to some at this point, but there is one more
interesting bit of evidence to add to this picture. The name "Matthias" is the Greek version of
the name "Matthew"! They are identical... one and the same! There were two Matthews, just
as there were two apostles named Simon and two apostles named James. Matthew the tax-
collector is generally considered to be the author of the gospel of Matthew, but this is only
tradition. We really don't know for sure who wrote the book because the book doesn't say.
The name Matthew was loosely associated with the earliest copies of the Gospel, and since a
tax-collector would have to have been literate, it is assumed that Matthew the tax-collector
was its author.

Here is what I think happened. Matthias was a gifted writer who faithfully documented the
words and events surrounding Yeshua's ministry. Unlike Paul, he was there! When Peter
called for a replacement for Judas, Matthias' name came up as a perfect candidate because he
had the written record. God caused the lot to fall on him and he became the true replacement
for Judas. His written record was the source that was used by the writers of the synoptic
gospels... Marcus (Mark) and Luke. Some anonymous person also used Matthias' record to
compose what is known as the Gospel of Matthew. As a scribe of sorts, he translated and
condensed it, much the way Mark and Luke did, into the parts he deemed important. He also
added a little of his own insight... as did the others. In his case, he regularly tried to associate
events in Yeshua's life with prophecies from the Hebrew Scriptures. Sometimes he made good
connections, other times he made some serious blunders. But this scribe didn't sign his name
to it or identify himself in any way. The book was left to others known only as being taken
from Mathias' (Matthew's) record. Over time the tradition continued and somewhere along the
line it became assumed that it was written by Matthew the tax-collector.

It is interesting to note that the synoptic gospels were written from the perspective of being on
the outside looking in as opposed to being from the perspective of one of the twelve. In the
gospel of Matthew itself, Matthew the tax collector isn't even mentioned or called until
chapter 9. The writer of the gospel even appears to go out of his way to distance himself from
this Matthew by saying that Yeshua, "saw a man named Matthew...". It would be a bit unusual
for someone to refer to themselves this way. But if it were written by someone else with the
same name, on the outside looking in, it would make perfect sense.

Conclusion

Whether Matthias is the author of "Q" or not, he is without question the only plausible 12th
apostle, because he was there... thus fulfilling the requirements of both Yeshua and Peter. He
is, in all probability, also the author of "Q", the source from which the three synoptic gospel
writers obtained most of their information. If he is, he is not just an insignificant number
filling a vacant spot, but truly one of thegreatest apostles when one considers his witness is
responsible for most of the information contained in the Synoptic Gospels. If we were to
compile from Paul's letters every quote of Yeshua he used, and every event in Yeshua's
ministry that he referenced, we would know virtually nothing about what he said or did!
Every single chapter in the Synoptic Gospels contains many times more information about
Yeshua than do all of Paul's writings put together. It shouldn't be hard to understand why Paul
quotes Yeshua so very little. He wasn't there!

Notable quotes
"Where possible, he (Paul) avoids quoting the teaching of Jesus, in fact even mentioning it. If
we had to rely on Paul, we should not know that Jesus taught in parables, had delivered the
sermon on the mount, and had taught His disciples the 'Our Father.' Even where they are
specially relevant, Paul passes over the words of the Lord."
Albert Schweitzer

"What kind of authority can there be for an "apostle" who, unlike the other apostles, had never
been prepared for the apostolic office in Jesus' own school but had only later dared to claim
the apostolic office on the basis of his own authority? The only question comes to be how the
apostle Paul appears in his Epistles to be so indifferent to the historical facts of the life of
Jesus... He bears himself but little like a disciple who has received the doctrines and the
principles which he preaches from the Master whose name he bears."
Ferdinand Christian Baur The eminent theologian, in his 'Church History of the First Three
Centuries',

"... Paul is in effect the first Christian heretic, and his teachings, which become the foundation
of later Christianity, are a flagrant deviation from the 'Original' or 'pure' form extolled by the
leadership. Whether James, the 'Lord's brother,' was literally Jesus' blood kin or not (and
everything suggests he was), it is clear that he knew Jesus...personally. So did most of the
other members of the community or 'early Church,' in Jerusalem, including of course, Peter.
When they spoke, they did so with first hand authority. Paul had never had such personal
acquaintance with the figure he'd begun to regard as his 'Savior.' He had only his quasi-
mystical experience in the desert and the sound of a disembodied voice. For him to arrogate
authority to himself on this basis is, to say the least, presumptuous. It also leads him to distort
Jesus' teachings beyond recognition, to formulate, in fact, his own highly individual and
idiosyncratic theology, and then to legitimize it by spuriously ascribing it to Jesus."

"As things transpired, however, the mainstream of the new movement gradually coalesced,
during the next three centuries, around Paul and his teachings. Thus, to the undoubted
posthumous horror of James and his associates, an entirely new religion was indeed born, a
religion that came to have less and less to do with its supposed founder."
From the book, "The Dead Sea Scrolls Deception" by Michael Bajgent and Richard
Leigh (Corgi Books, London, 1991)

"Paul hardly ever allows the real Jesus of Nazareth to get a word in."
Carl Jung (Psychologist) (U.S. News and World Report, April 22, 1991, p. 55)