Judas Iscariot had tragically exited the scene. The disciples, recognizing the symbolic and spiritual significance of the number twelve (echoing the tribes of Israel), felt compelled to appoint a replacement. Criteria were laid out clearly:
“Therefore it is necessary to choose one…who have been with us the whole time…beginning from John’s baptism… until Jesus was taken up from us.” (Acts 1:21–22)
Two candidates were nominated:
Joseph (a.k.a. Barsabbas) and Matthias.
They prayed fervently and cast lots, a practice akin to drawing straws or flipping a coin (sanctioned, mind you, by Proverbs 16:33!).
Matthias won, or rather, was divinely selected.
But then Paul entered stage-left later in Acts, after a dazzling conversion experience on the Damascus road, becoming the most influential figure in the early church.
And thus begins a centuries-long debate: Did Peter and friends jump the gun by choosing Matthias instead of waiting for God to reveal Paul?
Critics sometimes point out: Matthias seems to disappear from Scripture after this moment. But so did Thaddeus, Simon the Zealot, James the Less, and many others. Scripture never evaluates apostles by their airtime or popularity. Most of their stories fade into faithful obscurity, yet tradition tells us Matthias bravely carried the gospel to Ethiopia and died as a martyr.
Moreover, Matthias met the disciples’ stated criteria: a witness to Christ’s earthly ministry, death, and resurrection.
Paul's conversion was spectacular, but it did not meet these original criteria. Matthias, selected prayerfully and biblically, may have been exactly who God intended for this role.
Yet, Paul was certainly not Plan B. Paul himself confidently declared he was an apostle “born out of due time” (1 Corinthians 15:8).
Though not among the original twelve, Paul was handpicked by the risen Christ, wrote most of the New Testament letters, evangelized across continents, and shaped what we know today as the modern church.
Some argue the apostles should’ve waited for the Holy Spirit’s arrival before deciding who should be the 12th. They reason that Paul was God's intended choice all along and the apostles just moved prematurely.
Yet Scripture neither condemns nor corrects their method. God could have easily intervened if Matthias were truly a mistake.
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Here’s the beautiful tension: God’s sovereignty works through human actions, even ones as odd as drawing straws. Proverbs 16:33 states clearly:
“The lot is cast into the lap, but its every decision is from the Lord.”
God’s hand was upon Matthias’ appointment just as much as Paul's later conversion. Matthias wasn’t a mistake, nor was Paul a mere afterthought.
God was big enough to ordain both men in their unique roles.
The disciples chose prayerfully. God honored their sincere desire to follow His will. And when God called Paul later, he thrived.
Revelation 21:14 tells us that heaven’s city walls will bear the names of the twelve apostles. Whose name will be the twelfth: Matthias or Paul?
The Bible doesn’t explicitly tell us.
Perhaps Matthias represents the quiet, faithful believer whose acts go mostly unnoticed.
Perhaps Paul’s name symbolizes God’s grace to even the most unlikely convert.
Or maybe, just maybe, the ambiguity reminds us that our faithful service, not recognition, is what truly matters.
Ultimately, we'll have to wait and see. And on that glorious day when we stand before the walls of the heavenly Jerusalem, whoever’s name we see etched there—Matthias or Paul—we’ll celebrate God’s perfect wisdom.
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