Matthias - The Substitute

Matthias

Nothing much is written about Matthias in the Bible except that he was chosen not directly by the Lord Jesus, but indirectly when the disciples cast lots to select the twelfth disciple in place of Judas Iscariot who betrayed the Lord and later committed suicide.  

Matthias's works for the Lord is mentioned in a few early available manuscripts.  The tradition of the Greeks says that apostle Matthias planted the faith around Cappadocia and on the coasts of the Caspian Sea, residing chiefly near the port Issus.  Nicephorus mentioned that Matthias first preached the Gospel in Judaea, then in Aethiopia (the region of Colchis, now in modern-day Georgia).  It was here that the apostle was stoned to death. An extant Coptic Acts of Andrew and Matthias places his activity similarly in "the city of the cannibals" in Aethiopia.  This is supported by the marker located in the ruins of the Roman fortress at Gonio (Apsaros) in the modern Georgian region of Adjara which claims that Matthias's body is buried at that site.  Again, the same is confirmed in the Synopsis of Dorotheus: "Matthias preached the Gospel to barbarians and meat-eaters in the interior of Ethiopia, where the sea harbor of Hyssus is, at the mouth of the river Phasis. He died at Sebastopolis, and was buried there, near the Temple of the Sun."  We have another tradition which maintains that Matthias was stoned at Jerusalem by the Jews, and then beheaded.   Then, there is another different tradition which is according to Hippolytus of Rome, a 3rd-century historian, that is Matthias died of old age in Jerusalem.

Matthias story is unique, as he was not chosen by the Lord directly.  He hit the jackpot when the Lot fell in favor of him when the disciples were working on to find a replacement for Judas.  In fact, this is our story, while we were sinners and betrayers, Christ died for us.  We hit the jackpot when we were chosen by the Lord into His kingdom.  

Mentioning among the twelve disciples of the Lord after replacing the false one is a grand privilege and Matthias lived up to it.  He was a fearless warrior taking into consideration his place of ministry which was among the savages of Aethiopia.  This is what I receive from the story of Matthias that we were worse than Judas Iscariot in our lives before.  While we were still at it, God replaced us with a fearless and faithful heart like Matthias when by the grace of the Lord we were loved by Him first.  It is time that we lived up to the election we received from the Lord.  Amen.  

James the Less

James the Less

The name, James the Less is not a demeaning title, rather the word, 'Less' may suggest the short stature of the Apostle, or he might have been a young person or maybe just to distinguish from the other James, son of Zebedee who was referred to as James the Great.  James was a common Jewish male name of the time like Mary.  So, we should not confuse this James with the other James we know in the Bible apart from James the Great who was the son of Zebedee and brother of the Apostle John.  The Epistle of James was written by another James who was one of the brothers of the Lord.   There is not much written about James, the son of Alphaeus apart from a few vague reports of his ministry and martyrdom in the early sources.  James might have been killed by crucifixion or beheading. 

There is an unspoken testimony behind the person James the Less.  He was chosen by the Lord Jesus Christ to be one of the twelve disciples.  He was faithful and he surely did his ministry effectively taking his early martyrdom into consideration.  He reminds us of the countless nameless martyrs of the Lord throughout the history.  These nameless martyrs are the James the Lesses of the world and the Lord has chosen them.  These people never cared about earthly recognition but served the Lord because the Lord remembered them.  Like a saint in the Lord had once said, 'we need more James the Lesses in every nook and corner of the world for ministering, mentoring, dispensing life and sharing Gospel with the deprived of the world.  Hallelujah for James the Less.