So they nominated two men: Joseph called Barsabbas (also known as Justus) and Matthias. – Acts 1:23

Today’s Scripture Reading (October 28, 2014): Acts 1

The early 20^th Century humorist Kin Hubbard (Frank McKinney Hubbard) once remarked “We'd all like to vote for the best man, but he's never a candidate.” The comment has summed up the frustration and disillusionment of many voters with the people that are running for political office. While the comment would probably produce head nods of agreement with every generation of voters since (and most likely before) Hubbard made the observation, the problem is a little more complicated. For most voters, the reality is that it is not that the best man or woman is not running, it is often that we just don’t recognize him or her soon enough to elect them to office.

Personally, my favorite United States President was Jimmy Carter (now, if only he was a Republican). For me, the Carter presidency would seem to be highly underrated. Yes, he left with only a 34% approval rating and a 55% disapproval rating, but he was also the president that was given the unenviable task of trying to restore confidence in the American political system following the Nixon scandal, and he left office in the midst of the Iran hostage. As a President, he did his best in responding to very troubled times. And since he has left office, Carter has been probably the most effective of all the former presidents. The British newspaper, The Independent, once commented that "Carter is widely considered a better man than he was a president" (January 22, 2009). Personally, I can think of a lot worse things to say about someone’s political career.

Luke continues his story about the newly emerging Jesus community by mentioning that the community felt it needed to replace Judas. It was a move that would keep the number of apostles at twelve. As far as we know, this is the only time that this happened. The next apostle to die would be James, the brother of John, and his death would take place just over a decade after this election. But there is no recognition that the church felt the need to replace James. Instead, the number of apostles just begins to dwindle until John, ironically James’ younger brother stands alone and is the last of the Apostles to die.

Little is known about Joseph called Barsabbas (also known as Justus) and Matthias; the men nominated to replace Judas. But church history has always maintained that both were very good men. It is thought that they were both part of the larger disciple community (they were both members of the seventy disciples that followed Jesus) and had been sent out by Jesus earlier in his ministry. It is unclear what it meant to be numbered among the Twelve. Both men went on to have significant ministry careers in the young church, and it is likely that both men were martyred. At least one tradition holds that Matthias was stoned and then beheaded in Jerusalem while Joseph called Barsabbas or Justus became the Bishop of Eleutherpolis, a small town in the first century, and was very likely murdered when the town was destroyed by Vespasian in 68 C.E.

But regardless of how they died, the evidence that we have is that both men were simply good men and worthy of the honor of replacing Judas among the Twleve – although only one would be selected.

Tomorrow’s Scripture Reading: Acts 2