A Witness With Us

Therefore, of these men who have accompanied us all the time that the Lord Jesus 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 1:21-22 

The death of Judas Iscariot, the betrayer of Christ, left a vacancy in the ranks of the disciples. Judas had hanged himself in a fit of remorse over his betrayal. The disciples felt they must fill this vacancy with someone who would be part of the work Christ had given them to do. Peter took the initiative to find someone from among the hundred and twenty disciples gathered in Jerusalem. Our text identifies the qualifications this person must possess.  He must have been a witness of all the things which Christ had done from His baptism by John the Baptist until He ascended from the Mount of Olives. Ultimately, having arrived at the choice of two candidates, they cast lots and the lot fell on Matthias. He then began to occupy the office of Apostle with the other eleven. What is perhaps more important than any other single thought here is that Matthias could speak with authority as the result of his personal experience of Christ. This is true for us in this respect; it is important that we be able to speak of Christ from personal experience. Nothing supersedes a personal knowledge of Him. We can then speak with authority of the things which we have seen and heard. 

Our Gracious God and our Savior, 
we rejoice that You have manifest Yourself unto many. 
We praise You that of Your wonderous works, 
they can give personal witness.