Acts 1:21-26

NLT: ²¹"So now we must choose another man to take Judas’s place. It must be someone who has been with us all the time that we were with the Lord Jesus—²²from the time he was baptized by John until the day he was taken from us into heaven. Whoever is chosen will join us as a witness of Jesus’ resurrection." ²³So they nominated two men: Joseph called Barsabbas (also known as Justus) and Matthias. ²⁴Then they all prayed for the right man to be chosen. "O Lord," they said, "you know every heart. Show us which of these men you have chosen ²⁵as an apostle to replace Judas the traitor in this ministry, for he has deserted us and gone where he belongs." ²⁶Then they cast lots, and in this way Matthias was chosen and became an apostle with the other eleven.

NIV: ²¹Therefore it is necessary to choose one of the men who have been with us the whole time the Lord Jesus went in and out among us, ²²beginning from John’s baptism to the time when Jesus was taken up from us. For one of these must become a witness with us of his resurrection." ²³So they proposed two men: Joseph called Barsabbas (also known as Justus) and Matthias. ²⁴Then they prayed, "Lord, you know everyone’s heart. Show us which of these two you have chosen ²⁵to take over this apostolic ministry, which Judas left to go where he belongs." ²⁶Then they cast lots, and the lot fell to Matthias; so he was added to the eleven apostles.

NASB: ²¹"Therefore it is necessary that of the men who have accompanied us all the time that the Lord Jesus went in and out among us— ²²beginning with the baptism of John until the day that He was taken up from us—one of these must become a witness with us of His resurrection." ²³So they put forward two men, Joseph called Barsabbas (who was also called Justus), and Matthias. ²⁴And they prayed and said, "You, Lord, who know the hearts of all men, show which one of these two You have chosen ²⁵to occupy this ministry and apostleship from which Judas turned aside to go to his own place." ²⁶And they drew lots for them, and the lot fell to Matthias; and he was added to the eleven apostles.

KJV: ²¹Wherefore of these men which have companied with us all the time that the Lord Jesus went in and out among us, ²²Beginning from the baptism of John, unto that same day that he was taken up from us, must one be ordained to be a witness with us of his resurrection. ²³And they appointed two, Joseph called Barsabas, who was surnamed Justus, and Matthias. ²⁴And they prayed, and said, Thou, Lord, which knowest the hearts of all men, show whether of these two thou hast chosen, ²⁵That he may take part of this ministry and apostleship, from which Judas by transgression fell, that he might go to his own place. ²⁶And they gave forth their lots; and the lot fell upon Matthias; and he was numbered with the eleven apostles.

Comment: Here Luke records the replacement of Judas the traitor. Note the qualification for the replacement was that one be a witness of Jesus' ministry from the beginning to end and, most particularly, a witness of Jesus' resurrection from the dead. This passage indicates there were at least two other witnesses, and names them; Joseph and Matthias. To go through a process of nomination typically indicates the group had to be more than just a few to have sufficient candidates to choose from. 1 Corinthians 15:6 indicates there were at least 500. To have such large numbers of witnesses undermines any conspiracy. Further discounting conspiracy, Luke names the candidates thus opening their witness to scrutiny. Finally casting lots to see which candidate should replace Judas certainly removes any bias which might be present if any of the candidates were "insiders". In other words, the apostles didn't choose their pals to be other apostles. These were people with a variety of personalities and, in other scriptures, we see conflicts among them. If there was a conspiracy, surely the diversity of personalities would have exposed it long ago. Perhaps Jesus specifically chose a variety of personalities to insure a credible unbiased witness after his departure. Such a diverse group wouldn't be able to get the story straight even if they did try to cook up a story. In fact, one of them turned out to be a traitor. Surely he could've blown the cover if Jesus were a fake.