In one way, this is a strange text for a sermon. It gives us an interesting group of facts about the early church, but at first glance, it seems to have little or no relevance for today. A good sermon must not only be true, but must answer the question, "What difference does it make?" What difference does it make that Matthias was chosen to replace Judas so that the apostles would still number twelve? As far as we know, once chosen, Matthias was never heard from again. At least we have no historical record of him.

In other words, we have some interesting historical facts here in the text, but at first glance that's all there seems to be. Let's look at the facts first, then again ask the question of relevancy.

Interesting Historical Facts

Fact one. According to Acts 1:12-14, after Jesus'…