As

a former attorney, I dealt a lot with witnesses. I worked in the area

of insurance defense, and slips and falls and car accidents were the

focus of most of my cases. I learned that observant witnesses can be

really hard to find. Inattention leads to many accidents, and that is

also a feature of the way many people live their lives.

As

Peter explains that the believers need to identify one person to

replace Judas, he makes clear that the key qualification for becoming

one of the twelve apostles is that one needs to have been with Jesus

and the disciples throughout Jesus’ ministry on earth. This person

has to be a reliable witness.

What

good is adding another witness? Bible scholars agree that a parallel

is being carried forward—from the twelve tribes of Israel to the

twelve apostles, who will take the good news of Jesus to the whole

world. Adding Matthias will restore the number of apostles to twelve.

Further,

the apostles understand that good witnesses are needed to tell others

about Jesus. Witnesses are needed to bring a message about the

reality of Jesus’ life, death, and resurrection to fulfill the

mission that Jesus has given them.

Witnesses

are still needed today as well. We may not be able to give a

first-hand ­account like Matthias, but we are still called to be

witnesses for Jesus.