Jesus chose twelve men to be His Apostles to the world, but when He sent them out to proclaim the Gospel just before His Ascension into heaven, He did not choose another one to replace Judas. Instead of an ideal community of Twelve Apostles, Jesus sent out into the world a broken community of Eleven Apostles.

Given this fact, it is highly significant that Peter takes it upon himself to suggest to the community that they ought to choose someone to replace Judas. While it is the whole community which engages in prayer and in the selection of Matthias, the whole matter originates with Peter. We may read this story of Matthias' election with the eyes of faith or with the eyes of a historian trained to look for transcendent meaning embodied in historical events. In either case, we perceive clearly the authority Peter is presuming to possess: he is clearly assuming his role as head of the Apostles and of the community, and is exercising that responsibility for the welfare of the community which was inherent in the leadership which Jesus bestowed on him. It is also significant that the community without dissention accepted Peter's authority.