Gospel of Matthias Gospel of Matthias The Gospel of Matthias is a lost text from the New Testament apocrypha, ascribed to Matthias, the apostle chosen by lots to replace Judas Iscariot (Acts 1:15-26). The content has been surmised from various descriptions of it in ancient works by church fathers (see below). There is too little evidence to decide whether a Traditions of Matthias is the same work, according to J.B. Matthews, "The Anchor Bible Dictionary" (IV:644). Though the work is lost, Clement of Alexandria records a sentence urging asceticism that the Nicolaitanes ascribe to Matthias: "we must combat our flesh, set no value
Jude the Apostle in his place. This has led many Christians since early times to harmonize the lists by positing a "Jude Thaddeus", known by either name. This is made plausible by the fact that "Thaddeus" seems to be a nickname (see Thaddeus) and that many New Testament figures have multiple names (such as Simon Peter and Joseph Barnabas). A further complication is the fact that the name "Judas" was tarnished by Judas Iscariot. It has been argued that for this reason it is unsurprising that Mark and Matthew refer to him by an alternate name. Some Biblical scholars reject this theory, however,