CHRIST'S TWELVE APOSTLES

Before they were called apostles, the twelve were known as Christ's disciples.  There are three lists of the twelve disciples which included Judas Iscariot; they are:
*  Matthew 10:1-4 - "And when He had called unto Him His twelve disciples, He gave them power against unclean spirits, to cast them out, and to heal all manner of sickness and all manner of disease.  Now the names of the twelve apostles are these; The first, Simon, who is called Peter, and Andrew his brother; James the son of Zebedee, and John his brother; Philip, and Bartholomew; Thomas, and Matthew the publican; James the son of Alphaeus, and Lebbaeus, whose surname was Thaddaeus; Simon the Canaanite, and Judas Iscariot, who also betrayed Him."
*  Mark 3:14-19 - "And He ordained twelve, that they should be with Him, and that He might send them forth to preach, and to have power to heal sicknesses, and to cast out devils:  and Simon he surnamed Peter; and James the son of Zebedee, and John the brother of James; and He surnamed them Boanerges, which is, The Sons of Thunder:  and Andrew, and Philip, and Bartholomew, and Matthew, and Thomas, and James the son of Alphaeus, and Thaddaeus, and Simon the Canaanite, and Judas Iscariot, which also betrayed Him: and they went into an house."
*  Luke 6:13-16 - "And when it was day, He called unto Him His disciples: and of them He chose twelve, whom also He named apostles; Simon, (whom he also named Peter,) and Andrew his brother, James and John, Philip and Bartholomew, Matthew and Thomas, James the son of Alphaeus, and Simon called Zelotes, and Judas the brother of James, and Judas Iscariot, which also was the traitor.

Judas Iscariot killed himself after he betrayed Jesus.  That left "the eleven" as listed in Acts 1:13: "And when they were come in, they went up into an upper room, where abode both Peter, and James, and John, and Andrew, Philip, and Thomas, Bartholomew, and Matthew, James the son of Alphaeus, and Simon Zelotes, and Judas the brother of James.  Interesting is the fact that although the lists are not in the same order, Peter is always first, Philip is always fifth, and James (the son of Alphaeus) is always listed ninth. 

WHO REALLY CHOSE  THE TWELVTH APOSTLE

The good news - Peter knew the Scriptures (Ps. 109:8) - Acts 1:20 - "For it is written in the book of Psalms, Let his habitation be desolate, and let no man dwell therein: and his bishoprick let another take."
The bad news - Peter was told to wait for the Holy Spirit - Acts 1:4-5 - "And, (Jesus) being assembled together with them, commanded them that they should not depart from Jerusalem, but wait for the promise of the Father, which, saith He, ye have heard of Me.  For John truly baptized with water; but ye shall be baptized with the Holy Ghost not many days hence."  So, "the boys" chose Matthias, who is never mentioned again (Acts 1:26)!
The truth - If Jesus had wanted to replace Judas Iscariot, He would have done so before His Ascension!  He did, in fact, choose Judas Iscariot's replacement in Acts 9:1-20!  Saul, called Paul, wrote half of the New Testament!  From this, I believe there are two very important points being made here:  1)  Knowing the Scriptures does not guarantee one will make the right decisions; and 2)  the sure fire way to please God is to allow His Spirit lead your thoughts, words, and actions!