Then they returned to Jerusalem from the mount called Olivet, which is near Jerusalem, a Sabbath day's journey away. And when they had entered, they went up to the upper room, where they were staying, Peter and John and James and Andrew, Philip and Thomas, Bartholomew and Matthew, James the son of Alphaeus and Simon the Zealot and Judas the son of James. All these with one accord were devoting themselves to prayer, together with the women and Mary the mother of Jesus, and his brothers.
The Ascension happened on the Mount of Olives outside Jerusalem. They returned to Jerusalem, apparently to the same upper room where they had spent Maundy Thursday evening. This journey from Jerusalem to the Mount of Olives was less than 2000 paces, the limit allowed by Jews to walk on the Sabbath.
Acts 1:15-26
In those days Peter stood up among the brothers (the company of persons was in all about 120) and said, "Brothers, the Scripture had to be fulfilled, which the Holy Spirit spoke beforehand by the mouth of David concerning Judas, who became a guide to those who arrested Jesus. For he was numbered among us and was allotted his share in this ministry." (Now this man bought a field with the reward of his wickedness, and falling headlong he burst open in the middle and all his bowels gushed out. And it became known to all the inhabitants of Jerusalem, so that the field was called in their own language Akeldama, that is, Field of Blood.) "For it is written in the Book of Psalms, "'May his camp become desolate, and let there be no one to dwell in it'; and "'Let another take his office.' So one of the men who have accompanied us during all the time that the Lord Jesus went in and out among us, beginning from the baptism of John until the day when he was taken up from us--one of these men must become with us a witness to his resurrection." And they put forward two, Joseph called Barsabbas, who was also called Justus, and Matthias. And they prayed and said, "You, Lord, who know the hearts of all, show which one of these two you have chosen to take the place in this ministry and apostleship from which Judas turned aside to go to his own place." And they cast lots for them, and the lot fell on Matthias, and he was numbered with the eleven apostles.
It should be noted that Jesus didn't appoint anyone to take Judas' place. Nor did He command it to be done. This meeting to bring the number of the Apostles back to twelve involves the entire number of the disciples.
Peter leads the meeting more by common consent than special right. He quotes from Psalm 69:25 and 109:8 in order to show that Judas' betrayal and replacement had been prophecied centuries earlier.
The selection process given here by the early disciples isn't prescriptive of how we must choose in our day, but it does give a prescription and definition for who can hold the office of Apostle, namely, one who had been with Jesus since His Baptism by John until His Ascension.
How is St. Paul, then, able to call himself an Apostle? Peter misses one thing: Jesus chose the Apostles. Jesus didn't command Judas' place to be filled because He already had a replacement for Judas. He just wasn't quite ready yet.
When Matthias is chosen by lot to be numbered with the Apostles, the number is back to twelve. However, most of the Twelve we never hear from again in the New Testament. Peter and John write epistles to the general church. James gets beheaded by Herod in Acts 12. The rest just fade from view. Many traditions have popped up over the centuries about their ministries after Pentecost, but they aren't mentioned in any other New Testament book after the Gospels.
All of this happens in the ten days between Ascension and Pentecost, which we'll take up next month.
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