The Acts of Andrew and Matthias Overview

THE ACTS OF ANDREW AND MATTHIAS

• Date: 200-300? 400-500?

• Original Language: Greek

pgs. 283-299 & https://www.newadvent.org/fathers/0820.htm

1. The Apostles cast lots to find out which region they will all go to. Matthias’ lot is Myrmidonia. In Myrmidonia, the people ate no bread and drank water, but took people who came there, took out their eyes, made them drink a potion-drug, put them in prison (while they’re drugged) feed them hay like cattle. Here, as in Gregory of Tours’ Epitome, Matthias is sent to go to Myrmidonia—only here is given in much more detail.

2-3. Matthias enters the city, and the men do their custom: take him, take out his eyes, trick him into drinking a drug, and then drag him into prison where they can feed him hay. Matthias prays to God, and a light appears, giving him his sight and telling him to stay 77 days “for the benefit of many souls” and promising to send Andrew to lead him and others out of the prison. Following this, Matthias closes his eyes whenever guards come by so that they don’t know that he was healed, but he has 30 days until he is executed.

4. Jesus appears to Andrew after 27 days, telling him to leave with his disciples to free Matthew before the 3 days are up. Jesus goes into the heavens. Andrew goes with his disciples go into a boat with Jesus disguised as a human (and “hiding his divinity”) captain and two other disguised angels. They find out they are all going to the same place. Andrew asks if he can tag along, but warns them that he doesn’t have anything to pay because Jesus commanded him to take “no money,... bread,... bag…, sandals,... staff, and no change of tunic.” Andrew and the other disciples had taken Jesus’ command about going out much earlier in his ministry as still applying to him post-Ascension.

10-15. After much conversation, Jesus (still disguised) asks Andrew about Jesus and why “the faithless Jews [did] not believe in him and say that he was not God but a human?” Andrew tells Jesus about all the miracles Jesus did, which are found in the Canonical Gospels. Jesus rebuts that maybe the high priests didn’t see the miracles, and that’s why they didn’t believe. Andrew goes on to tell how the high priests say Jesus can’t claim to be the son of God since "God does not have a son…Which of you has ever seen God consorting with a woman?” The disciples' hearts weakened, so Jesus took them to a desolate place “and demonstrated all of his divinity”. The disciples then got the high priests to see as well. Jesus then showed them “the form of heaven” (or a replica of it) with priests and two sculpted cherubim. Jesus tells one to come alive and proves to the high priests that he is God. The sculpted cherub comes alive and tells them about how Jesus breathed into Adam, called Abraham, loved Isaac, appeared to Jacob, and went with Israel through the wilderness, giving them water from a rock. He says that he is not just an idol, but that his temple is more beautiful than their synagogues; he adds that, although he is stone, the priests call them “gods” and purify themselves after having sexual relations. He then says that the high priests fornicate and then go to synagogue to do everything, so he will abolish their synagogues and even make some “churches of the unique son of God.” The high priests say that Abraham died a long time ago and Jesus couldn’t have spoken with him, so the cherub must have spoken by magic. Jesus then tells the cherub to go to Mamre and call Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob to come refute the high priests. It goes to the tomb of Mamre and tells the three patriarchs to refute the high priests (when the cherub first comes, all the patriarchs come out of the tomb alive and ask which one the cherub wanted; they go back into the tomb when it tells the others to wait for the resurrection). Jesus showed his full divinity to his disciples (the high priests also understood Jesus’ reference to being “the Son of God” as the hypostatic union) and the high priests. The stone cherub becomes alive to speak for Jesus and has Abraham vouch for him, but they still doubt.

16. Jesus waits for Andrew and his disciples to fall asleep and then has his angels carry them outside the city of cannibals and then ascend with him back into heaven.

17. After awakening, Andrew tells his disciples that the captain must have been Jesus, and he just didn’t know because he appeared as a human. The disciples say that their souls were taken to heaven while they were asleep, and they saw the patriarchs and 12 apostles (Andrew as well). The apostles were around the throne of God with their own angels that looked like them behind them. God tells the angels to do whatever the apostles command. Unlike in Jewish apocalypses, the disciples are taken up to heaven in their souls and not their bodies. The Apostles are given authority even over their own special angels.

18. Andrew then asks for Jesus to appear to him and for forgiveness for not recognizing him as Lord on the boat because he thought he was only human. Jesus then appears as a beautiful small child. Andrew asks what sin he committed that Jesus didn’t reveal himself to him, but Jesus says he only appeared as a human to show him that he could take him to Myrmidonia in three days. In fact, Jesus can appear at any time to anyone in any form that he wants. Andrew should go into the city to free Matthias and all those with him. Even though those in the city will attack him, he shouldn’t lose faith because they won’t be able to kill him. Before ascending back into heaven, he goes on:

“Stand firm, our Andrew, and do not respond in kind to their unbelief. Remember those many tortures my soul endured when they beat me, spat in my face, and said, ‘He casts out demons through Beelzebul.’ Am I not able with the blink of my eyes to crush the heaven and the earth against those who sin against me? But I endured and forgave in order to provide a model for you all. So now, our Andrew, if they inflict on you these insults and tortures, endure them, for there are those in this city who are about to believe.”

Jesus can appear as anything at any time to anyone. Jesus’ death and suffering also provide a model for believers to endure so that others will believe.

19-21. Andrew goes up to the city. It is guarded by seven guards, so he prays silently, and they all fall down and die. He goes to the prison door, marks it with the sign of the cross, and it opens automatically. He finds Matthias and sees the other people naked and eating grass like dumb beasts. He touches their eyes, and they see; he touches their hearts, and they act like humans again. He then commands the people to go to a fig tree and sit under it, eating food until he comes. He explains that this fig tree will continually make fruit no matter what. Andrew then commands a cloud to come take Matthias and his disciples all up to a mountain where Peter is teaching. He waits by a statue to see what’ll happen in the city.

22. The people of the city find the dead guards and an empty prison. They decide to eat the seven dead guards that day and then cast lots to choose which 7 elders to eat every day following. They put the people in a place so that their blood will run into a trough and they can collect and drink it. God tells Andrew to look at it, so Andrew looks and prays that the executioners’ hands would turn to stone so they can’t strike the 7 men dead. They do. Then the people of the city say there must be a magician.

23-24. The people are hungry and want to eat. One elder tells the people to eat his two children instead of him. They allow it and drag the children to kill them as the children weep and ask them to wait until they’re bigger to eat them. The guards take them to kill them, but Andrew prays again, and their swords turn to wax. They are really hungry. The Devil appears as an old man and tells the people they need to search for some “Andrew” among them so that they may kill him and start eating other people again, so they won’t be hungry anymore. Andrew then curses the Devil. The Devil hears him but cannot see him. He curses him again, and the Devil says to find the one who is speaking to him. God commands Andrew to show himself so they can know that the Devil is ruling them.

25-26. Andrew arises and shows himself. The Devil instructs the people to tie a rope around his neck and drag him through every street of the city every day until he dies. They do this each day. One day, he prays for God to protect him, so the Devil commands the people to drag him, so he hits his mouth and shuts up. That night, when he’s in prison, the Devil comes with seven demons that Andrew had cast out earlier. They taunt him because he fell on his arm—they say he can no longer do any miracles or empty temples that gave him sacrifices to eat; they say they’ll kill him like Herod killed Jesus.

27. The Devil tells the demons to kill him, but then they see that Jesus made a mark on his forehead and flee. The Devil asks why they flee, and they explain they can’t kill him because of the mark on his head. In fact, they knew him from earlier. If they approach him, God will heal him and give them bitter tortures. So, they decide to mock him before he dies instead. The Devil then uses an altered voice (presumably not from his human disguise) to ask why Andrew weeps. Andrew says it’s because the Lord told him to be patient instead of showing his power. The Devil then directly tells him to use his power, but Andrew says he’ll only use it if the Lord comes to the city. The demons are afraid and flee.

28. The next day, Andrew is dragged around the city. He weeps to Jesus, saying,

“Lord Jesus Christ, these tortures are enough; I am exhausted. Look at what the enemy and his demons have done to me. Remember, O Lord, that you spent three hours on the cross and you weakened, for you said, ‘My Father, why have you forsaken me?’ Look, Lord, for three days I am dragged around in the avenues and streets of this city. Lord, especially because you know that human flesh is weak, command my spirit to leave me, my Lord, so that at last I may attain rest. Lord, where are your words which you spoke to us to strengthen us, telling us, ‘If you walk with me, you will not lose one hair from your head?’ Therefore, Lord, look and see that my flesh and the hairs of my head stick to the ground, for I have been dragged around in heinous tortures for three days, and you, my Lord, have not revealed yourself to me to fortify my heart. I am utterly exhausted.”

Then he hears a voice in Hebrew:

“Our Andrew, heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will never pass away. Therefore, look and see behind you what has happened to your fallen flesh and hair.”

Andrew then sees large fruit trees sprouting behind him, and is encouraged.

29. The Lord appears to Andrew in prison and heals him. Andrew worships him. Andrwe then sees a pillar on an alabaster statue. He tells the stone statue to spew tons of water so that it rises on the earth, and it does—it becomes brackish and consumes human flesh. The water kills the people’s cattle and children. Andrew prays for Michael the Archangel to come and surround the city with a fiery cloud so no one can leave, and he does. The waters then started reaching the necks of the people and devouring them.

30. The people then cry to God that they will free the stranger, asking if he will take away the deluge. Andrew tells the statue to stop spewing water because he sees the people are repentant. He says he will build a house and put the statue in it because it helped him. The statue stops spewing, and the water moves away from Andrew’s feet.

31. The people come to Andrew for mercy—especially the one who offered up his children in his place. Andrew asks how he can ask for mercy when he didn’t have mercy on his own children. He tells him he’ll send him to Hades and then raise him again. He then prays to God, and the place where the people executed others swallows up water and takes the executioners and elders into Hades. The people are afraid that he’ll bring fire on them, but Andrew says he only sent them to Hades for a little bit to raise them again and make them believe.

32. Andrew then revives those who died in the water and has a church built where the pillar was. He baptizes them and teaches them Jesus’ teachings.