Matthias the Thief by J.S. Webster

This story is a work of fiction based on fact. Though the names—Matthias and Jericho—were created by me, and their life stories are imagined, they are rooted in actual events recorded in the Bible. Several quotations are drawn from the Gospel of Luke. I hope you enjoy reading this as much as I enjoyed writing it.

Matthias the Thief by J.S. Webster

He was a thief. A murderer. Condemned to death. Had it always been this way? How had it come to this? How could a good man fall so far? He wasn’t perfect, but he believed that he had always tried to do the right things. Now, he faced a merciless death—execution on a cross.

Matthias stood alone in his prison cell. In the morning, he would be led out to his execution. He was guilty; his crimes deserved death.

“God, how could this happen to me?” he prayed, weeping bitterly.

But how could the God of his forefathers, a just God, show mercy to a thieving murderer like him? He continued to lament as the night passed swiftly. At daybreak, the guards would come to take him to his death.

His punishment was justified. Times had been hard for young Matthias. Now in his early twenties, he had grown up his entire life on the streets. The only righteous man he had known was his father, who had always told him to fear God and keep His commands. But his father had died when Matthias was just a teenager. At fifteen, Matthias had to learn to fend for himself after his father succumbed to illness.

So began his journey toward destruction. Too proud to beg, he turned to a life of crime, though he never took more than he needed. He stole only enough to feed himself and avoided harming anyone. He justified his sins, saying, “I am poor and in need. Who will care for me if I don’t steal?” Matthias kept to the shadows and maintained a low profile—until that fateful day he met Jericho.

Jericho was an evil man. The night Matthias and Jericho met marked a dreadful turn in Matthias’ life. The events that followed their first introduction led Matthias to the execution he now faced.

Jericho enticed Matthias with the promise that one big heist—one major robbery—would set them up for life. What Matthias didn’t realize, until it was too late, was that Jericho’s craving for material wealth would never be satisfied with a single burglary. Jericho desired the luxuries only the wealthy could afford.

After their first few successful scores, Matthias was lost. He had once justified his actions, but now he knew they would cost him his life. Matthias felt trapped. He knew that if he left Jericho, Jericho would consider him a traitor—and he also knew Jericho was capable of murder. What Matthias didn’t realize, and couldn’t predict, was that he himself was capable of taking life.

Around that time, many in the great city of Jerusalem left their possessions unguarded, distracted by rumors of a man who had appeared. Some believed this man was a prophet who could perform miracles; others thought he, named Jesus, was the promised Messiah. Jericho dismissed these beliefs as foolish fairy tales but saw them as an opportunity to get rich. Though Matthias felt a deep longing to see this man named Jesus for himself, he remained committed to a life of crime, fearing what Jericho might do to him.

Now in chains, Matthias recalled something his father had quoted from the Holy Scriptures about things God hated—one of which was “a heart that devises wicked schemes.” The night of his arrest, Matthias had qualms about the plans Jericho had schemed. Robbing a Roman citizen was a capital offense, punishable by death. Jericho feared neither the Roman government nor God. That final robbery sealed both their fates.

Their last crime went awry. The break-in caused such a commotion that it woke the household. The owner stormed toward Jericho, brandishing a sword! To protect his comrade, Matthias tackled the man from behind. The owner fell upon his own sword, his death instantaneous.

The racket alarmed a squad of Roman centurions patrolling the street. As Jericho and Matthias fled the house with stolen goods in hand and blood on their clothing, they ran directly into the soldiers, who immediately arrested them.

A few days later, during the trial, Jericho stood for his crimes, denying every foul deed and even mocking the judge. Matthias, knowing his guilt, confessed to every crime he had committed since he began to steal. The trial ended swiftly. The judgment was execution. Matthias and Jericho were to be crucified as an example to others for their crimes.

Matthias lay prostrate on the prison floor, weeping bitterly, “God, forgive me. I know I have failed to keep Your commands. Forgive me—a sinful man!" Looking back on his life, he wished he had listened to his father’s words, to the truth shown to him in his youth. If only he had lived in true fear of the Lord. But he hadn’t. He knew he had traded a lie for the truth, justifying his sins for years—now he would pay for them.

Terror crept into him as light broke at dawn. He feared death—a deeper consequence promised to those who transgressed God’s law. He knew what awaited him and found no peace. It was too late now. He faced certain death without redemption, and he could hear the guards marching down the hall.

Matthias was dragged in chains from his cell and taken before the magistrate, where his crimes were announced, and his sentence proclaimed. Jericho was there that morning too, accused and sentenced. But a bigger commotion arose just outside the walls, causing the magistrate to send Roman soldiers to investigate. The word was that Jesus—the prophet that Matthias had heard about—was to be crucified.

As Matthias and Jericho were led together, they listened intently to the stories and accusations about the man named Jesus. He couldn’t believe that a man who had performed miracles and healed so many afflicted could be accused so wrongly and share his fate.

As Matthias and Jericho were brought before their crosses to bear, this man named Jesus was brought with them! They would be crucified together with this so-called Christ! As they were assembled with the accused man named Jesus, Matthias began to consider the truth—that this man was the Messiah!

Their crosses were strapped to them, and they were led one after the other toward the place of crucifixion called Golgotha—the Place of the Skull. Though Matthias struggled to carry his cross, he watched Jesus ahead of him. Jesus had been whipped and beaten beyond comprehension. He kept dropping His cross. A man named Simon was forced by the Roman soldiers to carry Jesus’ cross.

Matthias thought that if he could only get closer to this man, perhaps he knew the key to save him from his soon-to-be fate. It was too late. They had reached their destination—their final destination in this life.

As Matthias was made to lie upon his cross, it was clear he would be crucified directly to the left of Jesus, with Jericho on His right. He kept his eyes focused on Jesus as they brutally nailed them all to their crosses.

Though pain shot through his hands and feet as the nails were driven in, he kept his gaze on Jesus and wept. Then the soldiers raised Jesus up next to him. As their crosses were set into place, Jesus uttered a prayer that opened Matthias’ heart and eyes to the truth: “Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing.”

As Matthias hung there at Golgotha, suffering, he began to realize the truth—that this man crucified beside him was the Son of God. Then the Jewish rulers sneered, saying, “He saved others; let Him save Himself if He is the Christ of God, the Chosen One.” Jesus said nothing against them. The Roman soldiers hurled insults and posted a sign above His head reading “King of the Jews” to mock Him. They offered Him wine vinegar, saying, “If You are the king of the Jews, save Yourself.” Yet Jesus would not curse them.

Then Jericho, who had been silent until now, mocked Jesus, saying, “Aren’t You the Christ? Save Yourself and us!” Matthias had had enough and cried out against his former partner in crime. “Don’t you fear God,” he said, “since you are under the same sentence? We are punished justly, for we are getting what our deeds deserve. But this man has done nothing wrong.” Matthias then turned all his focus back to Jesus and said, “Jesus, remember me when You come into Your kingdom.”

Jesus’ face turned so that Matthias and Jesus were looking eye to eye, and Jesus replied, “I tell you the truth, today you will be with Me in paradise.” With these words, peace enveloped his heart, and Matthias knew Jesus spoke the truth. He believed and knew without doubt that he would be saved from eternal punishment.

The gospel according to Luke records our Lord's final moments...

Luke 23:43-49 It was now about noon, and darkness came over the whole land until three in the afternoon, for the sun stopped shining. And the curtain of the temple was torn in two. Jesus called out with a loud voice, “Father, into your hands I commit my spirit.” When he had said this, he breathed his last. The centurion, seeing what had happened, praised God and said, “Surely this was a righteous man.” When all the people who had gathered to witness this sight saw what took place, they beat their breasts and went away. But all those who knew him, including the women who had followed him from Galilee, stood at a distance, watching these things.