Matthias was the 13th of the 12 disciples! He had been chosen by lot to fill the 12th spot when Judas had removed himself from the close circle of Jesus' followers. Matthias had followed the crowds down from the Galilee and had been close to all the disciples through much of the teaching years. And so, with the casting of the lots that picked him, Matthias joined the inner circle of disciples.

He was a serious man, trained in the religious law, and certain that Jesus was the expected Messiah. So certain was he that he had literally left his family - they had disowned him! His certainty was affirmed by the words of holy writing that he knew so well, and by the words that he had heard from Jesus' lips and the deeds accomplished by Jesus' touch. "This is our Messiah," he often said. "This is t…