“Therefore it is necessary to choose one of the men who have been with us the whole time the Lord Jesus was living among us, beginning from John’s baptism to the time when Jesus was taken up from us. For one of these must become a witness with us of his resurrection.”

So they nominated two men: Joseph called Barsabbas (also known as Justus) and Matthias. Then they prayed, “Lord, you know everyone’s heart. Show us which of these two you have chosen to take over this apostolic ministry, which Judas left to go where he belongs.” Then they cast lots, and the lot fell to Matthias; so he was added to the eleven apostles.“
Acts 1:21-26

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AUGUST 29, 2024

Who is Justus? This question is mostly rhetorical because I’m confident nobody reading this knows. Moreover, I suspect most of us have never even wondered this before. Justus is entirely invisible to us, lost to the passing of time.

Yet, we learn from today’s passage that he had been with Jesus this entire time. He had been following Jesus as a close disciple since Jesus was baptized by John way back at the beginning, and had stayed with the disciples when Jesus was arrested and killed, even witnessing the resurrection and ascension.

As I mentioned earlier this week, we tend to picture Jesus and the Twelve wandering around the countryside in a tight group, but in fact there were many disciples, men and women following Jesus both in the sense of loyalty as well as actually walking, sitting, eating, and living together. We know the Twelve and several of some of the women very well. Now we’re introduced to Justus and Matthias. And yet there were still more names, real historical men and women, whom we will never know.

In the end, Matthias was chosen to take Judas’ place among the Twelve, and Justus was not. As a result, Matthias we have heard of, and Justus remains with the many, many followers in obscurity.

There’s an invitation for us here, I think. Jesus’ Kingdom is not a place where egos are built and influencers are platformed. This is a Kingdom where the leaders are expected to kneel on the floor and wash the feet of those with less power or position, a place where the last is first and first last. This is a group that in a few years will be ridiculed for treating women and slaves as equals, where “the blessed ones” are those who are poor, sad, hungry, and oppressed.

May we find the courage of both Matthias and Justus: willingness to serve an endangered community if called to do so, and willingness to step aside if called to do so.

Questions for reflection and discussion:

  • What do you imagine about the many, many men and women who followed Jesus with the Twelve all this time?
  • What is God inviting you to do today among the disciples?

 

Church Reading Plan: Ezekial 1; Psalm 37