WHAT WILL YOU DO IF YOU WERE JUSTUS IN THE BOOK OF ACTS?
So they nominated two men: Joseph called Barsabbas (also known as Justus) and Matthias. 24 Then they prayed, “Lord, you know everyone’s heart. Show us which of these two you have chosen 25 to take over this apostolic ministry, which Judas left to go where he belongs.” 26 Then they cast lots, and the lot fell to Matthias; so he was added to the eleven apostles.
I’ve read the first chapter from the book of ACTS today and got hooked to the personality of Justus whose story in the Bible lasted for just 4 sentences. He was the one who got “rejected” when Matthias was chosen over him to replace Judas Iscariot and complete the 12 apostles again.
It was like a prestigious search. Being one of the 12
apostles, whom Jesus chose during His 3-year ministry, was really something.
And two candidates emerged in that search: Matthias and Justus. Why them? Well,
perhaps they were the elders who have shown great commitment and passion in the
ministry of the Lord Jesus then. The two were chosen by the apostles and the
congregation. Well it should’ve been one but why two? I guess the Lord allowed
to have two options to teach us something.
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| credits: Bible Encyclopedia |
Matthias was chosen over Justus by God through casting lots.
Justus was not rejected by the congregation. It was that, He was not chosen by God to
complete the 12. We can imagine what happened during that “big reveal day” and see
how Matthias and his family celebrated and how Justus and his family faced the “defeat”, if they called it that way.
After that, we have never heard of Justus again.
So I wondered, what happened to Justus after knowing that
God did not choose him? Did he continue being compassionate to the Great
Commission of Jesus Christ? Did he hate God? Did his family got embarrassed and
move away from the church? No one knows.
Real Talk: If I were Justus, my initial reaction would be embarrassed
and I will feel bad because my family were there too. When rejection strikes, I
feel like I can bear the shame but knowing that my family is also hurt, I am
more hurt. There will be a part of me that will ask God, “Why not me?” and I
would struggle with that question for a long time. Nonetheless, in my present status as a believer and
child of God, I’d say that it will not last for a long time. I have faced a lot
of rejections in my life but I believe I have already mastered the dealing of
such situations. Yes it is painful! But God knows best! He will not put you in
a position unless He knows it is really for you. You have a perfect place and
purpose and only Him knows that.
Some things that you want to have may just slip away from
your hands. You almost got it but it turned out that it’s not meant for you.
Don’t worry because the Lord is
faithful. He knows you. He knows what’s best for you. Trust Him. I understand it is painful. Go ahead and be in the process of that pain. But do not dwell in the pain for a long time because you may miss a lot. Try your best not to focus
on the rejection or frustration, but focus on Him and His great plan instead. He might be presenting something
to you but you lost it because you were focused on the pain.
For whatever happened to Justus, I hope he still continued
in faith. I hope he celebrated with Matthias that time. I hope he was resilient after knowing that God did not choose him to be there by believing that the Father has a greater plan for him.
I believe God had a huge plan for him, it’s just that, being one of
the 12 apostles was not for him.
