“Who are you?  I’ve not met you before.”

“My name is Joseph.  I’m a Levite, but I was born in Cyprus.”

“I’m Justus.  Were you brought up in Israel?”

“No, in Cyprus.  But my family still owns property here in Judea, so we’ve kept a strong association with the Promised Land.”

“So you’re not one of those so-called Jews who fit neatly into Roman society, going to gymnasiums, offering incense to their gods, and so on?”

“Oh, no!”  Joseph laughed, as if the idea was incredible, almost beyond his imagination.  “No, my father was a strict follower of the law.  He often brought me to the feasts in Jerusalem.  In fact, I think he would have been shocked to even be asked a question like that!”

“Sorry – I hope I didn’t upset you.”

“No, not at all.  Anyway, I keep away from pagan things because I want to keep away from them.  I don’t like them, and I love having the opportunity to explain my reasons to people.  After all, our law is so good, and it gives us such clean and healthy lives compared with what the pagans suffer that I’ve always felt we have a lot to offer them.  Then I heard about Jesus, and everything I loved about the God of Abraham got even better!”

“It sounds as if your family must have been more religious than mine.  We only used to go to Jerusalem for the feasts when it was convenient.  But it didn’t feel like it mattered much: we lived far enough away that most other people didn’t bother going at all, so we didn’t stand out when we stayed home.”

“So why do you follow Jesus now?” asked Joseph.  “I’m eager to hear.”

“Well, a few years ago when I moved to Jerusalem, I heard reports about John the Baptist and went to listen to him a few times.  I was amazed at the practical ways of keeping the law that he spoke about.  To be honest, he made the law seem like something I could really live by, not just – no offense! – a technical, theoretical thing for religious people.”

The two men were standing in the colonnade that surrounded the temple, so deep in conversation that they did not notice the approaching beggar until he spoke.

“Can you give anything to a poor man?” he asked.  His face was gaunt, his arms thin, his clothing ragged and threadbare.  His voice sounded hopeless.

“Yes, I do have some money, and you look like you need it,” said Joseph, smiling.

“You also look as if you could do with some food right now,” said Justus.  “Would you like to come with me and I’ll give you something to eat?  Why don’t you come too, Joseph?”

“I’d love to.  We could keep talking about Jesus, too.”

The beggar asked, “Are you followers of Jesus?”

“Yes, we are,” said Joseph.

“Well, I’ll come with you then.  I’ve only just heard of him in the last few days, and I want to know more.”

“Let’s go then.”

They left the temple together and Justus led them along narrow streets until they came to a small, simple house.  His wife, Deborah, and three young children welcomed him and the two unexpected visitors.
“Here is Joseph, whom I just met in the temple.  He is a follower of The Way like us.  And here is…” he looked at the beggar apologetically and said, “Oh, I’m sorry, I didn’t ask your name.”

“Matthias,” replied the beggar.

“I met Matthias in the temple too.  He was asking for help and I knew that you would have some food we could give him.”

“Yes, there was a little food left over from the morning meal – I can set that before him right now.”

“Come and sit at the table, Matthias, and we can talk while you eat.”

Matthias sat down and Joseph sat near him.  Justus left the room briefly before returning with the promised food.  Matthias eyed it hungrily.

“Let’s thank God for providing this food,” said Justus, and prayed.  Matthias immediately began to eat.
Justus turned to Joseph and said, “I was saying in the temple that I had listened to John the Baptist and started trying to do the things he suggested.  I found that I enjoyed it.  Life was better.  More satisfying.  But unfortunately, after a while I found that I was just slipping back into my old ways.  I didn’t like it, but I couldn’t seem to stop it without John there to remind me and enthuse me all over again.

“Then I heard of Jesus, and when I heard him speak it was as if he was opening wide a door that John had just started to open for me.  I really felt that what Jesus said made sense.  And his answers to people’s questions were absolutely amazing.  Anyone who went to him looking for understanding was sure to come away with more than they ever expected.  And for those who went to cause trouble – well, his responses to the Pharisees’ trouble-making were even more amazing.”

“So I’ve heard,” agreed Joseph.  “I’m sorry that I never heard Jesus himself speaking.  But his 12 apostles are pretty special too.”

“Yes, they’re astonishing.  At least, they are now.  They’re so different from how they were when Jesus was here!  Now they ooze confidence and courage – and wisdom too – whereas earlier they were diffident, and quite self-centred at times.  In fact, the changes I’ve seen in them are part of what made me decide to commit myself to The Way.  If Jesus could change them, then maybe he can change me too.  And keep me changed.”

“I’m sure he can.  From the sound of it, he’s already changing you.”

“I think he is, but I’m afraid that I’m a bit like the seed in rocky ground that I heard Jesus talk about once.  He said some people are all enthusiastic for a while and then they lose their direction, because they don’t have any roots.”

“You said it was a few years ago that you first went to listen to Jesus – when did you get baptised?”

“Just two weeks ago.”

“That doesn’t sound much like imprudent, unrestrained haste to me!  Why didn’t you get baptised sooner?”

“I wanted to make sure that it was the right thing to do.”

“Well, brother, it sounds to me like you’ve been showing careful consideration.  I don’t think you need to worry about either acting too quickly or falling away in a hurry!”

“Thanks for your encouragement, Joseph.”

“You’re welcome, but do you mind if we talk about a different subject now?”

“Not at all.  What is it?”

“You heard John the Baptist teaching, Justus.  What did he say about helping poor people?”

“When people asked him about how they should help others, he said we should share.  If we have spare clothes or food, we should share them with people who have none.”

“And that’s what you’re doing now.  How’s the food, Matthias?”

“It’s wonderful.  It’s been two days since I ate.  Some people have given me small amounts of money, but I felt compelled to give it to the people I owe money to rather than spending it on myself.  Since you gave me food, I can eat it with a clear conscience.”

“I’m glad you are enjoying it.  I’m sure having more energy will help you sort out your problems too.  Can I help at all?  Why do you owe money?  Did something go wrong?”

“My wife was sick for a long time, and by the end I had to borrow money to pay the doctor for her treatment.  Then, just before she died, there was a fire in our house and it spread into our neighbour’s house too.  I worked as hard as I could to help our neighbours fix their house, but then I injured my hand.  Now I can’t work at all.  The lender wants his money, and my neighbours…”  Overwhelmed, he broke into sobs.

Joseph and Justus looked at each other.

Tragedy is a part of life, ebbing and flowing with the years, yet suffering does not always spread its bitter influence evenly among mankind.  Here, two men were presented with an opportunity to help another at a time when they had few troubles of their own.  They waited a few moments for Matthias to recover his composure and then grasped the opportunity.

“We’re very sorry to hear about your problems,” said Joseph, “and I’m glad that Justus has been able to give you some food.  I can also give you some money, but maybe we should talk about how much you need.  Is your injured hand getting better?”

“Yes, slowly.  I hope it will be alright in a week or two so that I can get back to work, but my creditor says he’ll take over what’s left of my house next week if I can’t pay him more money.  I’ve been begging in the temple and people are very kind, but who has lots of spare money to give?  I didn’t think I was being foolish with my borrowing.  I just wanted to keep my wife alive – but it didn’t work.  I could have paid off my debts alright if I hadn’t got injured, but now the creditor won’t give me any more time.”

“The Lord our God gives and he takes away.”

“I know.  It’s just as Job said in Scripture, and I trust God to look after me.  But at the moment, life is hard.”

“I can help you with some money,” said Joseph, “but first I want to talk about why I will help you.”
“You were talking about Jesus before – is he the reason?”

“Yes.  Jesus told us to do good deeds so that people would see them and praise God, our father in heaven.  So I need to make it clear to you: I’m doing this so that you can see that God is still looking after you.  Sometimes it might feel as if he’s abandoned you, but today he led you to us because he’s given us the power to help you.”

“Oh thank you, thank you.”

Joseph and Justus smiled at each other, then Justus said, “And that’s just the point Jesus was making: don’t thank us, don’t praise us, don’t admire us; thank God and praise him.  He’s the one who has given you the food.  He’s the one who will give you at least some of the money you need.”