In the Christian New Testament Joseph Justus (also known as Barsabbas) figures momentarily in the casting of lots among the 120 or so gathered together after the Ascension of Christ, to replace Judas Iscariot and bring the Apostles again to the number twelve. According to Acts of the Apostles i.23 – 26: The New Testament, sometimes called the Greek Testament or Greek Scriptures is the name given to the part of the Christian Bible that was written after the birth of Jesus. ... Icon of the Ascension The Ascension is one of the great feasts in the Christian liturgical calendar, and commemorates the bodily Ascension of Jesus into Heaven forty days after his resurrection from the dead. ... Judas Iscariot (died April AD 29–33, Hebrew יהודה איש־קריות YÉ™hûḏāh ʾΚ-qÉ™riyyôṯ) was, according to the New Testament, one of the twelve original apostles of Jesus, and the one who ultimately betrayed him. ... Alternate meaning: See Apostle (Mormonism) The Christian Apostles were Jewish men chosen from among the disciples, who were sent forth (as indicated by the Greek word απόστολος apostolos= messenger), by Jesus to preach the Gospel to both Jews and Gentiles, across the world. ... 12 (twelve) is the natural number following 11 and preceding 13. ... The Acts of the Apostles, (Greek Praxeis Apostolon) is a book of the Bible, which now stands fifth in the New Testament. ...

23.So they proposed 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."

Further identification of this shadowy figure is insecure. No names are given among the Seventy-Two or Seventy Apostles of Christ—depending on the manuscripts—that were sent out in Luke 10.1:"two by two, into every town and place where he himself was about to go." Nor is this "Joseph the Just, son of the 'Father'"—as his name translates— identified as one of the adelphoi of Jesus— however this Greek word for "brothers" may be interpreted—in this one passage in Acts in which he appears. Nor does such a "Joseph Justus" appear among the disciples in the lists given in the synoptic gospels, unless he were represented unrecognized in some way under an alias. It would appear to be an inexplicable choice made by Peter among the assembled adelphoi (Acts 1.15, translated in the New International Version "believers"). The Seventy of the Gospel of Luke 10:1 – 20, though not literally named apostles, were followers that Jesus appointed and sent away (the Greek verb form apostello, not the noun form apostolos). ... Christ is the English representation of the Greek word Χριστός (transliterated as Khristós), which means anointed. ... The Gospel of Luke is the third of the four canonical Gospels of the New Testament, which tell the story of Jesus life, death, and resurrection. ... The Synoptic Gospels is a term used by modern New Testament scholars for the Gospels according to Matthew, Mark, and Luke of the New Testament in the Bible. ...

However there are both a Joses and a James the Just among the adelphoi of Jesus. Joses is mentioned in the Gospel of Mark 6:3. Where the passage is repeated in Matthew, 13:54 - 57, "Joses" is rendered "Joseph" instead. Robert Eisenman has read this shadowy figure of "Joseph Justus" as a cloned conflation who represents in a single figure all the Desposyni—rejected, according to the author of Acts in favor of an otherwise unknown Matthias (Eisenman 1997) [1]. Joses, in Hebrew, means He that forgives. Joses is one of the brothers of Jesus mentioned in the Gospel of Mark 6:3 and its parallel passage in Matthew 13:54 - 57. ... For people and places called Saint James, see the disambiguation page. ... The Gospel of Mark is traditionally the second of the New Testament Gospels. ... The Desposyni (from Greek, belonging to the Master) was a sacred name reserved only for Jesus blood relatives. ...

In Christian tradition, this Justus went on to become Bishop of Eleutheropolis, where he died a martyr and is venerated as Saint Justus of Eleutheropolis. The location provides a date for this legend, since the site of Eleutheropolis was a mere village in the 1st century, whose inhabitants were slain and enslaved with others by Vespasian in AD 68 (Josephus, Bell. Jud). The site was refounded, as Eleutheropolis, in AD 200 by Septimius Severus, however, and a first historical bishop can be found in the 4th century, when Eleutheropolis was an important late Roman city. A bishop is an ordained member of the Christian clergy who, in certain Christian churches, holds a position of authority. ... Eleutheropolis (city of the free) was the Greek name of a Roman city in Palestine, some 53 kms southwest of Jerusalem whose remains still straddle the ancient road to Gaza. ... Historically, a martyr is a person who dies for his or her religious faith. ... Emperor Vespasian Caesar Vespasianus Augustus (November 18, 9 – June 23, 79), originally known as Titus Flavius Vespasianus and best known as Vespasian, was the emperor of Rome from 69 to 79. ... Josephus (ca. ...

Further reading

• Eisenman, Robert 1997. James the Brother of Jesus: The Key to Unlocking the Secrets of Early Christianity and the Dead Sea Scrolls Viking Penguin, 1997, xxxvi + 1074 pp ISBN 0-670-86932-5 Reviewed by Robert M. Price.