Who is Justus?
After the ascenscion of Jesus back to his home with the Father, the apostle Peter stood up to address a crowd of some 120 people. He said,
"Brothers and sisters, the scripture has to be fulfilled, which the Holy Spirit spoke before concerning Judas.
This was the man who was numbered with us, and participated in this ministry, yet he chose to be the guide for those that took our Lord Jesus. He purchased a field with the reward of his iniquity; and falling headlong, he burst open, and all his bowels gushed out. It became known to all who lived in Jerusalem. That field is called Aceldama, the field of blood.
It is written in the book of Psalms, 'Let his habitation be desolate, and let no man dwell therein: and his ministry let another take.'
Therefore, of these men which have been with us during the time that the Lord Jesus went in and out among us, beginning from the baptism of John, until that day that he was taken up from us, one must be chosen and ordained to be a witness with us, his apostles, of his resurrection."
So, they appointed two: Joseph called Barsabas, who was surnamed Justus, and Matthias. Then they prayed, "Lord, you know the hearts of all men, show us which of these two men you have chosen, that he may take part of this ministry of apostleship, from which Judas by his sin, disqualified himself.
They cast their lots (dried sheep's knuckles), and the lot fell to Matthias. Matthias then, was numbered with the eleven apostles taking the place of Judas.
-- Acts 1:15-26
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Of the two men selected to fill the vacancy among the apostles caused by the death of Judas, Matthias, not Justus, was chosen. The fall and spread of sheep's knuckles indicated Matthias -- not Justus.
Justus, aka Joseph, son of Sabbas, is not spoken of again. Search the sacred pages. His name never appears again. It is as if he dropped off a cliff; as if he were erased from further consideration. There have been many speculations as to what might have happened to him. The Eastern Orthodox tradion has him becoming the Bishop of Eleuthropolis, a town Southwest of Jerusalem, where he died a martyr. This is speculation -- no verifiable evidence of its truth.
"Although Joseph Barsabbas -- also known as Justus -- is mentioned only once in the Bible, there is a strong indication that he was a man very close to Jesus." -- Theresa Doyle-Nelson, National Catholic Register
"As one who accompanied Jesus and the other disciples, Barsabbas was almost certainly considered a good candidate because he exhibited certain leadership skills and possessed a solid understanding of Jesus’ teaching. While the text is silent on what came next for him, we can presume Barsabbas continued to live the life of a good disciple and worked to spread the gospel message in word and action." -- Susan Francesconi, The Good Disciple.
So what became of Justus, also known as Joseph the son of Sabbas? Only God knows for certain, and perhaps, just perhaps . . . in the heartfelt, creative imagination of the author of The Justus Scrolls.
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