Joseph Barsabbas Joseph Barsabbas In the Acts of the Apostles, Joseph Barsabbas (also known as Justus) is one of two candidates qualified to be chosen for the office of apostle after Judas Iscariot lost his apostleship when he betrayed Jesus and committed suicide. After the casting of lots he was not chosen, the lot instead favoring Matthias to be numbered with the remaining eleven apostles. Both Joseph and Matthias had been followers of Jesus from the beginning of Jesus' public ministry after the baptism he received from John. He had continued as a member of the larger company of disciples even to
Judas Iscariot to signify his former status as an apostle. More commonly, however, he is the only one at the table without one. In some church stained glass windows he is also depicted with a dark halo such as in one of the windows of the Church of St John the Baptist, Yeovil. Judas is the subject of one of the oldest surviving English ballads, which dates from the 13th century. In the ballad, the blame for the betrayal of Christ is placed on his sister. In Dante's "Inferno", Judas is condemned to the lowest circle of Hell: the Ninth Circle of