For other uses of the name Jesus, see Jesus (disambiguation)

Jesus (disambiguation)

Jesus is the central figure of Christianity.Jesus may also refer to:- People :* Jesus , as given name and surname*Christ, English term for Jesus of Nazareth* Jesus Justus , religious leader...

.

Jesus Justus or Iesous ho legomenos Ioustos (in Greek

Greek language

Greek is an independent branch of the Indo-European family of languages. Native to the southern Balkans, it has the longest documented history of any Indo-European language, spanning 34 centuries of written records. Its writing system has been the Greek alphabet for the majority of its history;...

) is referred to by the Apostle Paul of Tarsus

Paul of Tarsus

Paul the Apostle , also known as Saul of Tarsus, is described in the Christian New Testament as one of the most influential early Christian missionaries, with the writings ascribed to him by the church forming a considerable portion of the New Testament...

 in Colossians 4:11. Paul was said to be the "Apostle to the Gentiles" because of his many missionary travels throughout the Mediterranean.

Paul tells the Church at Colossae

Colossae

Colossae or Colosse , was an ancient city of Phrygia, on the Lycus, which is a tributary of the Maeander River. It was situated about 12 miles South East of Laodicea, and near the great road from Ephesus to the Euphrates...

 in his epistle

Epistle

An epistle is a writing directed or sent to a person or group of people, usually an elegant and formal didactic letter. The epistle genre of letter-writing was common in ancient Egypt as part of the scribal-school writing curriculum. The letters in the New Testament from Apostles to Christians...

 (letter) from Rome

Rome

Rome is the capital of Italy and the country's largest and most populated city and comune, with over 2.7 million residents in . The city is located in the central-western portion of the Italian Peninsula, on the Tiber River within the Lazio region of Italy.Rome's history spans two and a half...

 that "Jesus who is called Justus" sends his greetings. Jesus Justus is thought to have been close friends with Paul, one of three faithful friends in Paul's inner circle, the other two being Aristarchus and Mark.

Background

After Jesus Christ’s death, Paul and many other apostles began taking missionary journeys around the Mediterranean and even as far as Asia to convert others to the gospel. During Paul’s travels, he would reside with a congregation for an extended period of time and teach them. At times, he would be placed into prison for preaching the gospel to nonbelievers. Paul wrote Colossians while in prison in Rome most likely during AD 50’s.

Appearances in the New Testament

Jesus Justus is the name given in , which was written from Rome by Paul. He is said to be “of the circumcision”, that is, Jewish. Justus is described as one of Paul's fellow "workers" in bringing Christianity

Christianity

Christianity is a monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus as presented in canonical gospels and other New Testament writings...

 to the people of Rome

Rome

Rome is the capital of Italy and the country's largest and most populated city and comune, with over 2.7 million residents in . The city is located in the central-western portion of the Italian Peninsula, on the Tiber River within the Lazio region of Italy.Rome's history spans two and a half...

. Writing from prison, the author, purporting to be Paul, recounts his difficulties and trials in spreading his message. Justus is named as an associate of Paul's. Although there are other men called "Justus" in the New Testament

New Testament

The New Testament is the second major division of the Christian biblical canon, the first such division being the much longer Old Testament....

 Acts

Acts of the Apostles

The Acts of the Apostles , usually referred to simply as Acts, is the fifth book of the New Testament; Acts outlines the history of the Apostolic Age...

 1:23 refers to "Joseph called Barsabbas, who was surnamed Justus," and Acts 18:7 mentions one Titius Justus), there are no other biblical references to this Jesus Justus, and nothing else is known about his life.

The name Jesus was not uncommon at the time of Jesus the Christ

Jesus

Jesus of Nazareth , commonly referred to as Jesus Christ or simply as Jesus or Christ, is the central figure of Christianity...

, as it was a form of the Old Testament

Old Testament

The Old Testament, of which Christians hold different views, is a Christian term for the religious writings of ancient Israel held sacred and inspired by Christians which overlaps with the 24-book canon of the Masoretic Text of Judaism...

 name Yahshua

Yahshua

Yahshua is an argued transliteration of the original Hebrew or Aramaic name of Jesus commonly used by individuals in the Sacred Name Movement....

. In Hebrew (or Aramaic) the name means "Yahweh saves."

Controversial Views

The Australian scholar Barbara Thiering

Barbara Thiering

Barbara Thiering is an Australian nonfiction writer, historian, and Biblical exegete specialising in the origins of the early Christian Church. In books and journal articles, she challenges Christian orthodoxy, drawing on claimed new evidence that gives alternative answers to its supernatural...

 claims that the title Justus, Latin meaning “just” or “righteous” was that of the David crown prince. It was applied to James the next brother of Jesus, called James the Just by the contemporary historian Hegesippus (chronicler)

Hegesippus (chronicler)

Saint Hegesippus , was a Christian chronicler of the early Church who may have been a Jewish convert and certainly wrote against heresies of the Gnostics and of Marcion...

. James was the crown prince for Jesus before he had a son of his own. He appears as Joseph called Justus in .

However, Theiering takes this a step further by saying that the name Jesus Justus is that of a son of Jesus, also called Jesus, with the added title of his crown prince. He received this title as Jesus Christ is said to be a prince so any offspring would be royalty as well.

By using her own pesher technique

Pesher

Pesher is a Hebrew word meaning "interpretation" in the sense of "solution". It became known from one group of texts, numbering some hundreds, among the Dead Sea Scrolls....

 Thiering believes that he was born in June, 37 AD to Jesus

Jesus

Jesus of Nazareth , commonly referred to as Jesus Christ or simply as Jesus or Christ, is the central figure of Christianity...

 (having survived the crucifixion)and Mary Magdalene

Mary Magdalene

Mary Magdalene was one of Jesus' most celebrated disciples, and the most important woman disciple in the movement of Jesus. Jesus cleansed her of "seven demons", conventionally interpreted as referring to complex illnesses...

. In Revelation

Revelation

In religion and theology, revelation is the revealing or disclosing, through active or passive communication with a supernatural or a divine entity...

 he appears there as the "Name" in ; ;
. Revelation

Revelation

In religion and theology, revelation is the revealing or disclosing, through active or passive communication with a supernatural or a divine entity...

 also describes his marriage and the marriage of his son Jesus III.

Another view is that Jesus Justus is referring to Jesus Christ himself. Paul’s letters were all written after Jesus Christ’s resurrection and there is the belief that Christ appeared many times after his death to Paul during his ministry as a missionary. Jesus Christ is said to be the great mediator and the only perfect being to have ever walked this earth. Because of this, calling him ‘Jesus Justus’ would not have been unreasonable because of the absolute fairness of his teachings, which is what ‘Justus’ or justice refers to. A greeting from Jesus Christ to the church at Colossae would have been the highest honor other than a personal visit from Christ.

Jewish by Birth

Justus is said to be of Jewish birth as only the Jews were considered men “of the circumcision”.

Justus is recorded as a member of the group of three Yahudis which included Paul's fellow prisoner Aristarchus, Mark

Mark the Evangelist

Mark the Evangelist is the traditional author of the Gospel of Mark. He is one of the Seventy Disciples of Christ, and the founder of the Church of Alexandria, one of the original four main sees of Christianity....

 (the cousin of Barnabas

Barnabas

Barnabas , born Joseph, was an Early Christian, one of the earliest Christian disciples in Jerusalem. In terms of culture and background, he was a Hellenised Jew, specifically a Levite. Named an apostle in , he and Saint Paul undertook missionary journeys together and defended Gentile converts...

) and Justus. They are said by Paul to be the "only Yahudis among my fellow workers for the kingdom of Yah

Yah

Yah may refer to:* Jah, shortened form of "Jehovah" used at and elsewhere. Also, the name of God favored by Rastafarians.* Yah, shortened form of Yahweh , one of the names of God in Judaism...

" and to have "proved a comfort to me." (Literally, they are said to be men "of the circumcision

Brit milah

The brit milah is a Jewish religious circumcision ceremony performed on 8-day old male infants by a mohel. The brit milah is followed by a celebratory meal .-Biblical references:...

.") The Yah

Yah

Yah may refer to:* Jah, shortened form of "Jehovah" used at and elsewhere. Also, the name of God favored by Rastafarians.* Yah, shortened form of Yahweh , one of the names of God in Judaism...

 are of Hebrew descent, and therefore Jewish.

External links

• Writings of Church Fathers Extensive collection of Eusebius's works online.
• Pesher Technique: “Decoding the Book of Revelation by Dr. Barbara Thiering
  Barbara Thiering
  Barbara Thiering is an Australian nonfiction writer, historian, and Biblical exegete specialising in the origins of the early Christian Church. In books and journal articles, she challenges Christian orthodoxy, drawing on claimed new evidence that gives alternative answers to its supernatural...
  
  .