From Doubt to Clout

Who Was James?

#1 James was the half-brother of Jesus.

Mark 6:3 lists the names of Jesus’ four half-brothers.  (Jesus has some sisters, too.)  James is the first listed, meaning that he is probably the oldest of Jesus’ younger brothers.  James and Jesus would have spent a great deal of time with one another considering that the average first century house was roughly the size of a garage.

Jesus’ sinless, perfect life would have been hard to miss.

I wonder if they shared a room together?  Certainly they worked and went to synagogue and played with neighborhood kids and attended school together.  However, in spite of knowing Jesus so well, James did not believe his brother’s claims at first. 

#2 James doubted at first

In John 7:2-5 it says, “² Now the Jews’ Feast of Booths was at hand. ³ So his brothers said to him [Jesus], “Leave here and go to Judea, that your disciples also may see the works you are doing.⁴ For no one works in secret if he seeks to be known openly. If you do these things, show yourself to the world.” ⁵ For not even his brothers believed in him.”

Their unbelief bore a sad witness to what Jesus said in Mark 6:4.  Mark reports that Jesus said that “…A prophet is not without honor, except in his hometown and among his relatives and in his own household.”  In those early days, James and his brothers where so strong in their doubt that it says in Mark 3:21 that they thought Jesus was “out of his mind.”

Let’s fast-forward to the end of Jesus’ ministry.  Their unbelief came to a halt when their brother who was publicly, mercilessly and brutally crucified came back from the dead.  After they watched Jesus ascend to heaven, a group of Jesus’ disciples entered into the upper room.  It’s noted that with this group of Jesus’ followers (which included eleven of the twelve disciples), Mary the mother of Jesus and his brothers are among those listed. 

So what had happened to change James from being the skeptical younger brother to being a leader in the church?  Paul gives us an answer in 1 Corinthians 15:7 where he says that when Jesus rose from the grave, “he appeared to more than five hundred brothers at one time, most of whom are still alive, though some have fallen asleep. Then he appeared to James, then to all the apostles.” 

#3 James saw the risen Christ and believed 

Jesus went out of his way to make a personal, post-resurrection appearance to his brother.  James was convinced, beyond a shadow of doubt, that his brother really was the Messiah.

The church was born on the day at Pentecost and James, though not an Apostle, was one of the key leaders within the church.  In Galatians 2:9, Paul calls James, along with Peter and John, pillar of the church.

#4 James became a pillar of the New Testament church

Since the Apostles were often travelling and engaging in evangelistic work, James eventually became the dominant leader of the Jerusalem church.  To borrow a contemporary term, he was, in essence, the “senior pastor.”  He was so prominent that after Peter was miraculously released from jail in Acts 12, he asked the astonished believers to “Tell these things to James and to the brothers.”

James was a man who had spent years with Jesus.  Jesus personally appeared to James after His resurrection.  When you study through James, you’ll see dozens of references to the Sermon on the Mount.  James obviously knew his brother’s teachings very well.  He was also well acquainted with both Peter and John.  He was considered a pillar of the church by Paul.  

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