James (Brother of the Lord)

Biblical Record

Mark 6:3 and Matthew 13:55 list James, Joseph (Joses), Simon, and Judas as the brothers of Jesus. James is named first among them. John 7:5 records that during Jesus' public ministry his brothers did not believe in him.

According to 1 Corinthians 15:7, the risen Jesus appeared to James. Acts 1:14 records that after Jesus' ascension his brothers prayed together with the disciples. James subsequently appears as a leader of the Jerusalem church.

• Acts 12:17: After his release from prison, Peter asks that the news be reported to James.
• Acts 15:13–21: At the Jerusalem Council, James proposes that circumcision not be imposed on Gentile believers. He adds, however, that they should be told to "abstain from pollutions of idols, and from fornication, and from things strangled, and from blood."
• Acts 21:18: Paul arrives in Jerusalem and goes to see James.
• Galatians 1:19 and 2:9: Paul calls him "James the Lord's brother" and presents him, together with Cephas (Peter) and John, as one of those who "seemed to be pillars" of the church.

The author of James 1:1 introduces himself as "James, a servant of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ." The author of Jude 1:1 describes himself as the "brother of James."

Significance Within Scripture

James went from being part of a family that did not believe in Jesus to becoming a central figure in the Jerusalem church. In Acts 15 he acts as a mediator between Jewish and Gentile believers. This account shows how the early church worked out the relationship between law and gospel.

Interpretation and Points of Debate

The meaning of "brother." Church traditions understand the term differently.

• Protestants generally take it to mean a younger brother born to Joseph of Nazareth and Mary after Jesus.
• The Eastern Orthodox Church regards him as a son of Joseph from a previous marriage.
• The Catholic Church has traditionally held that he was a close relative, such as a cousin.

Distinction from other men named James. This James is a different person from James the son of Zebedee, one of the Twelve Disciples. According to Acts 12:2, James the son of Zebedee was martyred early. Traditions differ on whether the Lord's brother is the same person as James the son of Alphaeus.

Authorship of the Epistle of James. Tradition holds that this James wrote the Epistle of James, though scholars hold other views as well. James 2:24 states that "by works a man is justified." How this verse relates to Paul's teaching on justification is a long-standing point of debate. In his 1522 preface to the New Testament, Martin Luther called the Epistle of James "an epistle of straw."

Death. Scripture does not record his death. According to the Antiquities of the Jews by the Jewish historian Josephus, he is said to have been stoned to death in the early 60s under the high priest Ananus. Hegesippus, as quoted by Eusebius, called him "James the Just" and related that he died after being thrown down from the temple. This account belongs to later tradition, not to the biblical text.