JAMES OF JERUSALEM, BROTHER OF JESUS
BISHOP AND MARTYR
Feast 23 October
James
of Jerusalem is referred to in the New Testament as the brother of Our Lord
Jesus Christ. He was for many years the leader of the Christian
congregation in Jerusalem, and is generally supposed to be the author of the
Epistle of James, although the Epistle itself does not state this explicitly.
James is mentioned briefly in connection with Jesus' visit to Nazareth (M 13:55;
P 6:3).
We are told that Jesus' brothers did not believe in Him (J 7:2-5), and from
this, and from references in early Christian writers, it is inferred that James
was not a disciple of the Lord until after the Resurrection. Paul, listing
appearances of the Risen Lord (1 Cor 15:3-8), includes an appearance to James.
Peter, about to leave Jerusalem after escaping from Herod, leaves a message for
James and the Apostles (A 12:17). When a council meets at Jerusalem to consider
what rules Gentile Christians should be required to keep, James formulates the
final consensus (A 15:13-21).
Paul speaks of going to Jerusalem three years after his conversion and
conferring there with Peter and James (G 1:18-19), and speaks again of a later
visit (perhaps the one described in A 15) on which Peter, James, and John, "the
pillars," placed their stamp of approval on the mission to the Gentiles (G 2:9).
A few verses later (G 2:11-14), he says that messengers from James coming to
Antioch discouraged Jewish Christians there from eating with Gentile Christians.
(If this is refers to the same event as A 15:1-2, then Paul takes a step back
chronologically in his narration at G 2:11, which is not improbable, since he is
dictating and mentioning arguments and events that count as evidence for his
side as they occur to him.). On his last recorded visit to Jerusalem, Paul
visits James (others are present, but no other names are given) and speaks of
his ministry to the Gentiles (A 21:18).
Outside the New Testament, James is mentioned by the Jewish historian Josephus,
who calls him "the brother of Jesus the so-called Christ," and reports that he
was much respected even by the Pharisees for his piety and strict observance of
the Law, but that his enemies took advantage of an interval between Roman
governors in 62 AD to have him put to death. His death is also reported by the
second-century Christian writer Hegesippus.
Numerous references in early Christian documents show the esteem in which he was
held in the early Church.
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