James the Brother of Jesus and the Early Christian Church

The first mention of James, the brother of Jesus, comes in the gospel of Matthew, Chapter 13, Verse 55 - 58:

"And when he (Jesus) was come into his own country, (Nazareth) he taught them in their synagogue, insomuch that they were astonished, and said, Whence hath this man this wisdom, and these mighty works?

Is not this the carpenter´s son? Is not his mother called Mary? And his brethren, James, and Joses, and Simon, and Judas? And his sisters, are they not all with us? Whence then hath this man all these things?

And they were offended at him. But Jesus said unto them: ´A prophet is not without honor, save in his own country, and in his own house.´ And he did not many mighty works there because of their unbelief.´"

James may not have been a disciple of his brother during the Lord´s lifetime, but Paul tells us that the risen Jesus appeared to James personally: "After that, he was seen of James; then all of the apostles." First Corinthians (15:7) That may mark the time of his conversion.

Sometime after the Pentecost, the followers of Jesus, including James, Peter, and John, came together in Jerusalem, and chose James, the brother of Jesus, to be first pastor of the Jerusalem Church.

In The Early History of the Church, Frederick Abbott Norwood writes: "It is most significant that James the brother of Jesus soon came into the position of leadership. Though Acts speaks of the prestige of the 12, increasingly the real power in Jerusalem was exerted by the elders under James."

Every Catholic´s Guide to the Sacred Scriptures, (1975) says "James, the Lord´s Brother, was one of the ´Pillars´ in the Church of Jerusalem."

Paul also refers to James as an early church leader. In Galations (1:18, 19) he says: "Then after three years I went up to Jerusalem to see Peter, and abode with him fifteen days. But other of the apostles saw I none, save James the Lord´s brother. What I write is the plain truth; before God I am not lying."

The apostle Peter also attests to James´s position as church leader. When he was released from the imprisonment of Herod Agrippa I, (around AD 44) he said to his followers: "tell this to James, and to the brethren." (Acts 12:17)

A reference to James is found in the "Gospel of Thomas", which is not part of the traditional Biblical Canon because the first fragment was found only a hundred years ago in Oxyrhynchus, Egypt. The writing has been dated at no later than AD 200. Two more fragments of this gospel were found before a complete version written in Coptic (the native Egyptian language written in an alphabet derived from the Greek alphabet) was found in Nag Hammadi, Egypt in 1945, dated to about 340 AD.

This interesting "gospel" is a collection of 114 sayings attributed to Jesus of Nazareth. It contains nothing about the life of Christ, including his birth, travels, ministry, crucifixion, or resurrection. The sayings attributed to Jesus echo the others found in the four Gospels, with references to the parables of mustard seed, the sower, the mote in your brother´s eye, the lamp under the bushel, the house of the strong man, serving two masters, the new wine and the old wineskins, the wheat and the tares, blessed are the poor, etc.

James is mentioned in verse 12 of Thomas. It says: "The disciples said to Jesus, "We know that you will depart from us. Who is to be our leader?" Jesus said to them, "Wherever you are, you are to go to James the righteous, for whose sake heaven and earth came into being."

James was revered as "James the Just" by both Jewish Christians and traditional Jews living in and outside of Palestine. According to Eusebius, James lived as a Nazirite, an ascetic especially dedicated to God. In The History of the Church, he says James was "universally regarded as the most righteous of men."

In November of 2001, a book entitled, The Brother of Jesus: James the Just and His Mission, was published. A Bard College press release announcing the work by professors Bruce Chilton and Jacob Neusner, says: "In the time between Jesus´ resurrection and James´s death, (AD 62) James was the most prominent and widely respected leader in Christendom."

During the time of his leadership of the early Christian church in Jerusalem, James and the other followers of Jesus, continued to observe the Sabbath like other Jews. According to one Bible commentary, "they fasted like them on Monday and Thursday. Their baptism was from John."

But before long, even among these strictly Jewish Christians, the ´Lord´s Day,´ Sunday, supplanted the old Jewish Sabbath observance. Friday, the day of the crucifixion, became the standard day of fast, along with Wednesday, when the passion began. It became nearly impossible for followers of "the Way" to be both observant Jews and Christians.

Although the Roman authorities ignored the presence of the new sect of Christians, their differences with traditional Jews caused increasing friction. Members of the new Christian sect created controversy by continuously speaking out in the temple about Jesus as the Messiah.

According to Acts, (4:1–8) Peter and John raised the ire of the Sadducees, when they "preached through Jesus the resurrection of the dead" in the temple. The two apostles were taken before Annas the high priest, and Caiaphas, who asked them: "By what power, or by what name have you done this?" And Peter, "filled with the Holy Ghost", answered: "By the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth…"

The high priest and the elders responded with threats, but the words of Peter and John were apparently well received by many other Jews, "And the word of God increased; and the number of disciples multiplied in Jerusalem greatly…" (Acts 6:7)

Another outspoken member of the early church was Stephen. He was "Full of faith and power, he did great wonders and miracles among the people," according to Acts. But certain non-Christian members of the synagogue stirred up the people against him, saying they heard Stephen "blaspheme against Moses and against God." (Acts 6:12) Stephen must have provoked them greatly when he said, "Ye stiff necked and uncircumcised in hearts and ears, ye do always resist the Holy Ghost: as your fathers did, so do ye." Then the crowd covered their ears in anger, and finally attacked him, dragging him out of the city, where they stoned him to death.

And who was it said, "When the blood of the martyr Stephen was shed, I also was standing by, and consenting unto his death, and kept the raiment of them that slew him"? (Acts 22:20) That was Saul, (Paul) a Pharisee and a Roman citizen, and by far the worst persecutor of the early Christian church in Jerusalem.