Though Jesus and James had the same mother, Jesus was the son not of Joseph, as James was, but of God the Father—a fact James did not fully comprehend until Jesus was resurrected and appeared to him and the other disciples. Apparently until that time, James and Jesus’ other brothers showed Him no honor, which saddened Jesus, who spoke from personal experience when He said, “Only in his hometown, among his relatives and in his own house is a prophet without honor” (Mark 6:1-6 NIV and John 7:5).
After Jesus’ resurrection James gave himself entirely to God and soon became an important figure in the early Church. He apparently became the overseeing pastor in Jerusalem. In Acts 15:13-21 we see him making the final declaration during an early ministerial conference. Also Peter told others to report to James about his miraculous release from prison (Acts 12:17) and after his conversion, the Apostle Paul met with Peter and James before seeing any of the other Apostles (Galatians 1:18-19). Later we see James advising Paul, and Paul then acting on that advice (Acts 21:18-26).
The Epistle of James, written some 30 years later, contains advice and encouragement to help build Christian character. The second-century writer and historian Hegesippus referred to him as James the Just and characterized him as zealous for the law of God. His Epistle addresses a subject fundamental to true Christianity—that a Christian must prove his faith by his actions—and that works perfect one’s faith. “You see then that a man is justified by works, and not by faith only,” (James 2:24). In other words, talking about Christianity is one thing. Acting on it is quite another. True faith is not just a feeling or an emotion, but is demonstrated by how we live and what we do.
The writings of James presents problems to those who hold the view Jesus taught we no longer need to keep God’s laws, because those laws were somehow abolished at Christ’s death and resurrection. He repeatedly upholds the need to keep God’s laws, emphasizing the Ten Commandments and referring to God’s law as “the royal law” and “the law of liberty” (James 2:8 and 11-12). He specifically describes how sin begins with lust, the desire to have or do something we should not have or do, and if we don’t control our thoughts and desires it eventually develops into sinful actions (James 1:14-15).
The Martyrdom Of James
Not long after writing his epistle, James was martyred in Jerusalem in A.D. 62. According to Josephus, he was accused by the high priest and condemned to death by stoning (Antiquities of the Jews, Book 20, chap. 9, sec. 1). Eusebius says he was taken to the top of a wing of the temple, and “demanded that he should renounce the faith of Christ before all the people…..” But, rather than deny Jesus, James “declared himself fully before the whole multitude, and confessed that Jesus Christ was the Son of God, our Savior and Lord” (Ecclesiastical History, 1995, pp. 75-76).
Hegesippus tells us that at this point “they went up and threw down the just man [from the temple height], and said to each other, ‘Let us stone James the Just.’ And they began to stone him, for he was not killed by the fall, but he knelt down and said, ‘I entreat thee, Lord God our Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do.’ One of them, who was a fuller, took the club with which he beat out clothes and struck the just man on the head. And thus he suffered martyrdom” (quoted in Biblical Archaeology Review, November-December 2002, p. 32).
James finally came to realize Jesus had given His life for him, and when the time came, faithfully gave his life for the brother he had once rejected. James, the half brother of Jesus Christ, will be brought back to life at the resurrection of the just when Christ returns, and then he will continue to follow His brother’s perfect example through all eternity.
