Comparative Theology · Pauline Epistles & Early Church
James the Just: the successor history forgot
Handle with care. Catholic and Orthodox Christians hold that James was a cousin or step-brother. State their view accurately before giving the alternative.
In short
- 1.**James is named as Jesus's brother** in Mark 6:3 and by Paul himself in Galatians 1:19.
- 2.**He presides at the Jerusalem Council** and gives the ruling: it is my judgement (Acts 15:19).
- 3.**Josephus records his death** in 62 CE at the hands of the high priest Ananus, and the public outrage that followed.
- 4.**Hegesippus, via Eusebius,** describes him as so devout he was called James the Righteous.
The claim being examined
Jesus''s brother James led the Jerusalem community for roughly thirty years, yet he is nearly invisible in the Christianity that followed.
The Islamic position
The person closest to a prophet in blood, practice and place carries the strongest claim to represent him. In the earliest sources that person is James.
Analysis
Josephus, Antiquities 20.200, refers to the brother of Jesus who was called Christ, whose name was James, and reports that his execution by stoning provoked such anger among fair-minded Jerusalemites that Ananus was deposed. This is a non-Christian source describing James as a figure of standing in the city. Hegesippus, preserved in Eusebius, Church History 2.23, portrays him as an ascetic who prayed in the Temple. Acts 15:19 has James, not Peter, delivering the verdict of the council, and Acts 21:18 has Paul reporting to James on arrival in Jerusalem. Tabor argues in The Jesus Dynasty that a dynastic succession within Jesus''s family was the original pattern, later obscured. The point is not that Catholics deny James existed, but that a thirty-year leadership left almost no theological trace in the church that emerged.
Side by side
| Acts 15:19 | Who rules at the council | James: it is my judgement. |
|---|---|---|
| Acts 21:18 | Who Paul reports to | Paul went to see James, and all the elders were present. |
| Josephus, Antiquities 20.200 | Non-Christian witness, 93 CE | The brother of Jesus who was called Christ, whose name was James — stoned in 62 CE, to public outrage. |
| Eusebius, Church History 2.23 | Quoting Hegesippus | He was called the Just by all, from the Lord's time to ours. |
From the Qur'an
Qur'an 3:33-34
إِنَّ ٱللَّهَ ٱصْطَفَىٰٓ ءَادَمَ وَنُوحًۭا وَءَالَ إِبْرَٰهِيمَ وَءَالَ عِمْرَٰنَ عَلَى ٱلْعَٰلَمِينَ
Indeed God chose Adam, Noah, the family of Abraham and the family of Imran above all people — descendants, some of them from others.
From the Bible
Mark 6:3
ὁ ἀδελφὸς Ἰακώβου
Is not this the carpenter, the son of Mary and brother of James, Joseph, Judas and Simon?
Read it in their BibleGalatians 1:19
Ἰάκωβον τὸν ἀδελφὸν τοῦ κυρίου
I saw none of the other apostles, only James, the Lord's brother.
Read it in their BibleActs 15:13,19
διὸ ἐγὼ κρίνω
James spoke up… It is my judgement, therefore, that we should not make it difficult for the Gentiles who are turning to God.
Read it in their BibleActs 21:18
εἰσῄει ὁ Παῦλος … πρὸς Ἰάκωβον
Paul and the rest of us went to see James, and all the elders were present.
Read it in their BibleSources
James D. Tabor, The Jesus Dynasty (Simon & Schuster, 2006) · Josephus, Antiquities of the Jews 20.200 · Eusebius, Church History 2.23, quoting Hegesippus · Ali Ataie, lectures on James the Just (Zaytuna College) · Tabor, The Jesus Dynasty, ch. 12; Josephus, Antiquities 20.200
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