Who was James, the brother of Jesus, in the Bible?
Answered from the commentary of William Kelly, G. C. Willis, Morrish Bible Dictionary and 7 others
James was one of Jesus’ brothers, and the passages describe him as a brother by family, not merely a cousin. His brothers did not believe in Jesus during his earthly life, but James later became a believer; the passages connect this change with the risen Jesus appearing to him. He became a leading figure among the believers in Jerusalem, was counted among the pillars, and spoke at the Jerusalem council. Most passages distinguish him from James the son of Zebedee and identify him as the James prominent in Jerusalem; some also identify him with James the son of Alphaeus, while others say he was probably not one of the twelve apostles or that this cannot be settled with certainty. Many identify him as the writer of the Epistle of James, though some present that identification as probable rather than certain.
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What the commentators say
The passages the answer is drawn from, the most direct first, with the words that bear on the question marked.
Of the four different James in the NT most researchers consider the brother of our Lord Jesus to have been the author of the epistle (compare Mark 6:3). James, Joses, Jude and Simon, although initially not believing, later belonged to those believing in the Lord Jesus after his resurrection (Matt. 13:55; John 7:3-5; Acts 1:14; 1 Cor. 15:7). When Paul came to Jerusalem for the first time he saw no apostle but James the Lord's brother (Gal. 1:19). After the death of James the apostle this very James had a special position among the believers in Jerusalem. This we see by Peter's words in Acts 12:17. Paul is calling James together with Peter pillars of the assembly (Gal. 2:9). Acts 15:13 and 21:18 also confirm the leader position of James.
The James who wrote it was not the brother of John. He was slain by Herod in very early years, as recorded in Acts 12:2. The author of the Epistle was the James spoken of in Acts 15:13, and Acts 21; 18. Paul calls him, "James, the Lord's brother," in Galatians 1:19, and he acknowledges him as one of the "pillars" of the Church in Jerusalem in Galatians 2:9. He does not appear to have gone forth to Judea or Samaria or to the uttermost parts of the earth, but to have remained in Jerusalem and there attained to a position of great authority.
We have spoken of James. Who was he? The Apostle Paul in the Galatians tells us that he was the Lord's brother, and an Apostle likewise. "Other of the Apostles," he writes, "saw I none, save James the Lord's brother" (Gal.1:19). Of the Apostles present at the conference that same Epistle mentions James, Cephas, and John (Gal.2:9); for we conclude that Paul is writing of the memorable occasion when with Barnabas he went up to Jerusalem, and was present at the council, as told us by Luke. Are there three Jameses of New Testament fame, or only two? Two only has Luke, we believe, distinguished - James the brother of John and James the son of Alphaeus. The former killed by Herod, the historian subsequently tells us that Peter spoke of James (12:17) without further designation, as if there was but one then alive. In this passage (15), and also in 21:18, Luke mentions the same James. The question of only two or of three Jameses in the Apostolic company has been a matter of discussion for centuries. No one now can authoritatively settle it. We leave the matter, then, with this one remark, that if Luke was aware of three Jameses, and that James of Acts 12:17, 15, 21:8 was not the son of Alphaeus, but another of wholly different parentage, it is surprising he did not mention it. [67]
Then James got up, not James the brother of John, who had been killed by Herod, but James the Lord’s brother, who is referred to as such in Galatians 1:19. He was immensely respected, and was known for his great austerity of life. He was opposed to anything like looseness, and his judgment would carry peculiar weight. No doubt the conference would be rightly affected by Peter’s address, and the thrilling story by Barnabas and Paul of their missionary labours. James now clinches the matter by quoting their Old Testament Scriptures. These were the words he quoted, “After this I will return, and will build again the tabernacle of David, which is fallen down; and I will build again the ruins thereof, and I will set it up: that the residue of men might seek after the Lord, AND ALL THE GENTILES, upon whom My name is called, to take out of them a people for My name.” This he quoted from the prophet Amos, supporting with Scripture authority what had gone before.
James, the brother of the Lord, belongs to those mentioned in John 7:5: "For neither did His brethren believe in Him." James and his brethren did not believe on Jesus, the Virgin-born Son of God, as the Messiah. But in the first chapter of Acts we find mentioned among those who waited in Jerusalem for the promise of the Father "Mary, the mother of Jesus, and His brethren." They had been converted and were now believers. How were they convinced that Jesus was the Christ? There can be no question that the James mentioned, distinct from the apostles, in 1 Cor. 15:7, to whom the risen Christ appeared, is the brother of the Lord. He saw the Lord risen from the dead; He had appeared to him and that became the great turning point in his life and he and his brethren believed.
He early held in Jerusalem the position as leader. When Peter had been miraculously led forth from prison and appeared in the midst of a company of believers, he said, "Go show these things unto James and to the brethren" (Acts 12:17). He was the acknowledged head of the Jewish-Christians in Jerusalem. He is the spokesman in the first council held in Jerusalem, in the language of our day "the presiding officer" (Acts 15:13). Through him the Holy Spirit gave a very important revelation. Years later when Paul undertook the fateful journey to Jerusalem and had reached the city, he called on James, and after salutation reported to him "what things God had wrought among the Gentiles by his ministry." And James spoke the fatal words which enticed the Apostle Paul to conform to the keeping of the law, when James told him, "Thou seest, brother, how many thousands of Jews there are which believe, and they are all zealous for the law" (Acts 21:19-26). According to ancient sources, like Eusebius, James was a godly man and a strong observer of the ceremonial law, and, though he was ready to see the hand of God in the ministry of Paul and Barnabas among the Gentiles (confirmed by the second chapter of Galatians), he adhered closely to the law and the Judaistic form of Christianity to the end of his life. "Had not a Peter and above all Paul arisen, Christianity would perhaps never have completely emancipated from the veil of Judaism and asserted its own independence. Still, there was a necessity for the ministry of James. If any could win over the ancient covenant people it was he. It pleased God to set so high an example of Old Testament piety in its purest form among the Jews, to make conversions to the gospel, even at the eleventh hour (preceding the destruction of Jerusalem ) as easy as possible for them. But when they would not listen to the voice of this last messenger of peace, then was the measure of divine patience exhausted and the fearful and long-threatened judgment broke forth. And thus the mission of James, the brother of the Lord was fulfilled. According to Hegesippus James died a year before the destruction of Jerusalem " (Dr. P. Schaff--Kirchengeschichte). The Jewish historian Josephus records this in the following paragraph: "Festus was now dead, and Albinus was but on the road, so he assembled the Sanhedrin or judges, and brought before them the brother of Jesus, who was called Christ, whose name was James, and some others. And when he had formed an accusation against them as breakers of the law, he delivered them to be stoned" (Josephus, Book 20).
"After that He was seen of James," who was one of the Lord's brethren, who did not believe in Him in pre-Calvary days, but that sinful unbelief was atoned for by the Lord's death, and dispelled by His appearance in resurrection, so that James delighted to speak of himself as the servant of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ.
We know that for some time after He entered His public ministry His brethren did not believe on Him; and it is more than probable that the envy of Joseph's brothers (in that lovely story in Genesis), so different to their brother Joseph, was but a picture of the envy of these unbelieving brothers in Nazareth. This would make life hard for the Child; but how sweet to see that the one next in age, and perhaps nearest to Him, "James, the Lord's brother" (Gal. 1:19), was quickly won to be His loyal and faithful follower. Nor was James the only one of those four who were won by Him; for in 1 Cor. 9:5, we see "the brethren of the Lord" linked with Cephas. And we may well believe, (as we might expect), that each one of that family at Nazareth became earnest, true and devoted followers of their, and our, Lord Jesus Christ.
When we turn to the Epistle of James, written almost surely by our Lord's brother, we read in the first verse: "James, a servant of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ." It is most refreshing to see James link the Lord Jesus Christ with God in this way, showing his absolute faith in the Deity of Christ: and it is lovely to see how whole-heartedly he confesses Him as Lord, and owns himself His "slave", for this is the meaning of the word translated "servant." A slave is one bought with a price, and James, the brother of our Lord, openly confesses this of himself in the first words of his letter.
But James was not a "disciple"; he was one of the Lord's brethren who did not believe all the time the Lord was living here below; "neither did His brethren believe on Him" (John 7:5). "His brethren" were sons of Mary after His own birth. Of course we can understand that Romanists have been anxious to make out that they were sons of Joseph and not of Mary. But they were sons of Mary and of Joseph. They would like to make them out sons of a former marriage of Joseph. We do not know anything of a former marriage, nor do they. We do know that scripture is quite plain.
One of the twelve apostles. Matt. 10:3; Mark 3:18; Luke 6:15; Acts 1:13. These are the only passages where with certainty this apostle is spoken of; but we find in the Acts of the Apostles a James at Jerusalem after the son of Zebedee had been killed, and holding a sort of first place there. He spoke with a measure of authority at the conference respecting the law not being enforced on the Gentiles, saying, 'My sentence is,' etc. This suggests that he was an apostle, and the son of Alphaeus. Acts 12:17; Acts 15:13; Acts 21:18; Gal. 2:9, 12. He was most probably the writer of the Epistle of James, and the brother of Jude, or Judas, who was also an apostle. Luke 6:16; James 1:1; Jude 1.
Though the word ἀδελφός is used in the LXX in a wider sense than 'brother,' it has been judged that its use in the N.T. is restricted to those born of the same mother; and therefore the Lord's brother could not have been the same person as the son of Alphaeus. Nor is it probable that he was one of the twelve apostles, for we read that "neither did his brethren believe in him." John 7:5. The first mention of the Lord's brethren being with the apostles is in Acts 1:14, and there they are referred to as distinct from them. James the Lord's brother was seen at Jerusalem by Paul. Gal. 1:19. The being thus designated distinguishes him from the apostle who is simply called James in Gal. 2:9, 12. Learned authorities state that in Gal. 1:19 the construction of the passage in the Greek does not necessarily imply that James the Lord's brother was an apostle. He is mentioned also in Matt. 13:55; Mark 6:3
The Apostle Paul speaks of him in Gal. 1:19. Three years after his conversion he returned to Jerusalem to interview Peter, and Paul adds, "but of the other apostles saw I none, save James, the Lord's brother,"