The Resurrection Converted Skeptics: James The Brother Of Jesus

Written sources report that James, Jesus’ brother, was an unbeliever during at least some of Jesus’ public ministry. Crucially, these accounts are recorded in independent written works, namely the Gospels of Mark and John. It is widely accepted that John wrote his Gospel without knowledge of the Synoptics (Matthew, Mark, and Luke).

James' Unbelief In Mark

Mark 3:20-21 records an incident where Jesus is accused of having lost his mind by the crowds. When Jesus’ family heard this, they attempted to restrain him, apparently in agreement with the crowd.

Jesus entered a house, and the crowd gathered again so that they were not even able to eat. When his family heard this, they set out to restrain him, because they said, “He’s out of his mind.”

Larry Hurtado remarks that “the attitude of Jesus’ family… is to be seen as a response like that of these critics.”¹ Mark clearly presents both the attitudes of the crowd and Jesus’ own family as wrong. This makes the most sense of Jesus’ response concerning them, and his claim that those who truly followed him were his real family.

Mark 6:1-6 records another incident in Jesus’ hometown, where the crowds were offended by him. They found it hard to reconcile Jesus’ miracles and authoritative teaching with their knowledge of his humble origins.

He left there and came to his hometown, and his disciples followed him. When the Sabbath came, he began to teach in the synagogue, and many who heard him were astonished. “Where did this man get these things?” they said. “What is this wisdom that has been given to him, and how are these miracles performed by his hands? Isn’t this the carpenter, the son of Mary, and the brother of James, Joses, Judas, and Simon? And aren’t his sisters here with us?” So they were offended by him.

Jesus said to them, “A prophet is not without honor except in his hometown, among his relatives, and in his household.” He was not able to do a miracle there, except that he laid his hands on a few sick people and healed them. And he was amazed at their unbelief. He was going around the villages teaching.

Mary is mentioned by name, as well as Jesus’ brothers, including James. Apparently, familiarity caused a lack of respect and unbelief. Jesus’ response regarding prophets being without honor in their hometown specifically included the term “relatives” (syngeneusin).

James' Unbelief In John

In John 7:1-5, Jesus was in Galilee and the Jewish feast of Tabernacles was approaching. His brothers suggested he attend the festival so that the people there could witness his miracles.

After this, Jesus traveled in Galilee, since he did not want to travel in Judea because the Jews were trying to kill him. The Jewish Festival of Shelters was near. So his brothers said to him, “Leave here and go to Judea so that your disciples can see your works that you are doing. For no one does anything in secret while he’s seeking public recognition. If you do these things, show yourself to the world.” (For not even his brothers believed in him.)

But in John’s parenthetical comment that follows, he indicates that “not even his brothers believed in him.” Craig Keener points out; “John specifically attributes their request for Jesus’ open revelation to unbelief.”²

In John 19:25-27, during the crucifixion, Jesus notices his mother standing nearby. He entrusts her to the Beloved Disciple who responded by caring for Mary from that time onward.

Standing by the cross of Jesus were his mother, his mother’s sister, Mary the wife of Clopas, and Mary Magdalene. When Jesus saw his mother and the disciple he loved standing there, he said to his mother, “Woman, here is your son.” Then he said to the disciple, “Here is your mother.” And from that hour the disciple took her into his home.

It is striking that Jesus trusts someone he had only known for the length of his public ministry with this immense responsibility instead of his own brother. James, along with Jesus’ other siblings had abandoned him, another clear indication of their unbelief.

These incidents with Jesus’ family are exceptionally awkward and humiliating.

James' Conversion Recorded In 1 Corinthians

Shortly after Jesus’ crucifixion, James comes to believe that his brother rose from the dead and he is transformed into one of the most influential leaders in the early church.

The early creed in 1 Corinthians 15:3-7 mentions a personal appearance of the risen Christ to James. This encounter is very likely the cause of his conversions to the Christian faith.

For I passed on to you as most important what I also received: that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures, and that he appeared to Cephas, then to the Twelve. Then he appeared to over five hundred brothers and sisters at one time; most of them are still alive, but some have fallen asleep. Then he appeared to James, then to all the apostles.

We have several reasons to believe that this creed is incredibly early and contains eyewitness reports:

1. The author of 1 Corinthians, Paul, tells us in another book (Galatians 1: 18-19) that he travelled to Jerusalem approximately 3 years after Jesus' crucifixion. He uses the Greek term historēsai to describe his intention to "get to know" Peter and James in order to gain information about Jesus. Defending the Gospel is central to Paul’s teaching throughout the letter to the Galatians, and he emphasizes the importance of apostolic agreement on matters pertaining to the Good News. It is in this context of defending the Gospel that Paul recalls his meeting with the other apostles. Paul spent 15 days with Peter and James on his first visit, and it is unimaginable that the nature of the resurrection appearances would not have been among the topics discussed.

2. The creed shows apostolic roots throughout, specifically naming “Peter” and “James,” as well as “the Twelve” and “all of the apostles.” This unanimity of belief and preaching among the apostles is brought out in 1 Corinthians 15:11, where Paul confidently tells his readers “whether, then, it is I or they, so we proclaim and so you have believed.”

3. In Galatians 2:9 Paul says that James and Peter extended the right hand of fellowship to him, meaning they were all preaching the same message: Jesus rose bodily from the dead and appeared to groups and individuals.

4. The creed uses the Aramaic name for Peter ("Cephas"), indicating early, Palestinian origin.

5. Paul tells his readers that he received this creed from others and he is simply passing it on. The words “delivered” (paredoka) and “received” (parelabon) belong to technical vocabulary in both Greek schools and Jewish synagogue thought. It was commonly used in the dissemination of oral traditions signaling an authoritative chain of transmission going back to the original sources.

6. A common indicator that a passage is an early tradition or creed that did not originate with the author, is the presence of words not typically used by the author elsewhere. Examples in 1 Corinthians 15:3-7 include:

   1. “for our sins”

   2. “he was raised”

   3. “on the third day”

   4. “the twelve”

   5. “according to the Scriptures”

Evidence Of James' Changed Life

James goes from a reluctant follower of Jesus who often doubted his works and teaching, to the leader of a large congregation in the very city where the miraculous events transpired, Jerusalem. Acts 15:1-19 records a council presided over by the brother of Jesus where he delivers the concluding speech, which is a sign of his authoritative role.

After they stopped speaking, James responded, “Brothers, listen to me. Simeon has reported how God first intervened to take from the Gentiles a people for his name..." Therefore, in my judgment, we should not cause difficulties for those among the Gentiles who turn to God.

After much debate among the apostles and elders, James provides a decisive summary and proposes a solution that the council adopts. This position of giving the final word is indicative of his leadership. Furthermore, Paul refers to James as a “pillar” of the church in Galatians 2:9.

The legitimacy and sincerity of James' conversion is confirmed by his willingness to die for his faith. James is eventually martyred in Jerusalem for being a leader in the Christian movement as mentioned in Josephus’ Antiquities of the Jews  (20.200).

Because Ananus was of this [persuasion], he considered he had a fitting opportunity since Festus had died and Albinus was still on his way. He assembled the Sanhedrin of judges and, bringing before them the brother of Jesus, who was called Christ, whose name was James, and certain others, he made an accusation against them as breakers of the law, and delivered them over to be stoned.

After Festus had died, and before Albinus replaced him as procurator, the High Priest Ananus II assembled the Sanhedrin to condemn and stone James in 62 AD. This statement is widely accepted as authentic and is relatively uncontroversial among scholars for several reasons:

1. The textual evidence for the passage is secure, appearing in the most important Greek witnesses to Antiquities book 20 including Codex Ambrosianus (Mediolanensis) F. 128 dated to the 11th century, the earliest surviving hand-written manuscript. It also appears in the 6th century Latin translation supervised by Cassiodorus, and is quoted by reliable Greek authors who had direct access to copies of Antiquities such as Eusebius of Caesarea’s Ecclesiastical History (2.23.21) circa 313 AD.

2. The content of the statement concerning Jesus is unlikely to have been interpolated, intentionally or otherwise, by an early Christian scribe. Far from an explicit affirmation of Jesus’ messianic identity, T. C. Schmidt explains that, “the clause identifies Jesus with the words ‘who was called Christ’ (τοῦ λεγομένου Χριστοῦ), an ambiguous turn of phrase that, without context, communicates a distant or skeptical portrayal of Jesus.”³ In other words, this is not the lukewarm way a zealous Christian scribe would speak of Jesus.

3. The text labels James as Jesus’ brother, another fact that is clearly authentic to Josephus. The term adelphos literally means “from the same womb,” yet the vast majority of 2nd and 3rd century Christian authors go to great lengths to qualify James’ familial relationship with Jesus in some way.

4. Josephus’ account contradicts many facts found in Christian tradition. Hagiographical material about James claim that he was clubbed to death and that he was killed alongside others (something Josephus does not mention). Finally, these Christian traditions place his execution not in 62 AD, but at the end of the decade.

The term “martyr” originally meant “witness.” This important point should not be confused with an appeal to modern-day martyrs who willingly die for their religious beliefs. Martyrs today act out of their trust in beliefs that others have taught them. The apostles died for holding to their own testimony that they had personally seen the risen Jesus. People are certainly willing to die for beliefs that could be false, but no one is willing to die for beliefs they know to be false. As Michael Licona puts it, "Liars make poor martyrs."⁴

James' firm belief in the resurrection of Jesus is made evident by his willingness to remain in the hostile environment of Jerusalem and face capital punishment.

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1 Larry Hurtado, Marky

2 Craig Keener, Gospel of John

3 Gary Habermas & Michael Licona, The Case For The Resurrection Of Jesus

4 T. C. Schmidt, Josephus & Jesus