I have had to get to know James before I even start on his epistle. I like him! The NRSV says that James is "traditionally identified" as the brother of Jesus.* And I like that the New Revised Standard Version (NRSV) says, “The author writes in Greek with grammatical accuracy and some elegance.” My first thought on reading that was, “O Jesus too would have been well educated and elegant.” (I love grammatical accuracy!) What a family it was! What a mother! We know of Mary's strength of thought from her Song of Praise.
Mary's
Song of Praise: "The Magnificat" (Luke 1: 46-55)
And Mary
said,
My soul
magnifies the Lord,
And my
spirit hath rejoiced in God my Saviour,
For he
hath regarded the low estate of his handmaiden:
for
behold, from henceforth all generations shall call me blessed.
For he
that is mighty has done to me great things;
and holy
is his name.
And his
mercy is for those who fear him from generation to generation.
He hath
showed strength with his arm;
he hath
scattered the proud in the imagination of their hearts.
He hath
brought down the mighty from their seats,
and
exalted those of low degree;
He hath
filled the hungry with good things,
and the
rich he has sent empty away.
He hath
holpen his servant Israel, in remembrance of his mercy,
As he
spoke to our fathers, to Abraham and to his offspring forever.
Not only Jesus benefited
from such refinement and spiritual strength.
Now to Joseph. Some commentators (including Bible scholar Thomas L. Leishman (1900-1978) who wrote a series called "The Continuity of the Bible" among other works) suggest that Joseph possibly already had children from a previous marriage when he married Mary. These “brethren” would perhaps then have been grown men by the time Jesus was born. Didn't Joseph take
Mary and the babe into Egypt (no mention of other children), and to the temple
when Jesus was 12 years old (no mention of other children making that
pilgrimage)? And is that the last mention of Joseph? Perhaps he died before
Jesus reached 30.
Biblical references to "James" or "brethren [of the Lord]"(excluding reference in his epistle):
- I Cor 9:5 Have we not the power to lead about a sister, a wife, as well as other apostles, and as the brethren of the Lord, and Cephas?
- Matt. 13:55, 56 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? [i.e. wisdom and mighty works (verse 54)]
- Mark 6:3, Is not this the carpenter, the son of Mary, the brother of James, and Joses, and of Juda, and Simon and are not his sisters with us? [JV: Error would put Jesus on a totally human plane, only capable of ordinary things.]
- Acts 1:14 All the apostles were named, then, These all continued with one accord in prayer and supplication, with the women, and Mary the mother of Jesus, and with his brethren.
- Galatians 1:19. Paul went to Jerusalem to see Peter, “But other of the apostles saw I none, save James the Lord's brother.”
- Matt.12:46-50. While he yet talked to the people, behold, his mother and his brethren stood without, desiring to speak with him. Then one said unto him, Behold, thy mother and thy brethren stand without, desiring to speak with thee. But he answered and said unto him that told him, Who is my mother? And who are my brethren? And he stretched forth his hand toward his disciples, and said, Behold my mother and my brethren! For whosoever shall do the will of my Father which is in heaven, the same is my brother, and sister, and mother. [See also Mark 3:31-35 and Luke 8:19-21.]
- John 7:3-5. His brethren therefore said unto him, Depart hence, and go into Judaea, that thy disciples also may see the works that thou doest. For there is no man that doeth any thing in secret, and he himself seeketh be known openly. If thou do these things, shew thyself to the world. For neither did his brethren believe in him.
- See also Acts 15:13 and on.
There is much to learn about James from the Introduction to James in Dummelow's The One Volume Bible Commentary, pp. 1031-1034. Rev. J.R. Dummelow indicates that “The unbelief of the brethren was removed after the resurrection by the appearance [of Jesus] to James." (See I Cor 15:7 "After that, he was seen of James; then of all the apostles.". Also Acts 1:14, above.) James had not believed that Jesus was the Messiah until that point.
Dummelow also says, "James, the Lord's brother, presided at the Council, doubtless in the
capacity of chief ruler of the local Church of Jerusalem. We should have
expected Peter to preside. St. James' speech proves him as decided an adherent
of Gentile liberty as St. Peter. He approves St. Peter's conduct in baptising
Cornelius, and quotes prophecies showing that the Messianic Church will embrace
all nations."
- Paul writes in Gal. 2:9 And when James, Cephas, and John, who seemed to be pillars, perceived the grace that was given unto me, they gave to me and Barnabas the right hands of fellowship; that we should go unto the heathen, and they unto the circumcision.
And I like what Dummelow
says about a good Jew. (We do not hear a lot about good Jews, it seems to me,
in the New Testament.) "We must picture him [James] to ourselves, not as one of those false Jews whose observations were
merely formal and external, but as one of those true and earnest Jews whose
obedience to the Law as a joy and an inspiration – whose life was lived in the
spirit of Ps. 119." Having just recently read
through the Psalms and found a special gentleness (which I hadn't expected) in Psalm 119, I appreciate that spirit.
We are told that James was
brought before the Sanhedrin and put to death by stoning a few years before the
destruction of the Temple in A.D. 70. Dummelow again: "A Sadducean high priest, Ananus, brought him before the Sanhedrin, and caused him to be put to death by stoning, spite the remonstrances of all the better sort of Jews." Gleaned from Josephus and Hegesippus, it says.
No comments:
Post a Comment