St Peter’s Anglican Church

St James of Jerusalem - October 23

Brother of our Lord, Martyr

In the New Testament, James is regularly identified as Jesus’ “brother”, and his parents may be presumed to be Mary and Joseph. Since he is listed first among the brothers of Jesus, he was presumably the eldest (Matthew 13:55; Mark 6:3). James of Jerusalem is not to be confused with James the Great, brother of John and son of Zebedee, nor with James the Less, son of Alphaeus. The letter of James in the New Testament is traditionally ascribed to the Lord’s brother, but the text gives no clear support to this. The apocryphal Infancy Gospel of James, also attributed to James, comes from the second century and has no historical value.

At some stage during Jesus’ ministry, his brothers did not believe in him (John 7:5), but James was one of those who saw the risen Christ (1 Corinthians 15:7). This appearance could have been the occasion of his conversion, but more probably he, like his mother, had joined Jesus at some point before the crucifixion... Read more...