Jesus’ Brother James and the Resurrection
Lots of different arguments exist for Jesus’ resurrection. One of the more persuasive, in my estimation, comes from Jesus’ brother James. While other lines of evidence receive more attention, e.g., women eye-witnesses to the empty tomb, the disciples’ willingness to face persecution, and the resurrection appearances, I believe James’ life provides yet another compelling argument.
JAMES DIDN’T BELIEVE INITIALLY
Scripture doesn’t tell us much about James in his early years. We know he was Jesus’ younger brother, grew up in his same household, and had the closest interaction with Jesus one could possibly have.
Despite the close proximity, the Gospels tell us that Jesus’ own brothers didn’t believe that he was the Son of God. After witnessing the large crowds who followed Jesus, Mark 3:21 reports, “And when his family heard it, they went out to seize [Jesus], for they were saying, He is out of his mind.”
Additionally, John 7:5 admits, “For not even his brothers believed in him.” It’s hard to mistake what the Gospel authors report here. Jesus’ closest family members — James included — were skeptics. And who can blame then?
Anyone ever involved in a sibling rivalry can no doubt sympathize with James here. Imagine being the younger brother of Mr. Perfect! Think about the animosity he must have felt every time Mary and Joseph compared him to big brother. Talk about middle-child syndrome! It’s not hard to see why James would have rejected his brother’s claims. After all, if my older sibling said he was divine and the promised Messiah, I would think they were crazy too!
CRITERIA OF EMBARRASSMENT
Because these reports of Jesus’ family hurt Christianity rather than help it, we have no reason to believe the Gospel writers lied about them. In fact, I recently came across a skeptic’s blog who referenced these two texts and then asked, “Why should we believe in Jesus if his own family didn’t?” He makes a good point.
Historians refer to this as the criteria of embarrassment. That is, if the authors report embarrassing details that makes them or their movement look bad, those details are more than likely true. After all, people don’t invent stories that make themselves look bad. If the Gospel writers had fabricated this story to gain a following, saying that Jesus’ family thought he was nuts wouldn’t help their cause.
JAMES CHANGES HIS TUNE
Fast forward to Acts 15, and we suddenly find that James is now the leader of the Jerusalem church. In fact, Paul came to get James’ advice on how the Gentile Christians should relate to the Jewish Law. Furthermore, in Galatians 1:9, Paul even refers to James as an apostle. Talk about a drastic change! But wait, there’s more.
We read from secular Jewish history, that James eventually paid the ultimate price for his role in the Christian church. First century Jewish historian Josephus reports on his death:
But this younger Ananus, who, as we have told you already, took the high priesthood, was a bold man in his temper, and ever insolent; he was also of the sect of the Sadducees, who are very rigid in judging offenders, above all the rest of the Jews, as we have already observed; when, therefore, Ananus was of this disposition, he thought he had now a proper opportunity. Festus was now dead, and Albinus was but upon the raid; so he assembled the Sanhedrin of 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.1
This report is telling. Not only did James convert to Christianity as an adult, he became a leader in the Jerusalem church. And not only did he become a leader, he willingly died for his Christian faith. What could possibly explain this metamorphosis?
JAMES WAS AN EYE-WITNESS TO THE RESURRECTION
The Apostle Paul gives us some insight into James’ transformation. In 1 Corinthians 15:3-7, Paul quotes an early Christian creed that mentions James. It reads:
For what I received I passed on to you as of first importance: 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, and then to the Twelve. After that, he appeared to more than five hundred of the brothers and sisters at the same time, most of whom are still living, though some have fallen asleep. Then he appeared to James, then to all the apostles.
Most historians believe this is the earliest written material we have on the Christian faith and date it to within a couple of years of Jesus’ resurrection. And thus, not enough time has gone by for legend to develop.
Based on this early creed, James was one of the eye-witnesses to Jesus’ resurrection. This would explain his radical change. Once he saw Jesus back from the dead, he turned from skeptic to devout Christian.
JAMES HUMBLED HIMSELF
As I think about James, I’m amazed that he humbled himself to accept that his older brother was who he said he was. In fact, of all the people who had to swallow their pride, I believe James had to swallow the most. I can’t imagine how many times James scoffed at Jesus’ followers who were so “naive” as to think that Jesus was the promised Messiah. And now that the resurrection vindicated Jesus’ claims, James had to admit he’d been wrong all those years.
What about you? Are you willing to swallow your pride? Can you admit that the evidence points toward a risen Jesus? If so, Paul claims, “If you declare with your mouth, ‘Jesus is Lord,’ and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.” Admitting you’ve been wrong is never easy, but it’s worth it in the end. After all, God rejects the proud, but gives grace to the humble. James humbled himself, and I would encourage you to do the same.
