James and Jesus: Brothers – 6

Although we took an initial look at the identity of the letter writer in Witness of a Converted Brother, before we ask ourselves about the conclusion of James’ letter, I would like to go back to take a look at the relationship between James and Jesus.

James, Bond-servant of his Brother

Ἰάκωβος θεοῦ καὶ κυρίου Ἰησοῦ Χριστοῦ

James, a bond-servant of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ,

James 1:1a Greek; NASB

Picture James and Jesus after the resurrection. What a humble relationship the author James states here.

First and foremost, he is a bond-servant, δοῦλος, doulos or slave.

Slaves were common in the Roman empire. They served men of importance at many levels: kings, the rich, military leaders, land owners, regular citizens to whom one owed money. Slaves were not uncommon in Judea and servitude required the self-control of humility.

If the relationship between James and Jesus is one of a bond-servant to his master, James acknowledges that as a servant of God he serves Jesus as his lord. The risen brother (actually, half-brother) of James is God in the flesh!

James and Jesus of Nazareth

Surely by now Mary has told Jesus’ brothers and sisters what she had held in her heart: this son is the Son of the Living God by the Holy Spirit!

Isn’t this the carpenter’s son? Isn’t his mother called Mary, and his brothers James, Joseph, Simon, and Judas? And his sisters, aren’t they all with us? So where does he get all these things?” And they were offended by him.

Jesus said to them, “A prophet is not without honor except in his hometown and in his household.” And he did not do many miracles there because of their unbelief.

Matthew 13:55-58 CSB

James was always the younger brother. Joseph had died, then Jesus assumed his role as head of their household. Later Jesus would leave Nazareth over controversy related to His teaching to live in nearby Capernaum.

He traveled throughout Israel for three years prior to His crucifixion and resurrection. James, as the elder brother, would have cared for his mother, brother and sisters.

What was it like to grow up with Jesus?

Much of the commentary to follow is best read as historical fiction from a probable first-person narrative of James, half-brother of Jesus, based on the scriptures linked.

Although the risen Christ anoints James as head the church of Jerusalem, he would have traveled there many times.

James and Jesus would have been known as Galileans, Nazarenes and familial brothers, not Judeans or leaders of Jerusalem. But now he is one of more than five hundred witnesses to Jesus’ resurrection. James accepts the difficult call to lead the church in Jerusalem.

Though we have no sermon, but only his letter to the churches, his personal witness of Jesus must have been subject of much preaching.

“What was it like to grow up with the Lord Jesus,” so many believers must have asked?

Humbly, James would have confessed, “I did not believe.”

The Child James and Jesus

{Hear James’ voice in his later good news to the church.}

The physician Luke interviewed our mother Mary and many others in order to tell us about Jesus, before His recent miraculous and powerful earthly ministry of only three years. Our mom now retells a story I will share with you of when Jesus was a young man and I was just a small child.

Luke 2:

[Jesus] grew up and became strong, filled with wisdom, and God’s grace was on him. Every year our parents traveled to Jerusalem for the Passover Festival. When he was twelve years old, they went up according to the custom of the festival. Jesus stayed behind in Jerusalem, and they had to return to Jerusalem to search for him. (They sent us back to Nazareth with relatives.)

After three days, they found him in the temple sitting among the teachers, listening to them and asking them questions.

(I remember when they came back to us in Nazareth.)

And Jesus increased in wisdom and stature, and in favor with God and with people.

In the Synagogue of Nazareth

A few years later Dad died, and Jesus watched over all of us. When we grew older I heard my brother teach in our synagogue. but I did not believe in Him. Of course, I too worshiped in the synagogue on the Sabbath Jesus read from the scroll of the Prophet Isaiah.

Luke 4:

The Spirit of the Lord is on me,
because he has anointed me
to preach good news to the poor.
He has sent me…

Luke 4:14 from Isaiah 61:1

Then my brother Jesus said: “The Scripture you’ve just heard has been fulfilled this very day!”

My own brother, yet I could not believe the words He proclaimed to all of us, we who witnessed the Lord in the flesh. They all spoke well of my brother. We all wondered what Jesus meant.

“Isn’t this Joseph’s son?” What does your brother mean by this?

Then He said: ‘Physician, heal yourself!’ referring to a local rumor of a miracle He was said to have done nearby.

Jesus said they resented that He did not prove himself in our hometown, using familiar illustrations of the prophets Elijah and Elisha doing miracles outside of Israel.

Then the crowd turned. I didn’t know what to think, but I still didn’t believe Jesus and I too would have loved to have seen proof.

Everyone in our synagogue was enraged. They got up, drove Jesus out of town to the edge of the cliff, intending to hurl him over it.

I thought of the words of Judah after Joseph’s brothers had thrown him into the pit. A few of us helped Jesus to quickly escape the angry Nazarene worshipers.

Capernaum and Jesus Preaching Nearby

Jesus had already become very popular in Galilee before Nazareth rejected Him. Although I had not seen any yet, many attested to miracles my brother worked in nearby towns. That is why some had said, “do a sign for us here in your hometown.”

People now followed Jesus into towns and everywhere He went.

Matthew 4:

13 He left Nazareth and went to live in Capernaum by the sea…

From then on Jesus began to preach, “Repent, because the kingdom of heaven has come near.”

Matthew 4:17

We heard reports of my brother’s teaching many times as people traveled through Nazareth from here or there. Merchants of the fish markets and others also told us that Jesus had preached things like, “blessed are the poor,” and “blessed are the humble.”

Teaching, Preaching, and Healing

23 Now Jesus began to go all over Galilee, teaching in their synagogues, preaching the good news of the kingdom, and healing every disease and sickness among the people. 24 Then the news about him spread throughout Syria. (That’s what the Romans now call the region near us.)

… 25 Large crowds followed him from Galilee, the Decapolis, Jerusalem, Judea, and beyond the Jordan.

James and Jesus, a family visit

Jesus lived in Capernaum, but He traveled mostly. When word came to us where to find Him, we often followed the crowds to see my brother. Mom delighted to see and hear Him, when we could. But me… I still didn’t fully believe all the reports we heard.

We heard that some Scribes and Pharisees had come up from Jerusalem to see Jesus. So we traveled alongside the crowds to see Jesus.

• 

• 

I sent a messenger to push through the crowds to speak to our brother.

Luke 8:

20 He was told, “Your mother and your brothers are standing outside, wanting to see you.”

21 But he replied to them, “My mother and my brothers are those who hear and do the word of God.”

We waited for Jesus to finish, listening to Him. Jesus preached many of the sayings we had already heard. And finally, we managed to meet our brother, who kissed and embraced us all. Then we stayed with Him, returning to Nazareth the following day.

I met with Jesus other times too, but of course I could not follow Him because of my responsibilities to our family.

Jerusalem

Jesus had said to give to Caesar what is Caesar’s and to God what is God’s.

I won’t get into politics since it’s so complicated. But next I would like to tell you where my brother stood on some of the controversies in Jerusalem.

To be continued... James and Jerusalem