Post-Resurrection Appearances of Jesus – The Appearance to James the brother of Jesus

April 14, 2021 (Wednesday)

“Then he appeared to James, and afterward to all the apostles” (1 Cor 15:7).

“1 Corinthians 15:7 specifically names James as one to whom Jesus appeared after His Resurrection. Seeing his dead brother walking and talking, James believes that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God sent to save people from their sins. When he later writes the Epistle of James, he introduces himself not as the brother of Jesus or a leader of the church but as simply, ‘James, a servant of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ’ (James 1:1). Immediately after Jesus ascends to heaven, Acts 1:14 finds James with the apostles, praying and waiting for the promised Holy Spirit. James is one of the 120 filled with the Holy Spirit at Pentecost, the day the Church begins (Acts 2:1-4). From the moment he encounters Jesus the Risen Lord, James is whole-heartedly devoted to serving Him and His Church” (Jeannie Myers, Author)

James the Just, as he was known by some, was “from an early date, with Peter, a leader of the Church at Jerusalem and from the time when Peter left Jerusalem after Herod Agrippa’s attempt to kill him, James appears as the principal authority who presided at the Council of Jerusalem.”

The Pauline epistles and the later chapters of the Acts of the Apostles portray James as an important figure in the Christian community of Jerusalem. When Paul arrives in Jerusalem to deliver the money he raised for the faithful there, it is to James that he speaks, and it is James who insists that Paul ritually cleanse himself at Herod’s Temple to prove his faith and deny rumors of teaching rebellion against the Torah (Acts 21:18ff). In Paul’s account of his visit to Jerusalem in Galatians 1:18–19, he states that he stayed with Cephas (better known as Peter) and James, the brother of the Lord, was the only other apostle he met.

“Paul describes James as being one of the persons to whom the risen Christ showed himself, and in Galatians 2:9, Paul mentions James with Cephas and John the Apostle as the three “pillars” of the Church. Paul describes these Pillars as the ones who will minister to the “circumcised” (in general Jews and Jewish Proselytes) in Jerusalem, while Paul and his fellows will minister to the “uncircumcised” (in general Gentiles) (2:12), after a debate in response to concerns of the Christians of Antioch. The Antioch community was concerned over whether Gentile Christians need be circumcised to be saved, and sent Paul and Barnabas to confer with the Jerusalem church. James played a prominent role in the formulation of the council’s decision. James was the last named figure to speak, after Peter, Paul, and Barnabas; he delivered what he called his “decision” (Acts 15:13-21 NRSV) – the original sense is closer to “opinion”. He supported them all in being against the requirement of circumcision (Peter had cited his earlier revelation from God regarding Gentiles) and suggested prohibitions about eating blood as well as meat sacrificed to idols and fornication. This became the ruling of the Jerusalem Council, agreed upon by all the apostles and elders and sent to the other churches by letter” (Wikipedia).

The appearances of Jesus to the two future leaders of the church in Jerusalem (Peter and James), the pivotal church in the early days of what has become known as Christianity, were not random, but were essential to the progress of “The Way.” James was not an apostle, but as the brother of Jesus, probably knew Him better than the Apostles themselves. He was a very important person in the formation of the church of the Lord Jesus Christ. His belief that one does not have to become a Jew before becoming a Christian is vitally important to succeeding generations of Christians. As Jesus taught, one does not put new wine in old wineskins, an apt illustration for us all.