———— Part Two ————
James the Leader
James through the Lens of the Book of Acts

James: the Lynchpin of Our Faith — Chapter 10

The most reliable account that we have of the early days of the church is Luke’s New Testament book known as The Acts of the Apostles (commonly abbreviated to Acts). It is the primary source through which we discover James’ spectacular rise to prominence in the church at Jerusalem.

Acts gives us a well-researched depiction of the explosive growth of the infant church. In his last meeting with the apostles just before his bodily ascension into heaven, Jesus predicts how the gospel message will ripple out from Jerusalem in concentric circles like waves in a pond after a rock has dropped into it.

Then they [the apostles] gathered around him and asked him, “Lord, are you at this time going to restore the kingdom to Israel?”

He [Jesus] said to them: “It is not for you to know the times or dates the Father has set by his own authority. But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.” (Acts 1:6–8)

Essentially, the above statement is a quick outline of the Book of Acts. Through the chronological progression of twenty-eight chapters, Luke describes the advance of the gospel message from Jerusalem, through Judea, to Samaria, and finally, through the ministry of the apostle Paul, to the ends of the earth. The book ends with Paul the apostle boldly preaching the message of Christ—his life, death, burial, and resurrection—while awaiting his own trial before Caesar in Rome.

For two whole years Paul stayed there in his own rented house and welcomed all who came to see him. He proclaimed the kingdom of God and taught about the Lord Jesus Christ—with all boldness and without hindrance! (Acts 28:30–31)

In one sense, the Book of Acts has no end because the proclamation of the gospel continues to this day. The concentric ripples continue to expand out into the world.

It is not clear from the description found in Luke’s text in Acts 1 if James was present at the ascension. There are contextual grounds to believe that he was. But it is well worth noting that James certainly was present with the apostles as they awaited the coming of the promised Holy Spirit.

Then the apostles returned to Jerusalem from the hill called the Mount of Olives, a Sabbath day’s walk from the city. When they arrived, they went upstairs to the room where they were staying. Those present were Peter, John, James and Andrew; Philip and Thomas, Bartholomew and Matthew; James son of Alphaeus and Simon the Zealot, and Judas son of James. They all joined together constantly in prayer, along with the women and Mary the mother of Jesus, and with his brothers. (Acts 1:12–14)

Essentially, the above statement is a quick outline of the Book of Acts. Through the chronological progression of twenty-eight chapters, Luke describes the advance of the gospel message from Jerusalem, through Judea, to Samaria, and finally, through the ministry of the apostle Paul, to the ends of the earth. The book ends with Paul the apostle boldly preaching the message of Christ—his life, death, burial, and resurrection—while awaiting his own trial before Caesar in Rome.

For two whole years Paul stayed there in his own rented house and welcomed all who came to see him. He proclaimed the kingdom of God and taught about the Lord Jesus Christ—with all boldness and without hindrance! (Acts 28:30–31)

In one sense, the storyline of the Book of Acts has no end because the proclamation of the gospel continues to this day. The concentric ripples continue to expand out into the world.

It is not clear from the description found in Luke’s text in Acts 1 if James was present at the ascension. There are contextual grounds to believe that he was. But it is well worth noting that James certainly was present with the apostles as they awaited the coming of the promised Holy Spirit.

Then the apostles returned to Jerusalem from the hill called the Mount of Olives, a Sabbath day’s walk from the city. When they arrived, they went upstairs to the room where they were staying. Those present were Peter, John, James and Andrew; Philip and Thomas, Bartholomew and Matthew; James son of Alphaeus and Simon the Zealot, and Judas son of James. They all joined together constantly in prayer, along with the women and Mary the mother of Jesus, and with his brothers. (Acts 1:12–14)

The phrase, “Mary the mother of Jesus, and with his brothers” must refer to the same brothers that are listed in the gospels, namely, James, Joseph, Judas (Jude), and Simon. See Matthew 13:55, Mark 6:3. Regent University Professor Jon Mark Ruthven in his introduction to the Epistle of James fully supports this view:

James apparently was an unbeliever during the ministry of Jesus (John 7:3–5). A post-resurrection appearance of Christ to him (1 Corinthians 15:7) probably led to his conversion, for he is numbered with the believers in Acts 1:14. (1)

The family reconciliation that Jesus undertook following his resurrection must have borne fruit. The unbelieving brothers are now numbered among the believers, and the divided family is now reunited. At last, the house of Joseph has rallied round Mary’s firstborn son. The occurrence of such a profound reversal lends credibility to the resurrection. It would take a miracle to change the hard-headed James—and a miracle of the highest order is precisely what occurred. The resurrection changed everything.

In the wake of the resurrection, there are two pivotal events in the Book of Acts. The first is the coming of the Holy Spirit on the day of Pentecost. The second is the breakthrough of the gospel messages into the Gentile world. Both events are totally transformational and continue to have a momentous impact right up to the present day.

The first event prefigures and is predictive of the second event. On the day of Pentecost, the Holy Spirit descended upon 120 believers gathered in an upper room in Jerusalem. The primary evidence of the Spirit’s arrival was a phenomenon commonly called speaking in tongues.

When the day of Pentecost came, they were all together in one place. Suddenly a Resound like the blowing of a violent wind came from heaven and filled the whole house where they were sitting. They saw what seemed to be tongues of fire that separated and came to rest on each of them. All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues as the Spirit enabled them.

Now there were staying in Jerusalem God-fearing Jews from every nation under heaven. When they heard this sound, a crowd came together in bewilderment, because each one heard their own language being spoken. Utterly amazed, they asked: “Aren’t all these who are speaking Galileans? Then how is it that each of us hears them in our native language Parthians, Medes and Elamites; residents of Mesopotamia, Judea and Cappadocia, Pontus and Asia, Phrygia and Pamphylia, Egypt and the parts of Libya near Cyrene; visitors from Rome (both Jews and converts to Judaism); Cretans and Arabs—we hear them declaring the wonders of God in our own tongues!” Amazed and perplexed, they asked one another, “What does this mean?”

Some, however, made fun of them and said, “They have had too much wine.” (Acts 2:1–13)

Though not all utterances in tongues are understood by those of foreign tongue, in this instance they were. To their astonishment, the pilgrims who arrived in Jerusalem for this Jewish festival heard these Galilean followers of Christ speaking in their native language. The significance of this linguistic breakthrough had them all perplexed, hence the question, “What does this mean?”

The apostle Peter stepped forward to address this question. What followed was a succinct explanation of this spiritual phenomenon, which links the Holy Spirit’s coming with the ancient prophecy of Joel. According to Peter, in these last days, God’s Spirit was being poured out on all people, “And everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved” (Acts 2:21).

Peter goes on to explain that this salvation was available through faith in Jesus, who had been crucified, but had risen from the dead. Peter and those assembled with him were witnesses of these things. Furthermore, God signaled his approval of Christ’s bodily sacrifice by raising him from the dead and then pouring out the Holy Spirit on his followers.

“Therefore let all Israel be assured of this: God has made this Jesus, whom you crucified, both Lord and Messiah.”

When the people heard this, they were cut to the heart and said to Peter and the other apostles, “Brothers, what shall we do?”

Peter replied, “Repent and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins. And you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. The promise is for you and your children and for all who are far off—for all whom the Lord our God will call.”

With many other words he warned them; and he pleaded with them, “Save yourselves from this corrupt generation.” Those who accepted his message were baptized, and about three thousand were added to their number that day. (Acts 2:36–41)

What we have described here is the birth of the church. On her birthday she grew from one hundred twenty souls to three thousand souls. God was at work among his people.

It should be noted that these new believers were Jewish converts to what is now called Christianity. The term ‘Christianity’ had not yet been invented. But, already, there was a distinct foreshadowing about what was about to come. The assembled believers spoke in tongues—tongues that were understood by foreigners. Surely this was a portent—a sign that the gospel message was poised to break through into the Gentile world.

In the spirit realm a door had opened to the Gentile world—and it just so happened that James, the brother of Jesus, was the hinge on which this door would swing wide. He would play the pivotal role in the opening of the church to the world.

However, at this early juncture in the Book of Acts and the birth of the church, there is no indication that James would play a leadership role. Why would he? He had not been a follower of the Lord during his earthly ministry. The leadership within Christ’s apostolic band had been forged during three and a half years of miracle-filled itinerant ministry. Jesus’ inner circle consisted of three men: Peter and the brothers James and John, the sons of Zebedee, whom Jesus nicknamed “the sons of thunder” (Mark 3:17). Peter was clearly preeminent among the Twelve and acted as the spokesman for the group, even as he did on the day of Pentecost. James the son of Joseph was a complete outsider to this apostolic group.

But Acts gives us some strong indications that James soon rose to prominence in the church. The narrative structure of Acts records the gospel message spiraling out from Jerusalem to the world. The two central players in the drama that unfolds are first Peter and later Paul, but throughout the book James plays an important background role. He is the éminence grise in the story—a respected authority figure to whom others are accountable.

The first indication of this prominent role can be found in the account of Peter’s imprisonment in Acts chapter twelve. At this juncture, the persecution of the fledgling church by the Jewish authorities has been sharply intensified. After the martyrdom of Stephen in chapter seven, Saul (Paul) unleashes a round of murderous persecution that sends most of the believers fleeing from the city. (See Acts 8:1.) A second round of persecution is described in Acts chapter twelve.

It was about this time that King Herod arrested some who belonged to the church, intending to persecutethem. He had James, the brother of John, put to death with the sword. When he saw that this met with approval among the Jews, he proceeded to seize Peter also. This happened during the Festival of Unleavened Bread. After arresting him, he put him in prison, handing him over to be guarded by four squads of four soldiers each. Herod intended to bring him out for public trial after the Passover.

So Peter was kept in prison, but the church was earnestly praying to God for him. (Acts 12:1–5)

Peter is miraculously freed by an angel who wakes him in the middle of the night and escorts him past the sleeping guards and out through the prison gate, which opens of its own accord. He disrupts the prayer meeting that has been summoned to pray for his release.

But Peter kept on knocking, and when they opened the door and saw him, they were astonished. Petermotioned with his hand for them to be quiet and described how the Lord had brought him out of prison. “Tell James and the other brothers and sisters about this,” he said, and then he left for another place. (Acts12:16–17)

Without doubt, the James that Peter speaks of here is James, the half-brother of Jesus. Bible commentators agree on the identity of the James referred to here. But why would James be accorded this level of respect by Peter? Peter’s request implies a degree of accountability to James, as though James held a leadership role. At the very least, Peter sees James as a respected friend and brother in the faith.

I. Howard Marshall in his commentary on this passage states the following:

The James mentioned here is the brother of Jesus (Mk. 6:3) who later figured as the leader of the church in Jerusalem (Acts 15:13, 21:18); Paul regarded him, along with Peter and John, as one of the three ‘pillars of the church’ (Gal. 2:9). He had been a witness of a resurrection appearance of Jesus (1Cor. 15:7), and hence Paul recognized him as an apostle (Gal. 1:19). It seems probable that from an early stage he was one of the leaders in the church, and at some point he took Peter’s place as the recognized leader. The present passage [Acts 12:16–17] need not express more than that he was Peter’s deputy at this stage. (2)

Other commentators see James in a leadership role over Peter. George E. Ladd is among the theologians who hold this view. In his comments on Acts 12:16–17, he states the following:

James, the brother of Jesus, had become the acting head of the Jerusalem church, but he was not with the assembled church at this time. The brethren [other brothers and sisters] may be the elders of [Acts] 11:30 who shared the rule of the church with James. (3)

At this point in the Acts narrative, it may be unclear whether James was Peter’s deputy, a coequal or Peter’s superior; however, three chapters later it becomes obvious who has the greater authority. In Acts chapter fifteen it becomes apparent that James, the brother of Jesus, is the chief executive officer of the first century church. He makes what is arguably one of the most pivotal decisions in human history—a decision that has profound ramifications even today. He decides that his brother’s gospel message will not be confined to Jewry but will spread to the entire world.

(1) John Mark Ruthven, “Introduction: The Epistle of James,” Spirit Filled Life Bible, New King James Version, General Editor Jack W. Hayford, (Thomas Nelson, 1991), p. 1893.

(2) I. Howard Marshall, The Acts of the Apostles—Tyndale New Testament Commentaries (Eerdmans, 1980), pp. 210–211.

(3) George E. Ladd, The Wycliffe Bible Commentary, Editors Charles F. Pfeiffer and Everett F. Harrison (Moody, 1972), p. 1146.

 

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