Our questions include, how did we arrive at our doctrines? Does the Bible really teach what we think it teaches? Why do churches do what they do? What is the biblical basis of church leadership structure? Why do certain traditions get entrenched?
It's easy to be spoon fed the conventional wisdom, but it's an entirely separate thing to search these things out for one's self. In the past we have read the Bible with these unexamined understandings and interpreted what we read through those lenses. We were lazy about our Bible study, assuming that pastors and theologians were telling us the truth, but we rarely checked it out for ourselves.
Therefore, these Rethinks are our attempt to remedy the situation.
We should note that we are not Bible scholars, but we believe that one doesn't need to be in order to understand the Word of God.
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Today we want to untangle the various James we find in the NT. Let's start with the apostles.
Apostles
Luke has a slightly different list:
Remember, the first James in this list from the upper room was the brother of John. He was put to death:
But only a few verses later we find James mentioned:
The Greek word is apostolos.
Here's Matthew's list of the 12 apostles:
Mt. 10:2-4 These are the names of the twelve apostles: first, Simon (who is called Peter) and his brother Andrew; James son of Zebedee, and his brother John; 3 Philip and Bartholomew; Thomas and Matthew the tax collector; James son of Alphaeus, and Thaddaeus; 4 Simon the Zealot and Judas Iscariot, who betrayed him.
Lk. 6:14:16 Simon (whom he named Peter), his brother Andrew, James, John, Philip, Bartholomew, 15 Matthew, Thomas, James son of Alphaeus, Simon who was called the Zealot, 16 Judas son of James, and Judas Iscariot, who became a traitor.
And John seems to include Nathanael (John 1:45-51), who is thought to be Bartholomew. Judas and Thaddeus are thought to be the same person as well. It was very common to be known by more than one name (Simon/Peter, Abram/Abraham, Saul/Paul, Dorcus/Tabitha, Thomas/Didymus...).
Judas is found at the Last Supper, which lends credence to the idea that he was also named Thaddeus:
Jn. 14:22 Then Judas (not Judas Iscariot) said, “But, Lord, why do you intend to show yourself to us and not to the world?”
So there were two apostles named James (The son of Zebedee [brother of John] and the son of Alpheus), and one apostle that was the son of some other James (Judas).
The men in the upper room:
Ac. 1:13 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.
Notice that the list agrees with Luke's list, which is why Judas and Thaddeus are thought to be the same person. The men in the upper room included only eleven of the twelve (not Judas Iscariot, of course).
The Other James
But there was another James, the brother of Jesus.
Ac. 12:1-2 It was about this time that King Herod arrested some who belonged to the church, intending to persecute them. 2 He had James, the brother of John, put to death with the sword.
But only a few verses later we find James mentioned:
Ac. 12:17 Peter motioned with his hand for them to be quiet and described how the Lord had brought him out of prison. “Tell James and the brothers about this,” he said, and then he left for another place.
But since the brother of John is dead this must be another James.
James is again mentioned, here as an important figure in the Jerusalem leadership:
Ac. 21:18 The next day Paul and the rest of us went to see James, and all the elders were present.
It could be James son of Alphaeus, or it could be Jesus' brother, who was called an apostle:
Ga. 1:19 I saw none of the other apostles — only James, the Lord’s brother.
Jn. 7:5 For even his own brothers did not believe in him.
Mt. 13:55-56 “Isn’t this the carpenter’s son? Isn’t his mother’s name Mary, and aren’t his brothers James, Joseph, Simon and Judas? 56 Aren’t all his sisters with us?
This means the brother James believed later (we don't know when) and was not part of the Twelve, though he was eventually became an apostle and is thought to have written the book of James. There is no Scriptural evidence for this, however, so another James could have written the epistle.
Apostolic Qualifications
It is thought by some theologians that this passage is a qualifying list for any and all apostles:
Ac. 1:21-22 Therefore it is necessary to choose one of the men who have been with us the whole time the Lord Jesus went in and out among us, 22 beginning from John’s baptism to the time when Jesus was taken up from us. For one of these must become a witness with us of his resurrection.
The brother James was an apostle who did not fulfill the supposed requirements of apostleship. Neither he nor Paul were with them from the beginning. The fact is, there were many apostles in the Church. First we note that the betrayer Judas Iscariot (#12) committed suicide and was replaced by Mathias (#13, Ac. 1:26). Then according to the below verses, there were others:
Acts 14:14 But when the apostles Barnabas (#14) and Paul (#15) heard of this, they tore their clothes and rushed out into the crowd, shouting: "Men, why are you doing this?"
Romans 16:7 Greet Andranicus #16) and Junias (#17), my relatives who have been in prison with me. They are outstanding among the apostles (apostolos), and they were in Christ before I was.
Ph. 2:25 But I think it is necessary to send back to you Epaphroditus (#18), my brother, fellow-worker and fellow-soldier, who is also your messenger (apostolos), whom you sent to take care of my needs.
Ga. 1:19 I saw none of the other apostles (apostolos) — only James [#19], the Lord’s brother.
2Co. 8:23 As for Titus, he is my partner and fellow-worker among you; as for our brothers, they are representatives (apostolos) of the churches and an honor to Christ.
This last verse is interesting in that it does not identify these apostles by name. Apparently there were many apostles, and they were working in every church and doing excellent work.
1Co. 9:5 Don’t we have the right to take a believing wife along with us, as do the other apostles and the Lord’s brothers and Cephas?
This suggests that "the Lord's brothers" all became apostles. Let's add them to the count:
Mk. 6:3 Isn’t this the carpenter? Isn’t this Mary’s son and the brother of James, Joseph [#20], Judas [#21], and Simon [#22]?
Jude tells us he was "a brother of James" (Jude 1). Which James? Jude is not listed in Mt. 13:55-56 as a brother of Jesus (there is a "Judas."). If he had been a brother of James he would also be a brother of Jesus, of course. But he didn't identify himself this way. Perhaps he was a brother of the son of Alpheus? In any case, let's add Jude to the list of apostles (#23).
Though not specifically identified as apostles, we could assume by their prominent mention that these might have been apostles. Notably,
- Apollos (1Co. 1:12)
- Priscilla and Aquila (Ro. 16:3)
- Epaphras (Phile. 23)
- Silas (1Pe. 5:12), and
- Demetrius (3Jn. 12).
- many, if not all, the people listed in Romans 16
- Stephanas, Fortunatus and Achaicus (1Co. 16:17)
- Tychicus (Col. 4:7) as well as many of the others listed in Galatians 4, and
- Artemas (Tit. 3:12), as well as the others listed in Titus 3.
So, there are way more than 12 apostles. In fact, since we know there were dozens of apostles named, and unnamed, it is therefore quite possible that each church had an apostle:
Ephesians 4:11-12 It was he who gave some to be apostles, some to be prophets, some to be evangelists, and some to be pastors and teachers, 12 to prepare God’s people for works of service, so that the body of Christ may be built up...
But yet there are 12 foundational apostles in the Holy City, not named:
Re. 21:14 The wall of the city had twelve foundations, and on them were the names of the twelve apostles of the Lamb.
We suspect that the brother James (not Mathias or Paul) is number twelve:
Ga. 2:9 James, Peter and John, those reputed to be pillars, gave me and Barnabas the right hand of fellowship when they recognized the grace given to me.
Although there were twelve foundational apostles of particular note, there were many other apostles at work in the early church, named and unnamed. And at least three apostles named James.
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