There was much uneasiness among the Jewish Christians about the admission of Gentiles to the Church. The old antipathy to the “heathen” persisted. Soon a company of Jews from Jerusalem arrived in Damascus, teaching that Gentile believers ought to be circumcised. Paul and Barnabas, who were anxious to enlarge upon the action of the apostle Peter, in preaching the gospel to Cornelius, and spreading the good news into Gentile lands, opposed them bitterly. The outcome was a conference of brethren at Jerusalem in A.D. 49, which was attended on behalf of the Antioch ecclesia by Paul and Barnabas, the apostle Peter also being present. Here the battle of words was renewed, but after a notable contribution to the discussion by Peter and comments by Paul and Barnabas it was decided by the Conference that circumcision should not be required of Gentiles. The decision was announced by James as chairman of the Conference and head of the Jerusalem Church.
Although, however, the principle at stake was settled by the Conference, it was a long time before the Jewish converts became reconciled to it. When the Apostle Paul came to Jerusalem in A.D. 58 he was persuaded by James to purify himself with four men who had a vow upon them, so that all might know that he was not a breaker of the Law of Moses. It would seem that even James was not completely emancipated from his early Jewish orthodoxy. The action did not save the Apostle Paul, for soon he had to be arrested in the midst of a Jewish tumult against him, and he was never again completely free.
The only other information about James in the New Testament is his letter. Although some critics have expressed the view that he was not actually the author, there seems to be enough internal evidence to indicate that he was the writer. The writing is quite in keeping with what we know of James’ upbringing and stern outlook. Many of his expressions read as if he had remembered the sayings of Jesus and repeated them in his own words. Examples are:
| Jesus | James |
| Judge not that ye be not judged | He shall have judgment without mercy that hath shown mercy |
| Swear not at all, but let your communication be Yea; yea; Nay; nay; for whatsoever is more than these cometh of evil | But above all things, my brethren, swear not, but let your yea be yea, and your nay, nay, lest ye fall into condemnation |
| Many widows were in Israel in the days of Elias when the heaven was shut up three years and six monthe | Elias was a man subject to like passions as we are, and he prayed earnestly that it might not rain; and it rained not on the earth by the space of three years and six months |
It has been suggested that the epistle was written between A.D. 44 and A.D. 46, when things were comparatively quiet in Palestine. It gives no indication of a substantially developed Church organization, nor does it make any reference to the Jerusalem Conference in A.D. 49, which would have been expected to do if it had been written after the Conference. This would make it the earliest book of the New Testament.
Although we know nothing of the later life of James from the Scriptures, profane literature tells us of his eventual fate. Josephus, who wrote within 30 years of the event (A.D. 62), states that “Ananus, the High Priest assembled a Sanhedrin and brought before them the brother of Jesus (who was called the Christ) whose name was James, and some others: and having accused them as breakers of the Law, delivered them over to be stoned.”
A much longer account of what happened is given by Hegesippus, who apparently lived from about A.D. 120 to 190. He was a Christian Hebrew, a native of Palestine, who travelled extensively in the Roman world. His record is too long to quote in full, but here are extracts: “Together with the apostles, James, the Lord’s brother, succeeded to (the government) of the Church. He received the name of “The Just” from all men, from the time of the Lord even to our own . . . Certain then of the seven sects which are among the people . . . inquired of him: ‘What is the door of Jesus ?’ and he said he was the Saviour. But the above-mentioned sects did not believe either that he rose again, or that he is coming to render to every man according to his works. And as many as came to believe did so through James.”
The leaders of the Jews became apprehensive as to the future progress of the work of James and they persuaded him to preach at Passover time from the pinnacle of the Temple, or the platform overlooking the Kidron Valley. There they asked him: 0 Just One in whom we all ought to put our trust inasmuch as the people are gone astray after Jesus who was crucified, tell us, ‘What is the door of Jesus?’ James replied in a loud voice: “Why ask ye me concerning the Son of Man since he sitteth in heaven at the right hand of mighty power and he shall come with the clouds of heaven ?’.
The public received his declaration with acclamation, but the Scribes and Pharisees were alarmed and said: “We do ill in affording such a testimony to Jesus. Let us rather go up and cast him down, that, being affrighted, they may not believe him.”
James was thrown off the steep rock, and as he was not yet dead they stoned him. As he was praying for their forgiveness, one of them present brought down a club on his head. His body was buried beside the Temple. One of the Dead Sea scrolls states that treasure hidden when the Romans threatened Jerusalem in A.D. 68 was placed “below the southern corner of the portice, in the tomb of Zadok, under the platform (or pillar) of the exedra.” James was known as Zadok or “The Just”, and the scroll seems to indicate the approximate place where he was buried.
The action of Ananus in condemning James to death took place in the interval between the death of Festus, the Governor of Judea, and the arrival of his successor Albinus. His action was illegal, without Roman authority, and Albinus called him to account and threatened him with punishment, but nothing could then bring James, the Lord’s brother, back again.
The Origin of the Organic World – Part One