A large group of European pastors came to one of D. L. Moody’s Northfield Bible Conferences in Massachusetts in the late 1800s. Following the European custom of the time, each guest put his shoes outside his room to be cleaned by the hall servants overnight. But of course this was America and there were no hall servants.
Walking the dormitory halls that night, Moody saw the shoes and determined not to embarrass his brothers. He mentioned the need to some ministerial students who were there, but met with only silence or pious excuses. Moody returned to the dorm, gathered up the shoes, and, alone in his room, the world’s only famous evangelist began to clean and polish the shoes. Only the unexpected arrival of a friend in the midst of the work revealed the secret.
When the foreign visitors opened their doors the next morning, their shoes were shined. They never knew by whom. Moody told no one, but his friend told a few people, and during the rest of the conference, different men volunteered to shine the shoes in secret. Perhaps the episode is a vital insight into why God used D. L. Moody as He did. He was a man with a servant’s heart and that was the basis of his true greatness." (Gary Inrig, A Call to Excellence, (Victor Books, a division of SP Publishing, Wheaton, Ill; 1985), p. 98.
The book of Acts opens with a great
change taking place in the small band of believers in Christ Jesus.
In the opening few chapters, Christ Jesus sends His promised Spirit
upon them, who then empowers the disciples with a boldness and
courage they have never experienced before. Within a few short weeks,
thousands had come to believe in Christ Jesus as Messiah through the
preaching of the apostles and other disciples who witnessed the
coming of the Holy Spirit.
One of those present was James, the
half-brother of Christ Jesus, who only a few short weeks before, was
a skeptic and an unbeliever. But James’ life was radically changed
with a post resurrection visit. After that visit James became an
outspoken follower of Christ Jesus as Messiah. He devoted the rest of
his life in service to our Lord, Christ Jesus. He referred to himself
not as the half-brother of Jesus, but as “a bondservant to God
and of the Lord Jesus Christ” (James 1:1)
While James was Christ Jesus’ little
brother, he was the eldest son of Joseph and Mary. James has three
other brothers – Joses or Joseph, Simon, and Judas (Jude) and at
least two sisters, whose names are never mentioned.
Some might think, “Ok so James was
Christ Jesus’ half-brother who did not believe and then was
converted. That’s a good history lesson, now what?” I think with
all history we can learn some important lessons, and James’ history
is no different. I want you to take a closer look at James’ life
with me to see what we can learn from it.
1. James the Skeptic –
(John 7:1-5) – It is always best to start at the
beginning and in the beginning as we have already said a couple of
times James was an unbeliever and a skeptic.
James and his brothers spent their time
growing up around Jesus until He started His earthly ministry at
around 30 years of age. They were eyewitnesses to His goodness on a
daily basis Their problem was not with Jesus as a person, but with
His claims to be the Messiah, the Savior of Israel
They were not present at the wedding in
Cana with their mother when Jesus changed the water into wine. They
were not present during those months when most of Israel seemed to
respond to Jesus’ teachings. All they knew was the crowds and
Jesus’ claims.
When James and his brothers can’t
take any more they tried to take Jesus home. Mark 3:20-21 –
And He came home, and the
crowd gathered again, to such an extent that they could not even eat
a meal. When His own people heard of this, they went out to take
custody of Him; for they were saying, "He has lost His senses."
Some translations read “friends.”
The “friends” who became concerned were actually members of
Jesus' family, which is the normal connotation of the Greek phrase,
hoi (ho) par' (par-ah’) autou (ow
too’). It seems that word came to His mother and brothers in
Nazareth concerning His ceaseless activity. Their purpose was to lay
hold on Jesus and take Him with them by force, because they felt that
He was overwrought and mentally disturbed. (from
The Wycliffe Bible Commentary, Electronic Database. Copyright (c)
1962 by Moody Press)
Later James and Jesus’ other brothers
would encourage Jesus to go to Jerusalem. Jerusalem was the center of
the Jewish world – the religious leaders were there, the high
ranking officials etc. If a person is going to do miracles, and
proclaim themselves the Messiah this would be the place to do it. If
the people of Jerusalem accepted Jesus as the Messiah then James and
the other members of His family would accept Him as also.
If we would admit it many of us have
been skeptical about Christ Jesus at least once in our life. But when
approached with an open mind and open heart you will find Christ
Jesus to be who He says He is – the Son of God.
2. James the Believer –
(Acts 1:14) – In the Gospels
James was a skeptic and non-believer, what changed? James received a
special visit – 1 Corinthians 15:7 - “then He appeared
to James, then to all the apostles;” – from Christ Jesus just
before He returned to heaven.
After this visit James believed and
like Paul after his encounter with Christ Jesus preached with great
vigor. Because of this conversion James and his brothers, and Mary -
Christ Jesus’ mother (and their's) were present in the Upper Room
when the Spirit descended like tongues of fire.
Like James, no one comes away unchanged
or unaffected by an encounter with Christ Jesus. How is Christ Jesus
dealing with you today?
3. James the Leader –
(Acts 12; 15; 21) – after his conversion James
continued to grow in Christ. Over the next few years as James grew in
his faith, he gained acceptance as a man of wisdom and goodness
At the time of James the apostle’s
death in Acts 12:17, James is a recognized leader in the church in
Jerusalem. Peter is scheduled to be executed, but is set free by an
angle sent by our Lord. Before he goes into hiding, Peter
acknowledges James’ prominence by specifically asking that James,
along with the others be told of his escape. “But
motioning to them with his hand to be silent, he described to them
how the Lord had led him out of the prison. And he said, "Report
these things to James and the brethren." Then he left and went
to another place.”
Acts 12:17
When controversy arose in the early
church and a council was called, James presided as moderator. In this
council James gives the final speech, supporting Peter and Paul, who
urged that Gentile converts not be forced to keep Jewish laws. (Acts
15:13-21). After listening to James’ wisdom, the council agrees
not to force Jewish legalism on Gentile believers. (Acts 15:22)
The apostle Paul continues to recognize
James’ leadership. When Paul returned from his 3rd
missionary journey he reported to James and those present what all
had happened on his mission trip, “And the following day Paul
went in with us to James, and all the elders were present. After he
had greeted them, he began to relate one by one the things which God
had done among the Gentiles through his ministry.” Acts
21:18-19
You may not be called to be a pastor or
hold a position of leadership within the church like James, but you
are called just the same. Called out of a lost and dying world,
called to grow in your Christian walk, and called to be salt and
light to that lost and dying world. How will you respond to the call?
4. James the Author –
After Stephen is martyred (Acts 8:1-3) around A.D.
31-34, a major period of persecution breaks out in Jerusalem.
Saul, a young Pharisee who would later
become Paul, plays a major role in this time of persecution. Because
of this persecution a large number of Christians scattered throughout
the Roman world – “Saul was in hearty agreement with putting
him to death. And on that day a great persecution began against the
church in Jerusalem, and they were all scattered throughout the
regions of Judea and Samaria, except the apostles.” (Acts
8:1)
The next period of persecution erupted
with Herod Agrippa. Around A.D.
44 Herod had James (the brother of John) executed (Acts 12).
Once more believers are scattered. The majority of those scattered
did not yet have the support of the local church. James writes to
these as a concerned leader to encourage them to stay faithful during
those difficult times and to continue to live a lifestyle
representative of the Christian faith.
James wrote his letter around A.D.
45 – 49, his is considered the earliest of all the New Testament
epistles. James’ message to those early Christian is just as
applicable to you today as they were them then. Stay faithful during
difficult times and live a lifestyle representative of your Christian
faith
5. James the Man
Eusebius, the great Christian leader of
the 2nd century, described James as a man of distinguished
moral excellence. He was given the additional name “the Just”
because of his virtuous character. It is said that James received the
nickname “camel knees” because of the calluses that developed on
his knees from spending so much time in prayer.
Not much is known about James’ life
outside the glimpses that we get in the Book of Acts and a few others
like Eusebius. However his letter gives us a brief glimpse into his
character. In order to bolster his credibility as an author and
leader he could have invoked his position as Christ Jesus’
half-brother, only three men on earth could make that claim. Instead
James humbly calls himself a “bondservant of God and of Jesus
Christ” (James 1:1).
Even though he was one of the main leaders in the church in
Jerusalem he considered himself a humble servant – one who desired
his readers to follow a life that would glorify the Lord and not him
Who are you glorifying with your words
and action, yourself or the Lord?
Conclusion: Tradition
has it that James was martyred in A.D.
62 just after the death of the Roman governor Festus, who is
mentioned in Acts 24:27–26:32. When you look at what little is know
about James’ life there are three things that do stand out.
First – Salvation is possible
for anyone. James was an unbelieving skeptic. Even though he spent
years around Christ Jesus he still was not convinced that He was the
Savior. It took an encounter with the risen savior before he was
saved. The good news is that you too can meet the risen Savior and
find salvation.
Second – James’ lifestyle
reminds you that name-dropping; and self-serving is not the way to
give your Christian life and service credibility. It is your
commitment to Christ Jesus as His servant, which gives your life and
ministry credibility and respect.
Third – True Christian faith
is active. James exhorted his readers, and you to live out your faith
with actions. You may not hold a staff position in a church or be a
missionary to another state or country, but there is plenty to do in
this part of Cimarron County.
Study Questions
- Who was James and was He a Christ Follower from the very beginning?
- What changed James' mind and caused him to believe in Christ Jesus?
- What was James' final position in relation to the Church in Jerusalem?
- Who was the first martyr for the Christian Faith?
- Who did Herod Agrippa have put to death?
- Why did James write his letter?
- How did Eusebius describe James? What was James' nickname?
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