Jesus’ disciples
JAMES THE BROTHER
OF JESUS “THE LAST
WILL BE FIRST”
Penge Baptist Church
8th September 2013
Jesus had a brother?
• “How will this be”, Mary asked the angel, “since I am a
virgin?” (Luke 1:34)
• “Isn’t this the carpenter’s son? Isn’t his mother’s name
Mary, and aren’t his brothers James, Joseph, Simon and
Judas? Aren’t all his sisters with us? (Matthew 13:55-6)
• When Joseph woke up, he did what the angel of the
Lord had commanded him and took Mary home as his
wife. But he had no union with her until she gave birth
to a son. And he gave him the name Jesus. (Matthew
1:24-25)
• What kind of family life?
A sceptic in Jesus’ lifetime
• Then Jesus entered a house, and again a crowd gathered,
so that he and his disciples were not even able to eat.
When his family heard about this, they went to take charge
of him, for they said, “He is out of his mind.” (Mark 3:201)
• Then Jesus’ mother and brothers arrived. Standing outside,
they sent someone in to call him. A crowd was sitting
around him, and they told him, “Your mother and brothers
are outside looking for you.” “Who are my mother and my
brothers?” he asked. Then he looked at those seated in a
circle around him and said, “Here are my mother and my
brothers! Whoever does God’s will is my brother and
sister and mother.” (Mark 3:30-35)
• But when the Jewish Feast of Tabernacles was near,
Jesus’ brothers said to him, “You ought to leave here
and go to Judea, so that your disciples may see the
miracles you do. No one who wants to become a
public figure acts in secret. Since you are doing these
things, show yourself to the world.” For even his own
brothers did not believe in him. (John 7:2-5)
• Near the cross of Jesus stood his mother, his mother’s
sister, Mary the wife of Clopas, and Mary Magdalene.
(John 19:25)
• Later, Joseph of Arimathea asked Pilate for the body
of Jesus. Now Joseph was a disciple of Jesus (John
19:38)
But a believer after the
resurrection
• For what I received I passed on to you as of first
importance : that Christ died for our sins according to the
Scriptures, that he was buried, that he was raised on the
third day according to the Scriptures, and that he
appeared to Peter, and then to the Twelve. After that, he
appeared to more than five hundred of the brothers at the
same time, most of whom are still living, though some
have fallen asleep. Then he appeared to James, then to
all the apostles, and last of all he appeared to me also, as
to one abnormally born. (1 Corinthians 15:3-8)
• They all joined together constantly in prayer,
along with the women and Mary the mother of
Jesus, and with his brothers. (Acts 1:14)
• But Peter kept on knocking, and when they
opened the door and saw him, they were
astonished. 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. (Acts 12:16-17)
Leader of the Jerusalem church
• Then after three years, I went up to Jerusalem to
get acquainted with Peter and stayed with him
fifteen days. I saw none of the other apostles—
only James, the Lord’s brother. (Galatians
1:18-19)
• 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. They agreed that we should go to the
Gentiles, and they to the Jews. (Galatians 2:9)
Wisdom from God
• When they finished, James spoke up: “Brothers, listen to
me. Simon has described to us how God at first showed
his concern by taking from the Gentiles a people for
himself. The words of the prophets are in agreement with
this, as it is written: “ ‘After this I will return and rebuild
David’s fallen tent. Its ruins I will rebuild, and I will
restore it, that the remnant of men may seek the Lord, and
all the Gentiles who bear my name, says the Lord, who
does these things’ that have been known for ages. “It is
my judgment, therefore, that we should not make it
difficult for the Gentiles who are turning to God. Instead
we should write to them, telling them to abstain from food
polluted by idols, from sexual immorality, from the meat
of strangled animals and from blood.” (Acts 15:13-21)
• Who is wise and understanding among you? Let him
show it by his good life, by deeds done in the humility
that comes from wisdom. But if you harbor bitter envy
and selfish ambition in your hearts, do not boast about it
or deny the truth. Such “wisdom” does not come down
from heaven but is earthly, unspiritual, of the devil. For
where you have envy and selfish ambition, there you
find disorder and every evil practice. But the wisdom
that comes from heaven is first of all pure; then peaceloving, considerate, submissive, full of mercy and good
fruit, impartial and sincere. Peacemakers who sow in
peace raise a harvest of righteousness (James 3:13-18)
Paying the costs of discipleship
• “and now Caesar, upon hearing the death of Festus, sent
Albinus into Judea, as procurator. But the king deprived
Joseph of the high priesthood, and bestowed the
succession to that dignity on the son of Ananus, who
was also himself called Ananus... Festus was now dead,
and Albinus was but upon the road; so he assembled the
sanhedrin of judges, and brought before them the
brother of Jesus, who was called Christ, whose name
was James, and some others; and when he had formed
an accusation against them as breakers of the law, he
delivered them to be stoned.” (Josephus, Antiquities of
the Jews Book 20, Chapter 9, 1)
Failing to see the Lord….
• The god of this age has blinded the minds of
unbelievers, so that they cannot see the light of the
gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God
(2 Corinthians 4:4)
• From one man he made every nation of men, that they
should inhabit the whole earth; and he determined the
times set for them and the exact places where they
should live. God did this so that men would seek him
and perhaps reach out for him and find him, though he
is not far from each one of us. (Acts 17:26-27)
….who is also our brother
• For you did not receive a spirit that makes you a slave
again to fear, but you received the Spirit of sonship.
And by him we cry, “Abba,Father.” The Spirit
himself testifies with our spirit that we are God’s
children. (Romans 8:15-16)
• How great is the love the Father has lavished on us,
that we should be called children of God! And that is
what we are! The reason the world does not know us
is that it did not know him. (1 John 3:1)