James, the brother of Jesus. James is first mentioned as the oldest of Jesus' four younger brothers .

In the third and fourth centuries A. D., when the idea of the perpetual virginity of Mary gained ground, a number of church fathers argued that James was either a stepbrother to Jesus (by a former marriage of Joseph) or a cousin. But both options are forced. The New Testament seems to indicate that Mary and Joseph bore children after Jesus , and that the second oldest was James . The gospels reveal that Jesus' family adopted a skeptical attitude toward His ministry . James apparently held the same attitude, because his name appears in no lists of the apostles, nor is he mentioned elsewhere in the gospels.

After Jesus' crucifixion, however, James became a believer. Paul indicated that James was a witness to the resurrection of Jesus <1 Cor. 15:7>. He called James an apostle , though like himself, not one of the original Twelve <1 Cor. 15:5,7>.

In the Book of Acts, James emerges as the leader of the church in Jerusalem. His brothers also became believers and undertook missionary travels <1 Cor. 9:5>. But James considered it his calling to oversee the church in Jerusalem . He advocated respect for the Jewish law , but he did not use it as a weapon against Gentiles. Paul indicated that James endorsed his ministry to the Gentiles .

The decree of the COUNCIL OF JERUSALEM cleared the way for Christianity to become a universal religion. Gentiles were asked only "to abstain from things polluted by idols, from sexual immorality, from things strangled, and from blood" . The intent of this decree was practical rather than theological. It asked the Gentiles to observe certain practices which otherwise would offend their Jewish brethren in the Lord and jeopardize Christian fellowship with them.

Both Paul and Acts portray a James who was personally devoted to Jewish tradition but flexible enough to modify it to admit non-Jews into Christian fellowship. This James is probably the author of the Epistle of James in the New Testament.

(from Nelson's Illustrated Bible Dictionary)

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