James, brother of Jesus?

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Why is James singled out as being the brother of Jesus over the other apostles? what does this mean?

:highprayer:
 
4givemeasinner said:
Why is James singled out as being the brother of Jesus over the other apostles? what does this mean?

:highprayer:
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Well, first of all, we aren’t even sure whether James the brother of Jesus is one of the Twelve. While a tradition current in the West identifies him with James the son of Alphaeus (who is in turn identified also with “James the younger”), there is also a tradition which identifies these as two or three separate individuals.
 
No, James the brother of Our Lord is not one of the 12 Apostles. He is, however, the first Bishop of Jerusalem.

What is means is they are relatives. By some accounts they are cousins, by others he is the son of Joseph from a previous wife (Joseph was a widower according to this account).
 
  1. Then James, whom the ancients surnamed the Just on account of the excellence of his virtue, is recorded to have been the first to be made bishop of the church of Jerusalem. This James was called the brother of the Lord because he was known as a son of Joseph, and Joseph was supposed to be the father of Christ, because the Virgin, being betrothed to him, “was found with child by the Holy Ghost before they came together,” Matthew 1:18 as the account of the holy Gospels shows.
Eusebius, The History of the Church, Book 2, chapter 1, paragraph 2.

**1. But after Paul, in consequence of his appeal to Cæsar, had been sent to Rome by Festus, the Jews, being frustrated in their hope of entrapping him by the snares which they had laid for him, turned against James, the brother of the Lord, to whom the episcopal seat at Jerusalem had been entrusted by the apostles. The following daring measures were undertaken by them against him.
  1. Leading him into their midst they demanded of him that he should renounce faith in Christ in the presence of all the people. But, contrary to the opinion of all, with a clear voice, and with greater boldness than they had anticipated, he spoke out before the whole multitude and confessed that our Saviour and Lord Jesus is the Son of God. But they were unable to bear longer the testimony of the man who, on account of the excellence of ascetic virtue and of piety which he exhibited in his life, was esteemed by all as the most just of men, and consequently they slew him. Opportunity for this deed of violence was furnished by the prevailing anarchy, which was caused by the fact that Festus had died just at this time in Judea, and that the province was thus without a governor and head.
  2. The manner of James’ death has been already indicated by the above-quoted words of Clement, who records that he was thrown from the pinnacle of the temple, and was beaten to death with a club. But Hegesippus, who lived immediately after the apostles, gives the most accurate account in the fifth book of his Memoirs. He writes as follows:**
Book 2, Chapter 23, paragraphs 1-3

newadvent.org/fathers/250102.htm

God’s peace

micah
 
mercytruth said:
**1. But after Paul, in consequence of his appeal to Cæsar, had been sent to Rome by Festus, the Jews, being frustrated in their hope of entrapping him by the snares which they had laid for him, turned against James, the brother of the Lord, to whom the episcopal seat at Jerusalem had been entrusted by the apostles. The following daring measures were undertaken by them against him.
  1. Leading him into their midst they demanded of him that he should renounce faith in Christ in the presence of all the people. But, contrary to the opinion of all, with a clear voice, and with greater boldness than they had anticipated, he spoke out before the whole multitude and confessed that our Saviour and Lord Jesus is the Son of God. But they were unable to bear longer the testimony of the man who, on account of the excellence of ascetic virtue and of piety which he exhibited in his life, was esteemed by all as the most just of men, and consequently they slew him. Opportunity for this deed of violence was furnished by the prevailing anarchy, which was caused by the fact that Festus had died just at this time in Judea, and that the province was thus without a governor and head.
  2. The manner of James’ death has been already indicated by the above-quoted words of Clement, who records that he was thrown from the pinnacle of the temple, and was beaten to death with a club. But Hegesippus, who lived immediately after the apostles, gives the most accurate account in the fifth book of his Memoirs. He writes as follows:**
Book 2, Chapter 23, paragraphs 1-3

newadvent.org/fathers/250102.htm
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Also Josephus (Antiquities 2.9.1 §200-1):

He [Ananus son of Ananus the high priest] convened the council of judges and brought before it the brother of Jesus—the one called “Christ”—whose name was James, and certain others. Accusing them of transgressing the law he delivered them up for stoning. But those of the city considered to be the most fair-minded and strict concerning the laws were offended at this and sent to the king secretly urging him to order Ananus to take such actions no longer.
 
Patrick457,

Thankyou, and your note is duly taken to heart. The quotation of Job is one of my favorite lines from the movie, The Chosen. The most powerful part of the movie is when the Rabbi is speaking about his prayer to the Master of the Universe. “A heart of compassion I need for a son, a heart of mercy I need for a son, above all, I need for a son who has the strength to bear pain.”

God’s peace be with you

micah
 
Patrick457 - hopefully it’s okay to post this here. I saw your small script tag line(?). So, I happily offer prayers for you.
 
The term “brother” is a difficult one.

In translation the Bible and the meaning of the word “brother” is a derivative of a translation from Hebrew (Aramaic) to Greek to Latin to English.

Strictly speaking “brother” in it’s original meaning can mean a cousin or a fellow member of a group/tribe.

We know that Jesus did not have any siblings, so the term “brother” does not refer to a sibling relationship between James and Jesus.
 
When these kinds of issues arise I always like to hop over to the Catholic dot com Tracts section and dig for treasure.

Here are two gems which help to identity this particular James:

Brethren of the Lord

Mary: Ever Virgin

In the Holy Land at the time of Jesus, and even somewhat today, close blood relatives in the same generation who were raised in the same household were considered brothers and sisters, regardless of their actual parentage. Your male cousin, your stepbrother, and your half-brother were all considered to be your brothers (as well as the man who was born of the same parents as you).
 
the semitic people, including Arabs, Assyrians/Syriacs and Jews constantly used the term ‘Brother’ to refer to cousins, friends and even strangers.
It is very common even to this day.
it is a term of endearment as well as to ‘break the ice’ so to speak.

i constantly use the term brother in the syriac and arabic sense when talking with people of a similar ethno-religious and cultural background.
 
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