Jesus' Little Brother, James by Rev. Raymond Parnell

The ossuary box containing the bones of James

That Jesus, our Lord and Savior, had brothers and sisters there can be no doubt. The sacred writer said, “Is not this the carpenter, the son of Mary, the brother of James, and Joses, and of Juda, and Simon? And are not his sisters here with us?” (Mark 6:3) It is also recorded that Joseph “knew her not till she had brought forth her firstborn son…Jesus.” (Matthew 1:25) After the birth of Jesus, Joseph and Mary were blessed with six additional children whom Mark named with the exception of the girls.
The apostles deferred to James, who after much debate and discussion regarding Gentile converts, rendered a far-reaching decision calling it “my sentence” (Acts 15:19), and announced that prophetic utterances many years prior gave Gentiles the right to be members of the body of Christ.

The Apostle Paul was careful to point out that God had called him to preach to Gentiles. Nevertheless, he honored the Church leadership demonstrated by lodging with Peter and visiting “James the Lord’s brother” (Galatians 1:18, 19). Fourteen years later, after laboring diligently among the Gentiles and witnessing great numbers of them converting to Christianity, he shared with those great ministers in the Jerusalem church that good news. Paul perceived that the three men who were pillars of the church were Peter, John, and James, Jesus’ little brother (Galatians 2:9).

An entire book of the New Testament was written by Jesus’ little brother, and bears his name, James. The respected Reverend C.I. Scofield gave a scholarly rebuttal in his notes of the Scofield Bible, page 999; nevertheless, scripture of the truthfulness of our contention that Jesus had half brothers and sisters convinces us.

There is great admiration for the ministry of James, especially his humility regarding his relationship to his brother, Jesus, his leadership of the church, and his strong support for Gentile believers. Archaeologists startled the world recently when they announced that they had found the ossuary of James! Kenneth E. Lamb wrote an excellent article, The Truth is Written in Stone, (Pentecostal Herald, December, 2002). On each side of the ossuary were the words, scribbled in Aramaic, “James, the son of Joseph, the brother of Jesus.”

The latest shocking news is that the ossuary was shipped to Toronto for exhibition, and was cracked enroute! The Biblical Archaeology Review, Jan/Feb 2003, said, “The ossuary itself may have been damaged, but not its significance. If it truly held the bones of James, who is identified in the New Testament as the brother of Jesus, it is the earliest archaeological attestation of three important figures—Jesus, James and Joseph—in the history of Christianity. Indeed, it is the first—and only—appearance of Jesus in the archaeological record of the first century A.D.” The Review continues by asking, “What does it suggest about the relationship between James and Jesus (full brother, half brother, step-brother, kin, cousin)? What does it imply about Mary?”

I have deep feelings about the ossuary and would travel a long distance to see it. If that is not possible, I know that the man whom James looked up to as his older brother was more than a man. He was God in flesh who died upon a cross, was buried, but rose from the dead in order that I could be saved through repentance, baptism in Jesus name, and the infilling of the Holy Ghost, evidenced by speaking in tongues!