Source: Alan Saxby and James Crossley, James, Brother of Jesus, and the Jerusalem Church: A Radical Exploration of Christian Origins (Eugene, Oregon: Wipf and Stock, 2015).
James Brother of Jesus A Review.wav
This summary podcast challenges the common assumption that the earliest Christian movement in Jerusalem originated solely from Jesus' Galilean followers after his death. Instead, it suggests that the Jakobusgemeinde, the community led by Jesus' brother James, likely had roots in an existing Baptist movement in Jerusalem prior to Jesus' ministry. Key evidence for this includes the "Galilean Silence" in early Jerusalem-based traditions, which show little knowledge or interest in Jesus' life in Galilee, and the fact that James appears as a foundation figure in the earliest sources, suggesting his leadership began much earlier than traditionally thought based on the later book of Acts.
Based on the sources provided, the most reliable information about James, brother of Jesus, primarily comes from the letters of Paul and traditions with multiple attestation. Here's a breakdown of why these sources are considered most reliable and what they provide.
◦The sources state that Paul's letters are the "prime historical material" for James and the Jakobusgemeinde. They are considered the "primary historical evidence".
◦This evidence is described as "hard information" of "good historical value".
◦Paul's writings are "contemporary evidence" from "one who knew and had met and debated with him". This is described as "evidence of the finest kind".
◦The information about James in Paul's letters (specifically Galatians 1-2 and 1 Corinthians 15) is seen as particularly reliable because it is "almost casually yielded" in passages focused on issues in Paul's own churches, making it "less liable to have suffered distortion".
Paul's letters provide evidence of significant interactions and the position of James:
▪The earliest oral tradition received by Paul, datable to the early 30s CE, mentions an individual appearance of the risen Christ to Cephas, then to James, alongside an appearance to the Twelve. This tradition, received within a few years of the originating event and written down within a couple of decades, indicates James as a "foundation figure" in Jerusalem from the "very dawn of the Christian movement".
▪Paul's account of his visits to Jerusalem mentions meeting James (alongside Cephas) on his first visit and lists James first in the triumvirate of "Pillars" (James, Cephas, John) on a later visit, indicating his status as an authority figure and founding figure of the Jerusalem community.
▪The "Antioch Incident" (Gal 2:11-14) is cited as making James's position as head of the Jakobusgemeinde "crystal clear," demonstrating his authority to which even Cephas submitted.