THE 12 APOSTLES:
Santiago son of Alfaeo
INTRODUCTION
A. HUMOR: Origin of the 10 Commandments
1. The Jewish people love to make good financial deals, hence the term – “Jewish them down.” Different groups of people have different characteristics. The story is told…
2. Centuries ago, God came down, went to the Germans and said, “I have commandments that will help you live a better life.”
a. The Germans ask: “What are the commandments?”
And the Lord says, “Rules for living.”
b. “Can you give us an example?” God said, “Thou shalt not kill.” “Do not kill? We are not interested.”
3. Then God went to the Italians and said: “I have commandments…” The Italians wanted an example and the Lord said: “You shall not steal”. “Do not steal? We are not interested.”
4. Next, the Lord went to the French saying, “I have commandments…” The French wanted an example and the Lord said, “You shall not covet your neighbor’s wife.”
And the French, &# 8220;We are not interested.
5. Then God went to the Jews and said, “I have commandments…” “Commandments,” said the Jews, “how much will they cost?” “They are free.” “Oh! So we’ll take 10! & # 8221; And that is how they are said to have got the 10 commandments!
B. THESIS
1. Tonight is the Ninth part of our series called “The 12 Apostles of Jesus.” Tonight we come to one of the 3 apostles about whom little is known: James, son of Alphaeus.
2… There are only four direct mentions of this man, always in a list of the apostles, mentioned only by name. We don’t know anything about what he said, nor do we know anything about what he did. So what’s up? What to say about this man?, We’ll see!
3. But this man is worthy of our time! He was one of the 12 men chosen by Jesus to bear witness to his life, death and resurrection. This James became a missionary preacher and died bearing witness to the reality of Jesus.
4. So, let’s open the Bible and embark on the amazing study of one of the 12 Apostles: James Son of Alphaeus.
I. CONFUSION OF THE 3 SAINTS
To make things quite confusing, 3 James apostles were named; James son of Zebedee (brother of John), James son of Alphaeus, and another James who was head of the church in Jerusalem.
A. EXAMPLES OF THIS CONFUSION
1. In 2 of the main articles I googled about Santiago, the son of Alphaeus, they had wrong information:
2. “He was the brother of the Apostle Judas. According to tradition, he wrote the Epistle of James… James was a man of strong character and one of the most fiery types. Tradition tells us that he also died as a martyr and his body was sawn to pieces. The saw became his apostolic symbol. (“The 12 Apostles of Jesus,” Bibleinfo.com]
3. He “was the brother of the Apostle Judas… This is the James who probably wrote the Epistle of James (although that is disputed) (Who were the 12 apostles? David Peach).
4. It seems impossible for so-called scholars to make such a mistake, but there is… 8217; is an important reason.
B. REASONS FOR THIS CONFUSION
1. Many students of the Scriptures mistakenly refer to James, son of Alphaeus, and James, the brother of the Lord Jesus, as being identical.
2. This erroneous view is the result of a strange and misguided movement in the Catholic Church to elevate Mary above all other women.
3. From the fourth century and until the seventh century, when ecclesiastical law was made, the doctrine of the perpetual virginity of Mary was developed.
4.This doctrine affirms that Mary was not only a virgin at the time of her conception by the Holy Spirit of the infant Jesus, but that she remained a virgin for the rest of her life.
5. Proponents of this doctrine teach that Jesus was Mary’s only biological son. He had no brothers or sisters.
6. Therefore, the passages that refer to Jesus’ brothers and sisters are not talking about literal brothers (they argue), but that they were 1). stepbrothers and stepsisters (of Joseph, before marrying Mary, or Joseph fulfilling his duty to his supposed brother Cleofás, who had died, giving offspring to Santiago) or 2). they were cousins.
C. THE BIBLE ON JESUS’ FAMILY
1. In Matt. 13:55-56 says: “Is not this the carpenter’s son? Is not his mother called his Mary, and his brothers James, Joseph, Simon, and Judas? Aren’t all his sisters with us?
2. Mk. 6:3, “Is not this the carpenter? Isn’t this the son of Mary and the brother of James, Joseph, Judas and Simon? Aren’t his sisters here with us? And they were offended with him.”
3. Mark 3:20-21 Jesus entered a house, and again a crowd gathered, so that neither he nor his disciples could eat. 21 When his family found out about this, they went to take care of him, because they said: “He is crazy.”
4. Mk. 3:31-34, 31 Then Jesus’ mother and brothers arrived. Standing outside, they sent someone to call him. 32 A crowd was sitting around him, saying, “Your mother and brothers are outside looking for you.” 33 “Who are my mother and my brothers?” he asked. 34 Then he looked at those who were sitting in a circle around him and said, “Here are my mother and my brothers!” (same – Mt. 12:46, Luke 8:19).
5. SUMMARY. The Bible clearly teaches that Mary only remained a virgin until after the birth of Jesus; “But he did not consummate her marriage until she gave birth to a son” Matthew 1:25.
6. After Jesus’ birth, Mary and Joseph evidently had at least 6 children. James, the oldest, became the leader of the Jewish Church.
D. WHAT JESUS BROTHER JACOB DID
1. He had his own vision of the risen Christ, 1 Cor. 15:5, 7.
2. He was known for strictly keeping the Law, Gal. 2:12.
3. He is 6X referred to as the leader of the Church in Jerusalem:
a. Acts 12:17, Peter, after his escape from prison, said, “Tell James and the other brothers and sisters about this.”
b. Acts 15:13, “When they finished, James spoke. ‘Brothers,’ he said, ‘listen to me.’” He made the final decision.
c. Acts 21:18, “The next day Paul and the others went to see James, and all the elders were present.”
d. Gallon. 1:19, “I did not see any of the other apostles—only James, the Lord’s brother.
and. Gallon. 2:9, “James, Cephas, and John, considered as pillars, gave me and Barnabas the right hand of fellowship…”
F. Gallon. 2:12, “Because before some came from James, he used to eat with the Gentiles.”
4. This James was probably the author of the Epistle of James and his brother, Judas, wrote the Epistle of Judas. Both names are mentioned as (half) brothers of Jesus (Mt. 12:46; Mk. 6:3).
5. Eusebius called him “James the Just.”
6. Tradition says that he was famous for his constant prayers in the Temple for Israel. The Jewish leaders took him to the roof of the Temple, intending that he denounce Jesus. Instead, he testified that Jesus was the Christ himself, so he was thrown out of the Temple and clubbed to death. (Eusebius, History of the Church)
7. ADDITIONAL THOUGHT: The “brother” of Jesus (Galatians 1:19) cannot be identical to James son of Alphaeus, one of the 12, because during the same period, John 7:5 says: ‘For even his own brothers not believe in him.” So an unbelieving brother could not have been one of the Twelve.
II. FACTS ABOUT JAMES SON OF ALPHAEU
A. DISTINCTIONS MADE
1. This James was the son of Alphaeus and Mary. He is called “James the younger” in Mark 15:40 (ho mikros, ‘the little one’).
2. He was called “the least” because he was younger than James, son of Zebedee, or because he was shorter in stature (Mk 16:1).
3. Regardless, this James was called “the least” to distinguish him from another of the 12, James son of Zebedee and Salome.
B. CONFUSION WITH THE SISTER OF THE VIRGIN MARY
1. All four gospels mention specific women around the cross of Jesus. In the Synoptics, 2 Mary Magdalene and Mary the mother of James (Alpheus) are always mentioned.
2. John 19:25 lists them as “At the cross of Jesus stood his mother, his mother’s sister, Mary Cleopas, and Mary Magdalene.”
3. María de Cleofás appears immediately after the expression “her mother’s sister”. Therefore, some have supposed that this Mary is the sister of the mother of Jesus, (despite the awkwardness of having two sisters with the same name; I thought of George Foreman and all his sons named George), and that this Mary is the same as Alphaeus. #8217; (ex wife.
4. Mary of Cleopas was most likely not the sister but the cousin of Jesus’ mother, since the Hebrew or Aramaic had no specific word for cousin or sister-in-law. Some traditions make Clopas the brother of Joseph (Hegesippus).
5. Stephen S. Smalley (1982) says that it is “probable” (but not virtually certain) that Maria de Clopas is Maria, the mother of James, son of Alphaeus. I doubt this confusion.
6. Luke 24:18 records 2 people who met Jesus on the road to Emmaus after his resurrection. One was called “Cleofás”, who is believed to be the (second?) husband of Maria.
C. BROTHER TO MATTHEW
1. This same James son of Alphaeus was probably the brother of the apostle Matthew. Mark 2:14 calls Matthew “Levi the son of Alphaeus sitting at the tax collector’s post.” There is no other Alphaeus mentioned in the Bible.
2. If so, then James was one of three groups of brothers among the apostles (along with Peter and Andrew, James and John).
D. APPOINTED AMONG THE APOSTLES
1. Mt. 10:3, “Philip and Bartholomew; Tomas and Mateo the tax collector; James son of Alphaeus, and Tadeo.”
2. Mark 3:18, “Andrew, Philip, Bartholomew, Matthew, Thomas, James son of Alphaeus, Thaddeus, Simon the Zealot.”
3. Luke 6:15, “Matthew, Thomas, James, the son of Alphaeus, Simon, called the Zealot.”
E. HE HAD A FAMOUS MOTHER
1. PRESENT AT THE CROSS
Mark 15:40, “Some women were looking from afar. Among them were Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James the younger and of Joseph, and Salome.”
2. PRESENT AT THE TOMB
Mark 16:1, “After the Sabbath, Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James, and Salome bought spices to go and anoint Jesus’ body.”
Luke 24:10, “It was Mary Magdalene, Joan, Mary the mother of James, and the others with them, who told the apostles this.” ;
F. ASSISTANCE IN THE HIGH ROOM
Acts 1:13, “When they arrived, they went up to the room where they were staying. Pedro, Juan, Santiago and Andrés were present; Felipe and Tomás, Bartolomé and Mateo; James son of Alphaeus and Simon the Zealot, and Judas son of James.”
G. TRADITION
1. Tradition says that James, son of Alphaeus, preached in Palestine and Egypt. Philip Schaff adds that he was crucified at Ostrakine in Lower Egypt, where he preached the Gospel
2. ILL.: JAMES FOLLOWED JESUS!
a. A missionary society wrote to David Livingstone and asked, “Has he found a good way…