THE 12 APOSTLES:
JAMES SON OF ALPHAEUS
INTRODUCTION
A. HUMOR: Origin of the 10 Commandments
1. The Jewish people love to make good financial deals, hence the term – “he Jew-ed them down.” Different people groups 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 better lives."
a. The Germans ask, "What are Commandments?"
And the Lord says, "Rules for living."
b. "Can you give us an example?" God said, "Thou shalt not kill." "Not kill? We're not interested."
3. So God went to the Italians and said, "I have Commandments..." The Italians wanted an example and the Lord said, "Thou shalt not steal." "Not steal? We're not interested."
4. Next the Lord went to the French saying, "I have Commandments..." The French wanted an example and the Lord said, "Thou shalt not covet thy neighbor's wife."
And the French, “We’re not interested.”
5. God then went to the Jews and said, "I have Commandments..." "Commandments," said the Jews, "How much will they cost?" "They're free." "Oh! Then we'll take 10!” And that’s reportedly how they got the 10 Commandments!
B. THESIS
1. Tonight is the 9th part in our series called, “The 12 Apostles of Jesus.” Tonight we get to one of the 3 apostles that little is known about; James the son of Alphaeus.
2. There are only four direct mentions of this man, always in a list of the apostles -- mentioned by name only. We don’t know of anything he said, nor do we know of anything he did. So what is there to say about this guy? We shall 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 testifying to Jesus’ reality.
4. So let’s open the Bible and embark on the surprising study of one of the 12 Apostles: James Son of Alphaeus.
I. CONFUSION OF THE 3 JAMESES
To make things pretty confusing, there were 3 apostles named James; James son of Zebedee (brother of John), James son of Alphaeus, and another James who was the head of the church at Jerusalem.
A. EXAMPLES OF THIS CONFUSION
1. In 2 of the leading articles I googled about James the son of Alpheus, they had misinformation:
2. “He was the brother of the Apostle Jude. According to tradition he wrote the Epistle of James… James was a man of strong character and one of the most fiery type. Tradition tells us that he also died as a martyr and his body was sawed in pieces. The saw became his apostolic symbol. (“The 12 Apostles of Jesus,” Bibleinfo.com]
3. He “was the brother to the Apostle Jude… This is the James who probably wrote the Epistle of James (though that is disputed).” (Who Were The 12 Apostles? David Peach).
4. It seems impossible that supposed scholars would make such an error, but there’s an important reason.
B. REASONS FOR THIS CONFUSION
1. Many students of Scripture mistakenly refer to James son of Alphaeus and James the brother of the Lord Jesus as being identical.
2. This wrong view is the result of a strange and misguided movement in the Catholic Church to elevate Mary above all other women.
3. Beginning in the 4th century and building until the 7th century, when it was made church law, the doctrine of the perpetual virginity of Mary was developed.
4. This doctrine states that Mary was not only a virgin at the time of her conception by the Holy Spirit of the Christ child, but that she remained a virgin for the rest of her life.
5. The proponents of this doctrine teach that Jesus was the only biological son of Mary. He didn’t have brothers or sisters.
6. Therefore the passages which refer to Jesus’ brothers & sisters are not speaking of literal siblings (they argue), but were either 1). stepbrothers and sisters (of Joseph, prior to marrying Mary, or Joseph fulfilling his duty for his supposed brother Clopas, who had died, giving issue to James) or 2). were cousins.
C. THE BIBLE ON JESUS’ FAMILY
1. In Matt. 13:55-56 says, “Isn’t this the carpenter’s son? Isn’t his mother’s name Mary, and aren’t his brothers James, Joseph, Simon and Judas? Aren’t all his sisters with us?”
2. Mk. 6:3, “Isn’t this the carpenter? Isn’t this Mary’s son and the brother of James, Joseph, Judas and Simon? Aren’t his sisters here with us?” And they took offense at him.”
3. Mark 3:20-21Then Jesus entered a house, and again a crowd gathered, so that he and his disciples were not even able to eat. 21 When his family heard about this, they went to take charge of him, for they said, “He is out of his mind.”
4. Mk. 3:31-34, 31 Then Jesus’ mother and brothers arrived. Standing outside, they sent someone in to call him. 32 A crowd was sitting around him, and they told him, “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 seated 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 Jesus was born; “But he [Joseph] did not consummate their marriage until she gave birth to a son” Mt. 1:25.
6. After Jesus’ birth, Mary & Joseph evidently had at least 6 children. James, the oldest, became the leader of the Jewish Church.
D. WHAT JAMES BROTHER OF JESUS DID
1. He had his own vision of the resurrected Christ, 1 Cor. 15:5, 7.
2. He was known for his strictly keeping the Law, Gal. 2:12.
3. He’s 6X referred to as the leader of the Church at 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 up. ‘Brothers,’ he said, ‘listen to me.’” He made the final decision.
c. Acts 21:18, “The next day Paul and the rest of us went to see James, and all the elders were present.”
d. Gal. 1:19, “I saw none of the other apostles—only James, the Lord’s brother.
e. Gal. 2:9, “James, Cephas and John, those esteemed as pillars, gave me and Barnabas the right hand of fellowship…” [At that time James Zebedee was dead]
f. Gal. 2:12, “For before certain men 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, Jude, wrote the Epistle of Jude. 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 he was famous for his constant prayers in the Temple for Israel. The Jewish leaders took him to the roof of the Temple, intending him to denounce Jesus. Instead he bore witness that Jesus was the very Christ, so they threw him down from the Temple and killed him with a club. (Eusebius, History of the Church)
7. ADDITIONAL THOUGHT: The “brother” of Jesus (Gal. 1:19) can’t be identical with James son of Alphaeus, one of the 12, because during the same time period, John 7:5 says, “For even his own brothers did not believe in him.” So an unbelieving brother couldn’t have been one of the Twelve.
II. FACTS ABOUT JAMES SON OF ALPHAEUS
A. DISTINCTIONS MADE
1. This James was the son of Alphaeus and Mary. He’s called “James the less” in Mark 15:40 (ho mikros, ‘the little’).
2. He was either called “the less” because he was younger than James the son of Zebedee, or because he was shorter in stature (Mk. 16:1).
3. Regardless, this James was called “the less” to distinguish him from another of the 12, James the son of Zebedee and Salome.
B. CONFUSION WITH VIRGIN MARY’S SISTER
1. All four Gospels mention specific women around the Cross of Jesus. In the Synoptics, 2 always mentioned are Mary Magdalene and Mary the mother of James (Alphaeus) [Mt. 27:56; Mk. 15:40; Lk. 24:10].
2. John 19:25 lists them as “Near the cross of Jesus stood his mother, his mother’s sister, Mary [the wife] of Clopas, and Mary Magdalene.”
3. Mary of Clopas appears immediately after the expression "His mother’s sister." Therefore, some have supposed this Mary to be the sister of Jesus's mother, (despite the awkwardness of having two sisters bearing the same name; I thought of George Foreman and all his sons named George), and that this Mary is the same as Alphaeus’ (former?) wife.
4. Mary of Clopas was, more probably, not the sister but the cousin of Jesus' mother, as Hebrew or Aramaic had no specific word for cousin, or her 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 Mary of Clopas is Mary the mother of James son of Alphaeus. I doubt this confusion.
6. Luke 24:18 records 2 people meeting Jesus on the road to Emmaus after His resurrection. One was named "Cleopas" who is believed to be Mary's (2nd?) husband.
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 son of Alphaeus sitting at the tax collector’s booth.” There is no other Alphaeus listed in the Bible.
2. If so, then James was one of three sets of brothers among the apostles (along with Peter & Andrew, James & John).
D. NAMED AMONG THE APOSTLES
1. Mt. 10:3, “Philip and Bartholomew; Thomas and Matthew the tax collector; James son of Alphaeus, and Thaddaeus.”
2. Mark 3:18, “Andrew, Philip, Bartholomew, Matthew, Thomas, James son of Alphaeus, Thaddaeus, Simon the Zealot.”
3. Luke 6:15, “Matthew, Thomas, James son of Alphaeus, Simon who was called the Zealot.”
E. HAD A FAMOUS MOTHER
1. PRESENT AT THE CROSS
Mark 15:40, “Some women were watching from a distance. 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, “When the Sabbath was over, Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James, and Salome bought spices so that they might go to anoint Jesus’ body.”
Luke 24:10, “It was Mary Magdalene, Joanna, Mary the mother of James, and the others with them who told this to the apostles.”
F. UPPER ROOM ATTENDANCE
Acts 1:13, “When they arrived, they went upstairs to the room where they were staying. Those present were Peter, John, James and Andrew; Philip and Thomas, Bartholomew and Matthew; James son of Alphaeus and Simon the Zealot, and Judas son of James.”
G. TRADITION
1. Tradition says that James the son of Alphaeus preached in Palestine and Egypt. Philip Schaff adds he was crucified at Ostrakine in Lower Egypt, where he was preaching the Gospel [History of the Apostolic Church, page 389. Citing Nikephoros, Historia Ecclesiastica II:40.]
2. ILLUS.: JAMES FOLLOWED JESUS!
a. A missionary society wrote to David Livingstone and asked, "Have you found a good road to where you are? If so, we want to know how to send other men to join you."
b. Livingstone wrote back, "If you have men who will come only if they know there is a good road, I don't want them. I want men who will come if there is no road at all." Good News Broadcaster, April, 1985, p. 12.
3. James was obedient to go and preach the gospel. His apostolic symbol is a fuller’s club, probably a reference to the manner of the Lord’s brother’s death, another confusion of the 2 James’.
CONCLUSION
A. ILLUSTRATION: POWER OF COMMITMENT
1. A young boy by the name of James had a desire to be the most famous manufacturer and salesman of cheese in the world.
2. He began with a little buggy pulled by a pony named Paddy. He would drive down the streets of Chicago to sell the cheese. After months, he began to despair because he was not making any money despite of his long hours.
3. One day he stopped and began to talk to his pony, "Paddy, there’s something wrong. We’re not doing it right. I think our priorities aren’t where they ought to be. Maybe we ought to serve God and place him first in our lives."
4. The boy drove home and made a covenant that for the rest of his life he would first serve God and then would work as God directed.
5. Years later, the young boy, now a man, became the Sunday School Superintendent at a Church in Chicago and said, "I’d rather be the Church Sunday School Superintendent than to head the greatest corporation in America. My first job is serving Jesus."
6. So, every time you take a take a bite of
a. Philadelphia Cream cheese,
b. sip a cup of Maxwell House,
c. mix a quart of Kool-Aid,
d. slice up a DiGiorno Pizza,
e. cook a pot of Macaroni & Cheese,
f. spread some Grey Poupon,
g. stir a bowl of Cream of Wheat,
h. slurp down some Jell-O,
i. eat an Oreo cookie or Stove Top, remember this boy and his pony, and the promise James L. Kraft made to serve God and work as He directed.
B. THE CALL
1. Let’s determine to follow Jesus as this common disciple did, and left an uncommon heritage.
2. Prayer for commitment & salvation.
