The Epistle of James is a noteworthy work, but the identity of its author is also shrouded in mystery, due to the ancients trying to prove or disprove the doctrine of Mary’s perpetual virginity. For example, according to Helvidius, a Roman layman, who wrote in the latter half of the fourth century AD, the author of this epistle was James, the half-brother of Jesus and natural son of Mary and Joseph (Matthew 13:55; Mark 6:3). A few years later, Jerome, defended the doctrine of the perpetual virginity of Mary by concluding that James the Less, one of the Twelve, wrote the epistle. He was the son of Mary, the wife of Alphaeus or Clopas (wrongly assumed to be Mary’s sister, making James the brother / cousin of Jesus). About fifteen years later Epiphanius, Bishop of Salamis on the Isle of Cyprus, came up with a theory of his own, saying that James, the brother of the Lord, was actually the step-brother of Jesus, through Joseph’s former marriage. What’s the truth; do we know?
No one believes the writer of this epistle was James, the brother of John. The only serious candidates are James, the half-brother of Jesus (Matthew 13:55), and James the Less, one of the Twelve (Mark 15:40).
Personally, I believe the idea that James, the half-brother of Jesus, authored this epistle is founded upon the flimsiest of evidence. If we didn’t have Galatians 1:19 in our Bibles there would be no controversy at all, at least not among those who believe the letter was written by a person who knew Jesus! Everything concerning the point of view that James was written by Jesus’ half brother is founded upon this single verse by Paul, which says: “But other of the apostles saw I none, save James the Lord’s brother” (Galatians 1:19). None of the other verses that refer to James, the leader of the church in Jerusalem during the first century AD, say that that James is the Lord’s half-brother (Matthew 13:55; Mark 6:3).[1] So, is Paul’s James of Galatians 1:19 the same person called James, the leader of the Jerusalem church and writer of the Epistle of James?
Some scholars will admit that the reference to James in Galatians 1:19 is ambiguous. That is, James seems to be one of the Twelve, like Peter (Galatians 1:18), but the phrase, the Lord’s brother, has led some scholars to reject this position. Nevertheless, while the Greek word (adelphos – G80) is often used of a brother, meaning a family member, it was also used by Christ to indicate his disciples (Matthew 28:10). In fact, Jesus pointed to his disciples saying they were his real family—his real mother and his real brethren (Mark 3:33-35; cp. Matthew 12:48-50). Nevertheless, if a disciple is meant in Galatians 1:19, why would James, one of the Twelve, be distinguished in this manner but not Peter in verse-18? On the other hand, if this James was the half-brother of Jesus, why would he be called an Apostle, for, after all, he was an unbeliever before the resurrection (John 7:5; cp. Acts 1:14)?
Some may say that James, the half-brother of the Lord, was called an apostle in the same sense as Barnabas was one (cp. Acts 14:14). The problem with this idea is that the word apostle means “one who is sent” by someone or a group of people. Both Barnabas and Paul were sent out by the church of Antioch. Therefore, they were apostles of that church. However, Paul was also an Apostle of the Lord (1Corinthians 1:1; Galatians 1:1). Nevertheless, there is never a mention that James, the half-brother of Jesus, was sent anywhere by anyone or any group of people. Those who hold to the idea that he was an apostle, want to confer an honorary “title” of no real substance upon this James. Nevertheless, if he wasn’t sent out by any person or any group of people, how is he an apostle in the truest sense of the word?
A point to consider might be the fact that at times the term brother was used for someone who occupied a similar office, such as Solomon and the king of Tyer (1Kings 9:13). It is also used of the priests who shared the authority of Joshua the high priest (Ezra 3:1). Moreover, Paul also used the term to describe the office or authority of Sosthenes (1Corinthians 1:1) and that of Timothy (2Corinthians 1:1). Clearly, James was considered the one in authority over the church of the first century AD, for not only did Peter direct his brethren to tell James what had occurred to him (Acts 12:17), but afterwards, he also seemed to submit to the presence of those presumed to be sent by him (Galatians 2:12). Later, James presided over the first Church Council (Acts 15:13), and when Paul made his final journey to Jerusalem, it is termed that he went to James (Acts 21:18). If such things have a logical end, then the phrase James, the Lord’s brother (Galatians 1:19) may refer to the fact that James was in a position of authority under the Lord in a manner in which the rest of the Twelve didn’t share. He governed / oversaw the church in the first century AD until his death in 62-63 AD.
No matter how we read Galatians 1:19, it has an element of ambiguity for us, today, which it didn’t have had in the first century AD. However, it is much easier to believe the James of Galatians 1:19 is James, one of the Twelve, for the simple reason that James, the Lord’s half-brother, was an unbeliever prior to the resurrection (John 7:5), and Jesus told his disciples that they would be his witnesses, precisely because they were with him from the beginning (John 15:27). For this reason alone, James, the half-brother of Jesus, couldn’t possibly be the James of Galatians 1:19, because it is implied in Paul’s epistle that he was accused by certain men who claimed to be from James that Paul was an apostle sent out from the Jerusalem church, and he was misrepresenting them. This accusation implies James was a witness of Jesus’ words and works, which Paul is accused of misrepresenting. This is why Paul cursed them and their deed (cp. Galatians 1:6-9). In this context, therefore, James, the Less and Apostle of Jesus, i.e. one of the Twelve, must have been the writer of the Epistle of James.
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[1] See: Acts 12:17; 15:13; 21:18; (1Corinthians 15:7); Galatians 2:9, 12; – James 1:1; Jude 1:1. It is possible that the 1Corinthians 15:7 reference could refer to any one of the one’s called James.
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