?
Who is the author of the New Testament Book of James?
And is this the same James who is the brother of Jesus?
There are quite a few James' mentioned in the New Testament. And this has caused some confusion among readers of the Bible.
Who are some of these James?
Well, Jesus had several brothers, one of whom was named James.
Also, two of Jesus' original 12 Apostles were named James. One was James, the brother of John, the other was James, the Son of Alphaeus.
And, in Galatians 1:19, Paul spoke of a James, an Apostle, whom he stated was the Lord's brother.
So what does all this mean? Was James, the brother of Jesus one of the Original 12 Apostles? Or, did he become an apostle later? And, if so when? And did Jesus' brother, James, write the NT Book of James?
Well, to answer those questions:
First of all, YES, Jesus did have a brother named James.
But, this brother was NOT one of the original 12 Apostles. So, James, the brother of Jesus (and Jesus had several brothers) was NOT one of the original 12 apostles. So he is NOT James, the brother of John, and he is NOT James, the son of ALphaeus.
In fact, James, (the son of Mary and Joseph and, therefore, the half brother of Jesus), was at first a skeptic and did not believe that Jesus was God until AFTER Jesus' death and resurrection. But, then he did believe that Jesus was really God and he became a "believer," a Christian.
Therefore, the James mentioned by Paul in Galatians 1:19 is, indeed, the Lord's brother and he was, indeed, an Apostle. But, he did not become an apostle until AFTER Jesus' death, burial, and resurrection from the dead.
James, the brother of Jesus, not only became a "believer" in Jesus, but he also became the "pastor" of the Church in Jerusalem and was an important and highly respected "leader" among Christians (Believers) in his day.
And, YES, while serving as Pastor and "leader" of the Church, one of the many things that James, the brother of Jesus, did was to write the New Testament Book (Letter) of James, the book which bears his name today.
Don't let the fact that there are several different James' mentioned in the New Testament confuse you. James was a very common name in those days, just as "Tom, Dick, James, and Harry" are today.
So the bottom line is: Yes, there are several different James' in the New Testament, ONE of whom WAS the brother of the Lord, an Apostle, the Pastor of the Church in Jerusalem, and the author of the book of James.
.
.
.
.