Luke makes a clear distinction between the brothers of Jesus and the apostles of Jesus (Acts 1:13-14). Who, then, was the James whom Paul seems to
include among the apostles and identifies as the Lord’s brother (Gal. 1:19)? Before
this question can be answered, at least three more questions need to be
considered: (1) Is adelphos
(“brother”) used here in its literal sense, or is a more general usage
intended? (2) What is meant by the term apostoloi
(“apostles”) in this context? (3) Does ei
mê (“except”) necessarily include James among the apostles?
1.
If adelphos is used here in a
more general sense, it is possible that the Lord’s “cousin” is intended and
thus Paul may be referring to the apostle James, son of Alphaeus (Luke 6:15;
Acts 1:13). The word adelphos,
according to H. K. Moulton, may be used in the broader sense of “near kinsman
or relative” (Analytical Greek Lexicon
Revised 6). There was a Mary (not Jesus’ mother) who was the wife of
Cleopas and mother of James and Jose[s/ph] (Matt. 27:56; John 19:25). If
“Cleopas” is the Graecized form of the name “Alphaeus,” as some suggest, it is
possible that James, son of Mary and Cleopas, is the same as the apostle James,
son of Alphaeus. Furthermore, the wording of John 19:25 may suggest that Mary,
the wife of Cleopas, was the sister of Jesus’ mother, which would then make
Jesus and the apostle James first cousins.
This
view, however, is considerably weakened by the number of unprovable
suppositions upon which it is based, plus other information that argues
strongly against it. First of all, there is no evidence in the New Testament
that the word adelphos (“brother”) is
used in a broad sense to include near relations. Paul was familiar with the
word “cousin” (anepsios), as we see
in Col. 4:10, and could have used that word in Gal. 1:19 if that is what he
intended. While the Hebrew ach
(“brother”) is used loosely in isolated cases to designate male relatives of
various degrees (cf. Gen. 13:8; 14:14; etc.) and is translated into Greek as adelphos, the New Testament usage does
not appear to be as general (cf. BAGD 16). Even in the Old Testament, the
context makes it clear whenever the word “brother” is used in any but its
normal sense, which we do not find in Gal. 1:19. The word adelphos simply means “a brother (whether born of the same two
parents, or only of the same father or the same mother)” (J. H. Thayer, Greek-English Lexicon 10).
Furthermore, the idea that James was the
cousin of Jesus depends on the assumption that three rather than four women are
mentioned in John 19:25. If it is concluded that Mary is the sister of the
Lord’s mother, the problem is the unlikelihood that two sisters would have the
same name! Since Salome was also present on this occasion (Mark 15:40), could
she not be the sister of Jesus’ mother (making the sons of Zebedee [James and
John] the Lord’s cousins)? Another difficulty is the uncertainty that the names
Cleopas and Alphaeus are identical, and even if these appellations are derived
from the same source, there is no evidence that they belonged to the same
person. Finally, if James and his brothers were merely the Lord’s cousins, it
is hard to account for the fact that they were regularly in the company of
Jesus’ mother (Matt. 12:46-47; 13:55; Luke 8:19-20; John 2:12) rather than
their own mother, who was still living at the time (Mark 15:40-41). When Paul
speaks of the Lord’s “brother,” he is apparently referring to James, the
literal half-brother of Jesus.
2. The next question is how the word apostolos (“apostle”) is used by Paul in
Gal. 1:19. If it is used in a generic sense, then it is possible for James to
be called an “apostle” without being included among the twelve. In the New
Testament the word apostolos
generally refers to one who is sent and thus can be used in the sense of a
delegate, envoy, or messenger (BAGD 99). Epaphroditus, having been sent by the
Philippi church, was their apostolos or
“messenger” (Phil. 2:25). Brethren who were sent to distribute relief aid were
called apostoloi (“messengers”) of
the churches (2 Cor. 8:23). Barnabas and Saul are called apostoloi (“apostles”) after being sent out by the church at Antioch
(Acts 13:3; 14:4, 14). Jesus Christ, having been sent by the Father (John
17:3), is described as the apostolos
(“apostle”) and high priest of our confession (Heb. 3:1).
While it is plausible that James is
referred to as an apostolos in the broad
sense, it is not likely. For one thing, James does not appear to have been sent out anywhere, but remained in
Jerusalem (Acts 12:17; 15:13; 21:18; Gal. 1:19; 2:9, 12), although it seems he
did “take along” a believing wife (1 Cor. 9:5) and may have gone out to the
areas surrounding Jerusalem (cf. Acts 8:14, 25; 9:28). But Paul appears to be
consistent with his use of the word apostolos
in his epistle to the Galatians (1:1, 17, 19; 2:8), the most obvious sense of
which is not generic. Therefore apostolos
in this passage evidently means “apostle” in its official, customarily
understood sense.
3. The final consideration is the meaning
of ei mê in Galatians 1:19. The
combination of ei (if) and mê (not) is used in a negative statement
to mean “except” or “but.” In Galatians 1:19 the footnote of the ASV suggests
“but only” as an alternate translation, and Hugo McCord renders this verse: “I
saw no other apostle, but I did see James (the Lord’s brother).” If this is
what Paul had in mind, then James is not included among the apostles and the
problem is solved.
Bear in mind that the easy answers are not
always the right answers, but the integrity of scripture is not impugned when
alleged discrepancies are more carefully investigated. It is reasonably clear that when the accounts of
Paul and Luke are interwoven, the harmony of events may be summarized as
follows. Paul went to Jerusalem about three years after his conversion. He was
briefly introduced to the apostles, but spent most of his time with Peter and
preached to unbelievers in Judea. He did not get to know the other apostles
during this visit, but he did become acquainted with James, the Lord’s brother. Luke and Paul highlight different aspects of the same historical events, but they complement rather than contradict each other.
--Kevin L. Moore
Related articles: Barry Newton's Did Paul Agree with Luke?
Image credit: Franz Mayer’s St.
Luke and St. Paul, <http://www.oakbrookesser.com/images/restoration/trinity/th_lukeandpaul.jpg>.
