Person
James (Brother of Jesus)
A brother of Jesus who, in Acts and Paul's letters, leads the church in Jerusalem. Tradition names him the author of the letter of James.
See Matthew 13:55, Acts 15:13, Galatians 1:19, Galatians 2:9.
Jerusalem marks James (brother of Jesus) in the reading view: he led the believers in Jerusalem, one of the “pillars” Paul met there (Acts 15:13, Galatians 2:9).
Mentioned in 15 verses across 8 books, first in Matthew 13:55. The verses below are the ones linked to this person (the Theographic dataset, with our sourced corrections).
How artists have pictured him
3 works from different centuries and traditions. Each shows how its time and place imagined James (brother of Jesus), not how he looked.
In these stories
In the Bible
The first 10 of 15 verses, in Bible order. Text from the Berean Standard Bible; verse numbers follow the KJV.
Matthew
- Matthew 13:55
“Isn’t this the carpenter’s son? Isn’t His mother’s name Mary, and aren’t His brothers James, Joseph, Simon, and Judas?
- Matthew 27:56
Among them were Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James and Joseph, and the mother of Zebedee’s sons.
Mark
- Mark 6:3
Isn’t this the carpenter, the son of Mary and the brother of James, Joses, Judas, and Simon? Aren’t His sisters here with us as well?” And they took offense at Him.
- Mark 15:40
And there were also women watching from a distance. Among them were Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James the younger and of Joses, and Salome.
- Mark 16:1
When the Sabbath was over, Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James, and Salome bought spices so they could go and anoint the body of Jesus.
Luke
- Luke 24:10
It was Mary Magdalene, Joanna, Mary the mother of James, and the other women with them who told this to the apostles.
Acts
- Acts 12:17
Peter motioned with his hand for silence, and he described how the Lord had brought him out of the prison. “Send word to James and to the brothers,” he said, and he left for another place.
- Acts 15:13
When they had finished speaking, James declared, “Brothers, listen to me!
- Acts 21:18
The next day Paul went in with us to see James, and all the elders were present.
1 Corinthians
- 1 Corinthians 15:7
Then He appeared to James, then to all the apostles.
Events
Events the dataset lists James (Brother of Jesus) as taking part in. Dates follow its Ussher–Jones reckoning (one of several traditional counts), not established history.
- c. AD 40An angel rescues Peter from prison
- c. AD 46Jerusalem Council
- c. AD 46Second Missionary Journey
- c. AD 54Paul visits elders in Jerusalem
Dictionary
From Easton’s Bible Dictionary (1897), as attached to this record by Theographic. The entry is for the name and can describe more than one person who bore it. Easton wrote in 1897, and some of his views are now debated.
Read Easton’s entry
The son of Alphaeus, or Cleopas, “the brother” or near kinsman or cousin of our Lord (Gal. 1:18, 19), called James “the Less,” or “the Little,” probably because he was of low stature. He is mentioned along with the other apostles (Matt. 10:3; Mark 3:18; Luke 6:15). He had a separate interview with our Lord after his resurrection (1 Cor. 15:7), and is mentioned as one of the apostles of the circumcision (Acts 1:13). He appears to have occupied the position of head of the Church at Jerusalem, where he presided at the council held to consider the case of the Gentiles (Acts 12:17; 15:13-29: 21:18-24). This James was the author of the epistle which bears his name.