Understanding the Twelve-James the Less
15 Matthew and Thomas; James the son of Alphaeus, and Simon called the Zealot;
Luke 6:15
Throughout this brief study into the twelve disciples, we have been able to pull multiple scripture verses in order to learn about the personalities behind those who followed Jesus the closest. However, the disciple that we are going to discuss today is only mentioned by his name. Today, we are going to discuss James the Less.
In the New Testament, there are several men with the name James. We have already discussed James, the son of Zebedee, and there is also James, the half-brother of Jesus. So what sets James the Less apart from others with his name is actually in how little he is mentioned. There is no mention of James asking Jesus any questions, no mention of him being rebuked at all by Jesus. In fact, the only thing that stands out about James the Less is that he does not stand out. He was a devoted follower of Jesus Christ, and at the end, made it his mission to help share the gospel.
Based on what we have learned about the other disciples and what we don’t hear about James the Less, I believe we can infer a couple of things about him. He was not a hot-head wanting to call down fire like James and John, the Sons of Thunder. He didn’t question Jesus like Peter. He didn’t actively bring individuals to Jesus as Andrew did. James was more or less just there. However, this shows something about his character. James was there soaking in the words of Jesus. There is no mention of him questioning Jesus because James believed Jesus at His word. There is no mention of James bringing individuals to Jesus because, I believe, he wanted to ensure that he understood what Jesus was calling them to do. James was preparing to be sent out to share the gospel and knew that he needed as much information as possible in order to complete his mission.
James has contributed to an eastern expansion of the gospel. James went to Syria where there would have been three audiences for him. The first would be believers who would most likely have welcomed someone who walked with Jesus. Second, Jews who would have denied Jesus being the Son of God. Finally, a wider mixed culture on a trading route. This connection to the trading route connected Jerusalem and Damascus on the west to ancient Iraq on the east. This allowed the gospel to travel even farther into India.
Despite only being mentioned by his name, James had a lasting impact in sharing the gospel. He is a lesson to believers today that while we need to have knowledge of scripture, we cannot keep it to ourselves. I am sure that James had many deeds, questions, or remarks during his time with Jesus, but none of these are recorded. This is because for James, the focus is not on what he did for Christ, but what Christ used him for.
Seek the truth and encourage one another,
Alex