Risen Hope

While Paul is an interesting conversion (see yesterday’s post), James seems to be even more so.

James is believed to the the eldest sibling born to Mary and Joseph after Jesus’ miraculous birth. This makes him the half-brother of Jesus. Think how difficult it would be for you, if you have siblings, to believe that one of them is God incarnate. Something truly significant must have happened to move James from being a skeptic to a believer and leader of the Christian church in Jerusalem to eventual martyrdom.

Enemy Affirmation

Josephus mentions the death of James and the fallout that occurred from it as well. However, there are conflicting stories on the manner in which James died. Hegesippus and Clement of Alexandria (both quoted by Eusebius since their works no longer exist) say that James was thrown from the top of the temple and then beaten to death. Either way, this speaks to his willingness to be a martyr for his belief that his half-brother rose from the dead and the earliest testimony of this comes from Josephus, not a friend of the Christians.

Embarrassing Testimony

The first leader of the Christian church was someone who was a relative and a pronounced skeptic of Jesus. We see in several passages (Mark 3:21, 31; 6:3-4; John 7:5) where James and his other siblings thought Jesus had lost his mind, was out of his senses, and were definitely in disbelief over his claims. Essentially, they thought he was crazy. From a devout Jewish family living in a very small, rural place like Nazareth, they would have been an embarrassment to their local community for the things that Jesus was saying along with the stigma the family would have carried because Jesus did not have an earthly father. All these things would have made it difficult for the brothers, particularly James, to accept Jesus’ claims. But something caused him to embrace his brothers teachings and claims because he became the leader of the Christian church in Jerusalem and a martyr for his belief. That means he was willing to die for believing that his brother was who he claimed to be and for preaching the resurrection.

Early Testimony

We have early testimony from Paul that he met with the leaders in Jerusalem to ensure that what he was preaching among the Gentiles was the Gospel. John, Peter, and James confirmed his message was accurate and they all commended him to continue in his work.

The only reasonable explanation for James leading the church, being a pillar in the Christian community, and dying a martyr’s death is that he actually had an encounter with his risen half-brother at some point. In fact, in the creedal statement of 1 Corinthians 15:3-7, this is precisely what we are told happened – Jesus appeared to James. Seeing your dead sibling return to life and appear to you is fairly significant; significant enough to cause him to go from skeptic to believer and leader.

One of the most fascinating aspects of the resurrection of Jesus is the conversion of the church persecutor Saul of Tarsus (he later changed his name to Paul).

Paul was an up-and-coming Jew in the Pharisaical tradition. He was the brightest student under Gamaliel and was extremely zealous for the Jewish teachings and traditions of his ancestors. Paul was not only head and shoulders above his peers when it came to his training, but he also had the distinct advantage of having dual citizenship being born a Jew as well as being a Roman citizen based on the town that he was born in. Because of this he was able (and adept) at navigating both societies rather well.

So how does a strict, zealous Jew convert to Christianity? Paul was so wed to the Jewish belief system and ideas that he persecuted, imprisoned, and put to death Christians. He found them to be quite heretical and dangerous to the Jewish faith and against the God of Israel and his fathers. Yet, he essentially converts over night.

Multiple, Independent Sources

There are multiple sources that record Paul’s conversion: Luke in Acts, Paul in his own writings in a couple of different letters.

Embarrassing Testimony

Paul, a staunch champion for the Jewish faith not only converts to Christianity, but then goes on to be an Apostle and evangelist to the Gentiles! The one who was doing the greatest harm to the church in the early part of the 1st century AD goes on to be one of the biggest defenders of the Christian way. Further, he does not shy away from talking about his former way of life and using that as a source of teaching.

Eyewitness Testimony

Paul confesses that he encountered the risen Jesus in a glorified state on his way to Damascus in order to harass and imprison Christians who had fled from Jerusalem. This is shortly after he had just been in charge of overseeing the death of the first Christian martyr, Stephen, in Jerusalem.

Early Testimony

Paul’s testimony comes just a couple of decades after the resurrection event and after he had been preaching during the majority of that time. We have this in some of his earliest letters from that time which most likely date from the mid-50s.

So what would cause a vehement, highly educated persecutor like Paul to convert? The only reasonable explanation is that he actually had an encounter with a resurrected and glorified Jesus of Nazareth.