The Lost History of James Brother of Jesus

In this week’s show we are honored to have back on the program Dr. Bejarano Gutierrez, a graduate from Siegal College and Spertus Institute of Jewish Learning and Leadership. Our topic is Reclaiming St. James: A Jewish perspective on Jacob brother of Jesus. In the past three decades many books have been written about this enigmatic figure and we are still at a loss to understand a complete picture of his person. There is even less historical data on James that there is on Jesus; however he is a crucial character in the saga of Jewish Christianity, early Christian tradition and the bridge between the many Second Temple Judaisms and Rabbinic Judaism as it is known today. According to the Jewish historian Josephus, who joined the ranks of the Roman Empire after leading charge against them in the first century: “And so he convened the judges of the Sanhedrin, and brought before them the brother of Jesus, the one called Christ, whose name was James, and certain others, and accusing them of having transgressed the law delivered them up to be stoned. Those of the inhabits of the city who were considered the most fair-minded and who were strict in observance of the law were offended at this…” Antiquities 20. 9.1 199-203 Another enigmatic figure we discussed is John The Immerser or as he is known in the West as John the baptizer. We explore if he was influenced by the Essenes, as many people claim and how the information available about him can help us learn more about the person of James.