Sermon - St. James the Just 2022 - Matthew 13:54-58

James, Brother of the Lord, Constantinople, 985

Remaining steadfast under trial.

1. Early on James rejected Jesus, then came to faith, eventually became Bishop of Jerusalem, and remained faithful to death.

2. Let us learn from James to repent of our unbelief and remain steadfast when we face trials of various kinds.

“Blessed is the man who remains steadfast under trial, for when he has stood the test he will receive the crown of life, which God has promised to those who love him.” Those words penned by St. James are such an encouragement to remain faithful when we’re frustrated, worn down, and intimidated by this world. In fact, the entire life of St. James is a beautiful illustration of remaining steadfast under trial. Early on James rejected Jesus, then he came to faith, eventually became bishop of Jerusalem, and remained faithful to death. Let us learn from James to repent of our unbelief and remain steadfast when we face trials of various kinds.

St. James is called the brother of the Lord. We see James in our gospel reading, named as a brother of Jesus along with a Joseph, Simon, and Judas, and then sisters. Up until the 20th century, including even in the very early church, all Christians believed that James was technically a step-brother to Jesus. Either  James was a cousin whose parents died and then was taken in by Joseph and Mary, or since Joseph was older he had been previously married and widowed, and James was from that marriage. It’s a rather new and unique thought in the church today that James was born of Mary, and it’s still the minority opinion worldwide. Either way, Jesus and James grew up together as brothers.

As they say, sometimes familiarity breeds contempt, and that was generally true in the case of Jesus’ earthly family. James and the rest of the family, aside from Mary and probably Joseph, didn’t believe in Jesus. In fact early on in Jesus’ ministry, when he was in Nazareth and a great crowd was listening to Him, “when His family heard it, they went out to seize Him, for they were saying, “He is out of His mind.”” At first James thought Jesus was legitimately nuts and there was no way his little brother was the Messiah. James would've been included in what Jesus said about His hometown: “A prophet is not without honor except in his hometown and in his own household.”

It wasn’t until after the resurrection when Jesus appeared to him that James came to faith. When James came to the faith he had a real turnaround! I know the Roman Catholics like to say that Peter was the first pope, but according to the Bible it was James. In time James became the first bishop of Jerusalem. We saw that in our first reading from Acts 15.

A controversy had arisen among Christians about what to do with Gentile converts. Some were forcing them to be circumcised and otherwise live according to the Jewish ways. But after hearing all the arguments, St. James made the final decision which was agreed upon by all the apostles, pastors, and the whole church: “Therefore my judgment is that we should not trouble those of the Gentiles who turn to God, but should write to them to abstain from the things polluted by idols, and from sexual immorality, and from what has been strangled, and from blood.”

In a way what St. James learned from his experiences made him uniquely fit to deal with this particular issue. Earlier in his life he rejected Jesus because he was too close to Him, He was family. Then, the Jews were troubling the Gentiles because they were too different. James however learned humility, and so stopped viewing Jesus just as his annoying crazy little brother, but as the Son of God and the Savior of the world. Likewise, in humility James learned to welcome in the Gentile converts as his brothers and sisters in the faith. “Let the lowly brother boast in his exaltation, and the rich in his humiliation, because like a flower of the grass he will pass away.”

Through the Lord Jesus Christ James became remarkably faithful and merciful and so was given the title of James the Just. Not only was James faithful in life and controversy, but even in death. After St. Paul had been arrested and sent to Rome, the Jews went after James. They took him to the pinnacle of the temple in Jerusalem so that he might deny Jesus in front of everyone, but instead James faithfully confessed Christ so that even more people believed. Angered by this the Jews threw James down from the top of the temple to kill him, but he survived the fall so they started to stone him. But James got to his knees and started praying for their forgiveness, and they stopped stoning him. But then finally a fuller took his club that he used to beat out the dust from clothes, and struck James on the head, and thus was St. James the Just martyred. 

In spite of the trials he faced, James remained faithful unto death because his hope rested in Christ. “Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds, for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness. And let steadfastness have its full effect, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing.” So James, who remained faithful under trial, stood the test, and though he was struck upon the head, he shall receive the promised crown of life upon his resurrected head. Through Christ James was redeemed from death to life eternal and remained faithful through the power of Jesus.

It’s worthwhile for us to spend some time like this reflecting on the lives of the saints and seeing how God worked through them to keep them faithful throughout life. Because if God has kept the saints faithful in the past, then we have encouragement that He will keep us faithful today. One thing we learn from James is humility. James grew up with Jesus in the same house, as a brother, and yet James still didn’t believe in Jesus until the resurrection was preached to him. The same is true for us. Just because we’re raised in Christian households or have a prominent last name, that doesn’t mean we have an automatic entry into heaven. Unless and until the resurrection of Jesus is preached to us and we believe it are we saved. James wasn’t the Bishop of Jerusalem because he was family, but because he was faithful. The same is true for all of us.

Another thing to learn from James is how to remain faithful in the midst of controversy. At the Jerusalem Council, James didn’t just arbitrarily make a decision, but only after he had considered the Word of God did he make a decision on the basis of scripture. James made the final decision, but he wasn’t the final authority, God and His word were the final authority. So when we face all manner of controversies today it’s not about us, it’s not about any one person or group being favored, rather it is about what God’s holy word says about the matter. Our faithfulness is defined by how closely we cling to God and His Word.

One last thing I’ll mention; we especially learn courage from James. James was Jewish, and yet he had to stand up against his own people when they were wrong at the Jerusalem Council and when he was martyred. A great deal of courage is required of us today. In the past it was possible to be a lukewarm Christian in America since the morals of our country largely lined up with Christianity; but it’s not that way anymore. Today we are required to be courageous like St. James, boldly confessing Jesus Christ, even when that makes our lives more challenging. 

St. James remained steadfast under trial because our Lord Jesus remained steadfast under trial and endured the agony of the cross, wearing a crown of thorns, so that we too might receive the crown of life. Dearly beloved, you are blessed when you remain steadfast under trial, because God loves you and has promised you the crown of life. Take comfort to know that even when you’re weak and wavering, like James doubted Jesus earlier in his life, Jesus doesn’t forsake His own. Jesus knew His earthly family would reject Him at first, but He still preached to them. Jesus knows how weak we are, and yet He still preaches to us in order that we may be steadfast, endure the trials of various kinds, and finally receive the crown of life.