By Walter Lofton, General Church Historian.
Historical and Scriptural records show James as being the first official general leader of the entire Church; the office referred to today as the General Overseer. Several references in the book of Acts point to James as having the official oversight of the churches collectively. The New Testament ministry looked to James as one having authority and humbly revered his position of leadership.
When Peter was released from prison by the angel of the Lord, he came to the house of Mary, the mother of John, where a prayer meeting was in progress. He declared unto them how the Lord had brought him out of prison, and he instructed them to, “Go shew these things unto James, and to the brethren.” Then he departed and went into another place (see Acts 12:17). The brethren he referenced were undoubtedly the other apostles while James, the brother of the Lord, was referenced because of his leadership position among them.
It is evident that James moderated the Assembly recorded in Acts chapter fifteen. After a lengthy discussion of the business proceedings, James addressed the meeting. “And after they had held their peace, James answered, saying, Men and brethren, hearken unto me” (Acts 15:13). He concluded by saying: “Wherefore my sentence is, that we trouble not them, which from among the Gentiles are turned to God” (Acts 15:19). He was not being dictatorial but rather was verbalizing the findings of the meeting as an official spokesperson.
The apostle Paul deferred to James on several occasions during the course of his ministry. Consider the following Scriptural references to the exalted position that James held in the administration of the business of the Church. “And the day following Paul went in with us unto James; and all the elders were present” (Acts 21:18). “But other of the apostles saw I none, save James the Lord’s brother” (Gal. 1:19). “And when James, Cephas, and John, who seemed to be pillars, perceived the grace that was given unto me, they gave to me and Barnabas the right hands of fellowship; that we should go unto the heathen, and they unto the circumcision” (Gal. 2:9). Notice in this scripture that James is mentioned first, affording him the position of preeminence among the brethren. It seems that James, Cephas (Peter), and John could have possibly been a committee somewhat like our present-day Administrative Committee, and that Paul and Barnabas were receiving an appointment for a special work. “For before that certain came from James, he did eat with the Gentiles: but when they were come, he withdrew and separated himself, fearing them which were of the circumcision” (Gal. 2:12). Here Paul is speaking of Peter who ate with Gentiles but refused to eat with them when the representatives from James came, evidently to save face with the General Overseer. “James, a servant of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ, to the twelve tribes which are scattered abroad, greeting” (James 1:1). Here James identified himself in humble terms in the introduction of his epistle as a servant rather than as the brother of the Lord.
We have shown, from the Scriptures, the exalted position which James, the Lord’s brother, occupied. Now we will offer some historical proofs from early church historians of that time period. Eusebius, also known as Eusebius Pamphilus, the author of The Ecclesiastical History, declared on at least two separate occasions that James was appointed by the apostles to the position of Bishop of Jerusalem. Quoting from his writings, he said: “James, the brother of the Lord, to whom the episcopal seat at Jerusalem was committed by the apostles.” Eusebius quotes another historian, Hegesippus, as saying of James: “But James the brother of the Lord, who, as there were many of this name, was surnamed the Just by all, from the days of our Lord until now, received the government of the church with the apostles.” The “episcopal seat” and the “government of the church” in the above two quotes represent the authoritative leadership of the one occupying this position. Note: Hegesippus said that James “received the government of the church with the apostles.” This James being referenced was the flesh and blood brother of Christ and not the apostle by this name. The Scriptures state that the prophets and apostles were the foundation of the Church. This James was not an apostle and therefore was not included in the Church’s foundation, although he was considered the chief leader of the Church and was duly respected by them as such.
Eusebius gives a roster of the Bishops of Jerusalem, naming them in the order of their time of service. The first fifteen were called the Bishops of the Circumcision, meaning they were Jewish Bishops. Their names, in order of the time of their service to the Church, are as follows (quoting from Eusebius): “James called the brother of our Lord; after whom, the second was Simeon [the son of Cleopas, spelled Symeon in another place], the third Justus, the fourth Zaccheus, the fifth Tobias, the sixth Benjamin, the seventh John, the eighth Matthew [spelled Matthias in another place], the ninth Philip, the tenth Seneca, the eleventh Justus, the twelfth Levi, the thirteenth Ephres, the fourteenth Joseph, and finally, the fifteenth Judas.” The tenure of service of James and his successor, Simeon, was quite lengthy after which the tenure of the other Bishops came in rapid succession. Even though many of these names are the same as the apostles and early ministers of the Church, the time factor indicates that they were other men with the same names, as this was very common in those days. After these, he lists the succeeding Gentile bishops. The first that was named was Marcus. It is also interesting to note that the first General Overseer of these last days, A. J. Tomlinson, often referred to James as the first General Overseer of the Church.
They were generally referred to as the Bishops of Jerusalem but were sometimes referred to as the Presbyters of Jerusalem, distinguishing them from other bishops by the designation of “Jerusalem.” The seat of government in the Church was centered at Jerusalem, where many of the apostles resided. This line of Bishops were not merely pastors of the local church at Jerusalem, as may be presumed, but rather held the reigns of leadership of the universal Church in their hands. Many, in fact most of these, lived in the post-apostolic era. The term “bishop” means overseer. Therefore, the “Bishop of Jerusalem” would indicate the overseer of the government of the Church. Jerusalem was often seen by early historians as being the mother church, indicating that all local churches of that time period could trace their roots either directly or indirectly back to this very first church congregation, having been established by apostles from Jerusalem or ministers converted under their ministry.
The historian Hegesippus gives some interesting information concerning James: “He was in the habit of entering the temple alone, and was often found upon bended knees, and interceding for the forgiveness of the people; so that his knees became as hard as camel’s, in consequence of his habitual supplication and kneeling before God. And indeed, on account of his exceeding great piety, he was called the Just.”
Some historians place the time of the beginning of James’ ministry at ten years after Pentecost, others say it was twelve years. The date of his death is uncertain as well. Some historians cite it at 62 or 68 a.d. while some say it was 70 a.d. The manner of his death was that of a martyr. According to the historian Eusebius, the Jews tried to persuade him to discourage others from following Jesus. He was taken up to a wing of the Temple so all could see and hear. He answered them with a loud voice saying, “Why do ye ask me respecting Jesus the Son of Man? He is now sitting in the heavens, on the right hand of great Power, and is about to come on the clouds of heaven.” When the Scribes and Pharisees heard this, they cast him down from the wing of the Temple in their fury. He did not die immediately, and they commenced beating him with clubs. As he was dying, he prayed in the same spirit of Christ and Stephen, the first martyr before him, “I entreat thee, O Lord God and Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do.”
Eusebius describes this action as being the fulfillment of Isaiah, chapter three. Referencing the Scripture, he says: “Let us take away the just, because he is offensive to us; wherefore they shall eat the fruit of their doings.” (This writer has never seen nor heard of this quote or anything else in this portion of Scripture as being related to James. The reader can draw his own conclusion concerning this. Although other scriptures do reference individuals in the fulfilling of prophecy. See Jeremiah 30:21 as an example often related to former Overseer, A. J. Tomlinson when God gave him a divine revelation of the Church on June 13, 1903, atop Burger Mountain in North Carolina. It is not uncommon for future events to be foretold in Scripture when, at the appointed time, key individuals can be seen at the forefront of their actual fulfillment).
Early historians attribute the martyrdom of James as being the direct cause of the siege and destruction of Jerusalem in 70 a.d., as happening to them because of their crimes against him. The opinion of historian Josephus is stated as follows: “These things happened to the Jews to avenge James the Just, who was the brother of him that is called Christ, and whom the Jews had slain, notwithstanding his pre-eminent justice.”
According to Hegesippus, James’ successor was Simeon, the son of Cleopas, who was a brother to Joseph, the husband of the virgin Mary. Another historian concludes that Cleopas, most likely, was a brother-in-law. Strange as it may seem, Mary, the mother of Christ, also had a sister named Mary, who was the wife of Cleopas. This would make Simeon related to Christ as a cousin.