I was asked to respond to this short article which wrestles with the question whether James, the half-brother of Jesus, was an apostle? Key to this question is how one defines who an “apostle” is. Sometimes the word is used of the original 12 including Paul . . . and sometimes is has a broader application. The term “apostle” refers to a messenger or one that is sent, and is often used to describe early Christian figures who spread the teachings of Jesus in addition to the original Twelve Apostles. Barnabas is referred to as an apostle in the New Testament, specifically in Acts 14:14, where he is mentioned alongside Paul. This designation highlights his significant role in the early Christian church as a missionary and spokesman for Jesus Christ.

Clearly, James was at least an apostle in the same sense that Barnabas was. But was he an apostle in the same sense that Peter and John were? I don’t think so. That certainly does not detract from his role and influence in the early church; he was after all the early leader of the Jerusalem church. The author of the article correctly admits that he is “aware of the difficulties in trying to correlate Paul’s schedule in Galatians with the account in Acts.”

There is nothing heretical with this article. The author is struggling with a question that ultimately we do not know the answer to. We cannot be dogmatic either way. In whatever sense James may be considered an apostle, he was tremendously influential in the early church.