From what I can tell, there are 4 men named James in the New Testament:
1) Judas’ [a.k.a. Thaddeus’] father (Luke 6:16)
2)The son of Alphaeus (Matthew 10:3)
3) The apostle, brother of John / a ‘son of thunder’ (Matthew 4:21)
4)The brother of Jesus (Matthew 13:55)
Thaddeus’ father and the son of Alphaeus are obscure figures, who never seem to come up again in biblical or secular history. This makes them very unlikely to be authors of the book of James. James, one of the sons of thunder is recorded as being killed in Acts 12:1-2. This eliminates him from being the James at the Jerusalem council in Acts 15. Also, his death is around 44 CE (AD), which is too early to have been the author of the book of James, which seems to take place after Acts 12 since churches have already been established after the dispersion that only began in Acts 8. By process of elimination, this makes James, the brother of Jesus, the most likely candidate to be the James in Acts 15, as well as the author of the Biblical book of James.
Jude 1 references being brothers with James, making this Jude likely a form of ‘Judas.’ We know from the Matthew 13 passage that James and Judas were brothers of Jesus. Secular historians, Eusebius and Hegesippus, depict James–the brother of Jesus–as having been an avid believer who Christians of the time called “Righteous James.” These secular authors said James had “camel-knees” because of how long and how often he prayed. Now, we know from John 7:5 that the brothers of Jesus were unbelievers as of the time Jesus was on the Earth; but, it seems from all accounts that at least James and Jude became believers after his death.
James, the brother of Jesus, was also often among the apostles (Acts 12:17; Gal. 1:19 ; Gal. 2). This James is said by secular history to have been martyred in 62 or 63 CE. I am very comfortable, therefore, asserting that James, the brother of Jesus is the author of our biblical book.
Is this the James to whom Jesus appears after his resurrection (1 Cor. 15:7)? He is listed as separate from the apostles, and this is the James Paul has referred to multiple times in other letters, so it seems likely. Jesus’ appearance to his brother would be a strong factor for a disbelieving brother to turn around and become such an avid “camel-kneed” believer.
Having been an unbeliever, it is interested to note that doubt is one of the first issues James addresses in his letter (Jas. 1:2-8). The family of Jesus certainly endured trials and the testing of their faith among doubts about the man they grew up with.
Furthermore, what of his admonishments concerning those rich with earthly wealth (Jas. 1:9-11)? James had watched his brother, Jesus, walk away from pursuing their father’s work in carpentry, or any other secular work, to wander around the land–broke and homeless. Perhaps James had thought less of Jesus for a time for not pursuing earthly wealth; especially considering that, by Jewish culture, it would have been Jesus’ responsibility as the eldest son to be able to care for their mother who, at some unknown time, had likely become a widow considering we never hear about Joseph again after the temple incident in Luke 2:41ff. At some point, James seems to have realized that a man’s character means so much more than his earthly goods.
Is James’ focus in chapter 3 on the tongue because of the gossip, rumors, and riot inciters who led to the killing of his brother–Jesus–an innocent man? There is, perhaps, a condemnation against those who believed in Jesus but stood by and did nothing when He was crucified because even the demons believe (Jas. 2:19)! And he may have felt that condemnation himself since he, too, did nothing when His brother was killed.
Being a man so well-known for his prayer-life that he had the hard knees of a camel, it makes perfect sense for him to include an emphasis on prayer, as in James 5:13-18. Now, like fortune telling, I’m sure there is a small amount of skepticism that anyone can fit anything into a pre-decided mold; however, with the plausible elimination of obscurity and early martyrdom, the events in the brother of Jesus’ life make a strong argument for him as the author of the canonical book of James.
Sometimes, I don’t think we are amazed enough by the fact that we have the written word of Jesus’ brothers (James and Jude) and his closest friends (the apostles). Let the power of God to preserve his Word for us never be in doubt.
Tricia Reno