The Christianity of the Jerusalem Church

According to a recent issue of Biblical Archeology Review (November-December 2002), a startling discovery was recently made in Jerusalem. "Amazing as it may sound," the article begins, "a limestone bone box called an ossuary has surfaced in Israel that may once have contained the bones of James, the brother of Jesus. We know this because an extraordinary inscription incised on one side of the ossuary reads in clear Aramaic letters, 'James, son of Joseph, brother of Jesus.'"

This discovery has set off an interesting debate, not simply about the authenticity of the box and whether or not it really is what many archeologists and scientists think it is, but about the Jerusalem church and the role of James, the brother of Jesus, whom we know directly from Scripture.

An article in U.S. News & World Report, commenting on the discovery, reflects on the role of the Jerusalem church. The article states: "As leader of the mother church in Jerusalem, James was the key proponent of a brand of Christianity that retained strong ties to Judaism. These Jerusalem Christians continued to worship in the temple and carefully observe the law of Moses. Practicing a form of Christianity, says Dr. James Dunn a professor of divinity at the University of Durham England, 'that we today would scarcely recognize.'"

Absolutely! If you look at what passes for Christianity in our society, it would certainly be scarcely recognized by James and the Jerusalem church. In fact, it would scarcely be recognized by Jesus Christ. These historians cited in the article present the idea that James and the Jerusalem church practiced a form of Christianity that certainly relied on and drew on the New Testament, but that we today practice a different form—a form that replaced it.

The Apostle Jude—brother of James and another brother of Jesus—begins his epistle: "The servant of Jesus Christ and brother of James." So, here was another physical brother of Jesus Christ, the brother of James the leader of the Jerusalem church. What did Jude have to say about Christianity? After all, shouldn't he be someone who would know what the Christianity that Jesus Christ taught was all about? Christianity can hardly call itself Christian if it doesn't follow the teachings and the practices of Jesus.

Jude writes in verse 3 of his short epistle: "Beloved, while I was very diligent to write to you concerning our common salvation, I found it necessary to write to you exhorting you to contend earnestly for the faith which was once for all delivered to the saints."

Notice this: Jude said "the faith [the true faith] was once for all delivered the saints." Who delivered it? Jesus Christ did. He gave it to His original disciples—to His Apostles. He sent those Apostles out. Right before His ascension, He told them to go unto all the world, to preach the gospel to everyone—and that He would be with them until the end.

The faith was once for all delivered by Jesus Christ. The faith that James and the Jerusalem church followed was the faith that Jesus Christ delivered.

What about all the alternatives—all those that call themselves Christian? If they are not based on the faith that was once for all delivered, they represent a counterfeit. It is appropriate that attention should be paid to James, and to the Jerusalem church, because they were the original custodians of the faith that Jesus Christ once for all delivered—a faith very different from what passes for Christianity in today's world.

This is John Ogwyn, with commentary for the Living Church of God.