James (Minor)

James, the son of Alphaeus is one of the least known of the twelve apostles. H.S. Vigevno calls him “the unknown apostle.” Apart from the lists of the twelve apostles, he appears nowhere else in the New Testament. So, in order to know about him, we have to turn to extra biblical sources. In doing so, we run into a problem. Since there are numerous references to James son of Zebedee, James the brother of Jesus, James the Less, and James the More. We don’t know for sure where he went after Jesus’ ascension, but we can be confident that he went somewhere to spread the gospel.

Jerome (345-420 AD) says James was Jesus’ brother, a leader of the church in Jerusalem, and author of the book of James in the Bible. Tradition has James establishing Christianity in Spain, and he has become the patron saint of Spain. Nicitas (324-337 AD) tracks his travels through Elevtheropolis, Gaza, Tyre, and multiple smaller towns. And. Nikephoros (802-811 AD) suggests he wound up in Egypt in the city of Ostrakine.

There are equally several accounts of his death. Hippolytus (170-235 AD) says in Hippolytus on the Twelve, “And James the son of Alphaeus, when preaching in Jerusalem, was stoned to death by the Jews, and was buried beside the temple.” Two other traditions say he was crucified, places his journeys and crucifixion in Persia, and reports that James preached from the cross. The final story worth mentioning states that he was pushed from the pinnacle of a temple and then beaten with a fuller’s club.

Although it is difficult to know exactly what James’ life and death were like, The Center for Online Evangelism comments, “But even though we don’t hear much about who James was or what he did, that doesn’t mean he didn’t do amazing things for Christ. After all, each disciple was chosen specifically by Jesus. James, the son of Alphaeus, was selected by the Son of God to learn from Him, minister with Him, and represent Him to the world.”