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There are at least four men named James that prominently figure in the New Testament and keeping them straight has been hard for many a Bible scholar and the confusion of one with the other can make some commentaries impossible to follow and understand. Let me begin this lesson by ensuring that you know the difference between the four and that you are clear as to which we would desire to approach tonight. Three of the four James were mentioned in our text in Luke and referring to it might help to keep your mind straight. "James" by the way is the Greek form of "Jacob" and as Jacob is such a prominent name in Jewish history it is no wonder that Hebrew parents favored this name for their sons. The four James in the Bible are:

1. James the son of Zebedee. He is the first James mentioned in our text and the brother of John. He is the better known "James" in the twelve and the first of the twelve to die.

2. James the son of Alphaeus. He is the second James that was a part of the twelve disciples and the lesser known. It is he that we will focus on tonight.

3. James the father of Judas. Not Judas Iscariot, but the other Judas that was a member of the twelve disciples. Luke 6:16 is a mistake in the King James Version and instead of reading "Judas the brother of James" it should be "Judas the son of James" which is how it is rendered in virtually every other English translation. We know nothing about this man and his name is given to distinguish the first Judas from the Judas who would betray Jesus.

4. James the half brother of Jesus. He later became the pastor of the church in Jerusalem, but did not believe in Jesus until after Jesus' resurrection. Even though many people have confused this James with James the son of Alphaeus, it is very obvious that #2 above served Jesus before His death and the Bible very clearly states that Jesus' brothers and sisters did not believe until after His resurrection (John 7:5) therefore #2 and #4 James must be different people.

What all of this means is that we know very precious little about James the son of Alpheus who was the "other James" that was a part of the twelve. In speaking to my brother last week, he asked what I had been studying lately and I mentioned that I was in the midst of this series and his response was immediately, "that's neat. Hey, wait a minute, what you are going to preach about that other James?" Most teachers would combine James the Less with several studies on other disciples or skip him altogether, but I think that we have enough information and lessons to be learned from this man that to neglect him would be a travesty. After all, this was a man chosen to be a member of the inner twelve disciples of Christ and whose name is recorded in scripture for us to know. I believe God does nothing by accident and that we know exactly what God wanted us to know about this lesser-known James.

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Before we focus on what we don't know, let me introduce you to this James by pointing out what we do know. He is mentioned by name five times in the New Testament, and four of those are simply in the lists of the twelve disciples. In all four lists, he is always said to be "James the son of Alphaeus." Mark 2:14 records that Matthew was also the “son of Alphaeus” and Matthew and our James are listed side by side in Matthew’s list of the twelve disciples (Matthew 10:3). This means that it is extremely likely that James the son of Alphaeus and Matthew were brothers with Matthew likely the oldest.

The only other scriptural reference to James the son of Alphaeus is in our other text in Mark which spoke of the women who were present at the crucifixion of Jesus, and which I would like to read again:

Here we find some additional information. Besides the mother of Jesus, there were at least three other women at the foot of the cross watching: Mary Magdalene, Salome, and Mary “the mother of James the Less and Joses.” Here we find the name of James’ mother was Mary and that he had a brother named Joseph. But hidden within this verse is a nickname which is the only other additional information that we possess about him and the nickname which we will from this point on call him: James the Less. That is the only other concrete fact about this James that we know: he was commonly known as “James the Less.”

Let me quickly throw out one of those “mysteries” that pop up with in-depth Bible Study and give you a quick “possibility” that’s a lot of fun to think about and that you’ve probably never realized. Leaving your finger marking Mark 15:40 in your Bible, flip over to John 19:25 and lend me your brains. John also records a list of the women standing by the cross and gives us some additional information:

“Clopas” is the Hebrew form of the Greek name “Alphaeus” and so everything checks out so far, Mary, the wife of Alphaeus or “Clopas” and the mother of James the less was standing by the cross. But there’s one more thing: John says that this Mary is the “Lord’s mother’s sister!”

The first thing you must realize is that there are no terms for “brother-in-law” or “sister-in-law” in the Hebrew language. “Mother-in-law,” yes, but not the others, and it is highly unlikely that a family would have two girls and name both of them the same name. It not only isn’t common now; it wasn’t common then. If you have two daughters both named Mary and both who go by Mary, how much confusion would that bring!? And so it very likely that John means that Mary the mother of James the Less was the sister-in-law to Mary the mother of Jesus. If that is true, then James the son of Alphaeus was kin in someway to Jesus Christ. If Matthew is his brother, then Matthew was also, which explains how that Matthew already seemed to have some knowledge of Jesus when he was called from the tax booth.

Even though it seems that this thing has more turns than a redneck family reunion, we are almost at the end so stay with me! If Mary the mother of James the Less and Mary the mother of Jesus were sisters-in-law, then there are two possibilities to make that so. The first is the most likely and the simplest and that is that Joseph and Alphaeus/Cleopas were brothers. If this were so, then James the Less and Jesus would be first cousins. For two brothers to marry two women who had the same first name is not so farfetched. This scenario is the most likely. {The second scenario involves Alphaeus/Cleopas dying and Joseph performing the kinsman redeemer law and is outlined in detail in McClintock and Strong’s Bible Dictionary. I omit it here because it seems to be based upon a confusion of James the brother of Jesus and James the Less}.

So to summarize everything that we know about our James of study is that it is provable that he is not the same as the Lord’s brother James. It is probable that he was the brother of Matthew who was also in the twelve, and it is possible that he was the first cousin of Jesus Christ.

Other than that, all we know about this James is that he was referred to as “James the Less.” Possibly this was a nickname given to him as the youngest son of his father and one that stayed with him so that the disciples could distinguish him from the other, better-known James of the twelve. It is possible that it referred to his height or physical stature. But in all likeliness, it was a reference to his character and personality. I believe that it is no accident that all we know about this James is this nickname and a few family relations. The fact that this is all that God wanted us to know about him, teaches us much about him.

Think about it: there are no recorded spoken words by James the Less throughout the New Testament, and so he obviously was very soft spoken and quiet. And thank goodness, because with the other James and Peter, it was probably hard to get a word in edge wise! He had no desire to be flamboyant and in the limelight and was content to stay behind the scenes. James the Less had no desire for recognition or for a microphone and actually was apparently quite shy. He had no great agenda or drive that drove him to push his will upon others. It’s very obvious that he cared less who got the recognition because he shared the same name with a much better known disciple, was a brother to the disciple who would right one of the Gospels, and was possibly kin to Jesus distantly and yet never raises a fuss about his position in the kingdom of God or lack of recognition. Jesus chose all personality types and all backgrounds for His twelve disciples, and it would have seemed strange indeed to have a bunch of mouths and not have at least one reserved, shy, and quiet personality in the group. James the Less was that shy personality. He provided balance in the group of disciples simply by being there. For those of you who are quiet, reserved, and shy, James the Less is your favorite disciple. He was the person that you did not even notice that was there. Who never did anything outlandish to call attention to himself. He was the person who just blended in the crowd and the group and whom most people today wouldn’t even think to name if they were trying to name the twelve.

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Let me preach to you now from the lessons of James the Less. It is refreshing and needed that there was a disciple who could care less about self-recognition or fame. Peter always had something to say. James and John were jockeying for the top position in the kingdom of heaven. And yet James the Less cared less that he never received any attention and exaltation and was willing to stay faithful to Christ even though to this day, he has not received much reward from men for it.

I read recently that the most frequently used words in the English language when writing is a close tie between “a, and, an, the.” But the most frequently used word in the English language when speaking is by far only one: the word “I.” People naturally use the word “I” more than anything else when they talk!

This startling revelation caused me to do a little research on conversations recorded in scripture. Most of you know that the devil began life as an anointed angel of worship in heaven until pride was found in his heart. Listen to what he said before his fall:

Did you catch the common motif? He said:

I will ascend to heaven. . .

I will raise my throne . . .

I will sit on the mount. . .

I will ascend above the heights . . .

I will make myself like the Most High . . .

“I” will do these thing! Two verses and five times the devil said “I will.” It has been said that the most overlooked sin in the church is that of pride. When we get the attitude that “I want to be exalted” and that “I will figure it out” and “I’ve got it under control,” and “I’m going to make it happen,” and “I desire more recognition and attention,” and “I . ...”, then who are we talking like? As I said this past weekend, we must take care that lest we be delivered from the lifestyle of Satan only to become more like him in our pride! Listen to yourself talk and ask “who do I sound like?” Is your conversation about the Bible peppered with “I think that’s dumb” or “I don’t believe that” or “I’m not going to do . . .” or is it “God said that” and “God wants this” and “God loves me and therefore ...” As one preacher said, sometimes we have “I trouble” which can’t be fixed with glasses!

But compare Lucifer’s use of the word “I” with John the Baptist’s use of the word:

Did you notice the quick change from “I” to “Him?” John quickly got the conversation and the attention and the glory off of himself and onto Jesus. And that is the proper response and the proper usage of the word “I.” If you refer to me, then let’s talk about me just as long it takes to get to the subject of “Him.” “I want you to see Him.” “He is what it’s all about.”

And so from the skimpy records of James the Less springs a mighty lesson about the need for recognition. Not one time is James singled out like Peter was for “you are doing a great job and you’ve got a great revelation.” Not one time was he promised a special anointing above the others, and yet he stayed faithful and followed Christ faithfully and unlike Peter and many of the others, never needed a strong rebuke and yet despite the lack of apparent recognition, he stayed the course happily.

There are some Christians who unless they are constantly patted on the back and complimented and praised and “appreciated” that they will “take their toys and go home.” There have been some that if they finally showed up to do anything around the church, if I didn’t mention it and fawn over them, they would get mad. We should appreciate things and give praise where it is do, but there is also something to be said for those who care less for the recognition and just count it a privilege to be working for the kingdom of God. I remember the first time that I preached somewhere other than my home church and they gave me a check. It freaked me out! Even though I had been raised in a pastor’s home, I just felt like it was an honor for me to preach, and wasn’t even thinking that they would “pay me for it!” Now, my primary income is from the church and has been that way since I was 20 years old, and I understand that the scriptures say “they that preach the Gospel should live of the Gospel” and the “laborer is worthy of his hire.” And we pay preacher well when they come here, and I have been well taken care of when I have preached other places as well and thank God for that. But at the same time, I don’t ever want to get to the place where I feel “great payment is owed to me” for ministering. Or where I feel that unless I get such and such I can’t preach, because I never want to forget that it is a privilege to be called to preach this gospel and it is a privilege to be called to pastor some of God’s people, and that it is a privilege to know truth and be able to teach someone and for God to use me.

There may be times that you get burnt out on the kingdom of God and when those times come, if you will be honest with yourself, what has changed is your mentality and the way of thinking about it. You get burnt out when you begin to think of things as a chore and a “have to” rather than a “get to” and an honor to do so. The Psalmist said:

This verse has often been misquoted and misapplied. The writer was saying, “I would rather stand at the door and not be able to even completely enter into the house of God and yet just see what God was doing, rather than to be able to enter and live in the tents of wickedness.” “A day in Your courts is better than a thousand outside!” Just to be a small part of what God is doing is better to me than to be fully in control and involved in this world! And that is an attitude that we need in the church. That is the attitude of a James the Less: “I careless who gets the recognition and who gets to the offer the big sacrifice, but just as long as I can be here and enjoy the presence of God and serve Him, then I’ll stay at the door, I’ll clean the ashes out, I’ll do whatever just because it is an honor to live for such a great God!” And because James the Less cared less about position, he lived his life in close proximity to Jesus Christ! The scriptures say this:

And Jesus taught this:

Just because we have no scriptural record of the reward that James the Less has received from God means nothing! Because no matter if the other disciples remember it or not. No matter if we know about it or not! Every right and good thing that James did was noticed and recorded by God in heaven, and he will get a righteous reward! But Jesus said that when you draw attention to your good works yourself, then you have just received your reward that you are going to receive: the ability to brag. Hope you enjoyed it because that’s all that will come of it!

And lest I belabor the point, let me also point out that James did not name himself “the less” but rather that was a name pinned on him by others. The scriptures say:

If you pronounce yourself as humble, then you’ve lost it! If you pronounce yourself as meek and you are proud of it, then you aren’t! If you are sincerely meek and humble and careless about recognition, then you won’t have to tell people that! Like James the Less, it will be evident by your simple and quiet faithfulness! We need more disciples like James the Less!

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Now let us change gears and say that just like those of us who tend to be brash, loud, outgoing can learn from James the Less, so can those of us who are more reserved and shy. In fact, to those who are more timid in personality, the life of James the Less should forever burn in your mind as a reminder of what God can do with such a person.

There is a tendency among shy and reserved and quiet people to believe that God cannot use them like He can use a Simon Peter or an Apostle Paul. And yet when choosing the twelve Apostolic leaders of His church, Jesus chose someone with such a quiet personality. Understand that God needs and wants people of all personality types and that just because you are naturally reserved does not mean that the call of God is any less upon your life or future.

The tendency is for shy and more reserved people to hide behind their personality and use it as excuse as to why they can’t be used of God. The fact that James the Less was one of the twelve actually tells us a lot because the twelve received and operated in a special anointing of God. Listen to the scriptures:

All of the twelve preached His Gospel. All of the twelve cast out devils. All of the twelve healed diseases and sickness. All of them. Including a shy, reserved, quite type named James the Less. Listen to this scripture:

Now fast forward to what happened to this group of people:

They were ALL filled with the Holy Spirit and spake in tongues. All! Even a shy, quiet sort named James the Less. They ALL received power from on high to become witnesses (Acts 1:8). All of them.

God needs reserved people and shy and quiet types, but they must take care that they do not let their personality become a crutch to keep them from submitting to the will of God. James was reserved and shy and yet through the help of Jesus Christ, he did not let it stop him from preaching, healing the sick, casting out demons, receiving the Holy Ghost, and witnessing! He was still the reserved type, but the Holy Ghost and power of God gave him the ability to overcome some reservations and be used of God.

I asked Sis. Mia Tannehill if I could use her as an example in this lesson tonight and she gave her permission. Sis. Mia is one of the most humble and nicest people that I have ever met or pastored. When she was in the labor room with Benjamin and was being painfully poked in the spine and given an epidural, she honestly said “oh, thank you Jesus.” She cares nothing for the limelight or attention and likes to be “in the background.” When I met her, she was very shy and reserved. She still is shy in her personality, but in the past few years, there has been a change in her. When Sis. Mia came to this church, she had never offered to pray for anyone, never been actively involved in any ministry that required people contact, and never taught a person a Bible Study or prayed someone through to the Holy Ghost. Her excuse for never doing those things was “I’m shy, and it’s just not me.” And besides that, it was easier to let Bro. Nathan just jump right in there and take charge.

But God begin to deal with Sis. Mia. Long before any of you went to a Women’s Conference, Sis. Mia attended one with Sis. Sibley and in a particular conference a woman was talking about personalities and made the statement to the affect that “some of you women hide behind your personality and keep yourself scared to step out in faith and it’s really your pride that is hindering you.” When that was said, Sis. Mia turned to my wife and said “ouch, that hurt.”

And although she is still shy and demure, there was a gradual change in Sis. Mia. She began to teach Bible Studies. Bro. Keefer interrupted one of them and got the Holy Ghost! One night, the spirit of God hit her and she began to pray under the unction and authority of the Holy Ghost and since that night, she’s never been the same. She is still a shy and a reserved person, but like James the Less, she has chosen to refuse to allow her personality to keep God from moving through her. As a shy person, she finally got the revelation that not only can God use me but He desires to use me!

Moses is one of the meekest and humble men that ever lived. When God spoke to him from the burning bush, Moses’ response was an excuse: “I can’t speak in front of people, and I can’t do that.” “Let’s get my brother who is the outgoing type and let him do the speaking.” And yet in his farewell speech recorded in the book of Deuteronomy, Moses talked for thirty chapters! He remained meek and humble and yet he overcame his fear of allowing God to use him. Like the prophet Samuel and John the Baptist, Moses’ humility combined with him allowing the Spirit of God to use him made him one of the greatest leaders that ever lived. Whereas God had to continually work on Aaron and correct him and reprove him, all God had to do to Moses was get him to believe that God could use him! Whereas Jesus had to constantly reprimand Peter and calm him down and shut him up and redirect him and rebuke him and help him and talk to him, all Jesus had to do was get James the Less convinced that He could use him for the kingdom of God. People who are shy and timid tend to believe a lie from the pits of hell that they are a long way from every being anything of value to the kingdom of God especially in the terms of leadership and being used by the Spirit of God, but really most of people who feel that way are actually a lot closer than those with brash and dominant personalities. For someone like Simon Peter it will take a lot of whittling and training and prayer to get them fit to lead, but for a James the Less who is naturally humble and reserved, God only had to change their mind to believing that He can use them! Shy and non-limelight personalities can be some of the greatest assets to the kingdom of God IF they will be like James the Less and refuse to allow their personalities convince them that God cannot work through them!

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We know very little of what became of James the Less in later life. We know that he was faithful throughout the early years of the Apostolic Church, and although it is never recorded that he spoke out during the book of the Acts of the Apostles, he remained faithful with the twelve, content to be behind the scenes and just be a part of what God was doing.

We do know through maps and certain historical documents that it seems that James the Less ended his life having traveled and preached through what is modern day Britain and Ireland and then Spain and some believe that he was buried in the town in Santiago de Compostella in northwest Spain. Some ancient writers mention that he did a great work in Spain and established churches and placed pastors over them before he died.

Other records say that after working in Spain, that he returned to Jerusalem where he was eventually stoned at the age of ninety-four by the Jewish Leaders. Which is correct, we will not know on this side of eternity, and the man who rendered obscure service throughout his ministry, also died in obscurity. But one thing is certain, there is a God who sees his quiet faithfulness and who will reward him openly one day before all men! Let us be more like this James the Less.