Meet James-Jesus' Little Brother
by John Barnett

My name is James. I am a servant of God and of my big brother while He was on earth - Jesus Christ. I was not always such a follower of Christ. Let me tell you my story . . .

I grew up in a devout Jewish home with three brothers, two sisters and a perfect half brother. I never got along well with my oldest brother. He was kind, humble, generous and hard working. I remember the day when He headed toward the Jordan where our cousin John the Baptist was preaching. After a protest, John yielded to His Master that day and baptized the Christ.

Time flew by, three years or more. I was married, we had our first child. It was in there some time that Jesus had come to speak in His hometown of Nazareth (Luke 4). Everyone loved Him again at first. But that changed. After He read from the Scriptures He began to speak to us as if He had written those words.

It was a few weeks later just before Passover. Mom said she had to go to Jerusalem and we had to hurry because something awful was happening. She said Jesus told her He was going to die.

Well, the rest is unforgettably etched upon my soul. Each step to Jerusalem was filled with sights and sounds of my brother. It all started to fit - Dad's stories to us about angels and wisemen, following a bright star, and shepherds who saw angels. Then the Temple story when Jesus was 12, the Baptism and now mom saying He was going to die, at Passover.

We arrived in time to see it all. He had been horribly beaten, and now staggered through the streets. They used the dreaded death machine on Him. He was crucified, bleeding and gasping for air. I watched it all. It runs together now in my soul.

But, let me finish. I am no longer His little brother. You see, at the Cross I too believed. After He rose the Scriptures record, He appeared to Peter, the Apostles and to James (I Cor. 15). That's me. And now I am James, a servant of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ.

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Saturday, December 01, 2007