Then he appeared to James, then to all the apostles... 1Corinthians15:7
James was one of Jesus' four half-brothers.
Although they grew up with Jesus, they had a hard-time believing in Him.They were antagonistic and even thought that Jesus was out of His mind! In Mark's gospel we read that they came to "take charge" of Him because He seemed to out of control to them.
But there was a Realisation:
Can you imagine watching your half-brother being crucified?
We don't know when the penny dropped for James, but we do know that Jesus appeared to him.
Why should Jesus do that? James had no excuse. He had heard of his brother's miraculous birth, the wise men, the angels, the flight to Egypt, not to mention the presence and example of Jesus in their midst. But sometimes familiarity can breed contempt...
We don't have the details except that Jesus took the time to appear to James. BUT we can see the results:
1. Mary, James and his brothers join the church in Acts 1
2. James becomes the leader of the Jerusalem church.
3. James becomes one of the early martyrs
He had made a terrible mistake, he had been so wrong, but he was so forgiven!
What about us?
Has familiarity led you to minimise the importance of Christ in your heart?
Have you suddenly realised how mistaken you have been?
It's not too late...
Just ask James!
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Theo Groeneveld theo@emmanuel.org.za
You can see past EmmDevs at http://emmdev.blogspot.com/
