DAY 131
CHALLENGE
“Peter wasn’t the first pope because James the Just (aka “the Lord’s brother”) was the leader; he was the one who decided the results of the Acts 15 council, referring to ‘my judgment’ (Acts 15:19).”
DEFENSE
Jesus appointed Peter as leader of the Church (Matt. 16:18). Although James did come to have a leadership role, Jesus never made him superior to Peter.
Initially, the brethren of the Lord (see Day 135) did not have leadership roles, as they did not believe in him during his earthly ministry (John 7:5). They only later believed (cf. 1 Cor. 15:7) and became leaders. James eventually became bishop of Jerusalem.
The second-century author Clement of Alexandria records an earlier tradition that James the Just had the office of bishop conferred on him by the apostles: “Peter and James and John after the Ascension of our Saviour, as if also preferred by our Lord, strove not after honor, but chose James the Just bishop of Jerusalem” (Eusebius, Ecclesiastical History 2:1:3). If this tradition is accurate, he likely would have become bishop shortly before James son of Zebedee was executed (Acts 12:2) and Peter fled Jerusalem (Acts 12:17—note the reference to James).
In Acts 15, the question is whether Gentiles must keep the Law of Moses. James does not decide this issue. Peter points out that the decision has already been made by God and announced when God chose Peter to preach the gospel to the Gentiles (Acts 15:7–11; cf. 10:1–11:18).
James appeals to what Peter has recounted (Acts 15:14) and provides scriptural support for it (15:16–18). He then expresses his opinion that the Gentiles should not be required to keep the law (15:19). The Greek word sometimes translated “judgment” in this passage (krinō) means “to hold a view or have an opinion with regard to something—‘to hold a view, to have an opinion, to consider, to regard’” (Johannes Louw and Eugene Nida, Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament, 2nd ed., 31.1). James then proposes pastoral provisions (15:20) to help Jewish and Gentile Christians live harmoniously (15:21).
The fact that he did not decide the results of the council is shown by the letter the council sent, which was addressed in the name of all the apostles and elders and which speaks of the decision being collective, without naming any individuals as the deciders (15:23–29).