My Bro, My God?

1 Corinthians 15:7 (NLT) —7 Then he was seen by James and later by all the apostles.

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A lot of people don't know that Jesus had a half brother. He actually had two half brothers that have contributed to the New Testament, James and Jude. We often hear of Jesus as being referred to as the Son of God, but we don't usually think about his humanity. He had a mom, half brothers and sisters.

During his life his family did not believe in him as the Messiah or Son of God, he was just Jesus the carpenter, and a weirdo at that.

John 7:1–5 (NLT)

¹ After this, Jesus traveled around Galilee. He wanted to stay out of Judea, where the Jewish leaders were plotting his death. ² But soon it was time for the Jewish Festival of Shelters, ³ and Jesus’ brothers said to him, “Leave here and go to Judea, where your followers can see your miracles! ⁴ You can’t become famous if you hide like this! If you can do such wonderful things, show yourself to the world!” ⁵ For even his brothers didn’t believe in him.

Or again,

Mark 3:20–21 (NLT)

²⁰ One time Jesus entered a house, and the crowds began to gather again. Soon he and his disciples couldn’t even find time to eat. ²¹ When his family heard what was happening, they tried to take him away. “He’s out of his mind,” they said.

Now what's interesting is later we have historical evidence to support that James has a change of heart and begins to proclaim Jesus as God! James became a pillar of the early Christian church in Jerusalem, penned the book we know as "James," and accrued such hatred from the Jewish leaders for his teachings that he was stoned to death before the sanhedrin.

The question arrises, what would it take for you to worship your own brother as God? Especially if while he was alive you thought he was a nut-case.

On top of that the Jewish conception of a Messiah was one who would conquer over the foes that were oppressing Israel, even if James thought his brother was the Messiah, his being put to death, naked, shamefully, on a cross like a criminal would have squashed that belief!

James became so convicted of his belief that Jesus was God that he was willing to be stoned to death for that belief. We see people today dying for what they believe in. What we never see is people dying for something that they know to be a lie.

What would it take for you to worship your own brother as God? The answer in James' case is that he saw his brother, risen from the dead, the God-man who had conquered sin and death. That's what it takes to change one's belief so drastically and so irrevocably. 

Jesus is alive, he has risen, his own brothers worship Him as God. Think about that.

John 6:29 (NLT)

²⁹ Jesus told them, “This is the only work God wants from you: Believe in the one he has sent.”