Both James and Jude are brothers of Yeshua, and each calls himself “slave of Yeshua” but the content of their letters leaves no doubt about what is important to the siblings of the Saviour of the world. Why Jude calls himself James’ brother but says nothing about being Jesus’ brother is the kind of textual evidence that can be picked up by those who understand the value of diversity apart from the crass interests of marketing the gospel like partisan politics. The line between these two brothers is thick and says to this observer, Jude wants it to be known that he and James, a person whose attempt to contribute to the Way carves a telling portrait of what can happen even when people are exposed to divine presence all their lives,
Mary and Joseph pointed these two boys in the same direction and Mary was present in the last three years of Yeshua’s life, rught down to the passion. Heavenly intelligence alone can tell us why James ended up in the chair of the Jerusalem church and Jude is only mentioned when the whole family is mentioned. For example when the family comes looking for Yeshua, he tells the crowd that his family are those who do God’s will. The other instance of family mention is when the brothers (perhaps both brothers and sisters) taunt Yeshua about going to Judea (John 7:-3) particularly at a time when Yeshua was avoiding Judea due to persistent assassination plots by the Jews (at least we can distinguish Roman intentions from the Jewish ones). At one point the only person in that household who believed in Messiah’s mission might have been his mother. It is possible that Joseph believed, but the gospels are silent. John telss us that “Not even his brothers believed in him” (John 7:5).
The undeniable divide
From the days when sibling rivalry may have dominated their relationships the boys had their death wish and not one of them was reported to have witnessed the crucifixion up front as did other family members, mother Mary, and aunt Mary,
“Therefore the soldiers did these things. But standing by the cross of Jesus were His mother, and His mother’s sister, Mary the wife of Clopas, and Mary Magdalene.”
John 19:25, NASB
Yakov and Yehuda make their mark
One cannot miss James’ focus: to him Jesus is the Lord og glory. That is so nebulous one has to invent the link ot James’crucified and risen brother. James elevates the law and Abraham, he twists the facts about Abraham’s justification, denying the gift of God. In James’book, grace is a thing that God adds to people who are humble. James did not forget that Christ died to save humanuty from their sins, and gave the Holy Spirit to his followers. We can suggest that James is pure weed among the wheat, especially for his persistent attempts to subject Gentile believers to the law of Moses and meaningless practices. James’misguided leadership goes from demanding Gentiles be circumcised and be required to observe the law of Moses to requiring Gentiles to follow regukations of ritual cleanness and incestuous pracrtices, since murder was a recognized vice everywhere, and prostitution – porneia, is a known drain on family life.
“that you abstain from things sacrificed to idols and from blood and from things strangled and from fornication; if you keep yourselves free from such things, you will do well. .”
Acts 15:29,a NASB
Jude’s focus is messianic all the way. If you miss is, you are deliberately blind. Jude begins with his diligence to write to huis audience about the common salvation, and the faith once-for-all delivered to the saints. He certainly takes aim at James, who would have intimat knowledge of Jesus, and especially his miracles, when he talks about “… men [who] revile the things which they do not understand” and men who are destroyed by the things which they know by instinct like unreasoning animals (Jude 10, NASB). For Jude, faith is the most precious thing, not the so-called law of liberty or the royal (kingdom) law, both of whuch are undoubtedly James’ terms for the Mosaic legacy.
There is no doubt that James, clearly in league with the Pharisees, is like Ezra, a man who did not see the writing on the wall. James was a man who kept Moses as God’s spokesman even when he had the evidence, up close, from childhood, of who Yeshua wa, and was familiar with Jewish attempts to extinguish the Messianic light. The difference betwen Yakov and Yehuda is a light from the Messianic lighthouse warning us about the reefs we need to avoid.
“These are the men who are hidden reefs in your love feasts when they feast with you without fear, caring for themselves; clouds without water, carried along by winds; autumn trees without fruit, doubly dead, uprooted;”
Jude 12, NASB
Life is Fun, But Not a Joke 