The Author.
- Christine DiGiacomo
- May 14
- 5 min read
We left them in Jerusalem . . . wondering what was to happen next. The disciples and the other faithful followers, some who had seen Jesus die on the cross, were still in awe that he did what he said he would: he came back to life. Death could not hold the Son of God. And while we do not know what happened to Jesus' baby clothes--his swaddling cloths, we do know that he left his grave 'clothes' neatly folded where he had lain. Named the 'Shroud of Turin,' the evidence speaks for itself.1
After Jesus walked out of the tomb, he came to them, he had dinner with them, showed them that he was indeed alive again. And then 40 days later - actually, today is 40 days since we marked Jesus' resurrection(!), he led his followers to the Eastern side of the Mt. of Olives. Luke records, "When he had led them out to the vicinity of Bethany, he lifted up his hands and blessed them."2 And then, Jesus ascended into Heaven before their very eyes, and a cloud hid him from their sight.3
But as for those 40 days, the gospels record several encounters, but there is so much not recorded. Like, when did it dawn on Jesus' siblings that he really was the Messiah? Remember, Mary and his half-brothers had gone looking for him to bring him home, (recorded in three of the gospels4), with Mark telling us they were sure 'he was out of his mind'.5 hmmm...
And then one of those brothers picked up his pen and began to write a letter-- to encourage Jewish Christians to grow and mature in their faith [remember that all of the first Christ followers were Jewish]; he wanted them to be consistent in their daily lives--their conduct matching what they profess.
Why? Why did James write?
First, there was a big need for encouragement as the Jewish leaders and Rome had turned up the heat on the converts, threatened by the Christian movement that was picking up steam as their numbers multiplied. Just before Jesus went up into the clouds,6 he told them to go back to Jerusalem (a short distance, just across the Kidron Valley, by the way), and wait for the promised gift of the Holy Spirit.
Besides the 11 disciples staying together, devoted in prayer, Luke records that women, including "Mary the mother of Jesus, and his brothers" were there.7
As promised, 10 days later, on Pentecost, the Holy Spirit came . . . listen to me here:
the coming of the Holy Spirit changed everything for the Jesus follower, from that historic day to this very day.
And then this: Peter, inspired and empowered by the Holy Spirit, and flanked by the eleven, addressed the crowd8 - with such impact that 3,000 people said 'yes, I believe in Jesus, Peter; I believe that He could only be the Son of God!' And the first house church movement began9, which threatened the Jewish leaders in Jerusalem. The heavy hand of Rome also squeezed the young converts in its mighty grip, and in the face of all of the persecution, Jewish Christians began to flee the city.
In the group of the Jerusalem devoted was Jesus' mother and brothers, praying along with the others. Wait, the same mother and brothers who had come to collect him because he was out of his mind? What happened?
The one event that changed history forever: the resurrection of Jesus Christ.
If true, the Resurrection of Jesus Christ is the single most important event in history.
Here's some evidence for it:
1.The tomb of Jesus Christ was empty, and the location on that tomb was never in question.
2.More than 500 people saw Jesus alive, in indoor and outdoor settings; they even ate with him.
3.His disciples did what Jesus told them to do--they shared their eye witness testimonies, told what they had watched him do and heard him say; they described when they were with Jesus at his arrest in the Garden of Gethsemane, and his death on the cross
4.Even when threatened with death, those men would not deny what they saw and experienced of Jesus Christ; of Jesus' disciples, all but John were martyred because they would not denounce him. People do not die for what they know is a lie.
5.The disciples were courageously emboldened after the resurrection--consider the 3000 people who could have easily shouted Peter down if the resurrection had not taken place; no, it was common knowledge around Jerusalem--the rabbi Jesus was crucified but he was resurrected on the third day as he had said he would be.
6.One last example--James, the half-brother of Jesus, did not believe Jesus was the Messiah until he saw Jesus after he defeated death. He could not discount him any longer. When writing, James then referred to himself as a 'servant of the Lord Jesus Christ' in James 1.1, then he became the first leader in the Jerusalem church.
Seeing a resurrected Jesus Christ was all the evidence James needed to believe in him, and then write to encourage other believers to stay strong and live authentically according to their convictions. I guess it is when we say one thing and do another that people notice; they call us hypocrites, and probably rightfully so. If in 'the Church,' they leave.
Enter Nick - you know the one who came to fame singing with his brothers - the Jonas Brothers? Did you know their father was a minister of a New Jersey church, forced to resign when his young sons made a secular album? The family went into a financial tailspin, with a 12-year-old Nick saying to himself, 'this is Church? This is the family of God?' And. he. walked. away.
But then, Nick heard about a song-writing camp that Brandon Lake held at the end of last year and asked to attend. While there, Lake and Jonas wrote a song "The Author", both of them being sons of preachers. If you clicked on the link in the last Morning Briefing of the Charleston concert on May 1, you saw them sing it live--the day it was released. The song preaches, it teaches; it speaks of our purpose:
I'm ink in the pen in the hands of The Author
It has been said that all of Scripture does one of two things:
--shows us the way to God or
--how to walk with God.10
And now, our author, James, who had been a skeptic for sure, when confronted with hard evidence of a resurrected Jesus Christ, could with integrity do only one thing:
believe in him. He writes to tell us how to walk with God.
What else could I play, but The Author?
Just a pen,
Christine
James, no. 1
1 - New Evidence Revealed: what no one ever told you about the Shroud of Turin, Jeremiah Johnston, Frank Turek, Cross-Examined podcast: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rVNc9Dlnj2A
2 - Luke 24.50
3 - Acts 1.9
4 - Matthew 12:46–50, Mark 3:31–35, Luke 8:19–21
5 - Mark 3.21
7 - Acts 1.14
8 - Acts 2.14-41
9 - Acts 2.42-47
10 - Chuck Swindoll
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