James, Brother of Jesus, and the Jerusalem Church

James, Brother of Jesus, and the Jerusalem Church opens fresh ground in our understanding of Christian origins through an exploration of the role of James in the founding of the church. Based on the author's doctoral research, that first Christian church, with its roots in the Baptist movement, is shown to be part of the broad contemporary Judaic movement for the restoration of Israel. The events surrounding the death of Jesus (their leader's brother) both confirmed their commitment to Judaic reform and transformed their understanding of it. Despite the impact of that experience, they seem to have had neither knowledge nor interest in the teaching and ministry of Jesus in Galilee.
Set in the world of James, this careful study of the difficulties and opportunities facing Judaic peasants in first-century Palestine proposes that James and his other brothers moved to Jerusalem (where work was available) several years before the final visit of Jesus and, under James's leadership, became the kernel of a growing group of followers of the Baptist that would later emerge onto the page of history as the Jerusalem Church.


""Alan Saxby's well-written and challenging book brings the focus to James and his community as a phenomenon of Second Temple Judaism. He argues that James was an older brother of Jesus who, independently of Jesus, was influenced by John the Baptist and formed a community in Jerusalem prior to the crucifixion. From this perspective he discusses James's relation to Peter, Paul, and the Gentile mission.""
--John Painter, Professor of Theology, St. Mark's National Theological Center, Charles Sturt University, Canberra, Australia

""In his vigorous and lucid analysis, Alan Saxby presents the group around James as a true 'community,' with all the values that implies, suggesting that James's position of leadership may have predated Jesus's execution. Broad in its address of scholarship, this act of sociological reflection is bound to influence the increasingly refined inquiry that James, the brother of Jesus, has attracted in recent decades.""
--Bruce Chilton, Bernard Iddings Bell Professor of Religion, Bard College, Annandale, NY


Alan Saxby is a retired Methodist minister, Counselor in Further Education, and Outdoor Pursuits Tutor. He earned his first degree in theology at Bristol University in 1964. Following retirement, he took the opportunity to conduct serious research in Christian origins, leading Sheffield University to award him a doctorate in 2013 for his thesis on James. Now in his late seventies, this is his first book.