354 The NEW and COMPLETE LIFE of our BLESSED LORD fo called from their being the Eons of Mary, couln-german, or, according to the He- brew idiom, finer to the Virgin Mary : but Eufebius, Epiphanius, and many others tell us, they were the children of Jofeph by a former wife ; and this Teems molt na- tural, and heft agrees with what the cvan- gelift Pays of them, when they enumerate the gonflions of the Jews : Is not this the catfienter's fon? Is not his mother called <1aty ? Andhis brethren, games, and ,7efes, and Simeon, and Judas? And his fi,/lers, are they not all with us ? Whence then has this Haan thefe things ? By which it is plain, that the Jews underffood there perfons not fo be CHRIST'S kinfinen only, but his bre- thren ; the fame carpenter's Tons having the fame relation to him, that Jesus-himfel£ had: indeed they had more, CHRIST be- ing only his reputed, they his natural Eons. Upon this account, the blefled Virgin is fometimes called the mother of James and Joies ; and by this name we frequently find her mentioned by the Evangelios in rela- tingour Lord's crucifixion: and though fhe was only mother-in-law to St. James, yet the evangelifis might chufe to ftyle her fo, becaufe fhe was commonly called his mo- ther after the death of Jofeph : perhaps The herfelf chofe that title, that the Son of God, whom as a virgin the had brought into the world, might be the better con- cealed, and lets expofed to the envious malice of the Jews. To this it may be added, that Jofephus, who was eminently fkilled in matters of genealogy and defcent, exprefsly Pays, that St. James was the bro- ther of Jesus CHRIST. There is indeed one oboe&ion againft this, namely, that he is called thefon of Alpheus : but this may mean no more, than either that Jofeph was called by another name, a thing very com- mon amongothe Jews, or that James himfelf was a difciple of Tonle particular feil or fy- nagogue called Alpheans, there being many fuels teasabout this time amongst the Jews. The facred hioory is filent with regard to rite piaee'of his birth : the Jews, in their mania: 'cal! him ä man of the town of Sechania ; but where that placewas fituated, is uncertain : nor is it known what his par- ticular way or courfe of life was before he was called to the apoftlefhip ; the facred writers having been filent with regard to this particular, mentioningnothing concern- ing himduring the life of our Saviour. St. James was honoured, after the refur- reit.ion, with a particular appearance of our Lord to him, which, though patted over in filence by the evangelios, is record- ed by St. Paul. St. Jerom, from the He- brew gofpel of the Nazarenes, which con- tains feveral particulars omitted by the evangelical hiflorians, gives the following relation of his appearance to our apoftle. St. James had folemnly fworn, that from the time he had drank of the cup at the inflitution of the (upper, he would eat bread no more, till he faw the Lord rifen from the dead ; our Lord, therefore, be- ing returned from the grave, came and appeared to him; and contmanded bread to be fet before him, which he took, bleffed, and brake, and gave to St. James ; faying, " ° Eat thy bread, my brother, for the Sort of man is truly rifen from amongft them that fleep." After the refurre@ion of our Saviour, he was chofen bithop of Jerufalem, being preferred before all the ref( for his near relation to CHRIST ; and for the fame rea- fon, we find Simeon chofen to be his im- mediate fucceffor in that fee, becaufe, after St. James, he was our Lord's next kinfman : a confideration that made Peter and the two tons of Zebedee, though they had been peculiarly honoured by our Saviour, not to contend for this high and honourable Ra- tion, but freely chofe James the Juft, bifhop of Jerufalem. This dignity is indeed faid by force of the ancients to have been con- ferred òn him by CssseisT, who conflituted hitü bifhop at the time ofhis,appearing to him : but it is fafeo to follow the general opinion, that this dignity was conferred upon hire by the apooles s though pofiibly they might receive Tome intimations from our Lord himfeilconcerning it. -St. Paul,
RkJQdWJsaXNoZXIy OTcyMjk=