James

Who is "James" (Acts 15:13)?
This James obviously wasn't John's brother who was killed by Agrippa (see Acts 12). The James named above is one of the four sons whom Mary bore to Joseph after she bore Jesus (see Jesus' brothers).

Then was this James the brother of Jesus?
Since Joseph is not the father of Jesus, this James was the biological half-brother of Jesus.

What did James think of Jesus?
Initially, James and the rest of his siblings - "His own people" - thought Jesus was crazy: Then the multitude came together again, so that they could not so much as eat bread. But when His own people heard about this, they went out to lay hold of Him, for they said, “He is out of His mind" (Mark 3:20-21).

Then why would the "brethren listen" (Acts 15:13) to James?
James had become a believer and then a leader of the church in Jerusalem.

What changed James from an unbeliever to a believer?
Seeing the resurrected Jesus: "For I delivered to you first of all that which I also received: that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, and that He was buried, and that He rose again the third day according to the Scriptures, and that He was seen by Cephas, then by the twelve. After that He was seen by over five hundred brethren at once, of whom the greater part remain to the present, but some have fallen asleep. After that He was seen by James, then by all the apostles" (1 Corinthians 15:3-7).

Why was Jesus' resurrection so pivotal to James coming to faith?
Jesus said He is God who came to die to pay the death penalty due for our sins and will rise from the dead to prove His words. Despite all of Jesus' wonderful words, actions, and miracles, if He had stayed dead after dying on the cross, He would have been a liar and history wouldn't remember Him. It is because Jesus rose from the dead as He said He would, that everything else He said before dying, including His deity, is also validated.

What year were you born?
 

Do you believe the year of your birth references the birth of a liar or the arrival on earth of God who rose from the dead?