#224 - James: The Tempest

“It is sad to hear that Paul was apprehended in the temple by a mob”, James said to his young friend Nathan as they walked the dusty road to Jericho. He continued:

“It was just last week I met him with the other elders. We expressed gratitude for all that the LORD had done through his hand among the Gentiles. We didn’t fail to give him advice on how to conduct himself among the Jews, a piece of advice which he kept to. Yet, he found himself in the hands of the mob (Acts 21:17-30). Ever since the LORD appointed him as an apostle to the Gentiles, he has faced trouble at the hands of the Jews. It is such a marvel how God could draw a man who was a threat to my own life and turn him over to himself in such a way that he willingly suffers and lays his life down for him. It is such a display of grace that can be found nowhere else.

My own story is a bit similar, though not as spectacular. Being a half-brother of the LORD was an experience that had its mark on me.

Rumour had it that Mary took in before getting married and Joseph had to act fast to cover their shame. The census declared by Caesar Augustus was the narrow escape that took them away from Nazareth. They came back only after the dust had settled, but the women of the town didn’t forget. Mary never consented to the rumour; she kept on putting up this story that didn’t make much sense. She said she conceived by the power of the Holy Spirit. Never on earth had it happened. Getting to know the story as I grew up was a bit funny, but with time it died down. Life has a way of covering the past. It was fascinating that with everything Mary said about Him, Jesus was very ordinary. Being the first child, He had to take after my dad in things like carpentry. He had to show an example for the rest of us to follow. He lived like a young Israelite and went to the synagogue just as I did. He learnt the Torah and graduated like I did. Yet, some things were striking about Him. He handled the scriptures as if He was there when they were written and spoke them as if they were His words. There was this peace that we, His siblings felt whenever we were with Him. Of course, my sisters preferred His company when they were younger. They became older and found their ways. He never picked a fight, nor did He join any. He was such a loving brother, but His ways were just strange. We were all human and I began to wonder what point He was proving.

I remember the hilarious thing He did when He was just twelve. He hid among the teachers in the temple at Jerusalem. Of course, my parents went into a frenzy when they discovered He was not with the other children. When He was found He still did something strange: He spoke about His Father’s house while Joseph was standing before Him. 

He turned thirty and things took a real turn. He began to speak of the work of His Father. I didn’t know anything Joseph did apart from carpentry and maybe going to the synagogue occasionally, so I wondered what He meant. It was strange. Before long, He set out for the river Jordan where my cousin John preached baptism for repentance from sins. John was another strange person who spent a good time in the wilderness. His parents might have been too old or too strong in faith that they didn’t worry. After being baptized by John, Jesus disappeared. Even John could not tell where exactly He went. That was how my siblings, and I went on a search for Jesus. At 12, He disappeared into the temple and said it was His Father’s house. This time around, we couldn’t tell where He went. After a long search, we gave up hoping He didn’t get Himself into the hands of bandits. After all, He was old enough and could take responsibility for Himself.

It was more than a month later He returned. However, something changed about Him, His attention was no more concentrated at home. He seemed to be a man of the outdoors who was ready to explore. He still loved us, but His attention was shared. He didn’t look like He was ready to take over the business that He diligently learnt under Joseph. It looked like a huge loss. In addition, He began to come home with some uneducated Galileans, some of whom had spent their lives casting nets in the sea. All they spoke about was the kingdom of God. It was irritating. Jesus was trained in the Torah, and He didn’t seem to have the readiness to stick with it as the teachers taught it. He was always bringing this perspective to it that I didn’t know where He got from. He did something strange on one of the Sabbath days when He was home. After reading a portion of the prophecy of Isaiah in the synagogue, the eyes of every one were fastened to Him, and of all things, He chose to begin His teaching by saying that the scripture was fulfilled in their hearing. Though He amazed His audience with His gracious words, the Nazarenes quickly remembered who He was. That was how He found Himself outside town. It was strange that the mob couldn’t find Him after coming so close to killing Him. At this point, He was seldom at home. That was relieving since we had less to worry about.

He did many miracles beginning at Cana in Galilee where He turned water into wine. Unlike the rest of us in the family, our mum knew Him better than the rest of us and so she pleaded with Him to do something about the wine shortage. We continued with the celebration, and it seemed the wine never finished. It even got sweeter as the event wore on. It was only later we found out it was His miracle that saved the ceremony.

In the few times, He was at home, He spoke of a Father who was in heaven. He said He never did anything unless He saw His Father do it. Of course, I found it a hard bone to chew. I only made sure He was not insane. He just had a way of doing things that were irregular. My brothers and I were to head for Judea for the feast of Tabernacles and felt He needed to come along and show Himself there since He was a growing public figure. He declined to come with us, making statements none of us could understand. He secretly went afterwards, and we wondered the reason for His initial drama (Jn 7:1-10).

His new clique of friends whom He called apostles had snatched Him away from us, the rest of His family. They seemed to be more willing and ready to listen to all the weird things He said. They found it easier probably because they weren't schooled. The less you know, the easier it is to believe. The height of it came one day when we needed His attention. As usual, there was a crowd listening and while they let Him know that we were waiting, He made it clear to them that His mother and brothers were those who did the will of His Father in heaven (Matt 12:46-50). Even though He still came to see us, it was a real slap on the face. Mary felt bad. I gave up. I wasn’t ready to find out much about how He was doing anymore. I focused on Nazareth and what was important to the immediate family.

The news came time and time again about His whereabouts and activities. He did miracles, made claims that sounded blasphemous, and narrowly escaped trouble. The Pharisees and teachers of the religious law were His archenemies, and I didn’t find that strange. I only hoped He kept escaping from their hands.

It was during the Passover when a report came that He had been arrested. Mary, who didn’t plan to be in Jerusalem for the ceremony had to reschedule. It didn’t take long before I found out that He was crucified with two sinners. It was painful that most of His disciples ran away. They proved themselves to be hypocrites and unfaithful. It was even one of them who betrayed Him. It all happened in so quick a succession that I couldn’t take it all in. Mary had wept her heart out; she watched her first child dying. Jesus handed her over to John and since then they’ve got along. There was tension surrounding His death and burial we didn’t hope to get His body too quickly for a proper burial. However, before we could get done with the mourning, we heard the news that He had risen. The disciples who hid in fear were the same ones that testified to seeing Him. Of course, His body could not be found. Reports came as well that His body was stolen by His disciples.

I was personally confused. I didn’t know what to believe. Mary was far away in Jerusalem, and I couldn’t get her report. Yet to my surprise and when I least expected, Jesus appeared to me. I remember that day so clearly. In my confused state, I was leaving Jerusalem for Emmaus with my uncle Cleopas (Luke 24:13-35). I was looking for a report I could trust, and I think I got one. He came to give me a report about Himself. That was when my eyes were opened. All along, He was in the Torah, the Nevi’im, and the Ketuvim; indeed, all of the scriptures spoke about Him.

In the wake of all the events, something different happened to me. I thought I knew Him, but I discovered that I was only beginning to know Him. After speaking with Him for a while and having a meal with Him, He disappeared. At the realization of all that had happened, I dropped to my knees. I thought He was my brother, and indeed He was. Yet He was my LORD. I believed. Not many days after I was in Jerusalem with my brothers. Mary was glad to have us around and we joined a group of others who followed the LORD. We shared such a fellowship that I still remember with joy today. Ever since then, I was transformed, stage by stage, into what I have become today.

It still fascinates me that the person whom I thought was my brother lives in me and in many others today. I was so myopic to think of Him as a mere human. I was so unbelieving when He spoke of His Father in heaven. I was so selfish when I felt He wasn’t giving us the needed attention. In my letter to the Jewish believers who are scattered abroad, I couldn’t even introduce myself as a brother to the LORD. Even when I’m addressed that way, it humbles me, because I know now that He was God who came in the flesh to deliver us from the hold of sin and death which our own flesh was too weak to triumph over. It was only a privilege that He took the flesh in my family.

Every man who partook in the gift of God in Jesus Christ did so because he had faith. In that same light I told the Jews in my letter:

If any of you lacks wisdom, he should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to Him. But when he asks, he must believe and not doubt, BECAUSE HE WHO DOUBTS IS LIKE A WAVE OF THE SEA, BLOWN AND TOSSED BY THE WIND. That man should not think he will receive anything from the LORD; he is a double-minded man, unstable in all he does. James 1:5-8 (NIV)

Ah. Yes. Like the waves. I remember clearly; all those years I doubted and struggled with the thought that my half-brother is my Messiah – the anointed One of God. He was the one we had all been waiting for. He was the one we all prayed about in the synagogue. Do you know I was once in a tempest, by the sea of Galilee (Mark 4:35-41)? Now that I think about those years of doubt, it was like me in the storm – being tossed by the wind. And just as Jesus calmed the sea before my very eyes during the tempest, I felt the same way when my eyes were opened to accept Him as the anointed of God. I remember the question he asked after calming the storm – ‘where is your faith?’. I feel so sad for all those years, lost in the tempest of doubt, with no faith in the One God had sent, not accepting Him as my LORD and Redeemer, but better late than never, Nathan. The peace of knowing Him as He truly is – it surpasses all understanding.

Generation would succeed generation if the LORD tarries in His return but whoever has this kind of faith in God would be a partaker of the gift of eternal life. Such would bear it as a lamp through his journey in this dark world, a light for all the world to see, and a torch that continues to burn until the day breaks. This is my witness to all that can hear it – that transition only comes from Jesus. Only He can calm the storm and kill your doubt. He is the author and finisher of our faith. He is LORD over the raging tempest”

Written by Chibuikem Okeke