James the Less is sometimes mentioned as the brother of Jesus. That is not accurate. Jesus was the only son of Mary. And of course, he was supposed to have been conceived without any help from Joseph.
The word that means brother in Aramaic also means cousin or nephew. James the Less appears to be very close to Jesus most of the time. He was probably depicted as a first cousin on many occassion, but, he was actually the second of the first two disciples.
James the Lesser is also written as the first Bishop of Jerusalem. He was among the disciples when it was decided Jewish laws were not to be imposed on Gentile converts. He was also known by the populous as "The Just."
He went to Rome to be martyred in the name of Jesus Christ. When he got there he was set at the pinnacle of a temple to deny Jesus as the Messiah. Instead, he launched into song about the savior. He was pushed from the temple by those in attendance, but, alas he did not die.
This is where some of the teachings get a bit twisted. Some have him saling off to exile while the Roman emperor was still alive as St. John. The other version of his life has him stoned to death at the foot of the temple. He knelt before those so angry and prayed for him. According to this version he died at the temples steps at 62 AD and was buried there.
If that is the case then are these two separate James the lesser? I can invision him being beaten and stoned, but, also being wisked away to write in exile. Most Bibles have him as St. John. Yet, sometimes within the same Bible there is this confusion about him.
For me. he survived to life and laugh another day. That is most consistent with the majority of text. But, I had to add this in just in case my understanding is not the best understanding.
