We today do not have the wealth of background information on James that we have on Paul. There is good evidence that this James, the New Testament writer, is the brother of Jesus (Matthew 13:55; Mark 6:3). If so, he too had every reason to value grace. There was a time when he, like Paul, rebelled against Jesus. “Not even His brothers believed in Him” (John 7:5).
But when Jesus was raised from death, He appeared especially to James (1 Corinthians 15:7). The brothers joined the core of praying disciples (Acts 1:14). James became a prominent leader in the Jerusalem church (Acts 12:17; 21:18- 25). Like Paul, he took a leading role in the Jerusalem meeting, which enacted the Spirit’s solution for the circumcision question. The letter that Paul carried to the Gentiles was the result of James’ speech, as recorded in Acts 15. Thus, both leaders took the same side—the Lord’s side—in this matter of the grace of Christ as compared with the law of Moses.