| JAMES THE LESS & FAMILY |
| James Junior's brother was Matthew, the rich tax collector. Their mother was Mary who often helped Jesus. Their father was Alphaeus. James Junior was just the opposite of his brother, Matthew. James didn't care for money, liked wearing ragged clothes, and didn't wash much which made him smelly. Remember how Matthew decided to follow Jesus and Jesus made him one of his twelve apostles? Matthew told his family ~ including James ~ all about Jesus. James liked Jesus right away because Jesus didn't wear fancy clothes either. Finally he believed in Jesus too, and Jesus asked him to be one of his twelve apostles. That was three years earlier. Now Jesus was dead and buried and James was as sad as everyone else. He, too, sat and paced and cried. Finally James' and Matthew's father, Alphaeus, decided to leave the house and go to a nearby town called Emmaus. They were not apostles, so it wasn't as dangerous for them outside the locked house. On the road, a stranger met Alphaeus and his friend and asked if he could walk with them. They said he could, but kept acting very sad and talking about Jesus. The stranger was Jesus, but they didn't recognize him. He began explaining all the things prophets ~ people who can tell the future ~ said would happen at Jesus' birth, his life, and his death. When they finally arrived at Emmaus, the stranger took some bread and broke it in pieces, then prayed over the bread. Suddenly James' father, Alphaeus, realized the stranger was Jesus! Once they recognized him, Jesus disappeared. So Alphaeus and his friend rushed back to Jerusalem to tell the apostles. "He is alive! Jesus is alive!" they told everyone. Mary, James' mother, smiled because she had already seen him with the other women in the garden. "James," Alphaeus told his son. "You must believe it! Jesus came back to life!" Even though James' own parents had both seen Jesus alive, he still didn't believe. He would not until he saw Jesus for himself. Do you try to tell people Jesus came back to life and they look at you in disbelief? There are ways to prove it is true. Most of the Bible was written many hundreds of years before Jesus was born. That part of the Bible tells many things about Jesus' life that came true. If those things about Jesus' life came true, then what he said about himself is also true. Jesus really did come back to life. You can know for sure. |