James Alpheus 

James Alpheus was one of a set of twin brothers who were nominated to be apostles by James and John Zebedee. The Alpheus twins were almost identical in appearance, mental ability, and spiritual perception. What may be said of one Alpheus twin should be recorded of the other, with some notable exceptions where details distinguish James Alpheus from Judas Alpheus.

James Alpheus was a fisherman/farmer specifically chosen by James Zebedee as the ninth apostle. James was twenty-six years old when he was nominated and was married with three children.

James Alpheus was a very simple – even a simple-minded man – and he especially loved Jesus because of the Master’s simplicity. He was not able to really comprehend the mind of the Master, but he could understand that there was a special bond of sympathy between himself and Jesus. Most importantly, he believed in Jesus; he gladly took his place as a son of God and a member in the kingdom.

In the organization of the apostles, James Alpheus, along with his brother were assigned to the management of the crowds that swarmed around Jesus.

James refrained from contributing too much in the way of opinions about matters at hand; for example, when the king-making episode occurred, James and his brother were the only apostles to make no comment on the plan. When the parable of the sower was being discussed, James had no opinion. As one of the last chosen apostles, James was an unassuming type of person, never claiming glory or status for himself. So, at the Last Supper, he and his brother took seats somewhere in the middle of the others.

Jesus did walk and talk with James and his twin in his thirteenth resurrection appearance, as he did with all the others, two-and-two.

James Alpheus, a fisherman and farmer of Kheresa, was nominated as the ninth apostle by James Zebedee. At the time he joined the apostolic corps, James was twenty-six, married, and the father of three children.

James, twin to brother Judas Alpheus, was a simple-minded sort of person. Some might even think of him as dull and slow-witted. But he did experience true spiritual reality in his inner life. He was not able to comprehend the mind of Jesus, but he felt a comforting bond between his heart and the heart of Jesus. And he especially loved the Master because he himself embraced simplicity in his life. He believed in Jesus and he was definitely a son of God and a fellow in the kingdom of heaven.

James, who was sometimes called “Thaddeus,” had no real distinction – neither strong nor weak points. Unlike the rest of the apostles, James had not been educated in the synagogue schools. He was not concerned with philosophy or theology, but he was content and even thrilled to have been chosen to associate with the other apostles. And as a member of this elite group, James was assigned, with his brother, to act as ushers to the multitudes. He policed the crowds and was thought of as something of an errand-boy to the other apostles; and he was always happy to lend a hand. He knew that he was “the least of all the apostles”; he knew it and felt cheerful about it.

The people loved James and his brother. They were good-natured and simple-minded like many of them. They gladly took direction from him, recognizing him as being very much like themselves. James was instrumental in bringing some fainthearted believers into the kingdom because of his affinity for the common person.

Jesus welcomed James to a position of honor in the ranks of the apostles. And he did this because James serves as an example to untold millions like him who are likewise simple and fear-ridden. Jesus wishes to receive all such believers into the kingdom; he never looks down on any soul who may be thought of as “little.” Jesus only looks down on evil and sin. James was truly little, simple, and dull-witted, but he was big-hearted, kind, generous and most importantly, faithful.

James served faithfully to the end. He never lost faith in Jesus and he was one of the first to believe that Jesus had resurrected from the dead. But James never could comprehend how the kingdom was to be established. After the dark days of the Master’s crucifixion, James returned to his family and his fishing nets. His work was finished. He did not have the ability to continue on in the complex work of spreading the gospel in the hearts of mankind. But he lived the rest of his life with the consciousness of the blessedness of the four years that he spent with the Master – Jesus of Nazareth, a Son of God, and the maker of a universe.

In July, 26 CE, after the six apostles had returned from their two-week tour around Galilee, they all made their suggestions for another man to be added to the apostolic group. James Alpheus was nominated by James Zebedee. When they went to Kheresa to call on him, James was expecting Jesus and was waiting there on the shore. James Zebedee introduced Jesus to James Alpheus and Jesus nodded and said: “Follow me.”

Unlike the rest of the apostles, who witnessed Jesus’ triumphal entry into Jerusalem on April 2, 30 CE with mixed feelings of bewilderment, consternation, and confusion, James Alpheus thought of this as the perfect day. He missed some of it, having had the task, with his brother, of returning the donkey upon which the Master rode into town to its owner. But what he did see, he enjoyed thoroughly. James could not understand why his fellow apostles were so downcast that evening. To James, it felt like he was close to heaven on earth. It was to him, the fitting climax of all his days as an apostle. He loved seeing the Master amidst so much pageantry – pageantry befitting a king. He heartily approved of the whole spectacle.

On Tuesday, April 4, 30 CE, two days after Jesus’ triumphal entry into Jerusalem, Jesus greeted all of the apostles with a personal address. To James Alpheus and his brother, Jesus said: “Do not allow the things which you cannot understand to crush you. Be true to the affections of your hearts and put not your trust in either great men or the changing attitude of the people. Stand by your brethren.”

At the Last Supper,Jesus went over to the Alpheus twins and, standing between them, said: “My little children, you are one of the three groups of brothers who chose to follow after me. All six of you have done well to work in peace with your own flesh and blood, but none have done better than you. Hard times are just ahead of us. You may not understand all that will befall you and your brethren, but never doubt that you were once called to the work of the kingdom. For some time there will be no multitudes to manage, but do not become discouraged; when your lifework is finished, I will receive you on high, where in glory you shall tell of your salvation to seraphic hosts and to multitudes of the high Sons of God. Dedicate your lives to the enhancement of commonplace toil. Show all men on earth and the angels of heaven how cheerfully and courageously mortal man can, after having been called to work for a season in the special service of God, return to the labors of former days. If, for the time being, your work in the outward affairs of the kingdom should be completed, you should go back to your former labors with the new enlightenment of the experience of sonship with God and with the exalted realization that, to him who is God-knowing, there is no such thing as common labor or secular toil. To you who have worked with me, all things have become sacred, and all earthly labor has become a service even to God the Father. And when you hear the news of the doings of your former apostolic associates, rejoice with them and continue your daily work as those who wait upon God and serve while they wait. You have been my apostles, and you always shall be, and I will remember you in the kingdom to come.”

On April 21, 30 CE, Jesus made his thirteenth resurrection appearance - this time to the ten apostles (minus Judas Iscariot and Simon Zelotes) as they pulled up to shore. In the course of this visit, Jesus walked and talked with all of the apostles, two and two. The last couple that he walked with was the Alpheus twins, James and Judas. Speaking to both of them he asked, “James and Judas, do you believe in me?” And when they both answered, “Yes, Master, we do believe,” he said: “I will soon leave you. You see that I have already left you in the flesh. I tarry only a short time in this form before I go to my Father. You believe in me—you are my apostles, and you always will be. Go on believing and remembering your association with me, when I am gone, and after you have, perchance, returned to the work you used to do before you came to live with me. Never allow a change in your outward work to influence your allegiance. Have faith in God to the end of your days on earth. Never forget that, when you are a faith son of God, all upright work of the realm is sacred. Nothing which a son of God does can be common. Do your work, therefore, from this time on, as for God. And when you are through on this world, I have other and better worlds where you shall likewise work for me. And in all of this work, on this world and on other worlds, I will work with you, and my spirit shall dwell within you.”