Journal: Southern Baptist Journal of Theology
Volume: SBJT 27:3 (Fall 2023)
Article: Was James The First Pope?
Author: William C. Varner

SBJT 27:3 (Fall 2023) p. 154

Was James The First Pope?

William Varner

William Varner is Professor of Biblical Studies and Greek at The Master’s University, Santa Clarita, California. He received his theological education from Bob Jones University, Greenville, South Carolina, Biblical Theological Seminary, Hatfield, Pennsylvania, and Dropsie College, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, and a doctorate from Temple University, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. He has authored twenty volumes, the most recent being The Apostolic Fathers: An Introduction and Translation.

Introduction

What was the nature of the role and ministry that James performed in the early church? The proposal in this article is simple, but its implications are profound. A careful reading of Luke’s account in Acts and Paul’s comments in Galatians fully supports the idea that James was not merely a significant leader in the early church and not just the leader of the Jerusalem church, but that he was the leader of the church for two decades before his death in 62 AD. The implications of this fact are significant not only for the Roman Catholic attitude toward Peter, but also for the Protestant evangelical attitude toward Paul.

A provocative chapter written by Martin Hengel raised the possibility to me of the need for a new perspective on James the man. British and American scholars have largely overlooked or neglected that chapter, published in German.1 An even more neglected article by Richard Bauckham in a Pentecostal journal reviews much of the same evidence.2 The evidence from Hengel and Bauckham combined with a renewed personal investigation has led me to adopt similar conclusions. These scholars are mentioned, not simply to enlist their support for my particular views, but to provide additional support that there are solid reasons for making the following claims.

SBJT 27:3 (Fall 2023) p. 155

My argument is that after the Pentecostal effusion James rose quickly to a parity of leadership with the traditional apostles and by the early forties was the leader, although as a primus inter pares (“first among equals”), not only of the Jerusalem church (a point usually recognized) but of the entire Jesus movement. If a stranger arrived in Jerusalem or in Antioch (or in Rome for that matter) between the years ad 42–62 and asked, “Who is the person in charge of this movement?” any knowledgeable Christian, including Peter or John or Paul, would have answered without hesitation, “James.” Moreover, he would not have needed to add “the brother of Jesus” because everyone would have known that th...