The Hardest People to Reach

It is interesting to note that neither James nor any of Jesus’ brothers or sisters believed in Him prior to His resurrection. At one point, the Bible tells us, they came to take Him home, thinking He had taken leave of His senses. So His own family had not really accepted the fact that Jesus was the Messiah.

Imagine if you were Mary and Joseph how tempting it would be to say to the kids, “Why can’t you be more like your older brother Jesus? He never does anything wrong.”

“But Mom, he’s like, perfect. I don’t know what the problem is with him.”

But in James’ defense, however, one can see how hard it would be for him to accept that his own flesh and blood was the very Messiah of Israel. It was not until his eyes were spiritually opened that he saw that this was indeed the real Lord. It was the resurrection that turned James around, because 1 Corinthians 15 says, “He rose again the third day according to the Scriptures, and that He was seen by Cephas, then by the twelve. . . . After that He was seen by James, then by all the apostles.” (verses 4–7).

This just goes to show that even living a perfect and flawless life is not necessarily enough to convince someone of the truth of the gospel. After all, who lived a more perfect life than Jesus? He never once sinned in any capacity. But as Jesus himself said, “A prophet is not without honor except in his own country and in his own house” (Matthew 13:57). It just reminds us that the hardest people are those who are the closest to us, especially our families.