Page:Lives of the apostles of Jesus Christ (1836).djvu/424

 But no where is his eminence among the apostles so strongly marked, as in Paul's account of his own visits to Jerusalem, and the incidents connected with them. He there mentions "James, the brother of our Lord," in such terms as to show that he must have been one of the apostles; thus adding a valuable confirmation to the testimony above adduced in favor of this very point, that James, the brother of Jesus, was an apostle. Paul's words are, "Other of the apostles, (besides Peter,) saw I none, except James, the Lord's brother;" an expression which all analogy requires to be construed into a clear assertion that this James was an apostle. In speaking of his second visit, fourteen years after, Paul also bears a noble testimony to the eminence of James, and, what is remarkable, gives him the very first place among those three whom he mentions by name. He says, "When James, Cephas, and John, who seemed to be pillars, perceived the grace that was given to me, they gave to me and Barnabas the right hand of fellowship." This very peculiar arrangement of these three great names, has seemed so strange to the more stubborn Papists, that they can not believe that the Cephas here mentioned in the second place, is their great idol, Peter; and many of them have maintained, in long arguments, that he was not Peter,—a notion which might seem plausible at first glance, from the circumstance, that throughout his whole narrative, Paul has been speaking of Peter by the common Greek form of his surname, while in this particular passage, he uses the original Hebrew word, Cephas. But this verbal change is of no consequence whatever, except as showing that in this connection there was something which suggested a preference of the Hebrew name, while mentioning him along with the two other great apostolic chiefs, James and John. And even this very peculiar promotion of James to the first place, is easily explained by a consideration of the subject in connection with which these personages are mentioned. James was unquestionably the great leader of the sticklers for Mosaic forms; and he is therefore the most important person to be quoted in reference to Paul's reception, while the dissensions about circumcision were raging. Peter, on the other hand, being himself the great champion of open Gentile communion, from his having been himself the first of all men to bring them under the gospel, was, of course, understood to be a favorer of Paul's views, of the noble catholic extension of Christianity; and his name was therefore of reallyl ess importance in Paul's statement, than the name of James, who was everywhere