James the Just was the Disciple referred to as James, the brother of Jesus, by Paul , and also in most of the Last Supper paintings I have been cataloguing across Florence
Although one of the first to be called as a disciple by Jesus, it seems that his family members were in some way initially “unbelieving” followers of Christ, and they only changed their position after his death – and then became true missionaries of the faith.
A second century writer Hegesippus , who seems particularly interested in the works of James, the brother of Jesus, also makes an interesting point about the “justness” or zeal of the religious rites and practices of the family as Nazarites before the new sect of Christianity had a name – or a real existence.
A local historian that I met in Florence also made this point as a passing reference at a recent meeting, when she explained that Jesus and his family were part of the sect of the Nazarites . As Nazarites . again according to Hegesippus, “drank no wine or other intoxicating liquor, nor did he eat flesh; no razor came upon his head; he did not anoint himself with oil, nor make use of the bath” . So, without wanting to sound too flippant, even in an age when bathing wasn’t too easy to do, this might explain why some of the disciples were not so popular when they hit town?
James became committed to his mission as a fully converted follower of Christ after the Passover and the Resurrection, and became the leader of the Christian movement in Jerusalem in the decades after Jesus‘ death – alone of the disciples he does not appear to have fled from Jerusalem.
In legend , again according to Hegesippus, who was writing a little later in the second century, after sentence of death James was thrown down from the pinnacle of the temple, a fall which hurt but didn’t kill him , so he was stoned by the mob, during which process he continuously prayed for their forgiveness for their actions until killed by swing from a fuller’s club.
So it is this thick club that is usually used as his attribute – as in the lively sculpture above.
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