Four men named James appeared in the Bible, all in the New Testament.
James, the father of Judas (also called Thaddeus, according to Rose Publishing) was only mentioned as the father of that disciple in Acts 1:13.
We can track James son of Alphaeus easily since he was always mentioned as "son of Alphaeus".
He only had 4 mentions (including Acts 1:13): Matthew 10:3; Mark 3:18 and
Luke 6:15.
Two Gospels reference yet another person named James who was thought to be a brother of Jesus (Matthew 13:55 and Mark 6:3). Quite likely, people probably mistakenly thought this was the same mother from Matthew 27:56, Mark 15:39 and 16:1, where "Mary the mother of James and Joses" was mentioned. King James listed that brother as Joses (also known as Joseph/Barnabas), too. So, it doesn't look like a reference to Jesus' mother, Mary.
Among the third and fourth disciples Jesus called to follow Him were James and John, the sons of Zebedee who were found numerous times in:
Matthew 4:21; 10:2-4; Mark 1:19-20;
Luke 5:10;
Acts 1:23, then finally in Acts 12:1-2.
Typically, the sons of Zebedee were mentioned together, especially with Andrew and Simon Peter, the first 2 disciples. Acts 12:1-2 reported the death of one son of Zebedee:
1. It was about this time that King Herod arrested some who belonged to the church, intending to persecute them.
2. He had James, the brother of John, put to death with the sword.
In 2 passages, the Bible stated 3 distinct men named James acquainted with the disciples of Jesus Christ.
Luke 6:12-16 listed three men named James when listing the disciples:
12. One of those days Jesus went out to a mountainside to pray, and spent the night praying to God.
13. When morning came, he called his disciples to him and chose twelve of them, whom he also designated apostles:
14. Simon (whom he named Peter), his brother Andrew, James, John, Philip, Bartholomew,
15. Matthew, Thomas, James son of Alphaeus, Simon who was called the Zealot,
16. Judas son of James, and Judas Iscariot, who became a traitor.
Acts 1:12-14 (after Jesus' ascension to Heaven when he rose from the dead after 3 days):
12. Then they returned to Jerusalem from the hill called the Mount of Olives, a Sabbath day's walk from the city.
13. When they arrived, they went upstairs to the room where they were staying. Those present were Peter, John, James and Andrew; Philip and Thomas, Bartholomew and Matthew; James son of Alphaeus and Simon the Zealot,
and Judas son of James.
14. They all joined together constantly in prayer, along with the women and Mary the mother of Jesus, and with his brothers.
A man named James appeared after the son of Zebedee was killed in several passages. We can probably rule out the father of Judas/Thaddeus, so that leaves James, son of Alphaeus and James whose mother was Mary. While Acts 8:4 stated that the Christians scattered, it doesn't mention any of the men named James traveling like it does with Peter and Paul. 1 Corinthians 15:7 and Galatians 2:9 could be the last references to James, the son of Zebedee. In the remaining passages, it's unclear which specific person they're mentioning including Acts 12:17, 15:13 and 21:18.
Galatians 1:19 more than likely pointed to the man whose mother was Mary.
19. I saw none of the other apostles--only James, the Lord's brother.
James 1:1:
1. James, a servant of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ, To the twelve tribes scattered among the nations: Greetings.
