Acts 12:16,17

When Peter is admitted, he at once takes command of the uproarious crowd, beckoning silence with his hand. He has no time to waste. He must run away and hide from Herod and the soldiers before daylight, or he will be killed. Therefore, commanding silence, he briefly relates his wonderful deliverance by the angel, and says to them: “Proclaim these things to James and the brethren.” Isn't James dead? Did not Herod cut his head off a few days ago? In Matthew's apostolical catalogue, Chapter 10, we have two apostles by the name of James, i. e., the son of Zebedee, and brother of John, whom Herod has beheaded; and James, the son of Alphaeus, who, at a later date, suffered martyrdom in Jerusalem by precipitation from a pinnacle of the temple. Neither of these was the James here mentioned; but James, the brother of our Lord, and elder brother of Jude, who are not mentioned among the original twelve, having stood aloof while the world was shaking with conviction of the Messiahship of Jesus, as it is so hard for us to believe on the members of our own family. So these nominal brothers of our Lord, doubtless sons of Joseph by a former marriage, held off until they saw their brother crucified, which doubtless staggered them more than ever. But when they saw Him walk out of the sepulcher and fly up to heaven, every quibble as to His Messiahship took its everlasting flight. With a grand boom they now fall in line, gladly received, appreciated and honored by their predecessors as the nominal brothers of our Lord. Therefore James the elder is complimented with the first pastorate of the Apostolic church at Jerusalem.