James, the Lord's brother, was not an Apostle. That he should have been
named to receive the message indicates that already he held some
conspicuous position, perhaps some office, in the Church. It may also
imply that there were no Apostles in Jerusalem then. We note also that
the 'many' who were gathered in Mary's house can have been only a small
part of the whole. We here get a little glimpse into the conditions of
the life of a persecuted Church, which a sympathetic imagination can
dwell on till it is luminous. Such gatherings as would attract notice
had to be avoided, and what meetings were held had to be in private
houses and with shut doors, through which entrance was not easy. Mary's
'door' had a 'gate' in it, and only that smaller postern, which
admitted but one at a time, was opened to visitors, and that after
scrutiny. But though assemblies were restricted, communications were
kept up, and by underground ways information of events important to the
community spread through its members. The consciousness of brotherhood
was all the stronger because of the common danger, the universal peril
had not made the brethren selfish, but sympathetic. We may note, too,
how great a change had come since the time when the Christians were in
favour with all the people, and may reflect how fickle are the world's
smiles for Christ's servants.