The simple statement in Acts 1:14 is: “These all ... continued
stedfastly in prayer, with the women, and Mary the mother of Jesus, and
with his brethren.” So then all four are now disciples and are admitted
to the inmost secrets of the circle of believers in Jerusalem, whither
they have now come. Certainly, now that they have all come to believe in
their Brother as in reality the Messiah of Israel risen from the dead,
they must come to Jerusalem to be with their mother in her hour of
triumph and joy. No one but a mother can understand the fulness of
satisfaction in Mary’s heart now. The sword had pierced her own soul
(Luke 2:35), as old Simeon had prophesied when he saw the Babe in the
Temple, but now the wound has been healed and there is a new and richer
Magnificat in her heart. It was worth all that she had endured to wait
with the disciples and her other sons in the upper room for the Promise
of the Father. The breach in her family life had been healed.
It is clear that the heartiest of welcomes greeted the brothers of
Jesus. They were men of importance in themselves, James in particular,
who from every standpoint is one of the first men of his day. It is
possible that the coolness of James and the other brothers had injured
the work of Jesus with a good many, who used this fact against the
claims of Jesus. Now the accession of these brothers was of the utmost
value to the band of believers gathered in the upper room, where Jesus
had manifested himself before his ascension.
The presence of the brothers is mentioned by Luke before the choice of
Matthias to succeed Judas. One may naturally wonder why James was not
suggested by Peter, since he undoubtedly was equal to the eleven in
ability and all other qualities save one. But this one defect was fatal.
He had not been with the twelve during the ministry of Jesus and so
could not be a firsthand witness to his words and teachings (Acts 1:22).
Otherwise, we may infer that James would have been a welcome addition to
the twelve in the place of Judas.[23]
But the significant fact is that James is present during the wonderful
days of this Pentecost and is filled, like the rest, with the Holy
Spirit. He enters upon the new task of world evangelization with the new
insight and the new influx of divine power. He faces the new day with
the light of the sun in his face.